Roaming with RAMM: Challenge 6 – Answer
And the answer is……..Lollard’s Tower (on Little Southernhay Lane)
Lollards Tower is one of the medieval additions to Exeter’s city wall, although the exact date it was constructed is still uncertain. It was named Lollard’s Tower after the followers of John Wycliffe, an Oxford academic, theologian and priest who, against the wishes of the Pope, translated the bible into English. His supporters were known as ‘Lollards’ which was the popular derogatory nickname given to those without an academic background, who were educated (if at all) only in English. It was taken from the Dutch word which roughly translated means ‘mumbler’ or ‘mutterer’. The tower was used as a prison, by Bishop John booth in 1462, to hold the Lollard heretics who followed Wycliffe, before they were taken to Southernhay to be burnt at the stake.
The doorway in the tower was made by order of the Privy Council, in 1623, to allow the Bishop to leave his garden without passing through the city. This was against the wishes of the Mayor and Corporation who feared it would introduce a weak point in the defences. In 1912, Lollards Tower was rebuilt and the coat of arms of Bishop Robertson (1903 to 1916) placed over the arched entrance known as Bishop Carey’s Postern.
If you would like to find out more about what Roman Exeter was like why not visit the Roman City of Exeter with Minecraft? RAMM has its own Minecraft map that you can download and use to explore the city in the 5th-century AD at end of the Roman Empire. You can walk where the Romans did and go in their fine buildings. The map includes links to Roman objects excavated in the city. Players can use these to find out more about the objects in the game. For more information take a look at our Minecraft page here: https://rammuseum.org.uk/roman-city-exeter-minecraft/