Thames Valley Saxons

The Thames Valley Saxons were some of the first Saxon groups to arrive in England but the efforts of these early settlers have gone largely unrecorded. Archaeological evidence suggests that by the start of the fifth century, small groups of Saxons had settled in the Thames Valley, probably employed as laeti to defend the borders of the various British territories which had sprung up in the region. Pagan cemeteries found at the confluence of the Thames and Kennet rivers, dating to the late fifth century, give testament to this very early Saxon settlement. In many ways the Thames Valley Saxons were trailblazers and many later settlers would follow in their footsteps

It appears that the Saxon laeti remained loyal to their Romano-British masters until around 440 AD. Some laeti, such as those in Caer Gwinntguic, remained loyal and threw in their lot with the native British population. Others, however, started to carve out their own chiefdoms in the Thames Valley as British influence weakened in the face of a plague which swept across southern Britain in the mid-fifth century. Bands of Thames Valley Saxons were threatening the northern border of Caer Celemion by 470 and twenty years later were starting to encroach on the territory of Cynwidion. By the end of the fifth century, Thames Valley Saxons had wrested control of the Upper Thames Valley from the Britons.

A map showing the Thames Valley. The Thames Valley Saxons would have migrated from east to west, as would many other later settlers.

As Aelle, King of the Suth Seaxe and Bretwalda, marched northwards along the Thames Valley to do battle with the Britons at Caer Baddon, it is very likely that bands of Thames Valley Saxons were involved in the heavy defeat at Mons Badonicus in 496. It is also very likely that the Thames Valley Saxons, along with the Suth Seaxe and Cantware, were severely weakened in the aftermath of the battle and there were no more major Saxon advances for a generation. Instead, the British may have actually regained part of the Thames Valley although they didn't keep hold of any regained land for long.

By the mid-sixth century, the Thames Valley Saxons appear to have recovered sufficiently to pose a threat to both the Romano-Britons of Caer Celemion and Caer Ceri and the West Seaxe. At that time, Ceawlin of the West Seaxe led a series of campaigns along the Thames Valley but it was his successors, Ceol and Ceolwulf, who established firm control. By 592, any independence the Thames Valley Saxons once had was gone.

It has been suggested that the Thames Valley Saxons who migrated westwards may have become the Gewisse, a mixed Saxon and Angle tribe who settled around Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. In time the Gewisse became the very first West Saxons. This, however, remains nothing more than a theory.