Barton Stacey, Hampshire
This small village is situated 5½ miles south east of Andover. The parish includes the townships of Bransbury, Drayton, and Newton-Stacey.
The name Barton Stacey originates from Saxon times, when the village was known as Bertun ("ber" or barley and "tun" or place). In 1206 the Royal Manor of Edward the Confessor was bestowed on Sir Rogo de Stacey and became the Berton of Stacey or just Barton Stacey.
The Roman road from Winchester to Cirencester (both important Roman towns) cuts across the southern area of the parish as part of a byway. Barton Stacey provided the Saxons with useful farmland, their mark can still be seen today with the track ways and cattle droves which run southwards along the parish boundary continuing to nearby Wonston. The fine All Saint's church was built by the Normans, some of the 12th century stonework remains, among the mostly 13th century building which forms the largest part of the church today. The parish continued to be a farming community through the next centuries, with Church Farm House dating from the 16th century, Manor Farm House and Bransbury Manor dating from the 18th century.
Barton Stacey suffered a terrible fire in May 1792, which started at the blacksmiths shop at the north end of the village and destroyed many of the houses. The 200 year old Swan Inn pub and the All Saint’s church were not affected by the fire.
During the Machine Breaker riots or ‘Swing Riots’ of 1830 the men of Barton Stacey and neighbouring parishes petitioned King William IV for parliamentary reform. Some men went on to remonstrate with local farmers, parsons and landowners and those convicted faced severe penalties. James Annals, John Dove, James Whitcher of Barton Stacey were transported. Thomas Berriman and Henry Hunt of Barton Stacey were hanged.
Southwark, Surrey
The metropolitan borough of Southwark consists of five parishes Christchurch, St Saviour, St Olave, St Thomas, and St George the Martyr. The borough lies on the Thames, opposite London city linked to the city by London, Southwark, and Blackfriars bridges.
Southwark was known to the Saxons as Suthwerc and was first mentioned by name in AD 944 when it is recorded that they built a wooden bridge at the southern end of which they erected a 'Suthringagewoerc’ or military encampment to defend the city from invasion.
Aulus Plautus and his Roman legions founded the market at Southwark in AD43 on their way to the city. The first formal record of the market was on the bridge built by King Canute in AD1014 after the previous bridge was destroyed by Norsemen in an attempt to lay siege to London. Records show that the borough market sold fish, grain & cattle, as well as vegetables and because of its central location (the meeting points of all roads from the south coast and southern counties into the City of London) merchants from all over Europe would travel from coastal ports to trade in the market.
Southwark Bridge was erected in 1815-9, designed by Rennie at a cost of £800,000, made of iron the bridge spans 700 feet long and has three arches, the central one at a span of 240 feet.
During the industrial revolution Southwark witnessed enormous diversification to encompass engineering, glass, leather, paper, gas, brewing, vinegar and even steam powered corn mills.
Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire
Hertingfordbury is situated 2 miles west south west of Hertford. The village lies in the district and county of Hertford, between the rivers Maran and Lea. The parish contains also the hamlets of EastEnd, Stains Green, Cole Green, Birch Green, and Letty Green.
The St Mary's Church partly rebuilt by Earl Cowper in 1890-3, was founded during the fifteenth century.
There is an unmarked grave in the village where lies Jane Wenham of Walkern, the last person in England to be condemned to death for witchcraft.
Little Glemham, Suffolk
Little Glemham is situated 16 miles north of Ipswich, and two miles south of Great Glemham. Little Glemham is a rural village in the parish of the Plomesgate district, adjacent to the river Alde.
Little Glemham possesses many fine listed buildings, including a 19th century school house, the St Andrew's Church and Glemham Hall, once the home of Sir Thomas Glemham. Glemham Hall was built circa 1560 by the de Glemham family, who took their name from Great and Little Glemham. According to manuscripts, the Glemham’s retained the estate until 1708/09 when it was sold to Dudley North and it remained within the North family for more than 200 years.
The villages industries comprised chiefly of agriculture and mainly employed those in trade, manufacturing of handicraft.
