Saxon Bath
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There
was a gap of 200 years between the fall of the Romans and the emergence of the
Saxons. In 577, there was
a great battle just to the North of Bath at Dyrham. The Saxons triumphed,
killing three kings and taking the three cities of Gloucester, Cirencester and
Bath. This brought about the final demise of the Roman occupation of the South
West.
The earliest reference to Saxon Bath comes in the Seventh
Century. In 675, the Charter of Osric, King of Hwicce, bestowed a gift of
land to the Abbess Bertana to enable a Convent of the Holy Virgins to be
established. Attached to her nunnery was a house of monks in the Monastic Church
of St. Peter. The Charter of 757-8 made a grant of land to these brothers and a
Saxon monastery was founded in 781, which was to become one of the most
important in England.
Bath was emerging as a significant religious and political base. It was situated on the borders of two of the most important kingdoms of England: Wessex and Mercia. The potential of Bath as a military base was shown in 781, when control of the monastery transferred from the Bishops of Worcester to the Mercian King, Offa. Bath became an attraction for members of the Mercian royal family.
In 864, Burhred, the last of the Mercian Kings, held a
council meeting at Bath attended by his Bishops and nobles. However, Mercia
declined with the rise of Wessex and after Alfred’s victory over Danish
marauders in 878, control of Bath was conceded to Wessex. They proceeded to
strengthen old Roman defences and assigned a militia to defend them.
The Coronation of the First King of England
By the end of the 10th Century, the town was
prospering, having been rebuilt as a Christian and political centre. Bath’s
position on the northern border of Wessex ensured its continued political
significance. In 901, a Parliament was held under Edward the Elder and during
his reign, Bath’s first Saxon mint was established. This produced fine silver
coins, which were used to pay off the Danes as the Viking threat grew. Coins
from Bath have been found in hoards of Danegeld in Scandanavia.
The pinnacle of Bath’s political importance came on 11th May 973, when the Abbey was chosen as the setting for the coronation of King Edgar the Peacemaker, the first King of England. He was crowned at Bath in the presence of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald, Archbishop of York.
The coronation service has changed little to the present day and the
coronation itself set a tradition that is recorded to have lasted until Henry
VIII: a ceremony was held to elect a “King of Bath”. This title was to be
bestowed upon Beau Nash in the 18th Century.
The overriding legacy of Saxon rule has been place-names
that are still in use today. Lansdown (long hill), Odd Down (Odda’s Hill),
Claverton Down (hill above the clover place) and Twerton (two-ford) all provide
a reminder of their Saxon heritage.