Manno’s Manor

Description

Wolverton came to national attention in 1838 when the London to Birmingham Railway was completed and this small rural community developed into the railway town that enjoyed some fame in the great rail-way age. This heritage has perhaps obscured a longer and richer history and in this book Bryan Dunleavy traces the story from Bronze Age settlements, Romano-British Villa farming, the arrival of the Anglo Saxon people in the 6th century, the foundation of the Wolverton barony after 1066 and its subsequent manorial history to the 19th. century. It is the work of archaeologists over the past 50 years which has extended our knowledge of the past and transformed some of our perspectives on his-tory. This has been particularly true of Milton Keynes and this book makes good use of their discoveries. The Watling Street at Wolverton’s western edge was always an important highway and this book also explores the medieval development of Stony Stratford and its growth into an important 18th century coaching town. The manor of Wolverton once covered over 2,700 acres and was chosen by Manno le Breton as the head of his Barony once he established himself after 1066. He gives his name to the title of this book. There is much to discover about Wolverton in the pre-railway age and this book tries to bring it all together in one volume.