Our speaker this month will be Chris Green, also known as “the History Chap”. His talk will be entitled “1066, England’s Game of Thrones”. How did Weaverham fare in the turmoil of that period?
Weaverham in 1066 was owned by Edwin Earl of Mercia. At the time the village was estimated to be worth £10 a year and had a church and a mill and was simply one of Edwin’s many properties.
Edwin’s sister Ealdgyth was married to King Harold who was killed at the Battle of Hastings, but the battle at Hastings was not the end of English resistance. Between 1069 to 1070 the Normans swept though the north west during a period known as the Harrying of the North and unfortunately, Weaverham lay in the path of Norman forces heading to attack Chester. By 1086 in the Domesday book Weaverham was reported as being “partial waste”, meaning it had been burnt to the ground but rebuilt somewhat and at that time it was estimated to be worth only £3 a year.
No wonder the story is that William the Conqueror wept when he heard how much income had been lost through the violence.
