Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal

4. Historic Development Saxon (410-1066) The earthworks even now maintain a formal 4.1 The origins and historic development Whilst Wallingford today contains one of the boundary between the historic town and its of Wallingford best examples of a late Saxon town plan in more recent suburbs. Only minor alterations , an early Saxon cemetery outside have occurred to the essential street layout Prehistoric/Roman the defensive earthworks to the south west in the past 500 years and the streets inside Wallingford’s early history is continuously of Kinecroft contains burials from the 5th-7th the Saxon defences are remarkably well emerging as a result of archaeological centuries, suggesting that there was a preserved. Some additional lanes and investigations. The southern boundary settlement beside the river for at least four passageways were made for convenience between Wallingford and the neighbouring hundred years before the creation of the 9th but the principle routes remain very much parish of Cholsey was marked by an ancient century burh. the same as in the early 10th century. stream flowing east into the Thames (now known as Bradford’s Brook, which lay well Wallingford was clearly already an important By the 11th century 276 properties in the south of the town defences. This suburban settlement by the time it was first mentioned town were held by the king and a royal area included the early pagan Saxon in a Saxon document of c. 919 AD as one of garrison of ‘housecarls’ was maintained, cemetery and also the now lost church of St the largest fortified towns built by King probably in the north east quarter of the Lucian. The area was almost certainly part Alfred to defend Wessex against Danish town. Wallingford had a mint from the 10th of the original pre-burh Saxon settlement. attack. (Winchester, his capital, was the to 13th century, where a moneyer struck same size as Wallingford) . The town was coins bearing the town’s name - a royal Neolithic flints have been found just north of located at the boundary of Wessex and was privilege. It was possibly located in the the town defences, and numerous Bronze strategically important. vicinity of Goldsmiths Lane. Age artefacts have been dredged from the river. A high status Bronze Age island The town’s Saxon defences eventually Post Norman Conquest (c.1066-1485) settlement was discovered during the comprised large earthworks constructed on The second major phase of Wallingford’s building of the modern Winterbrook Bridge three sides, probably topped by timber development began after the Norman and Iron Age settlements are being revealed fortifications, and surrounded by a water- Conquest, when Robert d’Oyley carried out by modern development to the south and filled ditch. The defences formed a William I’s orders, building a sizeable motte west of the town. Though no structural rectangular enclosure against the river, with and bailey castle (mound and enclosed remains have linked Wallingford to the bridgehead on the east bank of the river to area) in the north-east quadrant of the town, Roman period, 19th century records of large guard the river crossing. Bridges were adjacent to the Thames, making good use numbers of Roman coins and pottery found required to cross the ditches into the town of the northern Saxon rampart and moat. to the west of the town make it likely that watched over by gatehouses that controlled some form of Roman activity took place. traffic into and out of the town.

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holdings) to his manor of Ewelme. The town was further impoverished in the 17th century by the effects of its involvement as a royalist stronghold in the Civil War. Archaeological test-pitting throughout the town has shown that the outer streets, such as Wood St, Thames St and Goldsmiths’ Left: An indicative layout of c.1300 Lane, became depopulated from the 14th century onwards, not beginning to recover War between Stephen and I’s until the late 17th-18th centuries. After the daughter Matilda, a conflict that was 17th century Civil War, efforts were made to resolved by the Treaty of Wallingford improve aspects of the Market Place, with agreed in 1153. The castle was usually part the rebuilding of St Mary’s Church tower in of the estates of heirs to the throne, from at 1653, using stone from the demolished least the 13th century, becoming part of the castle, and the subsequent building of the newly created Duchy of Cornwall in 1337. new Town Hall in 1670.

From about the end of the 13th century, the Regular markets selling agricultural produce In 1086 the parish church of Holy Trinity, town of Wallingford experienced significant and animals in the town centre, which had situated in the southern part of what is now economic decline, partly caused by the the Bullcroft, was given to St Alban’s Abbey, growing importance of other towns such as whose abbot endowed a Benedictine Priory Reading, Abingdon and , better there. It was a ‘daughter house’ of the placed than Wallingford for trade, and partly Abbey and more than one Prior of by the Black Death in 1349-50. The once Wallingford went on to become Abbot of St prosperous medieval town with 11 Parish Alban’s. The Priory and the castle occupied Churches and over 2000 occupants was most of the northern half of the enclosed reduced by the 15th century to just 4 Parish town, enhancing its already powerful status. Churches and 44 households. From the 11th-15th centuries Wallingford castle was of national importance as the The town suffered again under King Henry third great royal castle of the Thames Valley VIII, first by the dissolution of Wallingford’s (alongside the Tower of London and priory in 1525 and then by the king’s The stone base of St Mary’s church tower which contains Windsor). It played a major role in the Civil transfer of the castle’s Honour (major land reclaimed stone from Wallingford Castle

