Published in Windlesora 03 (1984)
© WLHG
A little downstream from New Windsor lies the village of Old Windsor which, like its neighbour, has royal connections, for it was at Kingsbury in the 1950’s that excavations by Brian Hope-Taylor revealed the site of what was a palace, occupied in the middle and late Saxon periods. The remains of stone buildings, some glass, and a large watermill were unearthed. Indeed, Ham Island was created at this time by the digging of a leat across the loop of the river in order to drive the great wheels of the mill, one of the largest to be discovered from this period.
On the other side of the Thames, opposite Magna Carta Island, another Saxon settlement is currently being excavated, which is quite probably connected with that at Old Windsor. At Manor Farm, Wraysbury, digging is taking place close to St Andrew’s Church, revealing what may be the original location of the burh of Wyrardisbury. Indications are that the site may well embrace the Roman/Saxon transition period – the start of the Dark Ages, whose story of archaeology is now beginning to unfold. There was obviously a substantial Roman building in the vicinity, as the roofing tiles and pottery clearly demonstrate. Finds from the Saxon period include loom weights, a bone spindle whorl, a bronze pin, iron knife blades, a blue glass bead and bone comb fragments. From the Norman period, a rare bronze spatula has been discovered. Coins found include a bronze one of the Roman Emperor Valens minted at Arles in France about 364-378 A.D., a Saxon sceatta (S.Rigolds type Bill) of about 690-700 A.D., an ‘eoba’ of King Offa of Mercia (757-796 A.D.) and a coin of Offa’s successor Coenwulf.
In fact, the site covers a very long period. Mesolithic and neolithic flints from the top of the knoll where the church stands occur in all layers, showing that occupation of the area must have begun at least 8,000 years ago. Plenty of burnt daub (from wattle and daub bildings), pottery from many periods, iron slag (iron was smelted on site) and animal bones are found. Bones, in this case human, hit the local headlines in January 1984, when work in the grounds of a school nearby revealed “pagan Saxon burials“, with two complete skeletons being unearthed. Was this part of the burial ground of the settlement being excavated?
Thus, with the publication of the findings adjacent to the site later this decade, our knowledge of Saxon times in Wraysbury and district will be much enlarged. The Department of the Environment’s interim report includes mention of grass-tempered, hand-made pottery similar to that found at Old Windsor, thereby indicating that the settlements were contemporary for a period. Perhaps Wraysbury was a settlement associated with the royal site.
The entry for Wraysbury in the Domesday Book states that the manor was held in 1086 by Robert Gernon, and before the Norman Conquest by Edmund, a thegn of King Edward. There were two mills, woodland to feed 500 swine and four fisheries, which were weirs composed of basket-work traps used mainly to catch eels. As to the land, the translation of the Domesday Book entry in the Victoria County History of Buckinghamshire records: “It is assessed at 20 hides. There is land for 20 ploughs. In the demesne (the Lord’s home farm) are 5 hides and on it are 2 ploughs more; and 32 villeins with 18 bordars (cottagers) have 15 ploughs; and there could be 8 more. There are 7 serfs, meadow for 5 plough (teams) and hay for the beasts of the court.” In all, Wraysbury was valued at 20 pounds. Interpreting such historical records and excavating on site can help to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of the past.
Eric Fitch
Windsor & Maidenhead, Archaeological Group
Windsor Local History Group 