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Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 1 G61
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 2 G62
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 3 G63
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 4 G63a
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 5 G64a
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 6 G64b
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 7 G64
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 8 G66
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 9 G65
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 10 G67
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 11 G69
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 12 G68
Winterbourne Stoke West Barrows is in Winterborne Stoke Barrows.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 1 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 1 G61 [Map]] is a large and wide Druid barrow, in which it appeared that the primary interment had been moved to make room for the subsequent deposit of a skeleton, which also had been disturbed at some still later period. In examining the cist which contained the skeleton, we observed that the feet had not been displaced; near them was an iron knife; and in our further researches we found at the bottom of the cist several fragments of burned bones, belonging to the remains of the original interment.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 2 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 2 G62 [Map]], like many of the others in this group, is much mutilated, and of large diameter, but not more four feet in elevation. It contained an interment of burned bones secured within a very large brown urn rudely ornamented, which was broken by taking out. A considerable quantity of linen cloth was perceptible among the bones.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 3 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 3 G63 [Map]], a flat barrow, mutilated, and about the same elevation as the last, contained within an oval cist, a simple interment of burned bones, and shreds of linen cloth.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 4 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 4 G63a [Map]] afforded no sepulchral remains, and probably was not intended for a barrow.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 5 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 5 G64a [Map]], a circular flat barrow, contained a double cist; the smallest of which produced a little dagger of brass, and a variety of beads, amongst which were two joints of the vertebral column of a petrified encrinus. The beads, in number about four dozen, were neatly made of clay, but not well burned, except two of the largest, which had been ornamented with faint striæ. Besides the above were a great quantity of curious little shells, in shape like the Hirlas horn used by the Britons, which were perforated lengthways, and formed probably the necklace of some female. (Tumuli Plate XIII.) The large cist contained only the bones of a sheep.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.67. 3 beads made from sectioning a fossil encrinite stem (or sea lily) found in a primary deposit (no inhumation) in (confluent) bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G64a [Map] (i), excavated by William Cunnington.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.68. 18 clay beads (48 originally discovered) found in a primary deposit (no inhumation) in (confluent) bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G64a [Map] (i), excavated by William Cunnington.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.69. 22 fossil dentalium beads found in a primary deposit (no inhumation) in (confluent) bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G64a [Map] (i), excavated by William Cunnington.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 6 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 6 G64b [Map]] is a flat circular barrow, in which we found an oval cists containing burned bones, and a rude little cup, resembling a saucer, which was broken.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.69a. 1 saucer-shaped incense cup (broken) decorated with three lines of impressed cord around its with broad flat rim, found with a primary cremation in Bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G64b [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 7 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 7 G64 [Map]] is a small pond barrow.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 8 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 8 G66 [Map]], a very irregular flat barrow, three feet high, produced near the centre a large urn standing upright within a circular cist, and containing, amongst an interment of burned bones, a small brass dagger, with a bone top to it, neatly finished, with five holes on the side for so many rivets, by which it was fastened a wooden handle. The urn found in this tumulus was very large, and elegantly formed; (Tumuli Plate XIII.) it contained a few black beads that had undergone the action of fire, and was so closely cemented to the chalk, that we had great difficulty in detaching it from the cist.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.86. 1 bronze knife dagger with 3 rivet holes and one rivet remaining (broken in three places) found with a primary cremation (in an upright food vessel) in bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G66 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.86a. 1 bone pommel with 5 rivet holes in both sides and two in the end found with a primary cremation (in an upright food vessel) in bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G66 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 9 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 9 G65 [Map]], a flat circular barrow, contained two small round cists, in each of which was deposited an interment of burncd bones; in one we found curious little double cup;1 in the other, no articles whatever.
Note 1. This cup has a division in the middle, which renders the hollow on each side equal it is unlike in this particular any we have yet found, and is very neatly ornamented in the usual rude style, with the Vandyke pattern. An engraving of it, full size, is given in Tumuli Plate XIII.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.71. 1 reversible incense cup, with its inside base at waist height allowing it to be used upside down, decorated with impressed cord in two bands of zigzags with two parallel lines either side of each and one around the inside rim (also perforated four times for suspension) found with a primary cremation in Bowl barrow Winterbourne Stoke G65 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Colt Hoare 1812. No. 11 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 11 G69 [Map]]. This barrow, more perfect in its external form than the rest, contained within an oblong cist, a simple interment of burned bones.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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Colt Hoare 1812. No. 12 [Winterbourne Stoke West Barrow 12 G68 [Map]]. The vallum of this large Druid barrow is so much defaced, and the elevation of the mound so very trifling, that it might easily escape general notice. It contained a very large rude urn, sixteen inches and a half deep, inverted over an interment of burned bones, and within it a smaller vase. With them were found two black rings similar to those before described, but not perforated for suspension, large amber bead perforated, four pully beads, and three of a black colour. The three last mentioned barrows are situated on the outside of the bank and ditch, which, at first sight, bear an equivocal appearance from their singular shape, resembling a pentagon, which I have before, stated as being a favourite form with the Britons; but on a close investigation of them, they appear decidedly of a more modern date than the barrows. The name of the hill, Conigar, and the vulgar tradition of this spot having once been appropriated to a rabbit-warren, will corroborate this conjecture, and ascertain the origin of this earthen enclosure. On the adjoining hill, called High Down, and to the N. W. of the group of barrows, are the decided remains of a British village, in which we found coins of the Lower Empire, pottery of various sorts, with animal bones, and all the usual indicia of an ancient British and Roman population.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.70b. 1 rough bowl-shaped incense cup decorated with irregular squares of impressed dots around one side and smaller squares, crosses and other shapes around the other (the thick rim also has lines of impressed dots around it) found with a primary cremation under an inverted MBA urn in disc barrow Winterbourne Stoke G68 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.329. 2 rings of Kimmerage shale found with a primary cremation under an inverted MBA urn in disc barrow Winterbourne Stoke G68 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.
Wiltshire Museum. DZSWS:STHEAD.329a. 4 segmented faience beads found with a primary cremation under an inverted MBA urn in disc barrow Winterbourne Stoke G68 [Map], excavated by William Cunnington.