Leicester, Leicestershire
The city is situated 22 miles south of Nottingham and 96 miles by road, and 103 miles by railway, north north-west of London. The town comprises of six parishes and two sub-districts. Leicester stands on the river Soar, the Via Devana and Fosse Way (Roman roads). Leicester's roots stretch back before the Roman invasion of Britain and it is likely that there has been a settlement in the area ever since.
Leicester was known to the ancient Britons as Caer-Leirion or Caer-Loidcot, to the Saxons as Leirceastre or Legraceaster and to the Normans as Ledecester. It has been supposed that Leicester derived its name from the British King Lear but as a Roman station it was known as Rates or Ratiscorim. Its ancient Britain name, Caer-Leirion, does not necessarily assume the existence of such a king, but may have been taken from the river Soar, which was anciently called the Leire. That name would thus signify the castle or fortified place of the Leire and the Saxon or Norman names Leirceastre and Ledecester, which time has softened into Leicester,
A Roman milestone, with crudely carved letters intimating it to be of the time of Hadrian, was found in 1771, on the side of the Fosse way, about 2 miles north of the town, and was placed on a pedestal in Belgrave Gate, and is now located in the towns museum.
The town's industries comprised of worsted hosiery trade, iron foundries, manufacturing of elastic webbing, sewing cotton, boots and shoes, lace, plus agricultural implements.
At the Blue Boar Inn (now demolished) Richard the Third slept on the night before the battle of Bosworth Field (1485). The inn changed its name from The White Boar (Richard's emblem) to the Blue Boar emblem of the Earl of Oxford who fought on the side of Henry Tudor after Richard's defeat.
William the Conqueror granted Leicester to Hugh de Grantmesnil shortly after the Battle of Hastings. It was he who built the castle on what is now Castle Gardens. The motte is still clearly visible, and the Great Hall of Leicester Castle (a later addition) can be reached via Castle Yard, near St Mary de Castro church, which was the Royal chapel. Leicester's Great Abbey of St Mary de Pratis, was founded by Robert le Bossu in 1143. Cardinal Wolsey died and was burried at Leicester Abbey (now in ruins) in November 1530 on his journey from York to London where he was to be locked up in the Tower of London.
Tring, Hertfordshire
Situated 5 miles north-west of Berkhampstead and 32 miles north west of London by rail, Tring possesses four hamlets. These hamlets are Little Tring, where there is the great pumping station of the canal, Upper Dunsley, near the Park Estate, Hastoe, on the hill in the south and Tring Grove on the east. Up until 1894 Tring also included the hamlets of Wilstone and Long Marston.
Tring has been inhabited since before Roman times and was first mentioned in history in the Anglo-Saxon record of AD571. In the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086 on the instruction of William the Conqueror, Tring was known as Treunge or Tredunga and by the 13th century one of the names referring to the town was Trehanger.
The Manor of Tring is described in the Domesday survey of 1086. In 1682 the mansion designed by Christopher Wren was built for the owner Colonel Guy. A later tenant was Lawrence Washington, great-grandfather of George Washington, the first President of the USA. In the late 19th century the estate became the home of the Rothschild family, whose influence on the town was considerable.
The handsome church of St Peter and St Paul stands back from the main street on the north, the greater part of the churchyard lying between church and street. Some of the interesting features in the church date back to the 15th century, such as the original arches and the stone corbels between them. The church contains six bells, dating from 1624 to 1882, when a major restoration was completed.
The town's industries comprised of canvas-weaving, silk-throwing, silk-weaving, brewing, straw-plaiting, and parchment-making.
Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
Uttoxeter is situated 13 miles north east of Stafford and 135 miles north-west of London by rail. The hamlets in the parish of Uttoxeter are Blount's Green, Heath, Hockley, Little Bramshall, Crakemarsh, Spath, Stramshall, Creighton, Beamhurst Lane, Loxley, Burndhurst Mills, Leese Hills, Woodlands, Wills Lock, Scoundslow Green, and Woodgate.
Uttoxeter has its origins in Saxon times and was known to them as Uttocceaster. The town was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Wotocheschede’, but the name eventually transpired to what we know today. Uttoxeter was first granted its market charter in 1252, and in the market place the Old Talbot pub still stands, dating back to the 13th century. One interesting feature in the town is the Johnson Memorial, a small kiosk built in memory of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who returned after 50 years to do penance by standing in the rain bare headed for not attending his father’s stall in the market place when he was a boy.
