Page 12 - Oundle Life December 2022

MAKING
OUNDLE
Part One
It’s been called the most perfectly preserved Georgian market town in England, but Oundle’s history reaches much further back in time than the 18th century. To walk through the town is to walk through the history of England itself, from Bronze and Iron Age settlers, to
the mighty legions of Rome, and from Anglo- Saxons to Normans, they have all left their traces in the town and its immediate environs and, ultimately, shaped the way it is today.
the town, and the unearthing of red Roman tiles near Ashton Road has led some to believe it was the site of a Roman villa. Coins dating from the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54AD) suggest Oundle was occupied by the Romans soon
after the invasion of Britain, and evidence of a sizeable Roman settlement in nearby Ashton indicate the town was of some import.
After the Romans left Britain between 380 and 400AD the country was again invaded,
Amongst the earliest finds in Oundle have been Bronze Age (2000-700BC) and Iron Age (800BC to 1st century AD) coins, suggesting the town has been a settlement for thousands of years, thanks to its favourable location on the banks of the River Nene.
the Undalas
tribe settled in and around Oundle area
this time by Germanic Anglo-Saxons, and the Undalas tribe settled in and around the Oundle area. The name is thought to mean ‘undivided’ and may have been corrupted to ‘Oundle’ over the centuries, thereby giving the town its name.
When the Romans arrived in the 1st century AD, they too left traces; Roman coins, pins, cups, and skeletons have all been discovered in
The Anglo-Saxons built a hospitium on the site where St Peter’s Church stands today. The building was founded in 638AD and offered
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