Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities

By Tim Lambert Early Middlesbrough Until the 19th century, Middlesbrough was a hamlet. In 1829 it had only 40 inhabitants but things were about to change dramatically. From 1825 coal from the South Durham coalfield was taken by train from Darlington to Stockton on Tees. From there it was taken by train to other parts… Continue reading A History of Middlesbrough

By Tim Lambert Early Milton Abbas Milton Abbas was originally called Middleton, which meant middle tun the middle farm or hamlet. In about 933 a Saxon king, Athelstan founded a monastery there. In 964 King Edgar replaced the monks there with Benedictines. The settlement of Middleton thrived during the Middle Ages and eventually, it grew… Continue reading A History of Milton Abbas

By Tim Lambert Early Milton The Saxons landed founded small villages on Portsea Island. One of them was middle tun. The word tun meant farm or small village. This one was in the middle between Froddington (Fratton) and the sea. Eastney was eastern eg (the Saxon word eg meant island). In the Middle Ages Milton… Continue reading A History of Milton, Portsmouth

By Tim Lambert The village of Montacute gets its name from the Latin words Mons Acutis, which means pointed hill. (In the Middle Ages all educated people spoke Latin and the names of places were often given in Latin in documents). In the 11th century, according to an old legend Tostig, a lieutenant of King… Continue reading A History of Montacute

By Tim Lambert Early Morecambe Morecambe is a seaside town in Lancashire. For hundreds of years, it was a little village called Poulton-le-Sands. Its name comes from the words pol meaning pool, and tun, meaning hamlet or settlement. By the end of the century, the suffix Le-Sands was added. Nearby were the little villages of… Continue reading A History of Morecambe

By Tim Lambert Early Narborough Narborough is a village in Leicestershire located 6 miles Southwest of Leicester. Narborough was founded by the Anglo-Saxons. Its name was originally nor burh, which means north fort or fortified house. In the 7th century, the Saxons advanced across Leicestershire and Narborough must have once been an outpost of their… Continue reading A History of Narborough

By Tim Lambert Early Newark on Trent Newark began as a fortified Anglo-Saxon settlement. Its name comes from Old English words meaning “new fort”. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, it may have had a population of about 350. By the standards of the time, it was a large village. After 1092,… Continue reading A History of Newark on Trent

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to T/SGT Wayne F. Laubert, 2LT John P. Mockus, and 2LT Charles A Crooks Newbury in the Middle Ages Newbury was founded sometime after the Norman Conquest of 1066. At that time trade and commerce were increasing in England and many new towns were created. The Lord of the Manor created… Continue reading A History of Newbury

By Tim Lambert Newcastle Under Lyme in the Middle Ages The ‘new’ castle which gave the town its name was built by the Normans. Originally it was made of wood but it was later rebuilt in stone. We are not sure why it was called the ‘new’ castle. Presumably, there was an older castle or… Continue reading A History of Newcastle Under Lyme

By Tim Lambert Newcastle in the Middle Ages The city of Newcastle Upon Tyne was founded at the lowest place the Tyne could be easily crossed. In 1080 the Normans built a wooden fort to safeguard the crossing. They also erected a wooden bridge. (The ‘new castle’ was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century).… Continue reading A History of Newcastle Upon Tyne