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 20 Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal

been fundamental to the town’s economy using brick, whilst others had their roofs that the settlement has not been radically throughout the medieval period, continued raised or parapets introduced to hide old- extended or altered and today retains its to well into the 19th century, by which time fashioned pitched roofs. Some properties character as a small, but busy, ‘market’ more industrial activities had developed. were newly built in the classical Georgian town. style whilst others were given a radical The river, aside from its trade potential, The 18th century facelift, sometimes using render to hide the began to be recognised for its picturesque Developing industries particularly malting original timber frame or local stonework. qualities and leisure opportunities. Large and brewing, were able to make use of the villas were constructed along the west bank quick Thames route to London to bring a 19th and 20th centuries of the Thames, turning the once busy wharf new phase of prosperity to the town. The It was not until the 19th century that the area of Thames Street into a quiet trade was served by the development of town needed to expand beyond the Saxon residential lane. new wharfs along Thames Street. The footprint. Most new housing was sited along money this brought in, combined with the existing routes and paths around the In the mid and late 20th century the town fashionable influences of the capital, had a defensive ditches such as St Johns Road expanded with new housing being provided significant impact upon many of the and Croft Road. A small run of cul-de-sac on the outskirts as well as a the Hithercroft buildings in Wallingford. terrace streets were constructed off Croft Estate, the town’s major employment area. Many of the older, mostly timber framed, Road at this time, forming Croft Villas, In 1992, a bypass was built to the south and properties were re-fronted or modernised Egerton Road, South View and Springdale. west of the town which advantageously removed most of the traffic through the The town’s widespread use of brick narrow streets in the town centre. continued into the 19th century, although the relative prosperity it had represented was much reduced. The coming of the railway in 1866 led to a station being constructed to the west of the town centre. A number of good quality terraced workers cottages, some larger semi-detached villas, and an imposing school building were all constructed in the latter half of the 19th century. The railway did not bring any great 5-7 Thames Street: 18th Century former malthouse prosperity to Wallingford, but this has meant 19th century terraced housing on Croft Road range and cottages

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 21 Map 7 Indicative Building Ages Not to scale

Conservation Area Boundary

Pre-15th century

16th & 17th century

18th century

19th century (incl. early 20th century)

20th & 21st century

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal

4.2 Archaeology much to be learnt about this period, large The town of Wallingford is justly renowned scale work on any of these aspects is likely for its surviving late Saxon burh and to produce results of national importance”. medieval rampart-ditch defences, and for the complex and extensive earthworks of a From 2008-11, The Wallingford Burh to Norman castle imposed into the north east Borough Project, funded by a substantial quarter of the urban space. The main grant from the Arts and Humanities known archaeological sites are the burh Research Council, made a major study of defences, Bullcroft, Kinecroft and the site of the town’s development from 800-1400AD, the castle. These are designated as also initiating an on-going garden test-pitting Scheduled Monuments but there are many programme for 100 investigations sites of known archaeological significance in throughout the town. the town that are not scheduled. Alongside this, a study of the documentary Wallingford was highlighted as follows in the evidence for the Castle and Priory has been 1975 Historic Towns in Oxfordshire survey: made by The Wallingford Historical and Archaeological Society. The three resultant “The importance of Wallingford’s publications so far have revealed the archaeology... is only heightened by archaeological sensitivity and potential of comparison with the other towns, for (apart the majority of the area covered by the from Oxford) it is the only late Saxon walled Wallingford Conservation Area. It reflects town in the region.... Late Saxon and early the complexity and multi layered nature of medieval layers are unlikely to be stratified the character of the settlement seen above deep beneath or destroyed by later ground today. archaeological deposits as they frequently A view across Bullcroft; designated as a Scheduled are in Oxford... Some [unpublished] Ancient Monument for its archaeological interest archaeological work has already taken place on the castle and the defences, but many components of the early town, like the domestic and industrial buildings, the churches, the street plan and the waterfront remain unstudied. Because there is still so

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 23 Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal

5. Spatial Analysis defensive nature of the settlement’s origins. have evolved from the occupation of these Summary of key features: areas by permanent market stalls. In Whilst the northern quarters are open Wallingford, two narrower streets have been  Well preserved Saxon street layout spaces, the southern quarters of the town formed either end of the market place, St centred around a cross roads and en- are developed and fragmented by a network Marys and St Martins Street. closed by defensive ditches and embank- of secondary routes. From the main cross ments roads, High Street crossing the main north Beyond the confines of the Saxon town, the to south route, are narrow lanes and main crossroads extend radially away from  Surviving medieval burgage plots in alleyways which lead to the secondary the town towards other nearby settlements. town centre streets within the two southern quarters The High Street would have formed the respectively. most significant transport route because it  Wide range of building periods repre- provided the main river crossing route over senting the the medieval period to the pre- These smaller connecting routes are Hart the Thames. Today, although this is a busy sent day Street, Mousey Lane and St Leonards Lane vehicular route, the Market Place forms the in the south eastern quarter which connect busy commercial centre of the town.  Large high quality open spaces with to Wood Street and Thames Street. historic interest at the Kinecroft, Bullcroft Feathers Yard and Church Lane in the Very little alteration has occurred to the and Castle Meadows south western quarter connect to established layout within the Saxon Goldsmiths Lane in the south western enclosed town other than the creation of  Variety of built character and appear- quarter. Additional smaller routes of this New Street and the possible rerouting of ance forming a rich multi-layered urban kind may have been lost and are the subject traffic nearer to Broughton Mill east of the environment of ongoing research into the early layout of early south gate. the town. Secondary routes were laid out between the 5.1 Street pattern and layout The main north-to-south route in the outer roads in the 19th and 20th centuries Wallingford is a nucleated settlement southern half of the town may have to accommodate new housing. These contained by embankments within a roughly originally been a continuously wide street of infilled the areas of land between the radial rectangular area to create four distinct the proportions that can be seen at Market roads particularly to the west of the town. quarters. The layout of roads are Place and St Leonards Square, tapering Little alteration was otherwise made to the considered and planned unlike the organic only at its ends near the northern and original town layout with the exception of and incidental nature in which many historic southern gates. It is often presumed that the the addition of New Street and the rerouting places have developed; a result of the infilling of these areas in market towns may of Thames Street in the southeast quarter.

