Bedwyn Bounds

This book is the second in a series of books on the origins of Bedwyn. For those of you not fortunate enough to have lived in the area, or to have ever visited its many attractions, Bedwyn lies in rural north east Wiltshire, between Marlborough and Hungerford. At the heart of this attractive area lies the village of Great Bedwyn, which is surrounded by a number of smaller settlements, all currently prospering as part of a commuter belt for Swindon, Reading, and London.

This particular volume attempts to explain the boundaries of Bedwyn through its Saxon charters. The boundaries of Saxon estates may have been recorded as early as the late eighth century, and they have been subjected to continuous change ever since. Modern maps present the definitive bounds of counties and parishes, but there were no parishes in Bedwyn until the tenth century, and the comparison of ancient bounds with modern maps is a  complex and beguiling activity, with few opportunities to ever reach definitive answers.

There are five chapters in this book, and they focus on the bounds of Little Bedwyn, Burbage, and Bedwyn. There are also additional chapters on earl Wulfgar, who was a tenth century local landowner, and Abingdon abbey, which briefly acquired the Burbage and Bedwyn estates.