New Years Day

The Celts apparently celebrated 1st November as the start of their year. One website I found states:-
“November 1 is the Celtic feast of Samhain. Samhain, Gaelic for “summer’s end,” was the most important of the ancient Celtic feasts.

The Celts honored the opposing balance of intertwining forces of existence: darkness and light, night and day, cold and heat, death and life. The Celtic year was divided into two seasons: the light and the dark, celebrating the light at Beltane on May 1st and the dark at Samhain on November 1st.

Therefore, the Feast of Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, since it marked the beginning of a new dark-light cycle. The Celts observed time as proceeding from darkness to light because they understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Therefore, the Celtic year began with the season of An Geamhradh, the dark Celtic winter, and ended with Am Foghar, the Celtic harvest.”

If this was the case, then there would have been plenty of celebrations in the so-called "New City" of Milton Keynes on this day a couple of thousand years ago. When our new city was being built, archaeologists were given a great opportunity to discover our ancient history. There were a number of iron age sites – including a settlement in the centre of Furzton (where I live); and close to the site of the Roman Villa in Bancroft.

The map below (from Croft and Mycroft’s excellent “The Changing Landscape of Milton Keynes” [copies available for loan from the libraries at Bletchley; Stony Stratford; Wolverton; and Woburn Sands – and at the MK Local Studies Library in the Central Library]) show the main sites. You may be able to enlarge the picture by clicking on it.

Charles Bradlaugh

 

Charles Bradlaugh provoked many controversies, and many myths have grown around him. Last night, Deborah Lavin demolished the myths, and presented an absorbing story of a persistent man, who attracted some very powerful enemies. The talk (which will be repeated at 11.00am and 2pm on Sunday 25th October - as part of the Bloomsbury Festival - and I would thoroughly recommend attending) covered the life of the MP for Northampton. I had always understood it to be case that Bradlaugh was kept from taking his seat by the parliamentary manoeuvres of the Tories, who seized an opportunity to embarrass the incoming Liberal Government of Gladstone. But Lavin made a persuasive case for Gladstone himself being the culprit, eager to be rid of a "supporter" he detested.

It was an ugly fight. As an atheist, he sought to affirm rather than take the oath on a Bible. That had been allowed in courts as a result of legislation - which  Bradlaugh had used as a Solicitor's clerk, prior to the change in law he had complied with the requirement to take an oath. He made it clear that he was prepared to take the oath in Parliament if required, but his enemies denied him that, on the grounds of his atheism. He was sued for voting before he had taken such an oath, in an attempt to disqualify him from parliament - by bankrupting him (the fine was £500 for each vote). His seat was declared vacant a number of times, but he succeeded in winning re-election each time. But as a result of one attempt to enter the chamber he was imprisoned in the Clock Tower beneath the bell of Big Ben. It was Tory pressure that led to his release.

As suddenly as the controversy arose - it died. Lavin asserts that it was because Gladstone now needed Bradlaugh's vote, in a more tightly balanced House of Commons.

An interesting subject - in an engaging presentation. Don't miss it in October! (for more details, and to book - press here.)

Gordon Welchman

I live about a mile from Bletchley Park - and I am both a big fan of the place (and the tremendous work that has been done there to save, then turn it into a first class place to visit (I thought of using the term - 'museum', which it is - but that word has connotations of dry sterile exhibits - and Bletchley Park is warm, alive and engaging)) and a regular visitor. I'm reading through the many books that have been published about BP - some by the key players themselves.

Tomorrow evening (Monday 7th September), BBC2 are broadcasting - "Bletchley Park: Code-Breaking's Forgotten Genius". It's not about Alan Turing - who, we have come to understand in recent years - played a, once over-looked, key role in code-breaking, Mathematics and the development of computing. Instead it is about another of the fascinating characters who were brought together in Bletchley Park - Gordon Welchman.

Welchman too was a mathematician - and in 1950 he wrote a book, "Introduction to Algebraic Geometry". The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (in a piece written by the son of the Head of BP)  recognises that "he made a SIGNIFICANT contribution to the solving of the Enigma machine cipher...he instinctively grasped a whole range of problems, possibilities, and solutions which included two vital mathematical constructs as well as a concept of the total process required, from the intercepted German ciphered traffic to passing on significant intelligence implications to the commanders in the field...the task of converting the original breakthrough into an efficient user of the material was one for which Welchman should receive much of the credit"

While Turing headed up Hut 8 (which dealt with naval codebreaking), Welchman headed up Hut 6 (army and air force codebreaking) .

