Exeter Castle, also known as Rougemont Castle, was originally no more than a defensive city wall built by the Romans and later repaired by King Athelstan around 928 AD.
After the Norman Conquest of England, the city of Exeter — like many other cities at this time — rebelled against William the Conqueror. In 1068, William laid siege to the city, which lasted eighteen days before surrendering. William then ordered construction of the castle within the city walls. Baldwin FitzGibert managed the construction of the castle, which was placed at the highest norther angle of the Roman city wall on a volcanic outcrop. The large stone gatehouse still survives, a testament to the Anglo-Saxon masons who likely built it on William’s orders.
Additional reading:
- Exeter Castle website
- Brittania.com
- Castles: Their Construction and History (this book has a small section on Exeter; there should be an illustration of the plan and section of the gateway around page 104)
I also wrote a short piece based in the city of Exeter, called Exeter Burning. It doesn’t include the castle but instead centers around the cathedral.
*image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license, author Juan J. Martinez