Edward Hunt's Forest of Dean Miscellany

It was in the year 577 that the invading English (i.e. the Anglo-Saxons – EH) drove a wedge between the Welsh of Wales and those of Cornwall and the South West, when they defeated the British chiefs of Gloucestershire and pressed on to the Bristol Channel at the Battle of Dyrham. From that date the whole of the county east of Severn was settled by a Saxon tribe called the Hwicci. The Dean, however, was not affected and remained Welsh and must be included in the story of the Celtic kingdoms for another couple of centuries.

The above text is from Forest Story by R.J. Mansfield (publisher: the author 1964)

Key words:         Anglo-Saxons, Battle of Dyrham, Bristol Channel, British chiefs of Gloucestershire, Celtic kingdoms, Cornwall, Dean Dyrham, English, Hwicci, Saxon, Severn, South West, Wales, Welsh

Offa was born in 750 and reigned over Mercia between 757 and 796. Between 780 and 796 he built the dyke that bears his name. Offa’s Dyke follows the Welsh / English border and stretches from Wrexham to the Wye valley. Offa’s reason for building the dyke is not documented.

Offa’s Dyke may be be seen at several locations between Lydbrook and Symonds Yat.

Key words:         Lydbrook, Mercia, Offa, Offa’s Dyke, Symonds Yat, Wrexham, Wye