Anglo Saxon Period
Nunnaminster Winchester
Nunnaminster in Winchester was the Saxon abbey founded in 903AD by King Alfred and his wife Ealhswith. It was a wooden structure re-built in stone and then enlarged by the Normans.
Read MoreOld Baptismal Font Hurstbourne Tarrant
The old baptismal font in the church at Hurstbourne Tarrant lies behind one of the pews. It dates from the Anglo Saxon period.
Read MoreBaptismal Font Crondall
A Puritan font in Crondall, a symbol of the change afoot in the English church in its turbulent post Civil War period
Read MoreSt Mary’s Church Breamore
St Mary’s Church Breamore is one of Hampshire’s and maybe England’s finest Saxon buildings. St Mary’s church Breamore is thought to have been built as a Saxon minster on a royal estate and evidence has been found that it does in fact occupy an eastern corner of a large enclosure. Even today it has the…
Read MoreAnglo Saxon Women – Frithburga
The grave cover for the Anglo Saxon women Frithburga, which can be seen in All Hallows church Whitchurch is a very lovely and special object
Read MoreHinton Ampner
Explore the place names of Hampshire and their toponymy, in this case that of Hinton Ampner and find out more about the history of this ancient place.
Read MoreEarly Anglo Saxon Hampshire
Early Anglo Saxon settlement in Hampshire is an elusive creature, traces found on the chalk ridges and river valleys allow us the merest peek of a time of important change. Are current day settlement patterns a result of settlement 1500 years ago or are they a consequence of later Anglo Saxon settlement?
Read MoreMystery of King Alfred’s Final Resting Place
The mystery of King Alfred’s final resting place may be closer to being resolved as St Bartholemew’s church at Hyde prepares to ask for permission to exhume and identify the bones in an unmarked grave at the church.
Read MoreKing Alfred and The Vikings
King Alfred’s life was dominated by the incessant attacks by the Vikings but how did Alfred succeed in defeating them when so many other kings had failed and did that defeat then propel him to become King of all England.
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 MoreHampshire The Oldest Shire in England
Over a thousand years ago, Hampshire held the seat of power in England. It is the first of England’s shires to appear in the historical record, ‘The AngloSaxon Chronicle’. AD 757, it tells us that the councillors of the West Saxons; ‘deprived Sigeberht of his kingdom, except for Hampshire.’ Hampshire as a unit of government is…
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 MoreCenwalh Anglo Saxon King
Winchester became the heart of the kingdom of Wessex thanks to the dynasty of the early Saxon king Cerdic but it was Cenwwalh, who, on converting to Christianity, established Winchester as an ecclesiastical centre whose force was felt throughout northern Europe.
Read MoreHamwic, Hampshire’s Anglo Saxon Port
Hamwic was one of the principal trading towns in north west Europe through Anglo Saxon times and beyond
Read MoreOld Minster Winchester
The Old Minster Winchester was one of the most important religious houses and places of pilgrimage in the late Anglo Saxon period. It was the initial resting place of King Alfred the Great and the place where King Canute and Edward the Confessor were crowned.
Read MoreKing Arthur, Gereint ab Erbin and Portsmouth
What is the possible link between Portsmouth and a character from Arthurian legends Gerren, leader of the Dumnonia?
Read MoreDanes Attack Wessex Towns AD 1001
In AD 1001, the Danes attacked several Hampshire towns burning them to the ground.
Read MoreWhat is a Hampshire Hog?
People of Hampshire are colloquially referred to as ‘Hampshire Hogs’ a reference to the Hampshire Pig which was bred out of the wild boar that roamed the New Forest a thousand years ago
Read MoreSaxon Corhampton Church
When considering Anglo Saxon Hampshire, the little church at Corhampton has to be the jewel in the crown, with Saxon features springing from its feet upwards.
Read More