See G.E. C(okayne), _Complete Peerage_ (1887-1898).
[1] There is some difference of opinion about the place and manner of the earl's death, and this question has an important bearing upon the privilege of trial by peers of the realm. See L.W. Vernon-Harcourt, _His Grace the Steward and Trial of Peers_ (1907).
EXETER, a city and county of a city, municipal, county and parliamentary borough, and the county town of Devonshire, England, 172 m. W.S.W. of London, on the London & South Western and the Great Western railways. Pop. (1901) 47,185. The ancient city occupies a broad ridge of land, which rises steeply from the left bank of the Exe. At the head of the ridge is the castle, on the site of a great British earthwork. The High Street and its continuation, called Fore Street, are narrow, but very picturesque, with many houses of the 16th and 17th centuries. There is a maze of lesser streets within the ancient walls, the line of which may be traced. All the gates have disappeared. The suburbs, which have greatly extended since the beginning of the 19th century, contain many good streets, terraces and detached villas. The surrounding country is rich, fertile and of great beauty. Extensive views are commanded in the direction of Haldon, a stretch of high moorland which may be regarded as an outlier of Dartmoor. The lofty mound of the castle is laid out as a promenade, with fine trees and broad walks.
The cathedral, although not one of the largest in England, is unsurpassed in the beauty of its architecture and the richness of its details. With the exception of the Norman transeptal towers, the general character is Decorated, ranging from about 1280 to 1369. Transeptal towers occur elsewhere in England only in the collegiate church of Ottery St Mary, in Devonshire, for which Exeter cathedral served as a model. The west front is of later date than the rest (probably 1369-1394), and the porch is wholly covered with statues. Within, the most noteworthy features are the long unbroken roof, extending throughout nave and choir, with no central tower or lantern; the beautiful sculpture of bosses and corbels; the minstrel's gallery, projecting from the north triforium of the nave; and the remarkable manner in which the several parts of the church are made to correspond. The window tracery is much varied; but each window answers to that on the opposite side of nave or choir; pier answers to pier, aisle to aisle, and chapel to chapel, while the transeptal towers complete the balance of parts. A complete restoration under Sir G.G. Scott was carried out between 1870 and 1877. The modern stall work, the reredos, the choir pavement of tiles, rich marbles and porphyries, the stained glass and the sculptured pulpits in choir and nave are meritorious. The episcopal throne, a sheaf of tabernacle work in wood, was erected by Bishop Stapeldon about 1320, and in the north transept is an ancient clock. The most interesting monuments are those of bishops of the 12th and 13th centuries, in the choir and lady chapel. Some important MSS., including the famous book of Saxon poetry given by Leofric to his cathedral, are preserved in the chapter-house. The united sees of Devonshire and Cornwall were fixed at Exeter from the installation there of Leofric (1050) by the Confessor, until the re-erection of the Cornish see in 1876. The bishop's palace embodies Early English portions. The diocese covers the greater part of Devonshire, with a very small part of Dorsetshire.