=--South-Western Railway, Waterloo Station.
=Nearest Station.=--Queen Street, Exeter.
=Distance from London.=--171-1/2 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 28s. 6d. 18s. 0d. 14s. 3-1/2d.
Return 50s. 0d. 31s. 6d. 28s. 7d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Clarence Hotel," "Rougemont
Hotel," "Half Moon Hotel," Pople's "New London Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--Great Western Railway, from Paddington
Station, London, to St. Davids, Exeter.
Exeter, the metropolis of the west, was known as a city even when the
Romans came to Britain. There are no important Roman buildings left now,
but coins and pottery testify to the Roman occupation. The first actual
historic records date from the reign of King Alfred, whose grandson,
Athelstane, made Exeter into a strong city, fortifying it with walls.
Exeter made a stubborn resistance to William the Conqueror, but when
besieged by him was forced to yield. The city suffered siege on two
other notable occasions. In the reign of Henry VII., Perkin Warbeck, the
pretender, made an attack on the castle, but was defeated. In 1646 the
city was blockaded by the Parliamentary forces under Fairfax and
compelled to surrender.
In the centre of the city is the cathedral, which was commenced in A.D.
1107 by Bishop Warelwast, who built the massive Norman towers. Bishop
Quivil, who died in 1292, completely remodelled the cathedral, changing
the somewhat heavy Norman structure into the present graceful Gothic
one.
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