Forum Topic

Putney 1000 years ago

Matt Brown, who runs The Londonist: Time Machine substack, has produced a map of the London area in the late Anglo-Saxon period (so, roughly, the year 1,000), and it's fascinating. You can see the full map at https://londonist.substack.com/p/mapping-anglo-saxon-london-a-big, but below is the area roughly round here: the names, which Matt derived froma variety of sources, are instantly recognisable: Puttan Hythe, Wandesorde, Fullan Hamme, etc.
The weekly email is free (though you can pay to have more involvement) and is always interesting: here's a link to find how to subscribe

Richard Carter ● 1d4 Comments

Agree about both the map and The Londonist in general. Often it has interesting stuff and is completely free.A Viking raiding fleet wintered on what is now Fulham Palace Meadows in 879 so any one in Putney then would have had a good view of them. Probably most local would have given them a wide berth even with the Thames separating them (although it was more prone to freezing in those days.

Peter Higgins ● 49m

That’s a fascinating map, and beautifully made. Like the best maps it doesn’t just record what exists but begins to get under the surface to reveal hidden aspects. The place names seem particularly evocative. Thanks for the heads up!

Gerry Boyce ● 1d

Interesting, thanks, Richard. 

Michael Ixer ● 1d

Fascinating!  If you read his Substack piece he does remind us there are often alternative versions of how local place names originated. So I reckon Battersea could have been Baldrick’s island. 😂

Jonathan Callaway ● 1d