I'm looking forward to the programme - I hope you do too (and tell your friends)

There are some good books available -

By Welchman himself -


and

My home

I live on the very modern estate of Furzton in Milton Keynes. Much of it was build in the 1980s and 1990s. The lake (which is superb for bird watching; or walking) was built to ensure that flooding down the Loughton Brook was avoided. But, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, it has a heritage going back before the Romans arrived. I live only yards from an iron age settlement - and the major Roman Road we now refer to as Watling Street is the Eastern boundary.

The map below (which if clicked expands), is a hand drawn map of the Furzton area from the 16th Century. In the top left hand corner is the small village of Shenley Brook End. The three streams which flow into today’s Furzton Lake can be seen. The most northerly is the stream which flows through Shenley Brook End, which now flows into the Lake near the car park in Shirwell Crescent. The second, which has the name “Chaldwell” under it – now runs through the northern part of Emerson Valley, meeting the lake at its most westerly point. The third now divides North Furzton from South Furzton. Alford bridge is where Watling Street crossed the main stream. It may be the same Hertford Bridge that Sir Frank Markham writes about as the scene of a robbery in June 1766 that led to the rector of Tingewicke pursuing and fatally shooting the highwayman. He was acquitted of manslaughter.

Did the Romans march from Westminster to Milton Keynes?

As noted in the last post, Watling Street ran from the channel ports to Londinium and up through Milton Keynes to Wroxeter and Chester. But was this the original route?

Londinium was, like Milton Keynes, a new city (although they both had their roots thousands of years beforehand). By 50AD, according to a notice in the Museum of London, the original road was diverted to take in this developing new city. Where did the original route run?

One of the characteristics of Roman roads was that they are remarkably straight. Unlike the later roads which can be notoriously windy, Roman roads joined up points in a straight line. There are of course abrupt changes of direction to avoid some obstacles.

If the road from Dover were continue in a north westerly direction; and the Edgware Road was to follow its path south easterly (rather than abruptly turning eastwards into Oxford Street) they would end up facing each other across the Thames at Westminster.

There has been an oral tradition that the Thames could be crossed by foot at certain times where the Palace of Westminster now stands. Archaeological work (see The royal palace, abbey and town of Westminster on Thorney Island – Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2006) suggests that a sandbank once extended beneath the Palace of Westminster into the then wider & shallower Thames, just to the south of St Stephen’s Chapel (the ‘original’ House of Commons) close to the statue of Richard the Lionheart.

If this thesis is correct we had a direct link to Westminster – via Dunstable; St Albans; the Edgware Road – across Park Lane towards the entrance to Buckingham Palace (the site of Cowford – where the road crossed a branch of the River Tyburn is near to the Victoria Memorial) – across to Tothill Street and along the “ridge” on Thorney Island where Westminster Abbey now stands.

Watling Street

Watling Street was perhaps the most most important Roman road in England. It ran from the ports in Kent to Londinium (London) to Wroxeter on the border with Wales. Late it became the main route to Ireland – ending at Holyhead. Most of the route is now the A5 (except in the MK area). The Romans did not call it 'Watling Street', that name came later.

In the Borough of Milton Keynes (where I live) the main Roman settlement on Watling Street was Magiovinium, just to the south of Fenny Stratford – where the River Ouzel crosses Watling Street. (the garden centre Dobbies is on part of the site). The route (which of course, being a Roman road, was straight) goes in a north westerly direction until the crossing of the Great Ouse at Stony Stratford. This was itself to become an important centre in English history (Richard III – when he was Duke of Gloucester – intercepted and took into “protective custody” his 12 year old nephew, Edward V – at a inn in the town – the Rosé and Crown). However, the town is of Saxon origin. Roman remains discovered north of the river suggest that “Old Stratford” (in Northamptonshire) was an administrative post on the ford across the Great Ouse.

When England was split between an English Kingdom and Danelaw (Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum c 878) – the border was the Great Ouse from Bedford until Stony Stratford, whereupon Watling Street became the border (going northwards).

