Reprinted from Gloucestershire History N0. 2 (1988) pages 12-13 THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK MOUND by Dr. Christopher Cox The Hundred of Blacklow (the Black Mound) sides of the Nailsworth valley. A charter of 896 A.D.,’ includes in the Domesday Survey: Alkerton (= resolving a dispute between the lessees and the owners of Eastington), Frampton-on- Severn, Fretherne, lands attached to the estate makes this clear, when the Frocester, King’s Stanley, Leonard Stanley, witan summoned to Gloucester ordered a survey of the Stonehouse, Wheatenhurst (alias Whitminster), and lands in question, which was carried out by Ecglaf, the Woodchester.' Whether these names represent the “geneat” or agent of Aethebald the lessee, and (perhaps later) parishes is a moot point, but need not Wulhum, the “ceastersetne preoste” or “Citizens’ concern us here. chaplain,’ of whom more below.‘ These parishes or estates lie on either side of the lower This raises intriguing possibilities, as to whether there course of the Frome from below Stroud to its was any form of territorial continuity between the confluence with the River Severn at Framilode.2 But Roman villa of Woodchester and the Woodchester of with one exception — Woodchester. the Saxon period, though this is not the place to venture Woodchester is nowadays a small triangular parish on too far into such a speculative quicksand.’ But it seems the western flank of the lower Nailsworth valley, and obvious that pre-Conquest “Woodchester” was a more has no direct connection with the valley of the Frome. than ordinary estate, perhaps a lingering echo of the This anomaly has to be explained, so the first part of great Roman villa, the ruins of which would then still the problem is what was “Woodchester” at that time? have been above ground: the Norman church (since Two “Woodchesters” are recorded in Domesday.’ replaced by another on a different site) used Roman One was in Longtree Hundred, held before the materials in its construction, as the curious visitor may Conquest by Gytha, mother of Earl Harold, and the still see from the scant remains of that edifice. other was in Blacklow Hundred, held TRE by Brictric. It is likely that the Longtree “Woodchester” This conjecture provides an explanation as to why corresponds with the tithing of Rodborough on the Blacklow Hundred included “Woodchester” — the eastern side of the valley,‘ but eventually both sides of estates in the Vale could well have been land attached to this valley were brought within the Longtree Hundred, the more prestigious estate in the Nailsworth valley. It and the Hundred of Blacklow does not appear again must be remembered that in the earlier period before the after Domesday, the Vale parishes being reconstituted Conquest estates were of some considerable size, only into the Hundred of Whitstone. So the problem can be later being sub-divided into smaller manors or parishes, restated: why was this anomalous “Woodchester” perhaps in response to the troubles of the Danish included in Blacklow Hundred, and (as a corollary) incursions, perhaps also in the reconquest by the West where was the meeting place of the Hundred? Though Saxon kings of Midland England when the older recorded in Domesday as two estates, “Woodchester” Mercian units of administration were completely earlier was of much greater extent with lands on both replaced by the more familiar shires).3 — 1 ii mi q ! rt-Ii-— ___ 77' — 7 71 1 BLACKLOW HUNDRED l FRE .. Fretherneh l O 8 6 7 ——— i-83-1 FoS Frampton-on-;evern- —$*'*|q I__ __ ___ _ _ I WH .. Wheatenhurst I . , (Whitminster) .1 A = (E) .. Alkerton l (+ Eastington) \ FRO .. Frocester ‘ ST .. Stonehouse LS .. Leonard Stanley KS-.. King's Stanley 1 WD .. Woodchester 1 . I t — "1177 r *f"' D 56$ " l9th century parish “ 11 TheboundariesToots —</Q F“-9 Roman villa El -\'_|/ S“ Fords /| FRO LS |<5$\// _ Edge of the sc\a’rR\ , \\ - . .1\_,\ “" The course of the F J \\\\|)\\ 1 Frome has been much - altered over the l m~lr';- \ U1.,,9>'1‘5,l‘lr(\ centuri es . u "W Q ix’ ' 7 7 '77’ —7 7 — ‘J! 7 Tr- 12 The meeting place of the Hundred (assuming the REFERENCES