Anglo-Saxon Romsey
The Evidence in the Landscape
The Anglo-Saxon Project
In 2014 the Romsey Local History Society embarked on a community project to study Romsey and the surrounding area in the Anglo-Saxon period. The project was initiated by longtime society chairman Phoebe Merrick and funded by a legacy from Christopher Collier, a former member of the society who had a particular interest in the Anglo-Saxons. Through his generosity the society was able to obtain advice and training from the University of Winchester. Dr Alex Langlands helped to get the project off to a good start with an introduction to the study of Saxon land grant charters, assigning each member of a small group a charter to ‘solve’. Professor Ryan Lavelle took over in the role of advisor, attending the discussion meetings to answer the questions of the increasingly knowledgeable project participants.
Bequest funds were invested in setting up a Geographic Information System (GIS) database in order to study historic maps. Datasets such as LiDAR were trimmed to the study area. Nathalie Barrett trained several society members in the use of QGIS, covering the skills required to prepare maps for inclusion in the database and also using the software for landscape analysis. Colin Moretti took over the management and development of the system, georeferencing numerous tithe and estate maps which have proved to be invaluable for analysing and understanding the landscape.
Archaeologists from the University of Winchester also assisted in training in the field. Nathalie Barrett and David Ashby introduced members to geophysical surveying, the more-difficult-than-it-looks digging of a test pit (in rock-hard clay) and undertook auger-sampling of the retaining bank of the previously unrecognised artificial Saxon watercourse carrying water into Romsey.
Examining the boundary landmarks of the Ampfield charter with Alex Langlands.
Ryan Lavelle
Phoebe Merrick
Hands-on Archaeology
Twice-monthly discussion meetings in the basement of Romsey Town Hall, the society’s base of operations, were augmented with numerous walks to explore the study area. Individuals researched each of the parishes and presented their findings to the group. Those with a detailed knowledge of an area served as local guides on the walks, pointing out features in the landscape that were important in the area’s history and development. Project members visited churches and former church sites; prehistoric earthworks; mills and mill leats; learned how to recognise drove roads and animal pounds; examined boundary banks, ditches, hedges, fords, hollow ways, green roads and village greens; searched for evidence of woodland management, ancient coppice and pollards and stumbled upon the occasional graffiti, carved into the bark of a tree and spreading with age.
Photos by Karen Anderson
The group discussions and walks provided the groundwork for research at a more detailed level. Many of the members made use of the Hampshire Record Office to examine maps and documents in pursuit of their particular interests. A coach was filled for an excursion to The National Archives at Kew in October 2015 to photograph documents relating to the parishes in the study area. These included 19th century boundary books made by the Ordnance Survey containing sketch maps that precisely defined each parish boundary. The Romsey Local History Society hosted a conference jointly organised with the University of Winchester on Anglo-Saxons and River Valley Settlement in April 2016. Members benefited from the contributions of experts including Ann Cole on placenames, Ros Faith on river valley resources, David Hinton on Saxon settlement in the valley of the Hampshire Avon and Nick Stoodley on the Meon valley. The members of the Anglo-Saxon project displayed posters on various aspects of their research. A larger exhibition was held in Romsey Town Hall the following November.
Examining and photographing documents at The National Archives, Kew.
Anglo-Saxons and River Valley Settlement conference.
Anglo-Saxon Project exhibition in Romsey Town Hall.
