by tradition to have been beheaded by a scythe whilst praying
beside a well. A church is said to have been built in her honour so
early as 749. The present building has undergone repeated restorations,
but some ancient pillars still remain with sculptured capitals, and
there is also a representation of St. Sidwell, or Sidwella, whose
attributes are a well and a scythe. To the monastery he had founded
Athelstan presented some reputed relics of the saint.

At the top of Sidwell Street is St. Anne's Almshouse, one of the most
interesting foundations in the city. It was originally a hermitage, but
little is known about it until 1418, when it was "newly constructed",
and in 1561 Oliver and George Mainwaring founded a hospital for eight
poor people. The chapel is a small building that has retained its
piscina and two niches for holding figures. The almshouse was fortified
by Fairfax during the Civil War, and for many years the chapel was in a
ruinous condition, but it was restored early in the nineteenth century.
St. Anne's Day, 26 July, has been observed regularly by the inmates of
the charity since its foundation.

Retracing our steps to the beginning of High Street, and proceeding up
Castle Street, we reach the highest point of the city, the Red Mount,
crowned by the gateway and ruined towers of an ancient castle. The
fortress formed a part of the fortifications erected by Athelstan, and
the Red Tower, with its triangular-headed window, may be confidently
assigned to the Saxon era. During the Norman period the castle was
rebuilt by Brian de Molis. In Stephen's reign it was besieged and taken
from Earl Baldwin de Redvers, who was banished until the following
reign, when his possessions were restored. The castle belonged to the de
Redvers and Courtenay families until 1231, when Henry III presented it
to his brother Richard as part of the earldom of Cornwall. In 1537 Henry
VIII granted Exeter a charter giving the city the privilege of being a
county with its own sheriffs, excepting Rougemont Castle, which still
belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall.

[Illustration: ROUGEMONT CASTLE]

In 1774 a large portion of the castle ruins were cleared away, when
several interesting buildings were destroyed, among them the Chapel of
the Blessed Virgin, to make room for the present Assize Court, a plain
building with no pretensions to architectural beauty. On the right of
the castle yard is a little path leading to the top of the walls, when