Thursday, 2 April 2020

The March to Wimbledon in ad568

In the year 568 King Ceawlin of Wessex went to war with King Ethelbert of Kent. The war would reach a climax at Wimbledon.


A stretch of Stane Street in Sussex. The straight course of this Roman road is obvious. In Ceawlin's day the original Roman road surface of rammed gravel would still have been largely intact.


Whatever the cause of the war, both rulers seem to have been keen to get to grips with each other as quickly as possible. A problem for them both was how to get at each other. The Kingdom of the South Saxons covered what is now Sussex, blocking a direct route from Ceawlin's capital at Venta (now Winchester) and Athelbert's at Cantwareburh (now Canterbury). We do not know who was King of Sussex at this date. Cissa had died in about 550 and the names of his successors were lost when the kingdom ceased to be an independent state some two centuries later.
In any case the dense forests that then covered the Weald and the heavy clay soils on which they stood made for hard travelling. The Romans had built several roads running south from London to connect with iron ore mines and smelting workshops in the Weald, and one branch turned west to Winchester but none went east to Kent.
Effectively the belligerents had two choices. They could either march along the route on the North Downs that is now known as the Pilgrim's Way or they could use the Roman roads that led from their respective states to London.
At this date London was a shadow of its former self, and tiny in relation to what it would become, but was still a place of importance. We know that numerous workshops, houses and warehouses lined the river upstream of the old Roman city. The beach here was ideal for the small ships of the day to be moored so that at low tide they were stranded and could be unloaded easily. The road along which these buildings stood is still called The Strand. How the old Roman City was being used is unclear, but its city walls still stood and could be easily defended.
London was a prosperous and by the standards of the time a wealthy place. The taxes raised from the London merchants would have been enough to make any ruler rich. It is not known which state ruled it at this time, so it may be that it was for control of London that the war was fought. If so the rival rulers would both have marched for London as quickly as possible.
Athelbert's route would have been simple. He could march his army straight up the Roman road that ran straight as an arrow from Canterbury to London. This road was later known as Watling Street, and later still as the A2.
Ceawlin's options were more complex as there was no direct Roman road on which to march. The shortest Roman route was north to Calleva, now Silchester, then east to Pontes (Staines) to reach London from the west. However that would have meant going through the civitas of the Atrebates and they seem to have been hostile to the Belgae - certainly Ceawlin would later fight a war against them. A second Roman route was east to Noviomagus (Chichester) then north up the Roman road later known as Stane Street. That, however, meant going through Sussex and we have no idea of the attitude of the South Saxons to the war. A third route open to Ceawlin was to go east along the Pilgrim's Way to the junction with Stane Street near what is now Epsom. He could then go north along Stane Street to London.
Given the location of the battle at Wimbledon, it seems most likely that Ceawlin was marching up Stane Street. Whether he had first gone along the Pilgrim's Way or via Chichester we cannot know.

Stane Street crossed the River Wandle at what is now Christchurch Road, Merton. Today the area is heavily built up and the Wandle is constrained between concrete banks. Back in 568, however, the river was a considerable obstacle. It would have been much wider than today and its banks lined with trees and marshy ground. An army on the march complete with pack horses or carts carrying supplies could have crossed it only at a ford or bridge. It was for this reason that many Dark Age battles were fought at river crossing points. An army on the defensive could be certain that an invading army would use the river crossing. Moreover the ford was usually narrow, negating the advantage of numbers that a larger army would enjoy.
We cannot be certain what happened here in 568, but it would make sense if Athelbert had got to London first, then marched down Stane Street to block Ceawlin's advance at the ford over the Wandle.
Marching northeast up Stane Street, Ceawlin would have had the presence of Athelbert and his army at the ford reported back to him by his scouts. He may have ridden forward to see the situation for himself, perhaps getting a good view by pausing on the slight hill where South Wimbledon Tube Station now stands. Ceawlin would then have to decide what to do next.

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