The town’s industries comprise of iron-founding, nail and implement making, tanning, rope-spinning, malting and brewing.
Uttoxeter has connections to the English Civil War, when the town appears to have changed allegiances several times, with a predominance of Parliamentarian support. When the Royalists retreated back to the town to make a last stand against the Parliamentarians, the army were met by General John Lambert but in fact surrendered without a further battle actually taking place and with it saw the close of the Civil War.
Fulham, London
The village of Fulham is situated on the banks of the Thames opposite Putney, at the distance of four miles from Hyde-park-corner; six and half miles SW of St Pauls, London; it lies within the hundred of Ossulston; and the parish is bounded by Chelsea, Kensington, Wilsdon, Acton, and Chiswick.
It was known to the Saxons as Fullenham, is uncertainly stated to signify "the place" either "of fowls" or "of mud" (which probably had a lot to do with the fact that the River Thames would flood it periodically). The village was occupied by the Danes in 879 and by the parliamentarian forces in 1642 and 1647.
All Saints Church, Fulham, is an Anglican church sited close to the river Thames, beside the northern approach to Putney Bridge. There has been a church on the same site for over 900 years. The current building is situated in Bishop’s Park and was the church featured in the film ‘The Omen’. The church has a long association with the Bishops of London as Lords of the Manor. Fulham Palace, the former residence of the Bishops of London is nearby. Apart from the tower, the remainder of the current church building is from the late Victorian period, the construction on the tower began in 1440.
Putney Bridge is unique in that it is the only bridge in Britain to have a church at both ends: the ancient St Mary’s Church, Putney is located in Putney on the south bank, and All Saint’s Church, Fulham is on the north bank.
St Andrew's is the Church of England parish church situated in North Fulham between Star Road and St Andrew's Road. St Andrew's has one of the oldest bells in London. It came from the now demolished Wren church of St Martin Outwich in the City, and it is said to be the only London church bell to survive the Great Fire. The bell is still rung in St Andrew's today.
Fulham during the 18th century had a reputation of debauchery, becoming a sort of "Las Vegas retreat" for the wealthy of London, where there was much gambling and prostitution. Much of the land in the parish of Fulham was disposed in market-gardens and nursery-grounds, for the supply of vegetables and plants to the London market, including the considerable fishery of barbel, eel, roach, dace, and flounders found in the Thames. The parish also manufactured earthenware.
Fulham remained a working class area for the first half of the twentieth century, but was subject to extensive restoration between the Second World War and the 1980s. Today, Fulham is considered one of the most expensive parts of London.
Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire
Collingbourne Ducis a village and a parish in Pewsey district, Wiltshire. The village lies in the valley of the River Bourne which rises a few miles north of the village and flows southwards through it. The village is the smaller and more southerly of the two adjoining parishes called Collingbourne. Originally the name, meaning stream of Cola's people may have applied to the whole of the upper part of the Bourne valley. Collingbourne Ducis became known as Lower Collingbourne and Collingbourne Kingston as Upper Collingbourne.
At the time of Domesday, Earl Harold held the manor and in 1256 the village was named 'Collingbourne Earls', after the Lord of the manor, the Earl of Leicester. John of Gaunt, later Duke of Lancaster, inherited the manor and the village became known as Collingbourne Ducis or Dukes. In 1536 Collingbourne was granted to Edward Seymour and descended to the Earldom of Ailesbury, the Earl of Cardigan and then back to the Marquis of Ailesbury. It remained part of the great Savernake estate until financial difficulties forced the family to sell the estate in 1929. The church was 'derelict and dismantled' at the time of Domesday (1086). A brass on the south wall commemorates the death of Edward Seymour aged 11 months at Collingbourne Ducis, fourth son of Sir William Seymour, Duke of Somerset. In spite of its isolation Collingbourne held a weekly market and two Annual fairs - the first recording was in 1353 and last in 1792. Although there is evidence of a settlement at Collingbourne Ducis for well over a millennium it is in the 17th Century that building methods and materials began to shape the village scene, with known dates suggesting Linden Cottage of circa 1694 as one of the oldest.
