Profile of tower at east angle of castle wall, c1860, Exeter

Drawing of the profile of tower at east angle of castle wall, c1860, Exeter

The City Wall of Exeter was built c200AD. 800 years later William the Conqueror took the city, and his first concern was to build a castle from which to control the area. He chose the highest point within the city wall, at Rougemont, and built a curtain wall within the north-east corner of the city using the existing Roman walls to enclose two sides of his stronghold. Towers stood at points around the castle walls to offer added security and viewpoints over the city and the landscape. One of these was the buttressed tower at the eastern point of the Castle wall where the Roman City wall adjoins the curtain wall. At this point the land drops away steeply into what is now Northernhay Gardens. Townsend’s sketch shows the dilapidated state of the walls at his time, with trees and bushes growing in the cracks. The sketch was done on site with notes about the type of foliage made to remind the artist of the details when he works on a finished drawing. Since Townsend’s time the city has come to appreciate the importance of preserving and conserving this wall as a key part of its heritage. 70% of Exeter’s City Wall has survived for 2000 years and this drawing is valuable evidence of its history. 

This sketch is pencil on paper, made in June 1850.

Related Collections

George Townsend

Prints and Drawings