By Tim Lambert Early Warminster The remains of two Roman villas were found near Warminster. However, the modern town dates from the Saxon era. The origin of the name Warminster is not certain, but it’s probably derived from the name of the River Were and a minster (a minster was a monastery church). St Denys… Continue reading A History of Warminster
Category: Histories of British towns, villages and cities
A History of Warnford
By Tim Lambert In the Bronze Age, people built burial chambers called barrows at Beacon Hill near Warnford. So human beings have lived and farmed in the area for thousands of years. However, in the 6th century AD, a people called the Jutes from Denmark settled in central Hampshire. A tribe called the Meon gave… Continue reading A History of Warnford
A History of Warrington
By Tim Lambert Early Warrington At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 Warrington was only a small village but in time it grew larger and more important. St Elphin’s Church existed by 1086 and probably much earlier. Furthermore, the Normans built a wooden castle at Warrington around 1070 AD. By the beginning of… Continue reading A History of Warrington
A History of Warwick
By Tim Lambert Medieval Warwick Warwick began as a Saxon settlement. The name Warwick is derived from two Saxon words, wering, which meant weir, and wic, which meant houses or settlement. So it was wering wic the settlement by the weir. In the 10th century, Warwick was made into a fortified town or burh. The… Continue reading A History of Warwick
A History of Waterlooville
By Tim Lambert The Beginning of Waterlooville Waterlooville and Cowplain did not exist before the year 1815. Before then it was part of the Forest of Bere, which stretched from the border of Sussex to Winchester. Today Queens Inclosure is one of the last remnants of the forest. On the southern fringe of the forest… Continue reading A History of Waterlooville
A History of Wellingborough
By Tim Lambert Early Wellingborough Wellingborough began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. It was once called Waendel’s burh, which means Waendel’s fortified settlement. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Wellingborough probably had a population of about 250. By the standards of the time, it was a large village. (A typical village would be… Continue reading A History of Wellingborough
A History of West Meon
By Tim Lambert Early West Meon In the 6th century, a people called the Jutes from Denmark settled along the Meon Valley. (As late as the 18th century, the Meon Valley was called Jutedene, which meant Jute valley). The tribe that settled there was called the Meon wara (wara meant people or tribe). They gave… Continue reading A History of West Meon
A History of Westbury
By Tim Lambert Early Westbury The town of Westbury in Wiltshire began as a Saxon settlement. It was called west burh, meaning west fortified settlement. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 Westbury probably had a population of about 700. It would seem very small to us but by the standards of the… Continue reading A History of Westbury
A History of Westminster
By Tim Lambert Early Westminster Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) built a royal palace in the countryside outside the walls of London. He also built a church, Westminster Abbey, consecrated in December 1065. In December 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Since then every English monarch has been crowned there (except for Edward V and… Continue reading A History of Westminster
A History of Weymouth
By Tim Lambert Early Weymouth In the Middle Ages, there were two small settlements on either side of the River Wey. They were Weymouth and Melcombe. Both grew into little ports. In 1252 Weymouth was made a borough (being made a borough gave it certain liberties). Melcome was made a borough in 1280. In the… Continue reading A History of Weymouth