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| HER Number | MWB16432 |
|---|
| Record Type | Place |
|---|
| Name | Benham (settlement) |
|---|
Summary
Place mentioned in Saxon charters and in Domesday Book, probably with a short-lived market granted by King John
Monument Type(s):
- VILLAGE? (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 956 AD to 956 AD)
- MARKET? (13th century - 1201 AD to 1208 AD?)
Full Description
There is a grant of land at Benham from King Eadwig in AD956, and also mention of Benham four years later in another charter <1><2><3>. Benham also appears in the Domesday Book <4>
The place name means Benna's meadow according to Gelling <6><7>.
Benham Valence is documented from the 13th century, and according to Gelling the name arises from the gift of the manor to William de Valencia <6>. However, it is claimed that the separate parish of Beenham to the east has also been referred to as Beenham Valence in ecclesiastical documents <8>.
Documentary evidence exists for the granting of a medieval market, but this relates to Benham Valence, and the exact location of the market within the Benham estate is unknown; it has been suggested it might have been at Marsh Benham, although possibly it was not set up or failed to thrive <9>.
Benham was one of several townships or tithings within the parish of Speen <12>. The original township seems to have consisted of not only Marsh Benham but also Hoe Benham in the adjoining parish of Welford. The manorial history is given in the Victoria County History <12>, but no specific mention is made of the residence at Benham although several notable families lived there.
The GIS point is approximate
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Kemble, John Mitchell. 1839-1848. Codex Diplomaticus (Cod. Dipl.). K. K 1199, K481. [Monograph / SWB13687]
http://www.kemble.asnc.cam.ac.uk/ (Accessed 09/03/2015 - under development? 17/12/2018) |
| <02> | Birch, W de G (ed). 1885-1893. Cartularium Saxonicum. B 942, B1055. [Monograph / SWB13686]
http://ota.ahds.ac.uk/desc/0511 (Accessed 06/01/2016) |
| <03> | Sawyer, P H. 1968. Anglo-Saxon Charters. S 591, S687. [Monograph / SWB14617]
http://www.esawyer.org.uk/about/index.html (Accessed 09/03/2015) |
| <04> | Morgan, P (ed). 1979. Domesday Book - Berkshire. DB5. 58d, 63d. [Monograph / SWB14587]
https://opendomesday.org/ (Accessed 11/01/2023) |
| <05> | Money, W. 1892. The History of Speen. p24-6. [Monograph / SWB11824] |
| <06> | Gelling, M. 1973. The Place Names of Berkshire - Part One. English Place-Name Society Vol XLIX. p267. [Monograph / SWB10003] |
| <07> | Gelling, M. 1976. The Place Names of Berkshire - Part Three. English Place-Name Society Vol LI. p668-9. [Monograph / SWB10870] |
| <08> | Anon. 1970s?. St Mary's Beenham Valence (sic) - A brief history of the church and estate of Beenham. [Unpublished document / SWB147369] |
| <09> | Letters, S. 2003-2009. Online Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516. [Website / SWB147588]
http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/gaz/gazweb2.html (Accessed 25/09/2015) |
| <10> | Berkshire Archaeological Society et al. 1927. BERKS, BUCKS AND OXON ARCH J 1927 VOL 31. 31. In ADS Journals. 10.5284/1000017. p42-44 in Berkshire Charters. [Article in serial / SWB13434]
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/berks_bas_2007/journal.cfm?volume=31 (Accessed 27/07/2016) |
| <11> | Peake, H. 1931. The Archaeology of Berkshire. p229. [Monograph / SWB10018] |
| <12> | Page and Ditchfield (eds). 1924. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks IV 1924. Vol 4. p97, 103. [Monograph / SWB10281]
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4 (Accessed 24/09/2015) |
| <13> | Dils, J and Yates, M (ed). 2012. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire (2nd Edition). p36-37 Markets of medieval Berkshire by Jeremy Sims. [Monograph / SWB148708] |
Related Monuments
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
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