Bridport and Bredy. Where was Brydian?

River Asker, Bridport, Dorset

Bridport has often been thought to be the location of Brydian, a fortified location mentioned in a document called the Burghal Hidage. However, it is by no means certain that this is the case. This post is part of additional materials relating to my book, King Alfred: A Man on the Move, available from Amazon and bookshops. To buy a copy, and support this project, please click on the image below.

The Burghal Hidage is a document drawn up after King Alfred’s post-878AD development of a network of defended burghs (fortified locations). However, it seems that the version that has come down to us dates to his son, King Edward the Elder, because it includes sites such as Buckingham, which were not fortified by the Saxons of Wessex until his reign. Nonetheless, there may have been earlier versions dating to King Alfred’s reign that have been lost to us. Given Bridport’s location on a Roman road extending between the Saxon locations of Dorchester to Exeter, it seems likely to me that it would have been part of King Alfred’s defensive burgh programme. It must be noted that I have seen it challenged that the Roman road from Dorchester to Exeter ran through Bridport (effectively challenging the direction taken by Margery Road 4f when it reached Eggardon hillfort from Dorchester) However, it is thought possible that the A35 through Bridport might still be a later Roman road if not an early one.

However, there are good reasons to question whether Brydian was at Bridport and not somewhere else. Chief among these options is the charming village of Little Bredy, just seven miles west of Dorchester. It is here that the River Bride rises from the earth. The source is dammed to create a beautiful artificial lake.

View from Little Bredy, Dorset to Warren Hill
Looking across the lake at Little Bredy towards Warren Hill

The important point is this. The Domesday Book (1086) shows that Cerne Abbey owned places called “Littelbred” and Langabride”. But when we go back to the founding charter of Cerne Abbey (987AD) we find that these places are called in Latin “Bridian” and “Ulteriore Bridian.” The meaning of “ulterior” is “further away” or “distant.” As I don’t know the answer to the question “further away from what?”, I have adopted the respected expert on place names A.D. Mills’ opinion that Bridian refers to Little Bredy and that Ulteriore Bridian refers to Long Bredy. The charter (S1217) is referred to here and can be read (in Latin) here. Note that although some elements of the charter may be spurious, much of the information may be correct (e.g. the owning of the Bredys is confirmed by Domesday). That neither of these Brydians were Bridport is shown by Bridport having a separate entry in Domesday. Furthermore, at this time Bridport was owned by the king, and not by Cerne Abbey.

It has been suggested that if Brydian had been at Little Bredy, then the fortified site might have been on Warren Hill, where there might have been an earlier Iron Age hill fort.

St Michael and All Angels, Little Bredy

It is worth mentioning here the confusion to be caused by two rivers with very similar names. The River Bride flows from Little Bredy to the coast near Burton Bradstock. The River Brit flows from the north, passes through Bridport and enters the sea at West Bay. It seems that the River Brit was named after Bridport and was originally called the Woth.

The river Bride flowing through Little Bredy, Dorset
The River Bride, flowing west through Little Bredy, Dorset

Another location that I have seen being referred to in relation to this puzzle is the area around Bredy Farm and Bredy North Hill, just to the east of Burton Bradstock (referred to in Domesday as Brideton). However, I think these are just named after the River Bride that flows by here and I can’t see a reason to place this location above Little Bredy in the hierarchy of places that could have been Brydian (with Bridport at the top, as we shall see). Bredy Farm and Bredy North Hill are on OS maps. Bredy Farm is a great place to get some cider and there is a restaurant that I understand is very good.

Bredy North Hill, Dorset
Looking north east to Bredy North Hill from the road just north of Bredy Farm

So, is it still possible that Brydian could have been at Bridport? I think that the answer is “Yes”. Here are my reasons. Little Bredy is far too close to Dorchester for there to have been a separate fortified settlement there. Bridport is further away (about 15 miles as opposed to 7) and on a significant Roman road. We also know that there was a mint at Bridport in later Anglo-Saxon times and these have inscriptions such as “Bryd”. It seems highly unlikely to me that there would have been a mint at the small location of Little Bredy (or, even less likely, up on Warren Hill). So, if Bridport was Bridian, why was Little Bredy also Bridian (or Brydian)? I believe it is possible that people who lived in the valley of the River Bride (therefore including Little Bredy) moved (or spread) to what we now call Bridport and took their name with them, and that this occurred before the time of King Alfred.

