Exwick's Early History
When the Domesday Book was compiled by William the Conqueror in 1086 Exwick was called 'Essoic' and was reported as being held by Eureuuacus. It contained 8 ploughs, 9 villeins, 5 serfs, 40 sheep, a mill, 3 acres of meadow, 3 acres of coppice and 50 acres of pasture. It is possible to download the Domesday pages for Exwick, with a modern day translation from the National Archives website if you are interested.
One of William the Conqueror's knights was Baldwin FitzGilbert (Baldwin de Brionne), a nephew by marriage. He was to become a very powerful man in the West Country, was made Governor of Exeter, Sheriff of Devon and built Okehampton Castle and Exeter's Rougemont Castle. Duke William granted Baldwin a number of manors (159 in Devon) and one of the manors was Exwick.
On Baldwin's death his son William FitzBaldwin inherited the title and family land and he made a gift of the manors of Cowick and Exwick to the French Benedictine abbey of Bec-Hellouin, who set up a cell of the abbey in Cowick. Cowick Priory managed the tithes and income from Exwick and other nearby manors. [The Bec Abbey had been founded by Herluin, a Norman knight who had left the court of Count Gilbert of Brionne (who was William FitzBaldwin's grandfather) to devote himself to a life of religion in 1031. Many of the followers of William the Conqueror sponsored Bec, which eventually became one of the major houses of medieval learning.]
During the reign of Henry V in the 15th Century, when England was at war with France, Cowick Priory was suppressed and the monks moved back to Normandy. It was refounded by his successor Henry VI in 1440 but was granted to Eton College in 1452 and then given to Tavistock Abbey in 1463 by Edward IV [see the National Register of Archives]. In 1467 they were restored to Eton, but Tavistock maintained that the priory had held conventual status and ought to be served by 'religious men yf eny coude be founde', and in 1478 secured confirmation of the king's earlier grant to them.
With the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1537, Tavistock Abbey was surrendered to the King and the monastery estate (which included the manors of Cowick and Exwick) was granted to John Lord Russell, the first Earl of Bedford in 1539.
The English Civil War between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1646 was a very difficult time for Exeter. Loyalties in the city were divided, and initially the Parliamentarian Roundheads triumphed. The Royalists laid siege against the city in 1643, eventually capturing it and making it their headquarters in the west. But in 1646 a Parliamentary force led by Sir Thomas Fairfax recaptured the city. He did not immediately besiege it, but placed garrisons in several of the neighbouring villages and manors, including Exwick. Exwick Higher Mill was occupied and fortified by the Parliamentarians and a 'substantial works' (earth works) is said to have been constructed at the mills.
In the latter part of the 17th Century wool began to play an increasingly important role in Exwick. There is more information about this in my page on Exwick's Industry.