AND NOTES above is accepted) would thus be conveniently close to 1. Domesday Book names etc. are taken from Domesday Book: the most important estate of the group, that is Gloucestershire, Moore JS (Phillimore, 1982). Blacklow appears Woodchester. Such meeting places were often named variously as Blachelew, Blaechelev, Blaechelave, Blachelev. The Langetrev Woodchester is Vdecestre, the Blachelov one Widecestre after (and identified by) a recognisable feature, such as 2. “The Frome emerges from the Oolitic escapement at Stroud, a tree (as in Longtree or Grumbald’sAsh), a mound crosses the sub-edge plain as far as Stonehouse in a deep trench, (Brightwells Barrow, Blacklow), or the most important and thence in a shallow valley flanked on the south-west, round part of the estate (Berkeley, Westbury).° Frampton, by a wide spread of oolitic gravels.“ Wills LJ, on the To reach such an assembly point the various Pleistocene of the Lower Severn in Quarterly Journal of the tithingmen would need to set out at first light, and some Geological Society xciv, 1938, 161 of them would have a considerable distance to travel. In 3. Moore JS op cit: 1.63 and 78.14 the case of Blacklow Hundred, there is a well-known 4. See e.g. Watson CE “The Story of the Manor” TrBGAS liv of and conspicuous landmark which could well serve the 1932. He has suggestions as to the identification of places named in the Perambulation; these have however not all been positively purpose. This is the long barrow on the verge of Selsley identified Common, known as The Toots. It has in the past been 5. Text and translation given in TrBGAS5, for 1880-81, Appendix carefully bisected so that now it presents the A appearance of two barrows, but despite this rough 6. While the Witan (or Court of Inquiry) was held in Gloucester, surgery and the erosion of time it is still a recognisable possibly at the royal palace at Kingsholm, Wulfhun, “ceastersetna and outstanding feature on the long, level profile of the preost", is clearly the representative of the bishop, as Ecglaf for Common. The tithing men approaching from the more the defendent, Aethelwald. The seat of the bishop was at distant Vale estates would follow tracks on the terraces Worcester, so the “ceaster” is on balance of probability the city on either side of the Frome, utilising fords such as those of Worcester at Ryeford and Dudbridge to approach the stiff climb (Kingsholm palace--see C Heighway, Gloucester—a History & Guide, A. Sutton 1985, p35) up to the top. Against the light of the sun rising in the 7. See e.g. Finberg HPR “Some early Gloucesteershire estates” in east, both the Common and the mound itself would “Gloucestershire Studies, ” (Leics 1957) and his suggestions of stand out in stark and clear silhouette for much of the continuityin boundaries from Roman to Saxon times in “Roman way until on near appraoch the swell of the hill took the and Saxon Withington,” (Leics Univ. English Local History landmark below the line of sight. From say Stonehouse Paper 8, 1955). See also Sarah T Wool’s Bristol Ph.D thesis, to Ebley even today it is clearly to be seen as an obvious “Fundus and Manerium: a study of continuity and survival in landmark: in the days when there were fewer buildings Gloucestershirefrom Roman to Medieval Times“ (Bristol Univ, (and no tall chimneys) to distract the eye, it must have 1982). Michael Wood, Domesday, a search for the roots of been an invaluable guiding mark for travellers. England (BBC 1986) has some interesting remarks on the likely This, then, it is suggested is the Black Mound from continuity of some sort between post-Roman and English times (see his ch. iv). which the early Hundred was named. It seems possible 8. For the Hwicce, see Hooke D, “The Anglo-Saxon Landscape: that after Domesday Woodchester lost its the Kingdom ofthe Hwicce“ (Man. Univ. 1985). predominance, shrinking to its later parish size, while 9. Anderson OS, “The English Hundred Names” Lunds Univ, (no the parishes in the Vale were more suitably grouped into date); a full and interesting study of the origins and meanings of the Hundred of Whitstone. Hundred names. 13.