Saxon Wareham

Inside the walls the town was laid out with a number of houses along the main, grid like streets, today named as North, South, West and East street.

There was also a nunnery and church – Lady St Mary built circa 700, All Saints church near the south bridge and St Martin’s by the north gate. In fact it is said that the daughter of Alfred the Great himself had Lady St Mary’s rebuilt after the destruction of the Viking attack of 876.

Although the nunnery had been destroyed at least once by Viking raiders it continued to be used an an important religious site, and in fact by the early 12th century developed into a Priory or Monastery dedicated to French Benedictine monks.

In order to finance their creation and maintenance, Burhs also had an important role as commercial and administrative centres. Their fortifications were used to protect England’s various royal mints, and there was indeed a mint in Wareham on the site of the present St John’s Hill.

By the 10th century, under the reign of Ethelred the Unready, the walls were reinforced and a stone wall of at least 2 metres wide was added to the earthworks. Although they can be seen in a coulpe of other villages like Wallingford and Cricklade, Wareham’s walls have survived better there than anywhere else.

Saxon Kings buried in Wareham

Two Saxon kings are reputed to have been buried in Wareham  according the the Anglo Saxon Chronicles. King Beorhtric, who apparently died from accidentally tasting poison prepared by his wife in 802. The other was Edward the Martyr who was murdered at Corfe castle in 978 possibly on the orders of his stepmother. His remains were eventually removed to Shaftesbury Abbey.

Wareham sacked by King Canute

When the King of England died in 1015 rival claimant, the Viking King Canute sailed up the river Frome to attack Wareham, leaving the town in ruins. Legend has it that that the devastation included the destruction of the St Martin’s Church – which was then rebuilt in 1030.