St Andrews parish church stands at the south-western approach to the village, on an elevated site known locally as Penny Hill. The present church retains twelfth and thirteenth century details, and is presumably on the site of a Saxon predecessor which the Domesday book described as derelict and ruined.
An Iron Foundry, the Bourne Iron Works was established in the village by James Rawlings in the 1860s. The family manufactured agriculture implements there until the outbreak of the Second World War. A group of local farmers acquired the premises in 1958 and a company was formed to manufacture milking machines and farming equipment. The company was known as Hosier Farming Systems and there is now a small industrial estate on the site.
The last century saw a gradual change in the local economy from one purely based on agriculture with the majority of local residents either working on, or reliant on the land, to a situation today where there are few directly involved in agriculture. Today, commercial activity within the village is now extremely varied both in size and scope, concentrated on two small business estates.
Hounslow, Middlesex
Hounslow is a town and chapelry in the parishes of Heston and Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex, 2 miles from Hanworth, 3½ miles from Richmond, and 12 miles W.S.W. of London. It is mentioned in Domesday Book as Hondeslawe, and as giving its name to the hundred, and was formerly a market town.
The origin of the name Hounslow is disputed, with some claiming it derives from the Anglo-Saxon “Honeslaw” meaning an area of land suitable for hunting, whilst others claim it comes from an a mound or hill associated with Hundi, a pagan Anglo-Saxon.
Hounslow became a seat of priory in the 13th century; the Trinitarian friary was built at the western end of the High Street, on the site of the present Holy Trinity church. The friars used one third of their tithes to pay for the release of hostages captured during the crusades. Edward the 1st granted the Holy Trinity a charter allowing them to hold a weekly market and an annual fair where they levied duties on good sold. The priory was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, despite Henry VIII having entered the order of the priory when he was the Prince of Wales.
The history of Hounslow Heath dates back almost 1000 years. At the time of William the Conqueror the heath was used as a hunting ground for Norman Kings and Barons as the site supported wildlife such as the wild boar. It is most notorious for the highwaymen, including legends such as Dick Turpin, who troubled the travellers on the road to and from London during the 17th and 18th centuries. The heath was so notorious that gibbets, or gallows, were set up along the roadside as a warning.
Armies also made use of the heath due to its proximity to London, Windsor and Hampton Court. Oliver Cromwell placed an army on the heath at the end of the Civil War in 1647, and James the 2nd’s army camped and held military exercises and mock battles to, unsuccessfully, intimidate the population in London. A permanent barracks for armies that camped on the heath was built in 1793 as part of the preparations to meet possible invasion by the French, and by 1884 had its own station. This was demolished and rebuilt a short distance away, and renamed Hounslow West Station in 1925, and the suburb that sprung up in the surrounding area adopted the station’s name.
Hounslow Barracks was a former Cavalry Barracks built c.1791 on Hounslow Heath. The Barracks are steeped in history, and the majority of the buildings within the camp are listed. The army has been associated with Hounslow for over 800 years, and Cavalry Barracks is the oldest Barracks still in use by the British army. Today it is the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.
From the early 13th century, when Hounslow began to develop, to the present day, one of the main sources of its economic survival has been transport. In the Middle Ages foot and horse traffic travelling between London and the West Country brought weary travellers to rest in the village. The stagecoach services brought prosperity to the growing town between the 17th and 19th centuries. It was once the Great Western Railway was built between London and Bristol, offering a much more comfortable and safe journey the prosperity of the town declined sharply. However, the town began to flourish once more when the Great West Road was built to bypass the town in the 1920s and the factories that lined the road brought jobs and prosperity.
The railway line to Hounslow from Mill Hill Park (Acton Town) was opened on the 1st May 1883, initially the line served a station at Hounslow, but in July the following year, a direct line to Hounslow Barracks was opened. The original line was incorporated as the Hounslow & Metropolitan Railway Company in 1880, the line was built as a joint venture with the London South Western Railway (LSWR), with the original idea that the line to progress beyond Hounslow station to join the LSWR’s Kingston loop line but second thoughts led to the line terminating at Hounslow.
