Tourist attractions Exeter

The Romanesque towers of the transept are the oldest part of Exeter Cathedral; most of the edifice was remodelled in the 13C and completed in the 14C. Inside, the most striking feature is the tierceron vault , in the nave that reaches over 91m. Also..

This building, built in memory of Prince Albert (1896), contains superb collections of artefacts covering four main areas of interest: natural history, archeology, ethnography and fine and decorative arts. The natural history section (animal, vegetab..

The gardens of Bicton House (today an agricultural college) were designed and planted with specimens of trees during the last two centuries. The American garden (started in 1830) is remarkable, as is the hermit's garden . Note also the collection ..

The Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Thomas of Canterbury (1170) is said to have been founded by William de Tracey in atonement for his part in St Thomas Becket's murder. The church has been restored but principally dates from the 15C and contain..

At the top of the hill stands the parish church of St Mary, flanked with twin towers, and consecrated in 1260 on land that belonged to Rouen Cathedral from 1061-1336. A large part of the liturgical furniture dates back to that period (1280-1377), i..

When he discovered that he was descended from a Norman aristocrat, Dru or Drogo, who lived in the 12C, the rich grocer Julius Drewe had Edwin Lutyens create an extraordinary castle in his name. The castle was built 1911-1930 from granite taken from D..

This sandstone building was once the guest quarters of a Benedictine priory founded in 1087 which later became an Elizabethan merchant's home. In the Norman crypt, massive round columns support low ribbed vaulting. The Guest Hall and Prior's Room hav..

The most striking features of this old municipal building are the magnificently decorated Tudor portico , added in 1593, the Chamber with a timber roof dating from 1468-1470, and the ornate Elizabethan oak panelling .

The quay dates from the days when Exeter was a port, during a period of prosperity which was brought to an abrupt end in the 13C when Isabella of Devon built a weir across the river and diverted all trade from Exeter to Topsham. By the 16C, the river..

The Close is diamond-shaped with the cathedral in the centre and the red sandstone bishops' palace with its distinctive gables almost adjacent to it. Its limits are marked by the old city wall , St Martin's Church , Mol's Coffee House , a 1596 tim..

The new university buildings, including the Northcott Theatre, occupy the Streatham estate (140 ha). The grounds are recognised as the most beautiful and botanically interesting of any British university.

This three-arched, 16C granite bridge in the north of Dartmoor National Park spans Fingle Gorge. On the hilltop stand the ruins of an Iron Age hillfort, Prestonbury Castle .