By Tim Lambert Early Blandford Forum Blandford Forum began as a Saxon settlement by the River Stour. (It’s believed the river’s name is derived from a Saxon word meaning strong or mighty). At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Blandford was called Blaneford. It’s not certain where the ‘Blane’ part of the name… Continue reading A History of Blandford Forum
Category: Articles
Jack the Ripper in Havant?
By Tim Lambert About 6 pm on 26 November an 8-year-old boy called Percy Searle was walking along a lane between what is now Manor Close and Pallant House. (His mother sent him to get some material from a drapers shop in North Street). He was stabbed in the neck 3 times. One stab severed… Continue reading Jack the Ripper in Havant?
A History of Blendworth
By Tim Lambert Blendworth is a hamlet in Hampshire. It’s believed it was originally called Blaenda’s worth. A worth was an enclosure or farmstead. But the original settlement at Blendworth was slightly east of the present one. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 Blendworth was part of the manor of Chalton. (England… Continue reading A History of Blendworth
A History of Chippenham
By Tim Lambert Early Chippenham Chippenham was first recorded in 853 when the sister of Prince Alfred (the future King Alfred of Wessex) got married there. In 878 the Danes captured Chippenham. But King Alfred escaped. He rallied his men and defeated the Danes at the battle of Edington. At the time of the Domesday… Continue reading A History of Chippenham
A History of Carmarthen
By Tim Lambert Early Carmarthen The story of Carmarthen began when the Romans built a fort on the site about 75 AD. A civilian settlement soon grew up by the fort and it became a flourishing town called Moridunum. The town included an amphitheatre where people would have watched spectacles such as gladiators fighting. However,… Continue reading A History of Carmarthen
A History of Kendal
By Tim Lambert Early Kendal The Romans built a fort at Watercrook just south of Kendal. A civilian settlement grew up beside it. The fort’s garrison would have provided a market for locally made goods. But the fort was abandoned in the late 3rd century. In later centuries a settlement grew up at Kendal. It… Continue reading A History of Kendal
A History of Warminster
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 (minster was the Saxon word for a monastery).… Continue reading A History of Warminster
A Biography of Jack the Ripper
By Tim Lambert Jack the Ripper was a mysterious figure who stalked the East End of London in 1888. Jack the Ripper’s Victims Martha Tabram (?) Nobody is certain how many women Jack the Ripper killed. Most people think there were 5 victims but there may have been others. One possible victim was Martha Tabram.… Continue reading A Biography of Jack the Ripper
A History of Domestic Violence
By Tim Lambert Domestic violence or partner-on-partner violence is probably as old as the human race. In 1655 Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America decreed ‘No man shall strike his wife nor any woman her husband’. The punishment was a heavy fine or corporal punishment. This was one of the first laws in the Western… Continue reading A History of Domestic Violence
The Indigenous Australians
By Tim Lambert The indigenous people are believed to have arrived in Australia about 40,000 BC during an ice age when Australia was connected to Asia by a land bridge. Tasmania was cut off from Australia around 8,000 BC when the last ice age ended and the sea level rose. The Indigenous Australians were a… Continue reading The Indigenous Australians