Battlefields›Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)
Early Medieval

Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)

879
Cambridgeshire, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
occupation
Location
Cambridgeshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
East Anglian population
VS
Victor
Guthrum
Outcome
Guthrum (baptised Æthelstan after Wedmore, 878) and his forces settled and partitioned East Anglia among the Danish army, founding the kingdom/Danelaw of East Anglia which he ruled until his death in 890.
The Battle

History & Significance

Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880) was an early medieval occupation, fought in the area of Cambridgeshire, England in 879. Guthrum prevailed over East Anglian population. Guthrum (baptised Æthelstan after Wedmore, 878) and his forces settled and partitioned East Anglia among the Danish army, founding the kingdom/Danelaw of East Anglia which he ruled until his death in 890.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880) lies on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

Questions & Answers

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Everything a full report reveals about Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)

This page covers Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880). 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.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)

Hobson's Conduit
Hobson's Conduit
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Hobson's Conduit is a sixteenth-century water supply system constructed in Cambridge to serve the town's needs. Built by Thomas Hobson, a prominent Cambridge carrier and benefactor, the conduit brought fresh water from springs near Nine Wells to the marketplace and other parts of the town, with t…

Magnus Manske / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Cambridge motte and bailey castle, Civil War earthworks and the buried remains of an Iron Age defended settlement, Roman town and former county gaol
Cambridge motte and bailey castle, Civil War earthworks and the buried remains of an Iron Age defended settlement, Roman town and former county gaol
Scheduled monument · ~0.9 mi

Cambridge Castle is a motte and bailey fortress constructed by the Normans in the aftermath of the 1066 conquest, positioned strategically within the town of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. The castle's earthwork defences, comprising a substantial mound surrounded by ditches, remain a prominent topogr…

Samuel Buck / Nathaniel Buck / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station
Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 mi

I cannot locate reliable scholarly documentation for Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station as a scheduled ancient monument in Cambridgeshire with the designation reference provided. Without verified historical sources establishing its period, architectural character, and significance, I cannot respo…

Furrfu / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Chesterton Abbey
Chesterton Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Chesterton Abbey is a Benedictine priory founded in the twelfth century in Cambridgeshire. The site lies near Cambridge and represents an important monastic establishment of the medieval period, though substantial ruins no longer remain visible above ground. Archaeological investigation and docum…

Robevans123 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moated site at Manor Farm
Moated site at Manor Farm
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 mi

The moated site at Manor Farm is a medieval defensive settlement located in Cambridgeshire. The monument comprises a substantial water-filled moat that formerly enclosed a domestic and agricultural complex, typical of the manorial settlements established across England during the medieval period.…

Fractal Angel / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Wandlebury Camp: a multivallate hillfort, earlier univallate hillfort, Iron Age cemetery and 17th century formal garden remains
Wandlebury Camp: a multivallate hillfort, earlier univallate hillfort, Iron Age cemetery and 17th century formal garden remains
Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Wandlebury Camp is a multivallate hillfort located near Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, representing a significant Iron Age defensive settlement. The site began as a univallate hillfort before later phases of construction resulted in multiple defensive ramparts and ditches. An Iron Age cemetery disc…

Ethan Doyle White / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Romano-British settlement site SW of Trumpington
Scheduled monument · ~2.3 miles
Settlement complex NE of Haslingfield
Scheduled monument · ~2.4 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 Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)

Siege of Cambridge Castle (1643)
1643
~0.4 miles away
Rising at Cambridge 1381
1381
~0.4 miles away
Capture of Cambridge
1326
~0.6 miles away
Skirmish at Newmarket 1643
1643
~12.5 miles away
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Danish Settlement of the East Anglian Danelaw (879 to 880)