Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
followed are shrouded in mystery, but it is thought that these latest new-
comers brought with them a way of life that was not ordered with the same
degree of Roman culture and organisation, and there seem to have been
many tribal differences to settle. It was during this period that Arthur rose
as defender of Britain. Tales of King Arthur are a muddle of historic evid-
ence and legend, but that these were unsettled times cannot be in doubt.
What seems certain is that towards the end of the sixth century a battle
took place on Hinton Hill, near Dyrham, between West Saxon warlords
Cuthwine and Cealwin, and three kings of the Britons. The kings - Coin-
mail, Condidan and Farinmail - were slaughtered and the Britons pushed
back to Wales and Somerset leaving the towns of Bath, Cirencester and
Gloucester in Saxon hands.
The Cotswolds were then ruled by West Saxons in the south, and Mer-
cian Saxons in the north. The Mercian capital was established at Winch-
combe where a monastery was founded. At the abbey at Bath, which be-
came an important and substantial Saxon town, King Edgar was crowned
the first King of all England in
AD973
. The Church grew in power, and by
the end of the Saxon period actually owned a good proportion of the Cots-
wolds. It was during this period that whole sheepskins were being expor-
ted to serve English missionaries on the continent, an export that began
as early as
AD
700.
Under Norman rule, following the invasion of 1066, the Cotswolds re-
mained a place of some importance in the country, with England's capital
being very briefly centred at Gloucester. A new phase of building began,
evidence of which can still be seen today, particularly in the churches. Hor-
ton Court, a few yards off the route of the Cotswold Way, also dates from
Norman times and is still in use.
The Domesday Survey of 1086 showed that the region was already
largely cultivated, but with woodland covering much of the western es-
carpment. More clearings were made during the following centuries and
the open fields then turned to extensive sheep pasture. 'In Europe the best
wool is English; in England the best wool is Cotswold.' This saying held
true throughout the Norman era, when sheep outnumbered people by four
to one and exports of Cotswold wool increased accordingly.
The traditional animal of these vast sheepwalks was known as the Cots-
wold Lion, a breed of sheep '. . . with the whitest wool, having long necks
and square bodies'. These long necks were adorned with a shaggy woollen
'mane', which led to their nickname. By the Middle Ages the wolds were
almost entirely given over to grazing these sheep, and the wool masters
