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Should you visit Exeter Cathedral, you will be struck by its beauty and antiquity. The imposing Norman towers dating from the early 12th Century were retained when Bishop Bronescombe, influenced by the magnificent new Gothic (Early English) cathedral at Salisbury, decided on a grandiose rebuilding in 1270. The work took nearly a Century but resulted in a wonderful Cathedral Church in Decorated Gothic style, prompting Bishop Grandisson (1327-69) to write to Pope John XXII praising its splendours. Our pictorial guide shows some of these aspects should you be unable to visit. Exeter Cathedral is built on the camp of the Roman Army's II Augustan Legion. Archaeological evidence of 5th century Christian Worship has been found. In the Seventh Century, St Boniface the Patron Saint of Germany was educated at a monastery or church adjacent to the Cathedral's present location in 690. The history of the church as a cathedral dates from 1050 when the Bishop of Crediton (Devon) and St Germans (Cornwall) moved to Exeter. The first Bishop of Exeter, Leofric, was personally installed in his new see by King Edward the Confessor. The old minster of St Mary and St Peter became the new cathedral and Leofric instituted a community of twenty-four canons to help in his work. In 1224 Bishop Brewer re-organised the community on a contemporary model. The Archdeacon of Exeter became Dean and the great offices of Precentor, Treasurer and Chancellor (still aided by 24 canons) were instituted; the cathedral community has been maintained on these lines ever since. To accommodate these changes, a Chapter House was built in the mid part of the 13th Century in the new Early English style, the first step in the re-building which resulted in the cathedral you see today. Before all this occurred, though, the Normans had rebuilt the Saxon minster into a new cathedral in the Norman style starting in 1114, providing not only the towers but also the foundations of the nave walls for the second re-building a century and a half later.
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