Exeter's medieval cathedral, with two Norman towers outside and the longest unbroken Gothic stone vault in the world within
Exeter became a cathedral city in 1050, when the bishop’s seat moved here from Crediton. The Normans built a new cathedral with two massive square towers, and when the rest was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style between the late 1200s and about 1400, the towers were kept. Because there is no tower over the middle of the church, the ribbed stone vault runs unbroken for about 96 m from end to end, the longest medieval vault of its kind anywhere. Look out too for the astronomical clock, an early set of misericords (carved ledges under the choir seats for the clergy to lean on) and the minstrels’ gallery carved with angels playing instruments. The cathedral stands on its green in the middle of Exeter, about 500 m from Exeter Central station.
