Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Early Wincanton Today Wincanton is a pretty village in Somerset but it was once an important market town. It was once called wincawel tun. The word wincawel is Celtic and means white cawel (cawel being the original name of the River Cale. Perhaps the water once rushed past and looked white.) A… Continue reading A History of Wincanton

By Tim Lambert Early Wigan Wigan began as a village but in the 13th century, it grew into a town. In 1246 the king granted Wigan a charter (a document giving the people certain rights). From then on Wigan had weekly markets. (In the Middle Ages there were few shops so if you wished to… Continue reading A History of Wigan

By Tim Lambert Wickham in the Middle Ages In Roman times Wickham was on the road from Winchester to Chichester. There was probably a small Roman settlement at Wickham along the main road. After the Romans left people called the Jutes from Denmark invaded central Hampshire. The tribe who settled there were called the Meon… Continue reading A History of Wickham

By Tim Lambert Medieval Wisbech The town of Wisbech began as a village. Its name may mean the bank (bec) by the marshy meadow (Wisc). By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), Wisbech was a large village. It probably had a population of about 350. By the standards of the time, Wisbech was quite… Continue reading A History of Wisbech

By Tim Lambert Early Winkleigh Winkleigh gets its name from two Saxon words. The word wincel meant a corner and the word Leah meant a clearing in a forest. So it was wincel Leah the corner clearing. William the Conqueror gave the manor of Winkleigh to his wife Matilda. At the time of the Domesday… Continue reading A History of Winkleigh

By Tim Lambert Early Windsor Windsor began as a Saxon village. The name Windsor is believed to be a corruption of the Saxon words ‘windlass Oran’ meaning a bank with a windlass. After the Saxons founded the settlement it grew into a town because of its position by a river. In those days it was… Continue reading A History of Windsor

By Tim Lambert Roman Worcester The city of Worcester was founded by the Romans about 50 AD. It stood on the Roman road from Wroxeter to Gloucester so a considerable amount of traffic passed through. Soon Worcester was a flourishing little town. In Roman Worcester, there were many craftsmen such as blacksmiths, carpenters, bakers, and… Continue reading A History of Worcester

By Tim Lambert Early Wolverhampton The story of Wolverhampton begins in 985 when a Saxon lady named Wulfruna was given land at Heanton. In 994 she founded a minster church (a church with a monastery attached). The settlement by the monastery grew larger and in time its name changed to Wulfruna’s Heanton and later to… Continue reading A History of Wolverhampton

By Tim Lambert Early Worthing Worthing began as a Saxon village. It may have been called Worth or Wurtha ingas which means the settlement (belonging to) the people of Worth or Wurtha. Whatever the origin of its name for centuries Worthing was just a hamlet where farmers lived. However, in the 18th century, its fortunes… Continue reading A History of Worthing

By Tim Lambert Aberdeen in the Middle Ages The name Aberdeen probably comes from the word aber (meaning mouth of the river) Don. Aberdeen was probably founded by the 8th century AD as a fishing settlement. However, by the early 12th century Aberdeen had grown into a town. One sign of this came in 1136… Continue reading A History of Aberdeen