the Earls of Devon and the citizens; but on the
attainder of Henry, Marquis of Exeter, in 1558, the property reverted to
the Crown. On the conclusion of the Prayer-Book Riots the island was
granted to the city by Edward VI, as a reward for the services it had
rendered the authorities. Most of the old portions of the island have
been destroyed, many of them in recent years, but an interesting
specimen of a Tudor house remains with a covering of slates somewhat
resembling scale armour. Shields appear in the ornamentation, one of
them bearing the Tudor rose. At one time this style of wall covering was
very common in Exeter, but the example in Exe Island is the only one now
remaining.

On the south side of Fore Street stands St Olave's Church, where,
according to Domesday, a church with the same dedication existed before
the Conquest. It is said traditionally to have been built by Gytha,
Harold's mother, in order that masses might be said for the souls of her
son and Earl Godwin. William I gave the church to the monks of Battle
Abbey, in whose possession it remained until the Reformation. More than
a century later St. Olave's was lent to the French Huguenot refugees,
many of whom settled in Exeter where they established an important
woollen industry. The present church bears few indications of antiquity,
beyond some Norman arches and a little early carving in the tower.

At the lower end of Fore Street is West Street, marking the western
limit of the old walls. A right-hand turn leads to St. Edmund's Church,
built in the thirteenth century at one end of the old bridge, when it
was known as _St. Edmund Super pontem_. In 1831 the original structure
was pulled down and the present building begun. It is said to stand
upon some of the arches of the ancient bridge. Turning eastwards we
reach the foot of Stepcote Hill, and the church of St. Mary Steps. A
remarkable exterior feature is the old clock and figures, known locally
as "Matthew the Miller". The dial is enriched with basso-rilievos
representing the four seasons, and in a niche just above is a small
effigy of Henry VIII in a sitting posture, who nods his head as each
hour is struck. On each side is a military figure, their morions crowned
with feathers, javelins held in their right hands, and small hammers in
their left hands, with which they alternately strike the quarter hours
on two small bells at their feet. The name of "Matthew the Miller" is
said to have originated