Warden's bronze seal of Exe Bridge dating from the 1200s
From the collections at RAMM on loan from Devon Archaeology. Loan No. L88/b
Victorian impression of the seal of Exe Bridge
From the collections at RAMM, Accession No. 827/1910
Dating from the 1200s
By Oliver Blackmore, RAMM Assistant Curator of Antiquities
This seal was used by the wardens of the Exe Bridge in Medieval times. It was their job to manage the lands and monies donated for keeping the bridge in good order. The seal is made of bronze. It shows the arches of the bridge. Above these is a chapel (with a cross above the roof) and two other buildings. The chapel might be St Edmund's, built with the bridge.
The inscription reads S'PONTIS EXE CIVTATIS EXONIE - the seal of Exe Bridge of the city of Exeter. It is in mirror writing so that it was the right way round when it was stamped onto wax.
The earliest surviving impression of this seal is attached to a document of 1256-64. This means that the seal itself is probably even older than this.