was Lord Scrope, whose business it was to try the rebels. None could be
found, however, save the king's brother-in-law, St. Leger, and his
esquire, John Rame. Richard none the less determined to strike terror
into the hearts of all who wavered in their allegiance. So both men were
beheaded at the Carfax. This done, the king busied himself in studying
the surrounding country, and made careful note of the city and castle.
The military strength of Rougemont pleased him, though the name did not.
A west country accent, some say, gave it a sound like Ridgemount, too
close an echo of his rival's title. The incident is referred to by
Shakespeare in these well-known lines:

"Richmond! when I last was at Exeter,
The mayor in courtesy showed me the castle,
And called it Rougemont--at which name I started;
Because a bard of Ireland told me once,
I should not live long after I saw Richmond."

The castle was considerably injured a few years later when Perkin
Warbeck, at the head of his Cornishmen, attacked the city. The fight
seems to have been a long and furious one. The North Gate was burned,
and both there and at the East Gate the rebels were temporarily
successful. But after the Earl of Devon and his retinue came to the help
of the citizens the rebels were expelled and had to make their way to
Taunton, unsuccessful. Henry soon afterwards arrived bringing Perkin
Warbeck with him. By his clemency towards the rebels he created real
enthusiasm, so that the prisoners "hurled away their halters and cried
God Save the King."

By the time Charles I. came to the throne the castle was already showing
"gaping chinks and an aged countenance." Fairfax and his Roundheads
completed the ruin. But it was not war only which left the building as
we now see it. An ivy-covered gateway is all that remains. Yet from its
summit one has a fine view of the surrounding country, and can readily
understand of what strategical value its possession must have been in
"battles long ago."

[Illustration: ROUGEMONT CASTLE.
Photochrom Co. Ltd. Photo.]

[Illustration: THE GUILDHALL, EXETER.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]

The hand of the reformer proved stronger than that of the victorious
captain. What war had failed to do enterprising citizens accomplished in
times of peace. About the year 1770 the city fathers seem to have been
animated by an unholy passion for destruction. Not only was the house of
the Earls of Bedfo