The Siege of Exeter occurred in 1068 when William the Conqueror marched a combined army of Anglo-Normans west to mop up pockets of Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 resistance.

After the Norman Conquest, the Saxons of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

 rallied at Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 in support of the remnants of the Godwin

Godwin, Earl of Wessex

Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex...

 family. The citizens, together with Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...

’s mother, Gytha

Gytha Thorkelsdóttir

Gytha Thorkelsdottir , also called Githa, was the daughter of Thorgil Sprakling . She married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex....

, refused to swear fealty to William or pay tax, and shut the gates against him. The Anglo-Normans led by William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford

William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford

William FitzOsbern , Lord of Breteuil, in Normandy, was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England...

 were summoned to capture the city. After a siege of 18 days, Exeter capitulated (though Gytha escaped), and Rougemont Castle

Rougemont Castle

Rougemont Castle is the historic castle of Exeter.The castle was first built in 1068 to help William the Conqueror maintain control over the city. It is perched on an ancient volcanic plug, overlaying remains of the Roman city of Isca Dumnoniorum...

 was established and garrisoned by the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

.

In 1069 there was a local rising. The Earl, in conjunction with Brian of Brittany

Brian of Brittany

Brian of Brittany in English, or Brien de Bretagne in French, was a Breton noble who fought for William I of England. He was born in about 1042, the second son of Odo, Count of Penthièvre...

, attacked the Cornishmen

Cornish people

The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...

 west of Exeter forcing a retreat. William the Conqueror granted lands in Cornwall to Brian of Brittany, who later commenced the construction of Launceston Castle

Launceston Castle

Launceston Castle is located in the town of Launceston, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. .-Early history:The castle is a Norman motte and bailey earthwork castle raised by Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of William the Conqueror shortly after the Norman conquest, possibly as early as 1067...

, Trematon Castle

Trematon Castle

Trematon Castle is situated near Saltash in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is similar in style to the later Restormel Castle, with a 12th century keep. Trematon Castle overlooks Plymouth Sound and was built probably by Robert, Count of Mortain on the ruins of an earlier Roman fort: it is a...

 and Bossiney

Bossiney

Bossiney is a village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy.-History:...

Castle.