Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Roman Dorchester Dorchester was founded by the Romans. (Although the area was inhabited for thousands of years before they arrived. Stone age farmers erected the enclosure known as Maumbury Rings). The Romans invaded Southeast England in 43 AD and they quickly subdued the area we now call Dorset. By about 60 AD… Continue reading A History of Dorchester

By Tim Lambert Early Droxford Before 2,000 BC, Neolithic (stone-age) farmers lived in the Droxford area. They built a long barrow (a burial chamber) on the site of the village. Much later in the 6th century AD, a people called the Jutes from Denmark invaded central Hampshire. A tribe called the Meon settled in the… Continue reading A History of Droxford

By Tim Lambert Dudley in the Middle Ages Dudley began as a Saxon village. It was originally called Dudda’s leah. The Saxon word leah meant a clearing in a forest. Dudley later became known as the capital of the Black Country. In the 11th century, a castle was built at Dudley. At first, it was… Continue reading A History of Dudley

By Tim Lambert Anglo-Saxon Durham Durham was founded by monks. A man named Cuthbert was once Bishop of Lindisfarne. After he died in 687 people claimed that miracles took place at his grave (people believed that dead bodies could work miracles). In 698 his body was exhumed and they discovered that it had not decomposed.… Continue reading A History of Durham

By Tim Lambert Early Dunster Dunster began as a Saxon village. Its name means Dun’s or Dunn’s Torre or Craggy Hill. We don’t know who Dun or Dunn was but he must have been a powerful Saxon. A Norman named William de Mohun built a castle at Dunster. At first, it was made of wood… Continue reading A History of Dunster

By Tim Lambert Roman Dunstable Dunstable began as a Roman town. Long before the Romans came to Britain there was a track called the Icknield Way, which crossed the middle of England. In the 2nd century, the Romans built a road called Watling Street, which crossed Icknield Way at the point where Dunstable stands today.… Continue reading A History of Dunstable

By Tim Lambert For centuries the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset was dominated by the Abbey. Orc the steward of King Canute and his wife Thola founded Abbotsbury Abbey in the 11th century. In time a thriving settlement grew up by the abbey. In the 13th century King Edward I granted the people of Abbotsbury… Continue reading A History of Abbotsbury

By Tim Lambert Andover in the Middle Ages Andover probably gets its name from the old words on dubr, which means ash (tree) stream. Andover began as a Saxon village. Andover first appears in history in 950 AD when the king built a royal hunting lodge there. Then in the year 962, another king called… Continue reading A History of Andover

By Tim Lambert Saxon Amesbury According to an old legend, Amesbury was founded by a man named Ambrosius Aurelianus, who was King Arthur’s uncle. In reality, Amesbury takes its name from a Celtic hill fort. It was built sometime before Christ. The fort is called Vespasian’s Camp though, in fact, it has nothing to do… Continue reading A History of Amesbury

By Tim Lambert Aylesbury in the Middle Ages Aylesbury started as a Saxon settlement called Aegel’s burgh. Burgh is a Saxon word meaning fort or fortified settlement. It is possible Saxon Aylesbury had a ditch and earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. By the 11th century, Aylesbury had a mint and probably had… Continue reading A History of Aylesbury