Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities

By Tim Lambert Early Soberton In the 6th century AD, a people called the Jutes from Denmark invaded central Hampshire. A tribe called the Meon settled there and they gave their name to the River Meon. They founded Soberton. At first, it was called Sud (South) bere (barley) tun (farm or settlement). By the time… Continue reading A History of Soberton

By Tim Lambert Early Soham The village of Soham in Cambridgeshire began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. The Old English word ham meant a homestead or village but the origin of the first part of its name is uncertain. It may have been Sae ham meaning the homestead by the pool (sae). Early in the 7th… Continue reading A History of Soham

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 Early Spalding Spalding in Lincolnshire began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. The ‘ing’ was originally ingas meaning the people of. It’s not certain what ‘Spald’ meant. It may have come from a word meaning ditch or ravine. By the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086 Spalding had a population of over 400.… Continue reading A History of Spalding