Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities

By Tim Lambert Early Bakewell The Derbyshire town of Bakewell started as a Saxon settlement. It was called Beadeca’s wella, which meant Beadeca’s springs. Baedeca must have been a Saxon who settled by the warm springs that rise at Bakewell where limestone meets shale. Bakewell was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a kind of national… Continue reading A History of Bakewell

By Tim Lambert Banbury in the Middle Ages Banbury started as a village called Banna’s burh. (Burh is a Saxon word. It means a fortress or fortified settlement in time it became corrupted to ‘bury’). In the 12th century, the Bishops of Lincoln owned the village of Banbury. One of the bishops built a castle… Continue reading A History of Banbury

By Tim Lambert Basingstoke in the Middle Ages Basingstoke began as a Saxon village. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), it had a population of about 200. By the standards of the time, it was quite a large village. In Basingstoke, there were 3 watermills, which ground grain into flour. Basingstoke also had… Continue reading A History of Basingstoke

By Tim Lambert Roman Bath There is a legend that Bath was founded in 860 BC when Prince Bladud, father of King Lear, caught leprosy. He was banned from the court and was forced to look after pigs. The pigs also had a skin disease but after they wallowed in hot mud they were cured.… Continue reading A History of Bath

By Tim Lambert Danish and Saxon Bedford The town of Bedford was founded by the Danes. There may have been an existing settlement when they conquered this part of England in the late 9th century. Whether there was or not the Danes created a town at Bedford. They made a burh or fortified settlement north… Continue reading A History of Bedford

By Tim Lambert  Early Bermondsey Bermondsey takes its name from a Saxon landowner. It was Beormund’s eg. The word eg meant an island, a promontory of land or in this case an ‘island’ of dry land surrounded by marsh. In the Middle Ages, a Cluniac Abbey stood in the heart of the settlement. It was… Continue reading A History of Bermondsey

By Tim Lambert Beverley in the Middle Ages Beverley means beaver stream (beavers were once common in Britain). In about 705 a monastery was founded by the stream. In 721 John of Beverley, the Bishop of York died and was buried at the monastery. He was canonized (declared a saint) in 1037. It was said… Continue reading A History of Beverley

By Tim Lambert Early Birkenhead Birkenhead was once the headland with birch trees. It is not known exactly when the first settlement was founded at Birkenhead but in the mid-12th century, a Benedictine Priory was built there. At some point, a little hamlet grew up nearby and in 1277 King Edward I stayed at Birkenhead.… Continue reading A History of Birkenhead

By Tim Lambert Birmingham in the Middle Ages Birmingham is the second-largest city in England. It began as an Anglo-Saxon village. In the early 12th century it grew into a town. In 1166 the King gave the Lord of the Manor, Peter De Birmingham, the right to hold a weekly market at Birmingham. Once a… Continue reading A History of Birmingham

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to John Robinson ROMAN BISHOP’S STORTFORD Bishop’s Stortford began as a Roman settlement. It was on Stane Street, a major Roman road between London and Colchester. The many travelers through the area caused the small town to grow. In those days of slow communications, it would have taken days to travel… Continue reading A History of Bishop’s Stortford