ANGLO-SAXON CHARTERS

The charters which are illustrated here date from the tenth century, so are our representatives from the first Millennium.

Comparatively few charters of this date survive in local archives. These form part of the archives originally belonging to Staffordshire’s richest religious house, Burton Abbey, which was founded in the eleventh century. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century, documents found their way to later owners of the abbey’s property or to antiquarians and collectors. They are now held by either the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service or the William Salt Library, Stafford.

Eadwig (son of king Edmund I) became king of England in 955 on the death of his uncle Eadred. The Mercians withdrew their allegiance from him in 957 in favour of his brother Edgar, after which his authority was limited to the area south of the river Thames. Eadwig died in 959 and was succeeded by Edgar.