Wessex
The Impact of the Vikings on Churches in Wessex
Hampshire and its neighbouring counties of Berkshire and Wiltshire were at the core of West Saxon Wessex when the Viking raids swept through. The emerging Christian churches were attacked and the fragile shoots of the new religion stamped upon.
Read MoreWherwell Abbey
The quintessentially English village of Wherwell has played an important part in the history of the county of Hampshire, hidden beneath its meadows is the Abbey of Wherwell, established in the C10th century as a form of penance by Queen Elfrida
Read MoreAnglo Saxon Rood Breamore
The Anglo Saxon rood in St Mary’s church Breamore has welcomed people into the church for nearly a thousand years
Read MoreAnglo Saxon Breamore
The beautiful Saxon arch in Breamore church reflects a thousand years of worship in its simple inscription
Read MoreDanes Attack Wessex Towns AD 1001
In AD 1001, the Danes attacked several Hampshire towns burning them to the ground.
Read MoreKing Alfred’s Navy
King Alfred left many enduring marks on the county of Hampshire and England. One of his legacies is that of a navy. He designed ships to out do the Danish ships that threatened the southern coast of England.
Read MoreKing Sigebert – The Usurper
Sigebert ruled for one year, as King of Wessex, before losing his position on account of ‘wrong doings’. The importance to Hampshire history of this event is that its record in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle is the first time Hampshire is recorded as a separate entity.
Read MoreVikings Move Against Wessex
Alfred held out against the Viking invasion and showed great skills in organizing his militia, so that when the opportunity to crush the Danish attack, he did so, decisively and coherently at the Battle of Edington
Read MoreEarl Godwin of Wessex
Earl Godwine of Wessex was one of the most powerful men in England before the Norman Conquest, the father of 5 Earls, father to the Queen of England and father-in-law to the King. Father to King Harold II. Quite an achievement for a man who died before he was sixty years old
Read MoreThe Shaftsbury Bowl
The Shaftsbury Bowl, the only complete piece of late Saxon glass in England, can be found in Winchester Cathedral museum
Read MoreSaxon Sundials
Possibly the best preserved Saxon Tide Dial in England, the Corhampton dial shows the eight ‘tides’ of the day
Read MoreSt Wilfred in Hampshire
St Wilfred came to Hampshire to convert the heathen tribes of the Meonwara to Christianity
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