Anglo-Saxon Romsey and the Lower Test Valley
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Romsey - A River Terrace Town
The poster was designed for the project exhibition in November 2016. It contrasts the locations of the two contemporary towns. Romsey on its river terrace did not have a natural supply of running water. It took an enormous expenditure of materials and manpower, and considerable expertise, to construct an artificial watercourse for the town. In Winchester the part of the town on the floodplain of the Itchen could be provided with running water by, basically, digging ditches.
by Karen Anderson
Poster by Karen Anderson. Click to download as pdf file.
The 1845 tithe map shows Romsey as a small, compact market town. The addition of surface water to the 3D map highlights the difference between the town on the river terrace and the water channels and mills on the adjacent floodplain.
Central Romsey on the 1845 tithe map. The numbered locations are: 1. The site of Broad Bridge on the east branch of the Fishlake. 2. Creatures Pet Shop excavation, on the original line of the west branch of the Fishlake. 3. Saxon millstone fragments found during excavation in Bell Street. 4. Narrow Lane - excavations in the area uncovered extensive evidence of Saxon iron smelting and a Saxon stylus. 5. Abbey Mill. 6. Abbey Water, the rerouted west branch of the Fishlake and the millpond for Abbey Mill. 7. Town Mill on the east branch of the Fishlake.
The east branch of the Fishlake - the Holbrook
The east branch looking north from Portersbridge Street.
South of Portersbridge Street the Fishlake flows past the garden of King John’s House, Romsey’s museum. The building on the left was a latrine, making good use of the convenient waste disposal facility.
The east branch of the Fishlake runs through the gap between the buildings and into a culvert under the road. This was the location of Broad Bridge which carried traffic between the Market Place, to the left of the photo, and the road heading east through the town, known since the early 16th century as The Hundred. Romsey is still divided into the two parishes of Romsey Infra and Romsey Extra. The boundary of Romsey Infra, the land infra pontem, on the near (to the abbey) side of Bradebrigge, runs from the Test along the Fishlake and its east branch, then south along Middlebridge Street and Chavy Water to the Test. The bridge and the boundary were mentioned in a writ of Henry I which says that arrangements concerning Romsey Infra were in place in the time of his father, William the Conqueror. This provides documentary proof of the Fishlake’s pre-Conquest construction.
South of The Hundred the Fishlake runs past the bus station to the site of Town Mill.
Photos by Karen Anderson
Beyond Town Mill the Fishlake tumbles off the river terrace, then continues south along Middlebridge Street.
The west branch of the Fishlake
The west branch of the Fishlake enters the town at the Horsefair, at the north end of Church Street. It runs through the gap to the right of the white building and in front of the building on the right before disappearing into a culvert.
Looking north from the Market Place along Church Street. The west branch of the Fishlake originally ran along the line of the street. It now flows through a culvert underneath the buildings on the left.
The west branch of the Fishlake reappears above ground at Abbey Water. It served as the millpond for Abbey Mill.
Fragment of greensand millstone found during an excavation at 4, Bell Street.
Read more about millstones,