Place Names of Calne: Wessex Close

Wessex Close is a collection of 3-4 bedroom houses built c.1972, named for the ancient Kingdom of Wessex.

Wessex was one of the Kingdoms of England in Anglo-Saxon times and is an elision of the Old English form of "West Saxon". While the area covered fluctuated over time, the permanent area covered the counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

Here's a very brief look at the Kingdom of Wessex as it relates to Wiltshire:

The first king of Wessex is thought to be Cerdic, who reigned from around 520, at the foundation of Wessex to c540. He is thought to have been aggressive and in this manner accumulated more lands, which then created the Kingdom of Wessex.

His son Cynric c.540 to c.560, came up against the fierce native Britons of Wiltshire when it was his turn to be king. However he did have victories at Sarum and Barbury Castle (c.556), which lies on the ancient Ridgeway and would be been an important strategic route for communication.

It is the next king, Ceawlin c.560 to 572 or 591, that is thought to have ordered the construction of the eastern Wansdyke between Bristol and Wiltshire. There are different theories about who constructed the Wansdyke and why, including that the remaining Romans built it in the late 4th Century as a last stand against the local Britons. This massive defensive earthwork still exists today and is a well known long distance path that is accessible from Smallgrain Plantation near Morgan's Hill.

Alfred the Great statue, Pewsey.

The greatest of all kings, Alfred the Great (871-899), lost his first battle in Wilton, Wiltshire in 871. Alfred then had to make peace with the Vikings at this point to prevent them occupying Wessex. After some success against the Danish, Alfred again lost at Chippenham in 878. This is where the famous story of Alfred hiding in the Somerset Levels and buring some cakes, comes from (which lives on in the common name of King Alfred's cakes for the fungus Daldinia concentrica).

After sending out messengers to rally his people in Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire, he had enough reinforcements by 878 to launch a counter attack. He defeated them at the Battle of Edington, near the location of the Westbury White Horse. Leading his army north to Chippenham, he starved the Danish into submission. Alfred converted the Dane's leader, Wulfred, to Christianity in Wedmore, Somerset.

By the time of Æthelstan's coronation in 925, the Anglo-Saxons had taken retaken much of England. Only an area around York remained with the Danes, due to an ongoing truce. However, wen the Danish king died in 927, control was taken of this area to, making Æthelstan the first King of England. By the time of Æthelstan's death in 939 all the Kingdoms of England were under a single banner, with Welsh and Scottish kings accepting overlordship[1].


References:
[1] https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Kings-Queens-of-Wessex/