The English Counties
The establishment of English counties had already begun by the 12th century
and some date from divisions made by Saxon and Celtic tribes.
In southern England, the counties were formed as subdivisions of the Kingdom of Wessex.
Hamwic
Hampshire is the only county on the south coast of England which usually takes the
suffix 'shire'.
It is named after the former town of 'Hamwic', the site of which is now part of the
city of Southampton.
Hamwic was a port and market during the 8th and early 9th centuries during which
period there was an economic resurgence in Anglo-Saxon England.
The Life of St. Willibald states that in 721 he caught the 8th century equivalent
of a cross-channel ferry from a place near Hamwic, which is described as a commercial port.
Hamwic must have possessed considerable administrative importance, to have, by the
middle of the 8th century. given its name to the shire - Hamtunscire, that is, Hampshire.
Saxon Hamwic lay on the west bank of the River Itchen and in1978 The Six Dials
archaeological excavations provided conclusively that Hamwic had
at least 60 Saxon buildings and a planned system of well-maintained,
gravelled streets as well as defined plots and properties. This was crucial evidence as it
showed that the settlement had been created by a centralised authority, probably by the King of Wessex.
Ine - King of Wessex
Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his
predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded
West Saxon territory substantially. By the end of Ine's reign the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex and
Essex were no longer under West Saxon domination; however, Ine maintained control of what is now
Hampshire, and consolidated and extended Wessex's territory in the western peninsula.
Ine is noted for his code of laws, which he issued in about 694. These laws were the first
issued by an Anglo-Saxon king outside Kent. They shed light on the history of Anglo-Saxon
society, and reveal Ine's Christian convictions. Trade increased significantly during Ine's
reign, with the town of Hamwic becoming prominent. It was probably during Ine's
reign that the West Saxons began to mint coins, though none have been found that bear his name.
Ine abdicated in 726 to go to Rome, leaving the kingdom to "younger men", in the words of the
contemporary chronicler Bede. He was succeeded by Æthelheard (which roughly translated means 'Noble Stern')
who reigned from 726 to 740.
Ine’s laws survive only because Alfred the Great appended them to his own code of laws.
The oldest surviving manuscript, and only complete copy, is in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and
contains both Alfred’s and Ine’s law codes and the oldest text in existence of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
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