Exeter Cathedral, Devon, UK
Exeter Summer Festival for Tea, Cakes and Craft Market on the Green
Exeter cathedral or to give it the full title, The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter, hasn’t always been such a holy place, the original site was the camp of the Roman Army’s II Augusta Legion. From the 5th century onwards history shows us that it was a site of Christian worship and has been so ever since.
The church gained cathedral status in 1050 when the Bishop of Crediton and the Bishop of St. Germains moved to Exeter. In the middle ages Royalty were frequent visitors, some of its famous guest include William the Conquer (1068), Edward I (1285), Henry IV (1403) and Henry VIII (1497).
This majestic cathedral, originally a monastery for Benedictine Monks, is over 850 years old, and is one of the best examples of decorated Gothic architecture in England, it also has the longest Gothic vault in Europe.
The city of Exeter in England’s south-west is the southern end of the Roman Road - The Fosse Way. The area has been occupied for almost two thousand years, but the opportunity to investigate its past came unexpectedly in World War II.
When German bombs hit the cathedral and the city port, remains, long hidden deep below the city came to light, allowing a new glimpse of the past in the uncovered depths of the city. The cathedral is now one of the 17 conservation areas within Exeter and Exeter’s historic centre is also a designated AAI - Areas of Archaeological Importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
The cathedral and surrounding streets grew with houses for the canons then halls for the choir being added. Tucked well behind the main high street, the cathedral has a splendid carpet of green grass, it now wonder it's called the Cathedral Green.Choose a summer day and the cathedral green will be writhing with sight-seers, sunbathers and snoozers.
Choose the first day of the Exeter Summer Festival, which this year starts on 13 June, and you'll find a large and lively craft market in place, whicha attracts stallholders and visitors from a great distance.
If a free guided tour of the cathedral isn’t really your thing it’s still well worth going inside for a great little gift shop or The Refectory cafe for a light meal or fabulous tea and made-on-the-premises cakes.
Today it’s a more peaceful spot with less famous visitors, but after a shopping session what better place to relax than tea inside the cathedral or on the Cathedral Green under the shadow of the well-preserved architecture and British sunshine.
Exeter Tourist Information Centre, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 1JJ
Tel: 01392 265700 Fax: 01392 265260
Exeter Cathedral
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Exeter Cathedral Green Craft Fai
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