Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Sharon Court Early Somerstown Somerstown was founded in the early 19th century. Until 1809 Portsmouth consisted of Old Portsmouth and Portsea. Then in 1809 the ‘mineral’ streets (Copper Street, Stone Street, etc.) were built outside the city walls. Jubilee Terrace was built in 1810 and Southsea grew into a middle-class… Continue reading A History of Somerstown, Portsmouth

By Tim Lambert Early Somerton In 658 The Saxons defeated the older Roman-Celtic people and captured eastern Somerset. The Saxons gave Somerton its name. It was the summer tun. The Saxon word tun meant hamlet or farmstead. It is not clear why it was the summer hamlet. Perhaps people grazed cattle on the Levels during… Continue reading A History of Somerton

By Tim Lambert In Memory of Henry Leeves Roman Southampton About 70 AD the Romans built a town on a bend in the River Itchen, where Bitterne now stands. The Roman town near Southampton was called Clausentum. The streets were laid out in a grid pattern and they were graveled. All the buildings in the… Continue reading A History of Southampton

By Tim Lambert Early Southport Southport is a seaside resort in Merseyside. Southport grew up from the end of the 18th century. At that time staying by the sea and bathing in seawater became fashionable among the rich and famous and several seaside towns were founded. Southport was founded in 1792 when an innkeeper named… Continue reading A History of Southport

By Tim Lambert Early Southsea Henry VIII built a castle, east of the town of Portsmouth, overlooking the sea. Southsea Castle, as it is called, was ready in 1544. However, during the Civil War in 1642, the military governor of Portsmouth declared for the king. Parliament sent men to besiege Portsmouth and Southsea Castle was… Continue reading A History of Southsea

By Tim Lambert Southwark in the Middle Ages The Romans built a ‘suburb’ south of the River Thames on the site of modern Southwark. However, it was abandoned in the 5th century when the Romans left Britain. Yet under the Saxons, a new ‘suburb’ grew up and flourished. It was called the South work and… Continue reading A History of Southwark

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 Modern St Andrews St Andrews is named after Scotland’s patron saint. According to legend in the 8th century, a Greek monk called St Rule or St Regulus brought some of the bones of St Andrew to Scotland. In the Middle Ages, people flocked to visit his remains. In those days people believed… Continue reading A History of St Andrews

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