In 406AD Emperor Honorius withdrew troops from Britain to defend
the Rhine region from invading Barbarians. Two years later a
directive was sent from the Emperor to all major towns in Britain
telling the local govenors that they were responsible for their
own defense. The defense of Sussex in late Roman times was based
on the shore fort at Pevensey, called Andredecaester in the Saxon
chronicles. The Romans had brought with them many Germanic settlers
when they invaded, and most of these settlers remained in Britain.
455.
AD 455 Hengest and Horsa fought Vertigern the King at Aegelesthrep ( Aylesford ) and defeated
him, his brother Horsa was killed, and Hengest was crowned King of Kent.
Original :- Her Hengest & Horsa fuhton wiþ Wyrtgeorne þam cyninge, in þære stowe
þe is gecueden Agelesþrep, & his broþur Horsan man ofslog; & æfter þam Hengest feng to rice &
Æsc his sunu.
457.
AD 457 Hengest and his son Aesc defeat the britons at Crecganford ( Crayford ) and the
British abandon Kent.
Original :- Her Hengest & Æsc fuhton wiþ Brettas in þære stowe þe is gecueden
Crecganford & þær ofslogon .iiiim. wera, & þa Brettas þa forleton Centlond & mid micle ege
flugon to Lundenbyrg.
465.
AD 465 Hengest and Aesc fought the britons near Wippedesfleot and killed twelve eldermen.
One of their thanes Wipped was killed here.
Original :- Her Hengest & Æsc gefuhton uuiþ Walas neah Wippedesfleote &
þær .xii. wilisce aldormenn ofslogon, & hiera þegn an þær wearþ ofslægen, þam wæs
noma Wipped.
473.
AD 473 Hengest and Aesc fought the britons and seized countless spoils of war.
The welsh fled the english as one flees a fire.
Original :- Her Hengest & Æsc gefuhton wiþ Walas & genamon unarimedlico
herereaf, & þa Walas flugon þa Englan swa þer fyr.
477.
Aelle came to Britain and his three sons Cymen Wlencing and Cyssa, with
three ships, landing at a place which is named Cymensora. There they killed many Welsh,
and drove some in flight into AndredsWeald.
Original :- Her cuom Ælle on Bretenlond & his .iii. suna, Cymen & Wlencing &
Cissa, mid .iii. scipum on þa stowe þe is nemned Cymenesora, & þær ofslogon
monige Wealas & sume on fleame bedrifon on þone wudu þe is genemned
Andredesleage.
485.
Aelle fought the Welsh near the landing place at Mearcredesburnan.
Original :- Her Ælle gefeaht wiþ Walas neah Mearcrædesburnan stæðe.
491.
Aelle and Cyssa besieged Anderida , near Pevensey, and killed all who were
inside, so there was not one Briton left.
Original :- Her Ælle, Cissa ymbsæton Andredescester, ofslogon alle þa þe
þærinne eardedon; ne wearþ þær forþon an Bret to lafe.
495.
There came two eaorlmen to Britain, Cerdic and Cynric his son, with five
ships, to a place called Cerdicesora, on the same day they fought the Welsh.
Original :- Her cuomon twegen aldormen on Bretene, Cerdic , Cynric his sunu,
mid .v. scipum in þone stede þe is gecueden Cerdicesora, þy ilcan dæge
gefuhtun wiþ Walum.
501.
Port came to Britain with his two sons, Bieda and Maegia, and two ships,
to the place called Portsmouth, and killed a young British man, a noble.
Original :- Her cuom Port on Bretene, his .ii. suna Bieda, Mægla mid .ii.
scipum on þære stowe þe is gecueden Portesmuþa, ofslogon anne giongne
brettiscmonnan, swiþe æþelne monnan.
508.
This year Cerdic and Cynric killed a British King named Natanleod, and
five thousand men with him. After that the land was known as Natanleag up
to Cedicesford.
Original :- Her Cerdic & Cynric ofslogon ænne brettisccyning, þam was nama
Natanleod, .v. þusendu wera mid him. Æfter was þæt lond nemned Natanleaga
oþ Cerdicesford.
514.
The West-Saxons came to Briton with 3 ships to a place called Cerdicesora
and in the same year they fought the Britons and put them to flight.
Original :- Her cuomon Westseaxe in Bretene mid .iii. scipum in þa stowe
þe is gecueden Cerdicesora, & Stuf & Wihtgar, & fuhton wiþ Brettas & hie
gefliemdon
519.
Cerdic and Cynric received the West-Saxon kingdom, and the same year they
fought with the Britons, in a place now called Cerdicesford. The royal line of
Wessex ruled from that day.
Original :- Her Certic & Kynric onfengon Westseaxna rice, & þi ilcan geare hi
gefuhton wið Bryttas ðer man nu nemnað Certicesford; & siððan rixadon
Westseaxna cynebarn of þam dæge.
What we have above is a description of the invasion of Britain by the Jutes and Saxons
Hengist and Horsa followed by the Saxons. The invasion starts in Kent then as the land
is taken the invaders move west through Sussex . There seems to be a significant gap in
the records relating to the area of current day Hastings - please see the following page.
475AD New detailed page on Haesta the Saxon (Hastings)
In 597 Pope Gregory sent a Christian mission to Britain which
was led by Augustine landed in Kent. He was very successful and
converted King Aethelbert together with the kings of Essex and
East Anglia.
In 793 the first Viking raids took place in Northern England,
and during the next years saw major raids along most of the
Southern and Eastern coasts of England. These raids culminated
in the ‘Great Army’ of 865 which wintered on the Isle of Thanet
before commencing on a twelve year invasion.
