Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Helen St John-Mosse Early Farnham There was a Roman settlement on the site of Farnham. Pottery kilns were discovered in the 20th century so an industry existed there. The remains of a Roman villa and bath were also found, on the site of Roman Way. However, the modern town of… Continue reading A History of Farnham

By Tim Lambert Early Fratton In the 6th century, the Saxons landed on Portsea Island. At that time most of it was marshy but the Saxons built a settlement in the middle of the island. It was called Frodda ing tun, which means the tun (farm or village) belonging to Frodda. In time the name… Continue reading A History of Fratton, Portsmouth

By Tim Lambert Saxon Frome Frome began as a Saxon village. The name Frome is believed to come from a Celtic river name fram, meaning, brisk or fair. The history of Frome begins in the 7th century AD. About 685 the Abbot of Malmesbury, St Aldhelm, founded a monastery there. Soon a settlement grew up… Continue reading A History of Frome

By Tim Lambert There was a Roman settlement on the site of Gillingham. However, the modern town began as a Saxon village. Its name was probably Gylla inga ham, which means the village belonging to Gylla. By the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086 Gillingham was a large settlement. It had a population of… Continue reading A History of Gillingham

By Tim Lambert Glasgow in the Middle Ages Glasgow was probably founded in the 6th century when St Mungo built a church at a place called Glas Gu. (It means green place). A fishing settlement at the green place eventually grew into a small town. Glasgow was given a bishop in 1115, indicating it was… Continue reading A History of Glasgow

By Tim Lambert The Glastonbury Myths There are many legends about Glastonbury so let us start with these. St Dunstan was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey between 940 and 960. He then became Archbishop of Canterbury and he was buried when he died. In 1188 the monks of Glastonbury Abbey produced a body, which they claimed… Continue reading A History of Glastonbury

By Tim Lambert Roman Gloucester Gloucester began as a Roman town. It lies at the first point where the river Severn can be easily crossed so it was a natural place to build a town. About 49 AD the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing at Kingsholm. In 64 AD they built… Continue reading A History of Gloucester

By Tim Lambert Godalming in the Middle Ages Godalming began as a Saxon village. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), it was a flourishing community. Godalming may have had a population of around 400. It might seem tiny to us but by the standards of the time, Godalming was a large village. At… Continue reading A History of Godalming

By Tim Lambert Early Gosport Gosport was founded early in the 13th century. The name Gosport is probably a corruption of goose port, perhaps because wild geese gathered there. In the Middle Ages Gosport was only a small market town and port. It only had a few hundred inhabitants. Many of the men in Gosport… Continue reading A History of Gosport

By Tim Lambert Early Grantham Grantham began as an Anglo-Saxon village. The Anglo-Saxon word ‘ham’ meant village. The ‘Grant’ probably comes from somebody’s name. Maybe it was Granta’s ham. Anyway by the 11th century, the village of Grantham grew into a market town for the surrounding villages. (In those days there were no shops so… Continue reading A History of Grantham