We do not know when the first person came down off the hills into the valley of Martley. It was probably after the end of the last Ice-Age, when hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic ("Old Stone") Age moved through the area, either fishing along the Teme or hunting through the woodland. It's usually assumed that this Age began in about 30,000 BC. They used simple stone tools, some examples of which have been found near Worcester. This was followed by the Mesolithic ("Middle Stone") Age between about 8,000 BC and 3,000 BC. As the land improved and became more established with mixed deciduous woods, our ancestors in turn showed a higher order of organisation, making arrows tipped with small sharp-edged flints. Our closest remains of this time come from Hartlebury Common. From 3,000 BC to 2,000 BC the Neolithic ("New Stone") Age showed the use of wood and bone, as well as stone, for making weapons and implements. There is evidence of settlements, and that tracts of land were cleared to make pastures and fields around small village communities. Probably this could be called the first Agricultural Revolution. We also know the people had a form of belief system - their dead were buried in long barrows. They also made clay pottery, so Martley would have been an ideal place. From the remains of polished stone axes we know that there was a rudimentary trading system down the Severn to the Devon-Cornwall peninsula, and also into the north west of England. But again little local evidence remains.
The Bronze Age then followed from 2,000 BC to 600 BC. It was this new found knowledge, creating an alloy from copper and tin, that enabled the people to make metal, (and therefore more efficient) tools and weapons.
Encampments like Berrow Hill are usually assumed to have been constructed in the Iron Age, but some may have been in use before that as Bronze Age settlements. Very little remains to give us a clear picture, but bronze axes, swords, and spear parts have been discovered along the Severn. Cremation sites for their dead were found at Holt. The bronze arrow tip shown dates from circa 800 BC. It indicates not only craftsmanship but also times which were far more threatening.
By the time of the Iron Age, much had changed. Now a tribal group, The Dobunni, controlled an area that stretched from Wenlock Edge in the north to Parrett River on the borders of Somerset, and from the River Wye in the west to the River Thames at Oxford in the east. The Dubonni flourished with differing degrees of success from circa 500 BC to 50 AD, at which point England came under Roman control and influence.From about 80 BC to 50 AD the Dubonni had a coinage system to trade with, based on the following: gold stater, gold quarter stater, silver unit, silver minim, and bronze unit. The gold stater was the principal currency unit. From the few coins found we know that Boduoc was tribal "king" from circa 25 BC to 5 BC, and that Eisu "reigned" from circa 40 AD to 45 AD. Other tribal leaders include Anted, Catti, Comux, Cono, and Inam (or man) but we are less certain about their dates and their status. The tribal territory seems to have been split into north and south power bases, one centred near Cirencester, the other near Bath.
Some Celtic artefacts have been found, including brooches in a variety of designs. The brooches are in a style called "La Tene" (named from the first site at which they were identified). They come in various stages, called I, II, and III all indicators of their style and age. The one shown is La Tene I dating from 400 BC and on its bow it has a stylised thistle as ornamentation. Some brooches just have incised patterns. The following II and III styles have a whole range of different designs reflecting the skill of the local artisan making them. Later brooches in the Roman period show a stylised dove, or often a stylised dolphin. It is interesting that these are mainly peaceful domestic objects, rather than military. The most fascinating mark of the Dobunni is their tribal emblem which is either a gruesome skull and ribcage, or more likely a representation of a fruit tree (possibly a medlar tree or crab-apple), five-branched from a main stem with a stylised fruit on the end of each branch. The other symbol used on their coins was a prancing three-tailed horse. All the coins were very small, and consequently were easily lost, but not easily found today. The illustration shows a Dobunni stater. They are very rare, but probably out there somewhere!
After the Roman Invasion what is now Martley was in a very fortunate position. It was fertile and productive, and it was marginally outside and off the main Roman trading routes along the Severn and along the road which passed through Vertis (Worcester) and Salinae (Droitwich). The outpost camp near Clifton shows that the Romans saw the area as an important Supply of food and materials. Rather than subjugation, they would have chosen to develop their own estate close to the original area cleared and farmed during the Iron Age.
