Archives from The Saxons Project

In 2012 the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded the Friends of Corhampton Saxon Church a grant to help the communities of the Meon Valley bring to life the fascinating story of the Saxons in the Meon Valley. Additional funding and support was made available from the South Downs National Park Authority, Winchester & Hampshire Councils, Corhampton & Meonstoke Parish Councils. The William Collins Trust, the universities of Winchester, Cambridge and Nottingham, the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, The Council for British Archaeology,  the Robert Kiln Charitable Trust.

Valuable ‘in kind’ support, expertise and encouragement was made available by these organisations and others including Winchester Area Community Action, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation, Herigeas Hundas (our re-enactment partners), Liss Archaeology Society, Focus Business Communications, The South Downs Society, Wessex Archaeology, English Heritage, Natural England and The Sustainability Centre.

We additionally had amazing support from many volunteers, village history societies, schools, churches of the Meon Valley and other organisations with shared interest in our common heritage.

This encouraged us to engage people of all ages from the ten villages of the Meon Valley in exploring and learning about the Saxons who lived in the Valley for six centuries, from when the Romans left England in the 5th century, to its conquest in the 1066 by the Normans.

We also created a legacy, and in particular created the Saxon resources on the South Downs National Park Learning Zone to support the KS2 Saxon history curriculum in 2014; see http://learning.southdowns.gov.uk/culture-heritage/saxons-in-the-meon-valley

Who are the Saxons in the Meon Valley?

Our ancestors were the Meonwara (Meon People). They came from what is now Denmark and settled in the Meon Valley after the Romans left Britain in 410 AD. For seven centuries or more (until, and after, the Norman Conquest in 1066) they developed the Meon as a fertile farming valley running from the South Downs at East Meon to the Soluent at Titchfield Haven. Trading vessels navigated the Meon, a Celtic (ancient British) word meaning ‘Swift One’, the name also of one of our local ales! From the Soluent the ships reached as far as Droxford Mill, taking flour and other agricultural produce to the Soluent and the trading ports of Hamwic (Southampton) and Portesmuða (Portsmouth). Saxons also traded in goods from other parts of our Islands, across what we now know as Europe and Asia. A hoard of Saxon gold and silver discovered in 2009 illustrates the extent of Saxon trading. An amateur enthusiast using a metal detector discovered what we now call the Staffordshire Hoard. The hoard includes amazingly crafted artefacts dating back to the 6th century with red garnets from as far away as India or even Sri Lanka. We have included an amazing Anglo-Saxon world view (Mappa Mundi) produced (without GPS etc.) at Canterbury at the time that Corhampton Church was built (11th Century). It is recognisable today as Europe, Africa and the Far East. The image of the map is used with permission of the British Library. The name of our nation (or Englaland as it was first known), derives from people known as Angles who also came from what is now Denmark. The people who settled in the Meon Valley were from the same part of Northern Europe; they were Jutes and Saxons. These Germanic peoples were amongst waves of people crossing Europe in what we now call the ‘age of migrations’. The settlers in Englaland, displacing the Celtic Britons, became collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons or simply Saxons. The Saxons laid the foundation of the English language, and of our culture, religion, system of government, the layout of our villages and our landscape.

The Meon Valley was referred to in the 8th century by Bede as the Provincia Meanwarorum (Province of the Meonwara). Bede (Old English: Bǣda or Bēda) is also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede. He was an English monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul’s, in modern Jarrow, both in the Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Bede is well known as an author and scholar; his most famous work, ‘Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum’ (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title “The Father of English History”.

The Meonwara (‘Meon People’) were the Saxon and Jutish settlers who Bede described as living in the valley of the River Meon in the 8th Century AD.

There were about 30 villages and churches in the Meon Valley at the time that Bede wrote his Historia. Only the church at Corhampton (built in 1020 AD, 300 years after Bede’s Historia and replacing an earlier Church) survives from the Saxon era. Other post-Conquest Churches in the Valley are built on, or close to, sites of Saxon Churches. Some have links to the Saxon era; such as the Saxon ‘four tides’ sundial at Warnford, part of the tower at Titchfield and the site of the Saxon Church in the graveyard of the current church at West Meon. The last mentioned was demolished and replaced by the current church in the mid-19th century.

An earlier historical connection to the Meonwara and the Provincia Meanwarorum is through Wilfrith (c. 633 – c. 709) an English bishop born to a noble family, again in the northern Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. A contemporary of Cuthbert, Wilfrith (known to us as Wilfrid) came south from the monastery at Lindisfarne and is credited with the conversion of the Southern Saxons to Christianity (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid). It is thought that Wilfrith commenced this mission in the Meon Valley. The Meon Valley Pilgrimage Trail is a walk through the Meon Valley re-discovering Wilfrith’s missionary work in the Valley. (see www.wilfrid-meon-pilgrimage.co.uk )

In addition to the churches there are also several sites in the Valley where archaeological excavations have revealed Saxon cemeteries or settlements. See the sections of this website relating to the Meon Valley surveys and excavations.

