Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Early Stevenage Stevenage began as a Saxon village in 7th Century Hertfordshire. It was called Stith ac, which means strong oak. In those days trees were used as meeting places and perhaps one large oak used in that way gave Stevenage its name. At any rate by the time of the Domesday… Continue reading A History of Stevenage

By Tim Lambert Early Stamford In the 9th century, the Danes captured eastern England. They built a fortified settlement or burh north of the River Welland. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a sort of national diary) says that in 918 the Saxon King Edward built a burh south of the river and the people loyal to the… Continue reading A History of Stamford

By Tim Lambert Saxon and Medieval Stafford In 913 the king’s sister, Ethelfleda, created a fortified settlement at Stafford called a burh. It was probably protected by a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden stockade on top. (Later it was replaced by stone walls). In the event of a Danish attack, all the… Continue reading A History of Stafford

By Tim Lambert Stratford upon Avon was founded by the Saxons when they invaded what is now Warwickshire in the 7th century AD. The name Stratford is made up of Celtic and Saxon words. It was the straet ford that is the ford by the Roman road. Avon is a Celtic word meaning river or… Continue reading A History of Stratford upon Avon

By Tim Lambert Early Stockton on Tees Stockton began as a small village belonging to the Bishop of Durham. Sometime in the 13th century (the exact date is not known), the Bishop made the village of Stockton into a borough. In the Middle Ages most peasants were serfs, halfway between slaves and free men. The… Continue reading A History of Stockton on Tees

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Pat Churchill Early Stockport Stockport began as a small village. However, in the 13th century, Stockport grew into a town. In 1260 the people of Stockport were given a charter, which gave them certain rights including the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs. (In the Middle Ages fairs… Continue reading A History of Stockport

By Tim Lambert Early Swanmore In the 6th century AD, a people called the Jutes, from Denmark invaded Hampshire and they settled in the Meon Valley. The particular tribe who settled in that area were called the Meon and they gave their name to the river. They probably founded Swanmore. Mere is an old word… Continue reading A History of Swanmore

By Tim Lambert Sunderland in the Middle Ages Sunderland was made a town in 1154 when it was granted a charter. (A document granting the townspeople certain rights such as the right to hold a weekly market). Sunderland slowly grew. However, it only had a population of a few hundred in the Middle Ages. It… Continue reading A History of Sunderland

By Tim Lambert Titchfield in the Middle Ages In the 6th century AD, people called the Jutes from Denmark settled the Isle of Wight and part of Hampshire. A tribe called the Meon settled in the Meon Valley and they founded the settlement at Titchfield. Titchfield was originally a feld, which was an open area… Continue reading A History of Titchfield

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Valerie Luff Medieval Taunton Taunton began as a Saxon village in Somerset. It was called Tone Tun. The Saxon word tun means farm or estate. The word Tone is Celtic and may mean a roaring river. By the 10th century, Taunton had grown from a village into a small town… Continue reading A History of Taunton