Hounslow station was renamed Hounslow Town in 1884, in 1886 the station was closed and replaced by a new station on the Hounslow Barracks line called Heston-Hounslow. The shuttle service was withdrawn and the main service now operated to/from Hounslow Barracks. The history of the line took a further twist as in 1903 Hounslow Town was re-opened, the year in which the District railway (now part of the Underground Railways) took full control of the Hounslow branch. Services were finally withdrawn on the 1st May 1909 when a new Hounslow Town station (called Hounslow East from 1925) was opened on the direct line to Hounslow Barracks.
Piccadilly line trains started to serve stations on the Hounslow branch from 1933, by which time in 1925 the Barracks station had been renamed Hounslow West, district line trains continued to operate on the line until 1964.
Hounslow bus garage was opened by the LGOC in 1913 on the former site of the district railways Hounslow Town Branch. The garage along with many others was requisitioned in the First World War. The garage was rebuilt in the early 1950’s and included a new bus station in front of the garage.
Today, Hounslow is a prosperous multicultural town right under the flight path into Heathrow. The town is inexorably linked to the comings and goings at London’s biggest airport, with many residents working at Heathrow or regularly commuting from there. With the Piccadilly Line at Hounslow Central, the M4 and countless buses whizzing everywhere from one of the largest bus depots, Hounslow remains well connected.
Grateley, Hampshire
Grateley is a parish in Andover district, Hants; on the London, Yeovil, and Exeter railway, near the boundary with Wilts, 6½ miles WSW of Andover. A village once stood here which dated from the Saxon times, was the place of a witenagemote under Athelstane, and is traditionally said to have had five churches.
Grateley derives its name from the 'greatnlea' or 'big wood clearing' to the south-west of the church. It is a village split into two distinct parts, one clustered around the church, Manor Farm and the Plough Inn, and the other a mile away around the railway built in the late 19th century.
King Athelstan held in Parliament in Grateley and drew up the first Code of Laws for All England in 925. During Roman times, part of the Roman portway which used to connect Sarum with Silchester ran through Grateley.
The St Leonard's Church 12th century contains fragments of glass dating from a similar time and were removed from Salisbury Cathedral in the 17th century. The ancient patterned floor tiles are of interest and the belfry is most unusual being at ground level to the north of the church.
Ipswich, Suffolk
Ipswich is a seaport, and co. town in Suffolk, 12 miles from the sea, 24 miles SE of Bury St Edmunds, and 68 miles NE of London. Ipswich is a quaint and ancient town, and there are two theories as to how Ipswich got its name, either from, Gippa's wic (wic is an old word meaning port), or it may have been Gip's wic (gip meant corner in this case the corner of the river Orwell).
Located on the left bank of the river Orwell, which here enters the estuary of the Orwell, the town has extensive docks, supported by a large shipping traffic. Shipbuilding continues to some extent, but the principal trade is in corn, agricultural implements, and artificial manures.
Ipswich started as a small trading settlement in the early 7th century, and it soon became a flourishing town. It was ideally situated to trade with Germany. Whetstones and millstones were imported from Germany into Ipswich. Wool was exported.
Ipswich had many craftsmen, potters and weavers of wool, the town also had a mint. However, because of its position in the East of England Ipswich was vulnerable to attack by the Danes. The Danes occupied Ipswich from 869 until 917 when it was recaptured by the English. In 1200 Ipswich was given a charter, a document granting the townspeople certain rights. After that Ipswich had its own courts to try cases in the town. All the men in Ipswich elected 2 officials called bailiffs who ran the town day to day. During the Middle Ages the main export from Ipswich was wool. Another important industry in Ipswich was leather working. There were skinners, tanners and shoemakers. There were also the same craftsmen you found in any town such as blacksmiths, brewers, butchers and bakers. By the 13th century there was a flourishing shipbuilding industry in Ipswich. Early in the 12th century two priories were founded in Ipswich, Holy Trinity Priory and Saints Peter and Paul priory and in the 13th century the friars arrived in Ipswich. During the 16th century the wool trade in Ipswich continued to boom in the 16th century but in the 17th century it went into rapid decline. By the late 16th century a sail making industry started in Ipswich, it flourished in the early but by the latter part of the century it started to decline. However, shipbuilding continued to prosper in Ipswich.
