Exeter is a town very well built, the streets are well pitch’d, spacious noble streetes, and a vast trade is Carryed on, as Norwitch is for Coapes Callamanco and damaske, soe this is for serges. There is an Increadible quantety of them made and sold in the town. There market day is Fryday which supplys with all things Like a faire almost; the markets for meate, fowle, ffish, garden things and the Dairy produce takes up 3 whole streetes besides the Large Market house set on stone pillars, w^{ch} runs a great Length on w^{ch} they Lay their packs of serges. Just by it is another walke w^{th} in pillars w^{ch} is for the yarne, the whole town and Country is Employ’d for at Least 20 mile round in spinning, weaveing, dressing and scouring, fulling and Drying of the serges. It turns the most money in a weeke of any thing in England. One weeke with another there is 10000 pound paid in ready money, Sometymes 15000 pound. The weavers brings in their serges and must have their money w^{ch} they Employ to provide them yarne to goe to work againe. There is alsoe a square Court with Penthouses round where the Malters are w^{th} Mault and oat meal, but the serge is the Chief manufacture. There is a prodigious quantety of their serges they never bring into the market but are in hired roomes w^{ch} are noted for it, for it would be impossible to have it altogether. The Carryers I met going w^{th} it, as thick, all Entring into town w^{th} their Loaded horses, they bring them all just from the Loome and soe they are put into the ffulling-mills, but first they will Clean and Scour their roomes with them, w^{ch} by the way gives noe pleasing perfume to a roome, the oyle and grease, and I should think it would Rather foull a roome than Cleanse it because of the oyles, but I perceive its otherwise Esteemed by them w^{ch} will send to their acquaintances y^t are tuckers the dayes the serges Comes in for a Rowle to Clean their house—this I was an Eye witness of. Then they Lay them in soack in vrine, then they soape them and soe put them into the ffulling-mills and soe worke them in the mills drye till they are thick enough then they turne water into them and so scower them. Y^e mill does draw out and gather in y^e serges, its a pretty divertion to see it, a sort of huge notch’d timbers Like great teethe;—one would thinke it should Injure the serges but it does not. Y^e mills draws in w^{th} such a great violence that if one stands neere it and it Catch a bitt of your Garments it would be ready to draw in y^e person even in a trice. When they are thus scour’d they drye them in racks strained out w^{ch} are as thick set one by another as will permitt y^e dresses to pass between, and huge Large fields occupy’d this way almost all round the town w^{ch} is to the river side; then when drye they pick out all knots then fold them w^{th} a paper between Every fold and so sett them on an jron plaite and screw down y^e press on them w^{ch} has another