In the 1930's a Roman coin was found near the centre of Martley. It was identified as a "First Brass", or Sestertius, its value being a fourth part of a Denarius (a silver coin). The obverse represents Lucilla, who was the wife of the Emperor, Lucius Verus (AD.161-169), and was the daughter of a previous Emperor, Marcus Aurelius and the younger Faustina. Lucilla was styled on all her coins LVCILLAE AVG. ANTONINI AVG.F. - "Lucilla, Empress, daughter of Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius) Emperor". The reverse represents the goddess Diana holding a torch in both hands as DIANA LVCIFERA "Goddess of Light", that is, moonlight. Finding a coin in Martley indicates that in AD.170 there was some form of rural trading going on.
The Celtic tribal Dobunni did not just successfully coexist with the Romans, but became part of a civilised Romano-Celtic community. Through marriage an ordered provincial and rural economy was established across what is now Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. As the Romans retreated from the furthest edges of their empire (such as Britain) this Romano-Celtic culture continued to flourish until the arrival of the more war-like Saxons. The domestic and civilised Romano-Celts were no match for the violence of the Saxons, so defeat was inevitable.
Fortunately, it was the south and east of England that bore the brunt of their attacks. By the time it was obvious that the Saxons had won there was little option but to accept Saxon control. Unusually, from the remains of the Romano-Celtic tribe arose another mixed Celtic-Saxon co-existence. Hipplecote may be one last vestige of an age which distinguished Celt from Saxon.
By 600 AD a new kingdom was controlled by the somewhat shadowy "Hwicce", who seem to have been both Celtic and Saxon, ruled by an Anglian set of tribal kings - most definitely a well-blended stock! If Martley was a rich and productive area then these new rulers would have wanted to continue to benefit from what was produced off the land.Whatever the ruling hierarchy it gained the "Hwicce" strength and permanence from the social structures and tax system ("tributani") which had survived from the Roman period; it was a structure and system based on Roman estates and manors which had survived when all around was beginning to become less organised and more chaotic. The "Hwicce" were able to maintain an ordered continuity by retaining the key estates and the revenues which the Romans had created - a kind of early "poll tax" on households.
Other evidence for the survival of a Roman estate through the Saxon period and beyond comes from the shape of the fields around the centre of Martley, showing little strip system, but instead a continuous series of rough rectangles. There is tantalising evidence that when the bishopric of Worcester was established in 679AD to serve the Hwicce, the Christian Church was already well founded - there are at least half a dozen Severn valley churches built on Roman foundations. We also know that a Hwicce king - Osric - founded churches at key sites up and down his kingdom, including Bath and Gloucester, where both churches were dedicated to - St. Peter! - and in 731 AD Bede describes the bishop's church at Worcester also being dedicated to St. Peter. The churches were endowed with the lands of former Romano-Celtic estates to establish their viability. Could this have been how the original Church was established in Martley?
Yet again, Martley (and north-west Worcestershire) had managed the transition from one control to the next without major disruption. The West Saxons eventually came under the control of the kingdom of Mercia, and also the bishopric of Worcester (for centuries after known as "episcopi Hwicciorum").
As the Vikings made inroads from 870 AD in the north-east our border area was fortunately far from their destructive surges along the River Trent and the River Humber. The Saxon fortifications at Warwick and Tamworth showed how neatly Mercia served as a buffer zone, along which the eventual line of "Dane law"
What might be called the final transition occurred at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066 when the shock of defeat was tempered by Wulfstan, who became Bishop of Worcester in 1062. He was a pious and well-loved Saxon. As a result he was one of only two Saxon bishops to retain their position post-conquest, and his death in 1095 was mourned by both Saxons and Normans in Worcestershire. His legacy was to maintain the Church as a powerful influence in Worcester. The rest of the south of the County was handed over and shared out between William's barons and knights. Domesday Book records the Church holding nearly two-thirds of the County, and in this way the transfer of power was softened.
From then on Martley's permanence and position was assured. For centuries its rich land had been cleared and farmed, and its value was now without question. In time it passed through the great family names of the early English medieval period, notably the Despencers and Mortimers - families with impeccable royal connections in their lineage.
Taken from "Martley at the Millennium" by David Cropp
Page created by Lynne Stanley
E-mail Lynne@martley.org
Last updated 14/9/05