Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Godalming in the Middle Ages Godalming began as a Saxon village. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), it was a flourishing community. Godalming may have had a population of around 400. It might seem tiny to us but by the standards of the time, Godalming was a large village. At… Continue reading A History of Godalming

By Tim Lambert Roman Gloucester Gloucester began as a Roman town. It lies at the first point where the river Severn can be easily crossed so it was a natural place to build a town. About 49 AD the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing at Kingsholm. In 64 AD they built… Continue reading A History of Gloucester

By Tim Lambert Early Grantham Grantham began as an Anglo-Saxon village. The Anglo-Saxon word ‘ham’ meant village. The ‘Grant’ probably comes from somebody’s name. Maybe it was Granta’s ham. Anyway by the 11th century, the village of Grantham grew into a market town for the surrounding villages. (In those days there were no shops so… Continue reading A History of Grantham

By Tim Lambert Early Gosport Gosport was founded early in the 13th century. The name Gosport is probably a corruption of goose port, perhaps because wild geese gathered there. In the Middle Ages Gosport was only a small market town and port. It only had a few hundred inhabitants. Many of the men in Gosport… Continue reading A History of Gosport

By Tim Lambert Great Yarmouth in the Middle Ages Today Great Yarmouth is a famous seaside town but for centuries it was an important fishing port. Yarmouth was famous for herrings. Great Yarmouth was founded by the Angles. By the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086, it had grown into a little town with… Continue reading A History of Great Yarmouth

By Tim Lambert Early Guildford Guildford began as a Saxon village by a ford. It was called the guilden (golden) Ford. It may have been called that because of the golden flowers that grew at the riverside or because of the golden sands on the banks of the river. The village of Guildford turned into… Continue reading A History of Guildford

By Tim Lambert Grimsby in the Middle Ages The Danes founded Grimsby in the 9th century AD. The old Danish word for village was ‘by’ and this one was probably Grim’s by or Grimmr’s by (by meant village). By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), Grimsby had a population of over 200. By the… Continue reading A History of Grimsby

By Tim Lambert Early Greenwich Greenwich began as a Saxon village. It was called green wic (the word wic meant a port). So from the beginning, it was a place where ships and boats were tied up. From the beginning, Greenwich was a fishing village as well as a farming settlement. The original St Alfege’s… Continue reading A History of Greenwich

By Tim Lambert Early Hambledon Hambledon has been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1997 stone axes were found in West Street. They were made about 2,500 BC. At that time people in England lived by farming but they made stone tools. Much later there was a Roman villa by Bury Lodge. However, ‘modern’ Hambledon… Continue reading A History of Hambledon

By Tim Lambert Early Hamble le Rice Hamble began when a people called the Jutes settled in southern Hampshire. There is however no mention of Hamble in the Domesday Book. For centuries most of the men in Hamble le Rice made their living from the sea, although a few worked as farmers. Hamble le Rice… Continue reading A History of Hamble le Rice