History Shorts: snippets of local history

The early Christian figure known today as St David was canonised and declared patron saint of Wales in the 12th century more than 500 years after his death (supposedly on 1 March 589). Today's St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire stands on the site of a monastic community founded by David in the 6th century. He was an important figure in the region well before canonisation, certainly if the story of a visit to the site by William the Conqueror is true. His canonisation probably helped cement Norman influence in the region. The pope who canonised him, Callixtus, declared St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire as a place of pilgrimage so important that two pilgrimages here were equivalent to one in Rome.  And it effectively remains a place of pilgrimage today, albeit for tourists as well as worshippers. The Shrine of St David was constructed in the 12th century but damaged during the Reformation. The version seen today is a 21st century restoration, featuring icons by artist ...

Though technically within the boundaries of Oxford city, Iffley retains a distinct village charm and historical significance of its own, most notably through its remarkably well-preserved Norman church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Perched on the east bank of the River Thames (or, Isis in this stretch), Iffley sits safely above the river, approximately two miles downstream of Oxford. The origins of Iffley can be traced back to the chronicles of Abingdon Abbey in the 940s, where it was referred to as Gifteleia. In the Domesday Book in 1086, it was called Givetelei , with "ley" likely deriving from the Saxon term for cleared ground. The name transitioned through Iftele in the 13th century and to Iffley in the 16th century. Evidence of even older settlements is abundant: a sixth-century Saxon brooch found in Iffley is now housed in the British Museum, while nearby Roman pottery sites and Neolithic artifacts hint at a site with a long history. A timeless masterpiece  Dating ...

The idea of a lost medieval village sounds mysterious and thrilling, conjuring images of streets and houses lost to modern maps, abandoned for reasons unknown and buried under layers of subsequent history. In reality these deserted villages were most likely very small settlements populated by a few families linked to a manor house and perhaps a church. There are literally thousands in England alone and the factors driving their abandonment were probably more mundane than catastrophic.  One such abandoned settlement is Bix Brand nestled in a valley in the Chiltern Hills a few miles from Henley. What remains today is the ruins of a Norman era church dedicated to St James but the area is known to have been populated in Roman times - a Roman farmhouse and artefacts have been discovered in the vicinity. Also nearby lies part of the prehistoric earthworks known as Grim's Ditch.  By the time of the Domesday Book, there were two settlements in the area known as Bixa Brand, which had t...