Guthrum surprise attack on the royal estate at Chippenham in January 878, during the Christmas season when the fyrd was dispersed, was the lowest point in Alfred reign. Many West Saxons submitted or fled overseas. Alfred retreated to the Somerset marshes at Athelney with a small band, and Guthrum believed Wessex was conquered.
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.
Research a location near Wiltshire