Battlefields›Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740
Early Medieval

Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740

733
Oxfordshire, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Campaign
Location
Oxfordshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Wessex
VS
Victor
Mercia (Aethelbald)
Outcome
Aethelbald captured the West Saxon royal manor of Somerton in 733, establishing Mercian overlordship over Wessex; Bede (731) already described the southern provinces as subject to Aethelbald. In 740 the new West Saxon king Cuthred 'boldly made war' against Aethelbald, resisting Mercian dominance, though the two later cooperated against the Welsh in 743, suggesting Wessex remained subordinate.
The Battle

History & Significance

Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740 was an early medieval campaign, fought at Oxfordshire, England in 733. The victor was Mercia (Aethelbald). Aethelbald captured the West Saxon royal manor of Somerton in 733, establishing Mercian overlordship over Wessex; Bede (731) already described the southern provinces as subject to Aethelbald. In 740 the new West Saxon king Cuthred 'boldly made war' against Aethelbald, resisting Mercian dominance, though the two later cooperated against the Welsh in 743, suggesting Wessex remained subordinate.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740 lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740

This page covers Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740 report
Or see a real report first
Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740

Somerton Market Cross
Somerton Market Cross
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Somerton Market Cross is a medieval stone cross located in the market town of Somerton in Somerset. The structure dates from the fifteenth century and served as the focal point of the town's commercial and social life, typical of market crosses erected during the late medieval period across Engla…

Noho Moana / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Duck decoy 700m WNW of Rookery Farm
Duck decoy 700m WNW of Rookery Farm
Scheduled monument · ~2.4 mi

Duck decoy 700m WNW of Rookery Farm is a seventeenth-century wildfowl trap situated in Somerset. The site represents a surviving example of the decoy pond system, a method of game management developed during the early modern period to capture wild ducks for food and sport. Such installations typi…

N Chadwick / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Low Ham Roman villa
Low Ham Roman villa
Scheduled monument · ~2.7 mi

Low Ham Roman villa is a substantial Romano-British residence located near Langport in Somerset, dating to the fourth century AD. The villa comprises a courtyard plan with multiple ranges of rooms, including a bath suite and hypocausted chambers that attest to the comfortable living standards of…

own / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Pill Bridge
Pill Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~3.3 mi

Pill Bridge is a medieval stone bridge located in Pill, North Somerset, crossing the Avon River. The bridge dates to the medieval period and represents an important crossing point for local communication and commerce in the Somerset Levels. Built of local stone with a characteristic arched design…

Trish Steel / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Hanging Chapel and a medieval gateway at The Hill
The Hanging Chapel and a medieval gateway at The Hill
Scheduled monument · ~3.6 mi

I do not have reliable established information in the scholarly record about a site specifically designated as "The Hanging Chapel and a medieval gateway at The Hill" in Somerset with the NHLE reference 1019290. Rather than provide potentially inaccurate details about its period, physical charact…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Muchelney Abbey
Muchelney Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Muchelney Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in the tenth century on the Isle of Athelney in Somerset, established as a daughter house to Athelney Abbey. The surviving remains, principally from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, include the abbot's lodging with its fine late medieval a…

Sarah Smith / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Melbury Roman villa
Scheduled monument · ~0.5 miles
Roman villa N of Stowey Hill
Scheduled monument · ~2.1 miles
More from this era

Other Early Medieval Battles

Battle of Wippedesfleot
466
England
Battle of Crayford (457)
457
Kent, England
Battle of Aylesford
455
England
Anglian Assault on Roman York (c.450-500 AD)
450
Yorkshire, England
In the same landscape

Battles near Aethelbald of Mercia's Capture of Somerton and Subjugation of Wessex, 733 to 740

Aethelbald of Mercia Invades Wessex 733
733
~0.2 miles away
Battle of Langport 1645
1645
~2.5 miles away
Battle of Marshall's Elm
1642
~3.8 miles away
Baptism of Guthrum at Aller, 878
878
~4.8 miles away
Explore the history of Oxfordshire
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Oxfordshire

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — 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 OxfordshireView a sample report
All Battlefields