Regional & Foreign Trade

The importation into the area of desirable objects and materials is evident in the prehistoric collections, here as elsewhere.

With the arrival of the Roman army the far greater scale of imports, supporting a large population which expected to maintain a Roman life-style, is evident in the wide range of imported goods among the archaeological finds - imported from the Mediterranean, southern and central France, the Rhineland and various parts of southern England.

With the departure of the legion the range of imported goods declines sharply but there are examples of Mediterranean, Rhenish and the ubiquitous pottery brought from Gaul. The presence of western French pottery in the late Roman period is unusual in Roman Britain.

Foreign trade was evidently a significant element in the life of the late Saxon town, and deposits of Saxon and Norman date regularly contain pottery sherds imported from Normandy, with a scatter of other wares from the coastline between the Loire and the mouth of the Rhine. The strength of trade with France differs from the picture in South-east England, where imports from the Low Countries are much more common.

For a long period, c. 1250-1650, Exeter’s foreign trade centred on two main areas: first northern France, especially Brittany and Normandy, and second western France, especially the ports of Bordeaux and La Rochelle. Other long-lived trades were with Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland. The late 17th century saw the rapid expansion of the city’s foreign trade, the central focus now shifting to the Low Countries, especially Rotterdam. In the early 18th century Amsterdam became an important trading partner.

The growth of the Atlantic trades was a great feature of the Golden Age. The Newfoundland fish trade had been of great importance to the south Devon ports since Elizabeth’s reign, but the boom years around 1700 saw flourishing links with the West Indies, Virginia and New England. All these foreign trades waned in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as the city’s activities as a port were overtaken by other western English ports with better natural advantages.

In the Middle Ages coastal trade had been more important to Exeter than foreign trade; and is evidenced in the museum’s collection of ceramics, building materials and other objects. The trade with London has long history dating at least until Norman times. The city’s role as a regional centre can be traced in the activities of the city’s craftspeople.