Below is a map of the Meon Valley with key towns and villages in the region and along the Meon river highlighted. Please hover over any of the location names on the map below to view the Saxon name.

The University of Nottingham is one of three universities (the others being Cambridge and Winchester) supporting the ‘Saxons in the Meon Valley’ programme.

We were very fortunate to be offered the research services of Dr Kelly Kilpatrick of the Institute of Name Studies at the University of Nottingham.

Dr. Kilpatrick has undertaken and amazingly in-depth study of the place names in the Meon Valley and published her work in a report entitled: ‘Saxons in the Meon Valley: A Place-Name Survey’.
The full report is available to download here MeonValleyPlaceNameResearch_Sep2014 (opens in a new window)

Kelly and her colleague Dr Paul Cavill, also contributed to the making of our film – ‘The Meon Valley – A Journey of Discovery’

Nottingham University’s Institute for Name-Studies is the home of research into English place names and personal names. The English Place Name Society (EPNS) is the established national body for the subject; its offices and library are housed in the Institute. (For more information see http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/ins/index.aspx

Dr Kelly Kilpatrick who joined us for our AGM in April 2014, has a DPhil in Medieval History at the University of Oxford, specialising in early medieval British and Irish place-names.

Kelly’s toponymic (place name) research utilises interdisciplinary methodologies alongside traditional approaches to study the impact of migrations and religion on the place-names, landscapes and cultures of medieval Britain and Ireland. Kelly has published works on Celtic religious place-name elements and the role of place-names in an Irish hagiographical tradition, and has contributed short articles on Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical architecture to Oxford University’s Woruldhord project (https://poppy.nsms.ox.ac.uk/woruldhord). (The Friends of Corhampton Church has also contributed to Woruldhord – World Hoard)

In addition to Her work on place names in the Meon Valley, Kelly’s current research interests include: a detailed examination of the place-names in Y Gododdin, a comparative study on the role of place-names in Anglo-Saxon hagiography (specifically the Vita Sancti Guthlaci), and a project provisionally titled ‘Place-Names, Landscapes and Early Christian Identity in the Hebrides: The Maritime Geography of the Vita Sancti Columbae.’

Dr Paul Cavill, has many years’ experience in place-name scholarship, and has edited the English Place-Name County Survey volumes over the past two decades.

Paul has published several articles on the early traditions relating to Saint Edmund of East Anglia and is interested in, and written books on, the history of early English Christianity (Anglo-Saxon Christianity, The Christian Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England), and the influence of Christianity on literature (‘The Christian Tradition in English Literature’). Paul has also published extensively on Maxims, Cædmon’s Hymn, The Battle of Maldon and other works.

Paul has extensive research experience in the general linguistic, cultural, historical and literary background of Anglo-Saxon England, and enjoy interdisciplinary approaches to the study of both texts and language.

The TVAS archaeology team excavated an area on the outskirts of West Meon, Hampshire in advance of housing construction. Preliminary work in the form of trial (evaluation) trenches identified a Bronze Age ring ditch and a small number of Saxon graves. The team opened up the area around the ring ditch to identify its full extent and record and excavate it and any burials that may be at risk from the future development of the site.

Once excavated, the ring ditch proved to be 29m in diameter with the ditch itself being c.3.5m wide and 1.5m deep. In the centre, which would have originally been built up into a barrow mound but has now been ploughed away, was a singe urn holding cremated human remains. An un-urned cremation deposit was found on the lip of the ditch and a further urn was excavated to the southwest of the ring ditch. The style of the pottery suggests that the barrow probably dates from the early Bronze Age, around 1700 BC. As the ring ditch was excavated the upper layers of fill were found to contain numerous struck flints. It appears that the flint nodules within the chalk from the ditch digging had been used as a convenient source of raw material for flint tools in the Bronze Age.

A total of 49 Saxon burials were found cut into the ground surrounding the ring ditch and even into the fill of the ditch itself. These are a mix of adults, teenagers and children who were buried in a variety of crouched and stretched out (extended) positions. Some of the graves are orientated east-west but the majority are north-south. Several of the individuals were buried with grave goods including weapons, jewellery and tools which, when combined with the orientation of the bodies, strongly suggests that the burials are pre-Christian, probably from the 6th or 7th centuries AD.