So, taking Brydian to be Bridport, what was this place like at the time of King Alfred. Unfortunately, no Anglo-Saxon defences have been found, but there are a couple of clues. One is the entry in Domesday where we are told that there was a church at Bridport. This would have therefore been Anglo-Saxon (a church at Burton Bradstock – Brideton- is also mentioned). In the absence of any conflicting evidence it seems likely that this church would have been where St Mary’s church now stands.

St Mary's church, Bridport, Dorset
St Mary’s church, Bridport. Possibly on the site of an Anglo-Saxon church.

It is interesting to note how the land around the church lies between two rivers, something which crops up in other significant Wessex Anglo-Saxon locations (such as Christchurch, Wareham and Reading). The two rivers are the River Brit and the River Asker. It seems to be a good working hypothesis that the Saxon settlement would have extended from this confluence north to at least the east-west Roman road. The confluence is easy to observe from the bridge near Palmer’s brewery.

The confluence of the River Brit and the River Asker, Bridport, Dorset
The confluence of the River Brit (from the left) and the River Asker (from the right). The view is looking north from the bridge near Palmers Brewery.

To conclude, I believe that it is more likely that the Brydian mentioned in the Burghal Hidage was at Bridport. This does not, however, mean that other locations can be ruled out entirely.

On another subject, King Alfred pursued the land-based component of the Viking army from Wareham all the way to Exeter in 876AD. It seems plausible that this pursuit would have taken place along what is now East Street and West Street in Bridport.

Map of Bridport, Dorset. Hutchins.
Map of Bridport, Dorset, from Hutchins, 3rd Edition (1870)

Looking west up East Street, towards the junction with South Street, in Bridport. Did King Alfred pursue the Vikings along this road in 876AD?
Looking west up East Street, towards the junction with South Street, in Bridport. Did King Alfred pursue the Vikings along this road in 876AD?

This post is one of several sequels to my book on King Alfred. Click on the image to find out more about the book at Amazon.

A hot-spot in the Saxon history of Devon

This post provides additional material relating to my book: King Alfred: A Man on the Move, available from Amazon and through bookshops.

I refer to Tiverton, Silverton, Cullompton and Bickleigh as being a mid-Devon hot-spot because I came across evidence relating to King Alfred and his son, King Edward the Elder, for these close-together places. It seems that this area was particularly important in the Saxon history of Devon in and around King Alfred’s time.

King Alfred, in his will, left estates at Mylenburnan, Tiverton (Twyfyrde – refering to two former fords across the rivers Exe and Lowman) and Cullompton to his youngest son Æthelweard. The historians Keynes and Lapidge, in their analysis of King Alfred’s will, favour Silverton as the site of Mylenburnan. In addition, there were four charters issued by King Edward the Elder nearby at a place called Bicanleag, which is believed to be Bickleigh. Although most charters seem to have been challenged at some point as to their authenticity (either in whole or part), it seems to me that the presence of four of them means that it is likely that Bickleigh was a high status location at the time. Bickleigh is not far from the important location of Crediton, which I have written about in an earlier post. Transcripts of the charters can be seen here: S372, S373, S1286, S374. To give an indication of the proximity of the locations, the modern distances by road are: Bickleigh to Tiverton = 4 miles, Bickleigh to Silverton = 4 miles, Bickleigh to Cullompton = 10 miles, Bickleigh to Crediton = 9 miles. This area was clearly significant in the Saxon history of Devon.

I have not seen anything to tell me that Bickleigh was a royal estate at the time of King Alfred. For example it does not appear in King Alfred’s will. However, I wonder whether Bickleigh’s location between Tiverton and Silverton may be more than coincidence.

St Peter's church, Tiverton, Devon
St Peter’s church, Tiverton, Devon

Tiverton

Tiverton was, and remains, an important place in the history of Devon. It is well worth a visit, although most people (myself included) will have passed the town on the A361 dual carriageway to the North Devon coast without realising this. It has a majestic parish church which, although 15th century, includes a re-sited 12th century doorway. It is possible that there might have been an earlier ecclesiastical building on the same site. There are the remains of a 12th century castle adjacent to the church, and the road to the east of the castle and church may have been the market in Saxon times.

View north from the bridge at Tiverton, Devon
Looking north from the bridge at Tiverton, Devon. The likely site of the royal Saxon estate is where St Peter’s church can be seen on the right.

