7. Saxon

410 AD - 1066 AD

Saxon

At Staines, an execution cemetery

included a grave with three criminals,

hands tied behind their backs.

Image: SCAU

The Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain after the breakdown of Roman rule. At first the retreating Romans employed them as security forces to try to keep the peace. They established military bases along the roads and rivers, which later flourished into settlements and villages. The Vikings were armed raiders who attacked parts of Britain during the later Anglo-Saxon times from about AD 790 onwards. In Surrey there is no evidence of Viking influence or settlement, although chance finds of Viking weapons have been made from the River Thames. Surrey remained an Anglo-Saxon area until the time of the Norman conquest.

People

The Anglo-Saxons were invaders and settlers from the Germanic tribes of north-western Europe. They established powerful kingdoms across the country. The Jutes settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight, the Saxons settled in Essex, Wessex and Sussex, and the Angles settled in East Anglia, the Midlands and Northumbria. Some kingdoms were more powerful than others, and there was constant unrest due to power struggles between the different warrior chiefs. Within their kingdoms they established their own judicial system and held a parliament called witan.
The Vikings were superb ship builders and sea navigators. They raided, invaded and settled in Scotland and along the eastern coast, calling claimed lands Danelaw.

Places

Most of the Roman buildings were left to fall into rack and ruin. The Anglo-Saxons built Germanic style houses, which had a sunken floor and a pitched thatched roof. The houses were used for both living and working activities. In 601 St. Augustine brought Christianity to Kent, and monasteries spread throughout the country. The Viking raiders attacked the poorly defended but wealthy monasteries before establishing fortified towns. They introduced urban living in places such as Jorvik (York).

Times

The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were highly skilled craftsman, making weapons and gem-encrusted gold jewellery. They traded these items between towns, and as far as Russia and Newfoundland. They buried some of their finest items as grave goods in cemeteries and burial mounds. The best example is at Sutton Hoo.

Saxon Surrey

Saxon burials in a cemetery at 42-54 London Road, Staines
The tower of St Mary’s, Guildford has projecting stone strips, which may have been used to imitate timber framing. They are characteristic of late Saxon building.
A coin of Cnut (popularly known as King Canute, who ruled England from 1016 to 1035), which was minted in Guildford. Mints were always sited in towns in late Saxon England
Viking sword with the maker’s name ‘Ulfberit’ inscribed between two crosses was found in Chertsey.

Contributor:Surrey Heritage