Form & Growth of the City

Following the virtual abandonment of the Roman town in the early 5th century, most of the area within the walls seems to have returned to agricultural use. However, at the centre of the walled area a burial ground, probably Christian in character, came into use during the 5th century in the area now covered by the grass of the western side of Cathedral Close. In this same area a minster (monastery) was established by the late 7th century; here Boniface was educated around AD 680. It became a cathedral in 1050, when Bishop Leofric moved his seat here from rural Crediton. The site of the minster, surrounded by its ancient burial ground, was excavated in the early 1970s to the west of the present cathedral. When the new Norman cathedral was built after 1114 the old minster became the parish church of St Mary Major.