It is interesting to note how the focus of the commercial centre of Tiverton has shifted (to the south) over time, as it also seems to have done at Shaftesbury (where it shifted to the east). It seems sensible that the royal estate would have been where the remains of the castle and the church are located, because if the Normans found a position to be defendable, then the Saxons had probably discovered that fact previously. It isn’t entirely obvious from maps, but when on location it was clear to me that the location is high above the River Exe, making it easier to defend.

Silverton

Silverton is a village just off the main road between Exeter and Tiverton (and south of Bickleigh). Not only did King Alfred leave an estate here in his will, but by Domesday, the hundred that included Cullompton was called Sulfretone (Silverton) Hundred. The parish church here is 15th century (as is the case in many places, there could have been an earlier structure) and, when arriving by car, is not at first easy to find because it is set back from the road. There is a footpath that leads from more or less opposite the shops on Newport Road. Unfortunately when I arrived the church was shut to visitors because of internal scaffolding. It seems that this place was more important in the Saxon history of Devon than is currently popularly realised.

St Mary the Virgin church at Silverton, Devon
St Mary the Virgin church at Silverton, Devon

Bickleigh

Now to Bickleigh, where it seemed to me that there were two contenders for the location of the estate called Bicanleag from which King Edward the Elder seems to have been issuing charters. The first was the current village centre, focused on St Mary the Virgin church, up a steep hill near Bickleigh Bridge and Bickleigh Mill. The other location was Bickleigh Castle, a manor house and wedding venue. This has been an important location over time, with Queen Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles I) staying here when on the way to Exeter (after which she would flee to France from Falmouth, Cornwall). The main point of interest for this blog post, however, is the chapel, which is thought to go back to Saxon times. Although I have not found proof of this (any help greatly appreciated) it is at least thought to predate the 15th century church of St Mary the Virgin in the village centre, which has a 12th century font (and I was told that the font came from the chapel at Bickleigh Castle). Although it cannot be said with certainty, it seems to me that the most likely location at Bickleigh for the signing of charters is the general area of Bickleigh Castle.

The chapel at Bickleigh Castle, Devon
The chapel at Bickleigh Castle, Devon

Cullompton

An estate at Cullompton was also left to Æthelweard in King Alfred’s will. I also found it fascinating that by the time of the Domesday Book (1086), Cullompton was a vill (referred to as Colitone) within the hundred of Silverton. This is revealed in the Liber Exoniensis (searchable here), which contains assessments for Domesday in the South West based on land-owners. This seems to mark Silverton as being a more significant place than Cullompton, whereas today it is the other way around. A word of caution though: Hundred names might sometimes refer to convenient meeting places or local well-known place-names. A case in point would be Culliford Tree in Dorset where, to this day, there is no habitation at this Bronze Age barrow on the crest of a ridge. But where in Cullompton was King Alfred’s estate? Was it the whole of Cullompton as it existed at that time?

St Andrew's church, Cullompton, Devon
St Andrew’s church, Cullompton, Devon

Importantly, the entry for Cullompton in the main Domesday record makes reference to a church. There was therefore a Saxon church at Cullompton and it seems likely that this would have been at the location of the current 15th century St Andrew’s church in the centre of Cullompton. Unfortunately, the church was locked when I visited, which was a shame as I understand it has a great interior and even a King Alfred window. The Saxon church would have probably been associated with the royal estate, so it seems that we can place this somewhere in the general area around the church. It is interesting to note that settlement in Roman times seems to have been around St Andrew’s Hill (with a fort on top), a short distance to the north. Indeed, in various places, Saxon settlement seems to have been at different locations to earlier Roman settlement. Perhaps the most well known is London, with a shift away from what we call The City to the area around Aldwych.

This blog post relating to the Saxon history of Devon is part of a sequel to my book on King Alfred the Great, available from Amazon and bookshops. Click the image to find out more (it takes you to the description on Amazon).

Saxon Dorset: The Æthelwold Rebellion

King Alfred died in 899, but the succession of his son, King Edward the Elder, was not without incident, leading to important events taking place in Saxon Dorset. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles tell us that after Edward succeeded to the throne, his cousin Æthelwold (son of King Æthelred, who had preceded Alfred as king) rode and seized both Wimborne and Christchurch. In response, King Edward rode to where Badbury Rings now stand. Strictly speaking, this post just deals with the earlier part of the Æthelwold rebellion, before he fled Dorset for Northumbria. I hope to deal with later events in subsequent posts. All of these locations are in Dorset. For a map showing these places, please click the link below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1osvpXIq6KRwPwd0gQRmwKTdK7QzEvNlf&usp=sharing

