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Early History

In the last few weeks, the author's daughter (a keen amateur archaeologist) discovered some interesting flints in North Baddesley on one of her many walks round the parish. These flints have been identified by an expert as Mesoliths dating from 8000BC and would have belonged to hunter-gatherers just after the last Ice-Age.

Until this find, earliest evidence of occupation of the area was discovered on Baddesley Common when a six-inch long flint axe was uncovered in the 1960's. In the long hot summer of 1976, two stone-age flint axe-heads were discovered at Emer Bog. The Bog area had sufficiently dried up to allow ploughing there for the first time. They were officially identified as Neolithic and dating from around 3000BC. At least two tumuli or barrows were known to exist on Baddesley Common and a further possible barrow existed between Rownhams Lane and Firgrove Close before the area was redeveloped.

The most important evidence of early occupation to be discovered came about when the two ancient farms, Knightswood and Zion Hill were sold for residential redevelopment. In 1996 An ancient burial mound was discovered in the area of the former and seven burials and six cremations were found on an urnfield on the site. Archeaologists dated the burials to the middle Bronze Age (1400-1000BC) from a Deverel Rimbury barrel urn placed as the second burial.

Excavations at Zions Hill revealed Late Neolithic/ Early Bronze age lithics, a concentration of mid to late 1st century AD pottery and a clay fired loomweight, which would indicate a settlement here from very early times.

The burials are likely to be connected to Castle Hill, where ancient ramparts can be seen in the woods there. However, no excavations are known to have taken place there, so the date is not known.

Toothill, now located in the parish of Rownhams, is the site of an Iron-age hill fort (700BC-43AD) The ramparts are still visible in places. Now the summit is covered with trees, but it has commanding views over the surrounding countryside. However, it is probably too late in date and too distant to be associated with the Zion Hill and Knightwood discoveries.

So, whilst no documentary evidence exists about the village prior to 1086AD, there is evidence of occupation of the area for the preceding 10,000 years.