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 24 Map 8 Historic Routes Not to scale

Conservaon Area Boundary Pre-Saxon Saxon Medieval and post-medieval 1750-1850 1850-1950 1950-present day Waterways

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal

Wallingford through time: an interpretation of the principle phases of Wallingford’s evolution Credit: The Society for the Medieval Archaeology, Monograph 35, ‘Transforming Townscapes: from burh to borough: the archaeology of Wallingford AD 800-1400, 2013’

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5.2 Building plots Within the southern portion away from the usually within cul-de-sacs accessed from The division of plots largely determines the burgage plots, development is much Goldsmiths Lane. urban grain of a place. The Saxon system sparser. The basic grid of secondary roads of dividing land to form crofts or is preserved but there is much less Outside the Saxon defences, building plots smallholdings is understood to have been regularity in the setting out of building plots occupy the shallow gap between the overwritten by the medieval burgage which are inconsistent in size and shape, peripheral road (St Johns Road and Croft system that re-allocated and divided these some running the full depth of the parcel of Road) and the Saxon Embankments. parcels of land into long narrow strips with land similar to the burgage plot system and Beyond this the development of buildings a road frontage. It is unclear whether any others allocated much shallower areas. into the surrounding open land is more boundaries pre dating this survive. considered with set plot widths and depths Generally but not exclusively, buildings are for the division of each parcel of land. The Plots with a frontage on the busy main sited towards the road frontages. The main size of the plots here generally correspond cross routes came at a premium and the exception is Thames Street where historic to the nature and status of the building it was urban form in these areas is particularly buildings and rear gardens form the road to accommodate with detached villas dense with narrow buildings positioned frontage to a large part of this area. This in occupying wider plots than the terraced directly onto the street with long narrow part can be attributed to the rerouting of the workers housing. Elsewhere beyond the plots to the rear. The effect is that buildings street in the 19th century and the loss of confines of the Saxon town development are positioned cheek by jowl, usually buildings that may have existed here. followed a linear pattern along the main forming two to three storeys in height. To Overall, land division in these areas is more radial roads. the rear, extensions and outbuildings generous. diminish in size. On the ‘island’ formed between Priors Walk The definition of burgage plots in the south and Reading Road the development pattern In Wallingford burgage plots are best western quarter has almost completely been is fairly dense possibly as a result of the preserved in the eastern half of the town on lost by truncating the plots that extended dominant ownership of land at adjacent St the High Street and St Mary’s Street. The back from St Martins Street to create large Johns Hospital to the north and St Lucians rear of the plots are accessed by ‘service’ open backland areas. The edges of these to the south. Building plots consist of shallow roads such as St Peters Street and Wood parcels of land are lined with shallow strips at right angles to the road. The Street. The rear workings of the frontage building plots of later date that face division of Chalmore Gardens to the west of buildings can be appreciated from these Goldsmiths Lane. The remainder of this Reading Road generally followed the line of service roads. In many stretches on Wood quarter consists of larger parcels of land the former allotment plots they occupied. Street a building has been added within the occupied by former industrial sites. These They remain generous plots with detached rear of the burgage plot creating a more have been subdivided to provide housing houses centrally located within them. active frontage to these back roads. from the 19th century to the present day,

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018 27 Definition: Burgage plots are long narrow plots of land in towns, generally laid out at right angles to main streets. The rear of the plots may be accessed by a back lane. They are so-called because ‘burgage tenure’ was a particular form of property-holding in medieval towns which led to a pattern distinctive of medieval town planning.

Within a block, plots may be of a uniform width (sometimes 20 feet). The main buildings, generally shops or houses, occupied the frontages, with the rear containing ancillary buildings, and open space which was often used for digging cess pits and rubbish pits. The boundaries between plots may remain marked by high stone or brick walls and there may be evidence of more land-intensive uses (cattle market, light industrial) being carried out here that would not be found on the main streets.

Map 9 Building Plots Not to scale

Conservaon Area Boundary

Burgage Plots

Fragmented Burgage Plots

Market Place infill

Road edge plots (linear)

Wallingford Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2018