West Bedwyn

In the late Saxon period a royal estate called Bedwyn belonged to King Alfred the Great. According to the terms of his will, this estate was granted to his son Edward. Over 50 years later, King Edgar [943 - 975] detached land from Bedwyn, which he granted to Abingdon abbey. The Abbey’s charter referred to this land as Burbage. The king also granted the remainder of the Bedwyn estate to the abbey a few years later. However, the prospect of Bedwyn entering the mediaeval period as a monastic estate never came to fruition. These late tenth century estates were reclaimed by King Æthelred. At the time of the conquest, only part of the royal estate remained in the hands of the crown, and this is the story of the estate in Great Bedwyn parish