Civil War [1642 - 1660]
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-Civil War HalfâCrowns Obverses Exeter.jpg&w=200)
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Exeter suffered terrible damage in the Civil War between Charles I and Parliament of 1642-6. Within the city loyalties were divided. The Roundhead (pro-Parliament) faction triumphed at first and Exeter defended itself in 1642-3 for Parliament against the Royalist forces of the west. The city wall was repaired, gun batteries were set up and ditches deepened. Nevertheless the Royalist armies eventually captured the city in 1643 and held it until early 1646. By that time the defences had been made even stronger, but a triumphant Parliamentary force led by Sir Thomas Fairfax recaptured the city.
The city was left very badly damaged, especially the suburbs, which had been laid waste. Building began there rapidly in the 1650s; by the time of the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 recovery was well advanced.
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Exeter suffered terrible damage in the Civil War between Charles I and Parliament of 1642-6. The Roundheads supporting Parliament controlled the city at first and Exeter defended itself in 1642-3 against the Royalists. The city wall was repaired, gun batteries were set up and ditches deepened. Nevertheless the Royalist armies captured the city, improved the defences and held it until 1646 when Sir Thomas Fairfax recaptured the city for Parliament. It was left badly damaged, especially the suburbs. Re-building began in the 1650s.
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After the destruction of the Civil War, new civic building projects only began from about 1650.
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With the new methods of warfare used in the Civil War between Charles I and Parliament (1642-47) the whole system of defences needed revision and modernization. The city wall was repaired, gun batteries were set up and ditches deepened; after the conflict Exeter was left badly damaged, especially the suburbs which needed extensive re-building work.
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After the cathedral's Dean and Chapter had been disbanded, the city chamber decided in the 1650s to pull down their medieval cloisters as they no longer served any purpose. The area was put to practical use by building a new cloth market in 1657. It consisted of long first-floor rooms supported by timber posts above an open ground floor.
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In January 1644, following the capture of Exeter by Royalist forces, King Charles I commissioned Sir Richard Vyvyan to set up a new mint in the city. Vyvyan had minted coins for the King at Truro in 1642-3, and he brought with him some equipment from there including coin dies. The location of the mint in Exeter is not firmly known but there are suggestions that it was in St Olave's parish, probably in Mint Lane. A full range of denominations from one penny to the gold unite (one pound) was issued; many of these are very rare.
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During the Civil War hundreds of homes in the suburbs and within the town walls were demolished or damaged. At the close of the Civil War there was an acute housing shortage in the city. The 1650s saw a housing boom which continued for a generation.
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No evidence has been discovered yet in Exeter relating to medicine and health in the Civil War.
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Little evidence survives from this time, although evidence suggests Exeter's cloth continued to be exported.
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Important evidence for defensive dress during the Civil War is represented by the museum's collection of armour used in Exeter.
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