It seems that Wimborne was Æthelwold’s main base (as opposed to Christchurch). This is because the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles tell us that he barricaded himself in the estate there. It seems that he was there with a nun as well as some supporters, before he eventually fled under the cover of darkness to Northumbria, with the nun also going on the run. We are told that he took this nun against the orders of bishops, although we cannot be certain of what kind of relationship Æthelwold had with her. Nowhere is she named. It may not have been a hostile abduction. Indeed, Florence of Worcester tells us that Edward had married the nun, and also that she was later returned to Wimborne – and therefore presumably had come from there as well. Perhaps Edward went to Wimborne more because of the nun than because it was the location of his buried father. Æthelwold’s father, King Æthelred, had been buried at Wimborne in 871 some time after the Battle of Meretun. The outline of the Saxon royal estate is not known but it is thought to have been focused around where the minster is currently located, and it is thought that the Minster might be at the location of the Saxon church, nunnery (that had been founded by King Ine in 705) and monastery.

Wimborne Minster, Dorset

Christchurch is called Tweoxnam in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, referring to its location between two water courses, the Rivers Stour and Avon. The priory is thought to sit on (or overlap with) the footprint of the earlier Saxon church.

The modern Saxon cross in Saxon Square, Christchurch
The modern Saxon cross in Saxon Square, Christchurch
Christchurch Priory, Dorset
Christchurch Priory, Dorset
Map of Christchurch, Dorset. Mudge 1811
Map of Christchurch. Part of a map by Mudge, 1811.

Badbury Rings is an impressively large Iron Age hill fort. King Edward clearly found this location suitable for suppressing his cousin’s rebellion at nearby Wimborne. It is an easy place to visit, with a large car park. A number of Roman roads converge at Badbury Rings, although it is difficult to be certain which of these would have been in use in King Edward the Elder’s time. It is interesting to speculate on how he might have got from Winchester (based on an assumption that he would have been at his father’s interment at Winchester and that the rebellion took place shortly afterwards) to Badbury on any existing Roman roads. It seems likely that a Roman road from Winchester passing through Otterbourne extended through to Ringwood and then onward, probably to Lake Farm, near Corfe Mullen (near Wimborne). There was a Roman road from there to Badbury. Æthelwold may have used most of the same route to get to Wimborne. Other routes may have been available, but when being pursued, or in pursuit, something in a straight line would have been preferred.

If you are particularly interested in Saxon Dorset around the time of King Alfred, you may wish to visit my other posts on Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Dorchester and Wimborne.

Badbury Rings, near Wimborne, Dorset
Badbury Rings, near Wimborne, Dorset. Seem from the south

This post relating to Saxon Dorset is a follow on from my book, King Alfred: A Man on the Move, available from bookshops and Amazon.

Hyde Abbey, Winchester

This post on Hyde Abbey is adapted and condensed from my book, King Alfred: A Man on the Move, available through Amazon and bookshops. This is my second post on Winchester, the first is located here.

King Alfred was buried at Winchester, in Hampshire, but the location of his remains are unknown. His remains were moved at least twice and the different religious buildings built at different times can cause confusion in trying to work out where these remains went. I refer you to my first post on Winchester for the first two locations of Alfred’s remains, the Old Minster and the New Minster.

In 1109 Henry I ordered that the New Minster be moved to land that he had provided at Hyde, which was then just outside Winchester. It is possible that the New Minster had suffered from a fire prior to 1109, which might have made the move opportune, or perhaps Henry I did not want the Saxon New Minster cramping the style of the gleaming Norman Winchester Cathedral. The re-located New Minster would then become known as Hyde Abbey. In my opinion, the location of this abbey must be one of the most important of the lesser-known sites in British history, and it deserves to be much more famous.

The three stone slabs at Hyde Abbey Gardens, Winchester,marking the location near the high altar where King Alfred, King Edward the Elder (his son) and Ealhswith (his wife) would have been once buried. Their (or some of) their remains may still be present in the vicinity.
The three stone slabs at Hyde Abbey Gardens, Winchester,marking the location near the high altar where King Alfred, King Edward the Elder (his son) and Ealhswith (his wife) would have been once buried. Their (or some of) their remains may still be present in the vicinity.

Documents indicate that Alfred was transferred to Hyde Abbey in 1110 and that he was interred in front of the altar. Today, Hyde is just north of the city centre and can be easily visited by walking north up Hyde Street, and then turning right into King Alfred Place. This leads to the location of the altar of Hyde Abbey where three stone slabs show where Alfred, his wife and his son were once buried.

