The Chronicle records Alfred design of a new type of warship — larger and faster than Danish longships, with sixty or more oars — and their first action in 896. Off the south coast Alfred fleet intercepted Danish raiders and captured six ships, though the engagement was tactically costly with several English ships lost. The innovation of designing purpose-built warships makes Alfred the founder of the Royal Navy in popular tradition.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
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