Battlefields›Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013
Early Medieval

Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013

1013
Oxfordshire, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Campaign
Location
Oxfordshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Wallingford / western English submission (no named garrison commander recorded)
VS
Victor
Sweyn Forkbeard
Outcome
Wallingford and the Thames crossing were taken/submitted without recorded resistance; Sweyn crossed the Thames westward to Bath, where Ealdorman Aethelmaer and the western thegns submitted and gave hostages; London itself held out militarily under Aethelred and Thorkell but later also submitted; Aethelred fled to the Isle of Wight and then to Normandy (to Richard II).
The Battle

History & Significance

Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013 was an early medieval campaign, fought in the area of Oxfordshire, England in 1013. Sweyn Forkbeard prevailed over Wallingford / western English submission (no named garrison commander recorded). Wallingford and the Thames crossing were taken/submitted without recorded resistance; Sweyn crossed the Thames westward to Bath, where Ealdorman Aethelmaer and the western thegns submitted and gave hostages; London itself held out militarily under Aethelred and Thorkell but later also submitted; Aethelred fled to the Isle of Wight and then to Normandy (to Richard II).

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013 lies on Grey Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is chalk.

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Overview
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Monuments
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Battlefields
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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
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013

Wallingford Bridge
Wallingford Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Wallingford Bridge is a medieval structure spanning the River Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire. The bridge dates from the twelfth century and represents an important crossing point on the Thames, serving both local traffic and the wider road network connecting London with the west. The survivin…

Sciencebloke at English Wikipedia / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Wallingford Castle is a Norman fortification founded shortly after 1066 by Robert d'Oilly, one of William the Conqueror's principal supporters. The castle occupies a commanding position on the Thames and comprises a substantial motte-and-bailey earthwork with multiple baileys, representing one of…

Pitou250 / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Brightwell Barrow
Brightwell Barrow
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Brightwell Barrow is a Neolithic burial mound located in Berkshire, England. The barrow survives as an earthwork monument consisting of a prominent mound, indicative of early prehistoric funerary practice in the region. As a scheduled ancient monument, it represents an important example of Neolit…

Bill Nicholls / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Sinodun Hill camp
Sinodun Hill camp
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Sinodun Hill camp is an Iron Age hillfort located near Wallingbury in Berkshire, England. The site comprises two concentric ramparts with intervening ditches that enclose an area of approximately four hectares on the summit of the chalk hill. Archaeological evidence and topographical analysis ind…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church
Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church
Scheduled monument · ~3.4 mi

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church is a Norman fortification situated in Berkshire, England. The monument consists of a substantial earthwork motte, characteristic of early medieval military architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its proximity to the parish…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Dike Hills
Dike Hills
Scheduled monument · ~3.5 mi

Dike Hills is a late Iron Age and Romano-British settlement site located near Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The monument comprises a series of linear defensive ditches and banks that enclose an area of approximately eight hectares, representing a significant territorial boundary or settlem…

Rod Allday / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Saxon town
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
Wallingford Town Walls
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 miles
More from this era

Other Early Medieval Battles

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Battle of Crayford (457)
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Battle of Aylesford
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Anglian Assault on Roman York (c.450-500 AD)
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In the same landscape

Battles near Sweyn Takes Wallingford and Advances on London 1013

Siege of Wallingford Castle (1139)
1139
~0.2 miles away
Siege of Wallingford Castle (Civil War)
1646
~0.2 miles away
Wallingford Thames Crossing 1066
1066
~0.3 miles away
Siege of Wallingford Castle
1646
~0.3 miles away
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