Hyde Abbey fifteenth century gateway, Winchester.
Hyde Abbey fifteenth century gateway, Winchester. A reminder of what once stood elsewhere in this part of Winchester.

Hyde Abbey was destroyed in 1539 in Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Furthermore, the Annals of Winchester tell us that Hyde Abbey was burnt in 1141, which fits with another record that tells us that the abbey laid “in ruins” after having been set alight in a battle between King Stephen and Matilda in 1141. It seems possible to me that Alfred’s and other important remains could have been relocated in 1141, or prior to the 1539 dissolution. However, the discovery of part of a pelvis (see below) shows that bones from the Anglo-Saxon period remained.

There is a detailed story (for those interested, this is in my book) about how eventually some bones, thought to include those of King Alfred, ended up being interred in the grounds of St Bartholomew’s church, which is located within the footprint of the precinct of Hyde Abbey. However, when these bones were radio-carbon dated, they were found to be more recent than the Anglo-Saxon period. This was the subject of a TV documentary, which you may have seen. To cut a long story short a prison was built on the site in the 1780s and about a decade or so later a Henry Howard made enquiries and was informed by Page (the overseer of the prison construction) about what was found, from which Mellor made a “rough drawing”. The following quote from Howard’s text, which appeared in Archaeologia in 1800, along with his sketch, is most interesting:

“About a [on Howard’s drawing] was also found a stone coffin cased with lead both within and without, and containing some bones and remains of garments. The lead in its decayed state sold for two guineas; the bones were thrown about, and the stone coffin broken into pieces. There were two other coffins, and no more, found in this part, which were also for the sake of the garden, in which they lay, broken and buried as low as the spring.”

I apologise for not putting up an image of his sketch because of copyright etc.

Point a on his drawing seems a plausible location for near the high altar. However, he goes on to say that many more stone coffins were found both to the east (outside the east wall) and the west of this location (in the nave). Clearly, in a situation where bones had been “thrown about”, bones near the altar may not have started off there. The point about the well was taken up by a Mellor who indeed found bones there and sold them to the vicar of St Bartholomew’s, and it seems that these are the bones that ended up collectively buried to the east of that church.

St Bartholomew's church, Hyde, Winchester
St Bartholomew’s church, Hyde, Winchester

Nonetheless, testing was carried out on bones from an excavation at the main site of the abbey undertaken in the 1990s, and a sample from an approximately middle-aged (to us!) male pelvis was dated to 895-1017. Although dating to the correct period, because King Alfred died in 899, it is not possible to say whether this pelvis once belonged to him. King Edward the Elder, who died in 924, was also buried at Hyde Abbey and there is evidence that other individuals may have been too: Æthelweard (a son of Alfred), or Ælfweard (son of King Edward the Elder, although he may have been too young to match the profile of the bone), a monk called Grimbald (although he died quite old) and St Judoc (who, however, died in the 7th century). There may, of course, have been other individuals for which we have no record. Because the bones were found in the vicinity of the high altar (even if it was in back-fill from a Victorian dig) it seems to me not impossible that the bone is from King Alfred, King Edward the Elder, or Æthelweard. Slightly worrying, though, is a record from 1798 that tells us that when a prison was built on the site, bones that were found were “thrown about.” This might mean that what is found near the high altar might not have started off there. Furthermore, would the builders then build over these scattered bones or have them removed? The latter seems more likely. We must remember that Richard III was discovered under a car park in Leicester, so we should perhaps always be ready to be surprised. Richard III, however, died almost 600 years more recently than King Alfred, something that I assume made using a live relative for a DNA comparison (as was done with Richard III) more straight forward. There may have also been less change in use of the land over time in the case or Richard III.

It was hoped that DNA from the pelvis fragment could be matched with those of King Alfred’s grand-daughter, Eadgyth, who was buried at Magdeburg, in Germany. However, although it was thought that it would be possible to extract DNA from the pelvis fragment, it seemed that the remains of Eadgyth were too poorly preserved to attempt a match.

This is a special place to visit, and I always make time to come here whenever I am in Winchester. In fact, this location was one of my main inspirations for writing my book. It is a hugely important location in the history of England.

The for refreshment. There is even a King Alfred pub close to Hyde Abbey Gardens. I had a beer and a meal in here and both were very good.

There is a community group called Hyde 900 that has done a lot of work in relation to the former abbey, and they deserve a mention. Their website also has more information.