The images below were taken by local residents

Droxford (Drocensford) Railway Station – a Saxon cemetery and lot more history

The photographs and images in this article are taken largely from an exhibition that was staged in 1983 by the villagers of Droxford and covering the history of the village from 1723. The originals of the exhibition and associated items are deposited in, and available to view at, the Hampshire Archives, Local Studies & Record Office in Winchester. The collection can also be accessed online at  “Droxford exhibition boards, photographs and miscellanea”

The Hampshire Record website describes the content as: “Exhibition boards mounted with photographs and copies of documents for the ‘Droxford Past’ exhibition. Subjects covered include: Droxford residents, Midlington House, link with the Falkland Islands, Droxford Mill and the Meon River, Meon Valley Railway, Hambledon Hunt, World War two, excavations at an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, the parish church and its incumbents, Droxford schools, businesses in Droxford, fire brigade, the Workhouse, celebrations and festivities, Hambledon races, British legion, girl guides, scouts, VAD, etc. Also, copies of photographs used in ‘Droxford in the Meon Valley, A Hampshire Village Album’ by Kenneth Ward; papers relating to Canon John Vaughan; photographs of Meonstoke, Exton, Corhampton, Netley Abbey, Portchester, Soberton, Warnford; notes re bell-ringing at Droxford” The exhibition includes amongst is very interesting range of material, a photographic and written history of the Meon Valley Railway Line being laid down at Droxford, the Droxford railway station (including its iconic World War II significance) and the discovery and excavation of the Saxon or Jutish cemetery. The following are the images taken from the Droxford exhibition capturing the discovery and excavation of the cemetery. Below are photographs from the exhibition relating to the building and history of Droxford station and the Meon Valley railway line.

Some of the Droxford cemetery artefacts were deposited at the British Museum, to be exibited alongside the iconic Sutton Hoo Ship Burial exibition. Some artifacts from Droxford were deposited at the British Museum (as was the Roman building façade from Meonstoke). The Saxon gallery at the British Museum is in 2013 undergoing refurbishment and is due to re-open (hopefully including Droxford artefacts) in 2014.

The History of Droxford Station

The following are the images from the Droxford exhibition relating to the building and history of Droxford station and the Meon Valley railway line.

Corhampton Church, dating from AD 1020, is a living example of Saxon architecture and an icon of the Saxon era; a centre for community and worship in the Valley of the Meon for the last 1000 years. The Friends of Corhampton Church, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund created the opportunity to for the communities of the Meon Valley to bring to life the story of the Saxon era in the Valley.

The Church is located in the rural area of Winchester Council; Winchester was in 1020 (when the Church was built) the capital of Saxon England.

The attached history of the Saxon Church at Corhampton (Corhampton Saxon Church History- 2014) is an update of an earlier version written by the Reverend John Hurst in the 1980s and updated and revised in 2000 by Chris Maxse, a member of the committee of the Friends of Corhampton Church, and a renowned historian of the Christian heritage of the Meon Valley

The attached version was produced in October 2013 by Peter O'Sullivan who is also a member of the committee of Friends of Corhampton Church and the community leader of the Saxon heritage programme in the Meon Valley.

The Friends has a committee of local people who encourage people to join the Friends and raise funds. They also led the Meon Valley Saxon Heritage programme.

The Friends of the Saxon Church at Corhampton created an aerial film of the heritage of the Meon Valley. This is a short taster of the film

The following depicts the 1000 year history of Corhampton Church through a tableau of pictures.
Illustrations by Guy Liardet

The following video was produced by Regia Anglorum a living history society whose members bring to life and celebrate the heritage of the Saxon era.

For more information about Regia Anglorum (including how to become a member) and to learn about life in the Saxon era go to the Regia website – www.regia.org.

The following re-enactment film is available via the Regia website or YouTube. It invites us, in an evocative and exciting manner, to:

The film offers intriguing insights into family, farming and warrior life as it would have been in the Meon Valley in Saxon times

Until recently the Saxon era was known as the Dark Ages because much of the story telling was oral, rather than written. Also a great deal of what was written and much of the architecture and artefacts from the era were destroyed by William the Conqueror and Henry VIII with his dissolution of the monasteries and other sites of historical interest, such as at Sutton Hoo.

Beowulf

Beowulf is a Saxon heroic epic poem set in Scandinavia, and one of most important works of Saxon and English literature. Based on oral traditions and story-telling it would have been told in the mead halls of the Saxon Meon Valley… and maybe even first written here.

This video is introduced by Sir John Gielgud and read by Julian Glover

The Seafarer

The Seafarer is a Saxon poem recorded, along with other poems and riddles, in the Exeter Book, an anthology of Saxon poetry and riddles dating from the 10th century. The original Exeter Book is in the Treasure gallery of the British Library in London.

This video (including a back-drop of the South Downs coast) is an extract of a translation by the legendary American poet, Ezra Pound.

The Lament of Deor

The Lament of Deor (accompanied by a Saxon Lyre Harp). This is the lament of a Saxon poet (scop) called Deor; the reading is accompanied by Saxon music played on an authentic replica Saxon lyre or harp.