Tag: Saxon

St Nicholas Church (Sutton) - Exterior

Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Stain-Glass & Stones Exhibition! (14.9.2025)

The history of England lies primarily within the grounds, buildings, and written records of its local Churches, who dealt with this information a long time before the Secular State developed – or was able to do so. The Local Authorities of Sutton possess a peculiar attitude toward local history – as if time started again in 1965 (and all previous history was wiped-out when Sutton was part of “East Surrey”) – when Sutton became part of Greater (South-West) London. Of course, for a price, Sutton Library might help you via an online enquiry – but this data is free during a personal visit. Whatever the case, always be on the look-out for local open-days and local historians.

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Rockingham Castle - Battlements!

Rutland: Visiting Rockingham Castle! (29.7.2025)

Despite visiting Duddington (in Northants) regularly since 2009, we had never seen any signs for “Rockingham” – and wondered where this place was. Furthermore, whereas King Henry VIII used to frequent “Nonsuch” (in Sutton and Cheam – where we live) – I am told that King John (1166-1216) of Magna Carta fame, used to spend his leisure time staying at Rockingham Castle – which is near Rockingham village. He used to hunt in the local woods. Apparently, Henry VIII granted the castle (the Norman version of which is currently over 950-years old) to the Watson family (it was leased to Edward Watson in 1544). Prior to this, the general area the castle is now constructed upon possessed a Roman (a coin production industry) – and then a Saxon (Lord Bovi) – presence. The locale of Rockingham (probably the nearby village) is mentioned in the 1066 Doomsday Book – with the castle proper being built between 1066-1071.

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Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Interior and History! (10.9.2023)

Since around 1539 CE (and Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries) this Church has been ‘Protestant’. This is a large Church built for a substantial Township and can probably hold at least 100 worshippers at any one time. Bear in mind that there used to be a greater number of Churches in the UK per small area than there are today – and that populations used to be far smaller despite virtually everyone professing a faith. Perhaps the ample and impressive size of the Church is linked to it serving a local population with a higher social status and wealth – requiring certain standards as being seen to be kept! As far as we are concerned, archaeological structures retain the data of the past, and by studying these structures we are able to glimpse into that past!

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The Bizarre World of British Fascism! (27.7.2023)

The far-right is not known for its intellectual vigour and is often its own worst enemy. The seeds for the defeat of fascism quite often lie within its deficient thought processes and the technique required to fight this ideology is simply the ability to see this reality and know how to deal with it. During the Victorian era, there was a drive in Britain to include all the Colonial peoples under the heading of being ‘British’. Therefore the subjugated peoples – including Africans, Indians, Chinese and indigenous peoples – all became ‘British’ whether they liked it or not. With the new genetic research revealing that indigenous ‘Celts’ were ‘dark-skinned’ – the fascists can no longer falsely assert that all the old ethnicities of Europe were ‘White’ (that is ‘pink’) – and so yet another plank in their deficient ideology falls away!

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Battersea Park: The Central Bandstand! (27.5.2023)

The River Wandle flows for around 9 miles – and originates in the Waddon Ponds and Carshalton Ponds area – a boundary area spanning East Surrey and Southwest Greater London (the London Borough of Sutton and Cheam). The River Wandle enters the right-bank of the River Thames in the vicinity now called ‘Wandsworth’. Both the river (and the place) are probably named after a mighty Saxon Warlord named ‘Waendel’ whose clan dominated a large swathe of Southern and Eastern England! Indeed, so powerful was this man’s reputation that his name came to dominate an entire British river! 

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