Author: Tim Lambert

By Tim Lambert Early Southwick The village of Southwick was founded by the Saxons. Southwick means a south dairy farm. At some point, the farm grew into a small village. However, Southwick is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. Perhaps it was too small to merit a mention. The village was first mentioned in the… Continue reading A History of Southwick, Hampshire

By Tim Lambert Roman St Albans The history of St Albans began about 20 BC when the local Celtic tribe built their capital there. It would have been a ‘town’ of wooden huts with thatched roofs surrounded by a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade. In 43 AD the Romans invaded Britain.… Continue reading A History of St Albans

By Tim Lambert Early Austell St Austell takes its name from the Cornish Saint Austol. It is not mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086). It first appeared in writing in the mid-12th century. In the Middle Ages, St Austell was a very small market town. It probably had a population of only a few hundred.… Continue reading A History of St Austell

By Tim Lambert Early St Helens St Helens takes its name from a chapel, which was first mentioned in 1552. It was built where the road from Ormskirk to Warrington crossed the road from Prescot to Ashton. At that time the area that is now St Helens was divided into 4 townships. They were Eccleston,… Continue reading A History of St Helens

By Tim Lambert Saxon and Medieval Stafford In 913 the king’s sister, Ethelfleda, created a fortified settlement at Stafford called a burh. It was probably protected by a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden stockade on top. (Later it was replaced by stone walls). In the event of a Danish attack, all the… Continue reading A History of Stafford

By Tim Lambert Early Stamford In the 9th century, the Danes captured eastern England. They built a fortified settlement or burh north of the River Welland. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a sort of national diary) says that in 918 the Saxon King Edward built a burh south of the river and the people loyal to the… Continue reading A History of Stamford

By Tim Lambert Early Stevenage Stevenage began as a Saxon village in 7th Century Hertfordshire. It was called Stith ac, which means strong oak. In those days trees were used as meeting places and perhaps one large oak used in that way gave Stevenage its name. At any rate by the time of the Domesday… Continue reading A History of Stevenage

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Pat Churchill Early Stockport Stockport began as a small village. However, in the 13th century, Stockport grew into a town. In 1260 the people of Stockport were given a charter, which gave them certain rights including the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs. (In the Middle Ages fairs… Continue reading A History of Stockport

By Tim Lambert Early Stockton on Tees Stockton began as a small village belonging to the Bishop of Durham. Sometime in the 13th century (the exact date is not known), the Bishop made the village of Stockton into a borough. In the Middle Ages most peasants were serfs, halfway between slaves and free men. The… Continue reading A History of Stockton on Tees

By Tim Lambert Stratford upon Avon was founded by the Saxons when they invaded what is now Warwickshire in the 7th century AD. The name Stratford is made up of Celtic and Saxon words. It was the straet ford that is the ford by the Roman road. Avon is a Celtic word meaning river or… Continue reading A History of Stratford upon Avon