The first major British Monarchs , the house of Wessex also began
its rise to fame during the 800's commencing with Egbert who
defeated the Mercians in 825. It is noteworthy that his son,
Aethelwulf, was the first King of Wessex to inherit the throne
from his father since the seventh century. His other four sons
succeeded him in turn Aethelbald, Aethelbert, Aethelred I and
finally the youngest and most famous, Alfred the Great. Alfred
fought the Vikings 'Great Army' and eventually brought them to a
standstill at Edington which produced the Treaty of Wedmore in 878.
This led to an uneasy peace and the establishment of the Danelaw,
which gave the Danes about half of the country to the East.
Alfred left a number of defensive sites in our area including ones
at KenardingtonNewendenPenhurst and Pevensey .
The house of Wessex continued to expand their frontiers, and
in 937 Athelstan achieved a decisive victory at Brunanburgh,
when a coalition of Irish, Norse, Scots and Northumbrians were
defeated.
In 954 King Eadred defeated Eric Bloodaxe who was driven out of
York and killed at Stainmoor. Edgar who came to the throne in
959 spent the next 17 years of his reign trying to weld the
states of Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex into a
single body. This is the time that the English state was formed.
During the reign of Aethelred the Unready (978-1016) the Viking
attacks on England started again. In the 980’s the Vikings
raided the Welsh coast and south-west England. At the same time
attacks on London and the south-east began from the North Sea
and Scandinavia. In the 990’s the great armies of Norway and
Sweden under the leadership of Olaf (later King of Norway) and
Svein ( King of Denmark) attacked.
The Viking onslaught came mainly from King Svein of Denmark from
1003 to 1006 , with Thorkell the Tall campaigning in the south
and east between 1009 and 1013. Svein returned in 1013 and at
Gainsborough he became King of Northumbria, towards the end of
the year the last Wessex resistance failed and Swein was made
King of England and Aethelred fled to Normandy.
In 1014 Svein died, and Canute took his father throne both in
England and in Denmark, however Edmund the son of Aethelred came
back and took back the South. In 1016 Edmund died, and the land
reverted to Canute. On Canute's death in 1035, the kingdom
was inherited by his son Hardicanute, but he was unable to take
control as he was fighting Magnus of Norway in Denmark, so Canute's
half brother Harald took over. Harald died in 1040 and at last
Hardicanute inherited the throne. Finally Hardicanute died in
1042, and the house of Wessex was restored to power in the
hands of Edward the Confessor .
During this time the family of Earl Godwin came to power from
obscure origins in Sussex. The family rose in two generations to
the pinnacle of power in England. A turning point in the family’s
fortunes was the marriage in 1043 of Godwin’s daughter Edith to
King Edward the Confessor .
The next step of this story is told on our 1066 pages.
Language
Anglo Saxon Words which have influenced village names in the area.
Modern
Explanation
ash
From the word aesc meaning ash tree
broad
From the word bred meaning wide
brook
From the word broka meaning a stream or marsh
borough
From the word burh meaning fortress,
or it can also be derived from beorg meaning a hill.
burgh
From the word burh meaning fortress,
or it can also be derived from beorg meaning a hill.
bury
From the word burh meaning fortress
burn
From the word burna a stream
bourn(e)
From the word burna a stream
church
From the word ciric meaning burial ground. Ciric
mutated to circe then finally church
combe
From the word comb meaning a valley or low place.
den
A village suffix from the original denbera, meaning a
large clearing in the forest, or a swine pasture.
dene
From the original denbera, meaning a
large clearing in the forest, or a swine pasture.
ew
A village prefix meaning yew(tree)
ey
A village suffix from Ie meaning Island
field
A village suffix from the original feld, meaning a
large clearing in the forest.
hart
meaning deer.
ham
A village suffix meaning enclosure.
From our research we now believe ham was a farm on the edge of a river or sea and were
fourth phase Saxon settlements.
heath
From the original ethe, meaning a patch of
heath land in the forest.
hurst
A village suffix meaning wooded hill from the Anglo Saxon hyrst
ing
Originally thought to mean followers or family of
Our research implies that place names ending in ing were early Saxon defensive forts
With later forts ending in ington(on hills) or ingham(in valleys)
ings
Our research implies that place names ending in ings were second phase
Saxon defensive forts
ington
Our research implies that place names ending in ington
were third phase Saxon fortified settlements found in the hills or on the downs.
ingham
Our research implies that place names ending in ingham
were third phase Saxon fortified settlements located near Sea Level or in river valleys.
ly
A village suffix from the original leagh, meaning a
clearing in the forest.
ley
A village suffix from the original leagh, meaning a
clearing in the forest.
leigh
A village suffix from the original leagh, meaning a
clearing in the forest.
mare
A village prefix from the original mere, meaning a pool or pond.
marsh
A village suffix from the original mersc, meaning a marsh or bog.
paddock
A village prefix a corruption of the word parruc meaning park or enclosure.
sale
A village prefix, a corruption of the word sealh meaning willow(tree).
shire
A governable area
shore
taken from ora a shore,haven or port usually only
used for notable landings
stede
A place, a spot or locality
From our research we believe this to mean a landing place on the edge of the sea
tice
A village prefix, the word for kids(goats)
ton
A village suffix meaning homestead
From our research we believe ton would be a hill farm
tun
A village suffix meaning homestead
From our research we believe tun would be a hill farm
town
A village suffix meaning homestead
From our research we believe town would be a hill farm
walda
the name for woody ground
weald
From the Roman the forest of Anderida , which was
turned into Andred Wold, then Andreadsweald, finally Weald. (This
was a forest covering a large part of Southern Kent and East Sussex.)
