Category: Articles

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 Hampstead Hampstead began as a Saxon village. Its name was once hamstede, which meant homestead. For centuries it was just a quiet village like many others in England where the people grew crops and grazed animals. However, in the late 17th century, Hampstead, like many villages near London began to develop… Continue reading A History of Hampstead

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

By Tim Lambert Harwich in the Middle Ages Harwich was not mentioned in the Domesday Book so at that time if anyone lived there it must have been a very small settlement. (The name Harwich is believed to be derived from the old words here wic, meaning army camp because the Danes camped there in… Continue reading A History of Harwich

By Tim Lambert Medieval Hartlepool About 640 AD a woman named Hieu founded a monastery on the site of Hartlepool. Soon a fishing village grew up nearby. The Danes destroyed the monastery in the 9th century but the village of Hartlepool continued through the centuries. The village was first mentioned in the year 1153. By… Continue reading A History of Hartlepool