Wallingford, United Kingdom

During the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon lord Wigod allowed William the Conqueror's invading armies into Wallingford to rest and to cross the Thames unopposed. It was in Wallingford that Stigand the Archbishopric of Canterbury surrendered and submitted to William, thereby all but ending opposition to William's ascent to the throne. From Wallingford, William with Stigand and his armies rode east to Berkhamsted, where he received the final surrender from Edgar and the rest of the English leadership before marching on London for his coronation on Christmas Day. At that time, the river at Wallingford was the lowest point at which the river could be forded. The town subsequently stood in high favour with the Normans as Wallingford Castle was built soon afterward on the orders of William, and became a key strategic centre controlling the Thames crossing and surrounding area. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists Wallingford as one of only 18 towns in the kingdom with a population of over 2,000 people.

Wallingford Priory, also known as Holy Trinity Priory, is believed to have stood on the site of the Bull Croft recreation ground off the High Street. This Benedictine priory was established on land granted to St Albans Abbey in 1097 by Henry I, and Geoffrey the Chamberlain gave the priory to St Albans Paul, 14th Abbot of St Albans, who sent some of his monks to establish a cell there. Wallingford Priory produced the mathematician Richard of Wallingford and the chronicler John of Wallingford.

Wallingford provided refuge for the Empress Matilda's party during the civil war that began after her father Henry I's death. After the fall of Oxford Castle to Stephen in 1141, Matilda fled to Wallingford, according to some historic accounts in the snow under a moonlit sky. Wallingford Castle was besieged unsuccessfully a number of times, with the Treaty of Wallingford ending the conflict there in November 1153.

The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1155 by the new king, Henry II, being the second town in England to receive one.

During Prince John's unsuccessful revolt against his brother King Richard I whilst Richard was involved with the Third Crusade, John seized Wallingford Castle in 1189. The rebellion failed, and John was forced to return the castle to the king's administrators. King John reclaimed the castle after his inheriting the crown in 1199. John modernised, fortified and greatly enlarged the Castle and used it extensively during the First Barons' War.

The town declined in importance from the mid-13th century, when its size and population reduced. The town received a further blow when plague arrived in 1343. It severely damaged the town and its population; the number of churches declined from eleven (during the reign of King Henry II) to only four by the 15th century. The castle declined subsequently, much stone being removed to renovate Windsor Castle.

The road from London to Gloucestershire passed through Wallingford, and the town flourished as a trading centre throughout most of the Middle Ages. The road was diverted, and a bridge was constructed at Abingdon. The opening of Abingdon Bridge and loss of traffic that the road had brought caused the town to enter a steep economic decline.

In 1422 Wallingford and its castle was granted to Catherine of Valois, widowed Queen of Henry V. Catherine lived at Wallingford with her son Henry VI, who was tutored there. While she lived at Wallingford, Catherine met Owen Tudor, whom she later married in secret. Catherine and Owen's eldest son Edmund Tudor fathered Henry VII who defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field and founded the Tudor Dynasty.

One of the last documented uses of Wallingford as a royal residence was during 1518. Letters between Cardinal Wolsey and his secretary Richard Pace discuss King Henry VIII's dissatisfaction with Wallingford and his desire to move on. The priory was dissolved in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey, partly in order to fund the building of the Cardinal College in Oxford. Henry VIII separated the Honour of Wallingford, which included rights of control over the town and its castle, from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1540.

He combined it with the Honour of Ewelme, which included the rights over his existing residence and lands at Ewelme. Ewelme is two miles from Wallingford, so this was done to consolidate control in the area. In return Henry transferred as compensation several areas of Cornish property into the Duchy of Cornwall for Prince Edward. After taking control of Wallingford in 1540, Henry VIII did not favour choosing Wallingford Castle as an official residence. Instead, he opted to transfer materials from it to Windsor to enlarge & improve his own castle there. This practice of dismantling Wallingford Castle to improve Windsor Castle was continued in the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.