More Berkhamsted

Every time I travel by train to and from London, I pass the beautiful castle at Berkhamsted. It is managed by English Heritage - but entry is free. The castle is open from 10am all year round (except for Christmas Day and News Year Day - until 6pm in the summer and 4pm in the winter.

It's a very relaxing place to visit - and apart from the trains passing nearby (the West Coast Main Line - served by the fast Virgin trains and London Midland) is peaceful. This was not always the case. After the English surrender. William's half-brother, Robert of Mortain, was quick to put up a fortified castle at this strategic point. Thomas Becket rebuild the castle - which was granted to him by his then friend, Henry II - but taken from him in 1164.

In 1216 Prince Louis of France laid siege to the Castle. He had been invited to take lead the barons who had declared war on King John after he had reneged on the Magna Carta.

While now a romantic ruin - the evidence of its history can still be seen. It lies at the point at which two dry valleys meet. The wells which drew water from the underground streams to the top of the  Motte and within the Bailey can still be seen. Much of the outer ditch still exists - as does the inner ditch. When I visited in April, this inner ditch had water in it.

A print by Edward Ashdown shows what the castle would have looked like at the height of its powers.

 

William the Conqueror - finally conquers!

 

The battlefield of Hastings saw the death of the English King Harold, but it was at Berkhamsted that the most powerful Anglo-Saxons surrendered to William of Normandy. Following the great Sussex battle, William and his army had marched through Kent, around London, perhaps to the ancient capital of Winchester, across the Thames at Wallingford and along the ancient Icknield Way to the valley of the River Bilbourne. The Roman road, Akeman Street, probably ran along this valley. At Berkhamsted "... Archbishop Ealdred came to meet him, with Eadgar cild [Edgar the Ætheling], and Earls Edwin and Morcar, and all the best men from London" (Anglo Saxon Chronicle - Manuscript D)  and they acknowledged his right to the kingdom. From there he made his way to London, where he was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

Within a couple of tears a Motte and Bailey castle was erected by his half brother, Robert of Mortain. It stood where a couple of valleys (now dry) met the main valley of the River Bilbourne.

For more on the history of the castle, please return to this blog.

Welcome...

Today "JDM's History Explorer" launches. This will be a blog dedicated to history. I've always loved history - and continue to enjoy discovering more about past events and personalities. Over recent months - as a hobby - I've been reading about - and visiting some fine historical sites. This blog will record what I've already found out - and what I will discover in the future.

This blog will not be limited to any particular place or period. It will reflect where I've been; and what I've read. So who am I? and what attracts me?

Firstly, I am not a professional historian. History has however played an important role in my academic life. For many years I have taught, at Universities such as Leicester, Warwick, Northampton, Wolverhampton and the Open University - in two disciplines - Law and Political Science. It is impossible to explain today's law and politics without reference to history. Parliament; the US Congress; Land Law; Constitutional Law - does not make sense, except as the result of events in history. I have also worked at the UK Parliament - and my favourite activity is taking groups around "the Palace" - so many of the current customs in Parliament owe their existence to "accidents of history" This blog will explore some of them.

I live in Milton Keynes - a "New City", first planned in the 1960s. Some people think we have no history here. In fact a friend told me that within a few weeks of moving here. It was like a red rag to a bull - in the last six years I have been devouring archaeological reports, and visiting some of that "non-existent" history - from the Roman Villa in Bancroft, to Bletchley Park (via an iron age settlement yards from (and a few feet below) my home. All this will be explored in the Blog.

I'm also a "history tourist" - and have taken the opportunity to get around England to visit; learn about, and take pictures of some of this country's wealth of history.

Those who know me well - are aware of my love of both France and the USA - and those two countries (and particularly Washington DC; the American civil war battlefields; Paris; the Loire Valley; Brittany and Normandy) will also feature in future posts.

On Friday, I will be posting about a place I usually pass through at great speed while making my way down to Westminster.

Diairise the launch

JDM's History Explorer is due to go live on 1st July 2015.

The blog will feature events and places in history - following the research and visits undertaken by myself. While I am based in Milton Keynes (and I've certainly got lots to write about the history of this city) it will cover all periods and explore not just England - but the world.

History shouldn't be a boring school subject - but a journey into an exciting past - with relevance for the present and the future. I find it fun and rewarding - let's share this!