Devon's county town, Exeter, was previously a settlement of the Celtic Dumnonii tribe. In around 50-55 AD the Romans fortified Exeter and renamed it Isca Dumnoniorum and in doing so it became the most westerly outpost of Rome in the British Isles.

Exeter was refounded at the end of the ninth century by Alfred the Great and grew to become one of the largest towns in Anglo-Saxon England.

The Normans strengthened the Roman walls, rebuilt the cathedral and expanded the wool trade which sustained the city until the eighteenth century.

By the late sisteenth century Exeter was one of the largest and richest towns in England.

Miraculously, the severe bombing sustained during World War II spared the cathedral.

In recent times, the university and tourist trade has helped to maintain the economic wellbeing of Exeter.