In the 17th century timber and iron were still imported from Scandinavia and hemp for rope making was imported from Latvia. Grain was exported from Ipswich. In the 17th century the coastal trade thrived. In those days it was expensive to transport goods by road and whenever possible they were taken by water. Many goods were transported along the coast from one part of Britain to another. Coal from Newcastle was bought to Ipswich and farm produce was taken to London.
However Ipswich suffered a severe outbreak of plague in 1665 but the town soon recovered.
Wandsworth, London
Wandsworth is situated on the road to Kingston, about five and a half miles from Westminster Bridge, and lies in the western division of Brixton hundred. The parish is bounded by those of Battersea, Streatham, Merton, Mitcham, Tooting, Wimbledon, and Putney. The place is so called from its situation upon the banks of the small river Wandle, at its influx into the Thames.
Worth, in the Saxon language, signifies either a village, or a shore. In Doomsday-book, the name of this place is spelt Wandesorde, and Wendlesorde; in other ancient records, Wandlesworth, and Wendlesworth.
The village of Wandsworth became a seat of several important manufactures introduced by refugee Frenchmen after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes; the industries included oil-mills, dye-works, paper-works, calico printing, hat making, corn mills, brewing, vinegar making.
Although there had always been some industries by the Thames and old mills along the Wandle, up to the middle of the 19th century Wandsworth consisted mainly of farmland, market gardens, parkland of the grand estates and the open heathland of Wimbledon and Wandsworth Commons.
The old parish covered a large area, which not only included the original village but the areas that were to become Earlsfield, Southfields and Summerstown. As late as 1864 Wandsworth was described as a quaint and old-fashioned village, straggling along the London-Kingston road, with country lanes and byways spreading out across the fields and along the banks of the River Wandle and the Thames.
All Saints Church stands on the site of an earlier church, dating from the thirteenth century. The lower parts of the west tower were built in 1630, the upper storey an addition in 1841 when the peal of eight bells was installed. The north aisle was built in 1724 and the remainder greater part of the church rebuilt by William Jupp in 1780.
Brentford, Middlesex
Brentford takes its name form the River Brent, this was the old route to the south west and crossed the river just before it entered the Thames. A market town, lying in the hundred of Elthorne, and is situated upon the Great Western Road. The parish is bounded by Ealing, Isleworth, and Hanwell, and by the River Thames. The name of the River 'Brent' comes from 'Brigantia' meaning holy, or high water, hence 'Breguntford', where the King of Wessex and his courtesans met with the East Saxons in AD705.
Brentford was an ancient, pre-Roman settlement which much later became a coaching town, an agricultural centre and a place of industry, commerce and boat-building.
The first Battle of Brentford occurred in 1016 between Canute & Edward Ironside. The Second Battle of Brentford happened during the Civil War, following the battle of Edgehill, after taking Banbury and Oxford, the royalist army advanced on London along the Thames valley. On the 12th November 1642 a detachment attacked two parliamentarian regiments quartered in Brentford, that were covering the approach to London from the West.
The St Lawrence’s church located on the south side of the High street was built in the 15th century and is a grade II listed building. The main part of the church was erected in 1764 with later Victorian additions. The church has been unused since 1979.
For many centuries, the main route to the south-west passed through Brentford and, even today, the M4 passes approximately a mile north of the original main road. With the closing of the docks in 1964, Brentford went into decline and it wasn’t until 20 years later, that the lights of Brentford began to shine again, with an influx of industry, urban regeneration and exciting new housing developments. Today, Brentford is mainly residential but offers the visitor many historical attractions like Syon House and the Kew Bridge Steam museum.
Syon House is home of Duke of Northumberland, which originated in Tudor times, has classical interiors designed by the architect Robert Adam. Situated in 200 acres of parkland, the grounds include 40 acres of gardens, a 1820s conservatory, a lake, and once a butterfly house (closed in October 2007). The historic Kew Bridge Steam museum built in the 19th century to supply London with water is recognised as the most important historic site of the water supply history in Britain.