The House of Wessex , also known as the House of Cerdic , the House of the West Saxons , the House of the Gewisse , the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty , refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic of the Gewisse , that ruled Wessex in Southern England from the early 6th century. The house became dominant in southern England after the accession of King Ecgberht in 802. Alfred the Great saved England from Viking conquest in the late ninth century and his grandson Æthelstan became first king of England in 927. The disastrous reign of Æthelred the Unready ended in Danish conquest in 1014. Æthelred and his son Edmund Ironside attempted to resist the Vikings in 1016, but after their deaths the Danish Cnut the Great and his sons ruled until 1042. The House of Wessex then briefly regained power under Æthelred's son Edward the Confessor , but lost it after the Confessor's reign, with the Norman Conquest in 1066. All kings of England since William II have been descended from the House of Wessex through William the Conqueror 's wife Matilda of Flanders , who was a descendant of Alfred the Great through his daughter Ælfthryth . Additionally, kings since Henry II have been descended from English kings from the House of Wessex through Henry I 's wife Matilda of Scotland , who was a great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside.
25-471: The Cottesloe School , formerly known as Wing County Secondary School, which changed its name in 1993 is a secondary school near Wing, Buckinghamshire , England. It occupies a large rural site with views of the countryside in one direction and overlooking Wing village in the other. The school takes children from 11 to 18. The school has 1300 students, of whom over 170 are in the Sixth Form. The school serves
50-492: A Pedal Car Racing team called Wing Racers made up of residents and friends that compete at competitions such as the Shenington 24hr. The village has two schools. Overstone Combined School is a mixed, foundation primary school for children aged 3–11. Cottesloe School is a secondary school for children aged 11–18. It also has two public houses , a social club, an Indian restaurant, a Chinese takeaway which doubles as
75-586: A fish and chip shop, and a police station. A Post Office is located on the High Street. Ascott House , a home of the Rothschild family , is in the parish. The village hall built in 1905 at a cost of £2000 is in the Rothschild style and is one of the most prominent buildings in the village, and was formally opened by Lord Rothschild. During WW2, an RAF base was built close to Wing. Completed in 1941,
100-652: A gateway for tens of thousands of men returning from duty in Europe. The base closed in April 1956. In 1971, the Roskill Commission identified the disused RAF Wing as the best site for a four-runway national hub airport, generally known as Cublington Airport. This attracted considerable opposition on environmental and noise nuisance grounds, and the plans were first changed to focus on a coastal site at Maplin Sands in
125-414: A large rural catchment in the north of Buckinghamshire, as well as parts of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Since 2009 the school has been oversubscribed at Year 7. The previous Ofsted report in 2009 stated; “A high proportion of parents responded to the parental questionnaire. The majority are positive about the work of the school, in particular the recent improvements. Parents value the support provided by
150-554: A supposed involvement in the First Crusade ; he is presumed to have died around 1126. A Northumberland pipe roll mentions an "Edgar Adeling" in 1158, and 1167, by which time Edgar would have been over 100 years old. Beyond this, there is no existing evidence that the male line of the Cerdicings continued beyond Edgar Ætheling. Edgar's niece Matilda of Scotland later married William's son Henry I to consilidate his claim to
175-641: A unified English nation under the descendants of Alfred the Great (871–899). Edward the Elder , Alfred's son, united southern England under his rule by conquering the Viking occupied areas of Mercia and East Anglia . His son, Æthelstan , extended the kingdom into the northern lands of Northumbria , which lies above the Mersey and Humber , but this was not fully consolidated until after his nephew Edgar succeeded to
200-611: Is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire , England. The village is on the main A418 road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard . It is about 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Aylesbury, 3 miles (5 km) west of Leighton Buzzard, and 12 miles (19 km) south of Milton Keynes . The Domesday Book of 1086 records the toponym as Witehunge . The name occurs in Old English circa 966–975 as Weowungum ( dative plural case). It could mean: The first syllables of
225-412: Is that the church was built on a pre-existing religious site, which the evidence in the village's name and in the aforementioned archaeological finds seem to suggest. The church contains a number of fine monuments , including the "purest Renaissance monument of the mid-16th century" to Sir Robert Dormer (died 1552) , and a wall monument attributed to Louis-François Roubiliac . Nine hundred metres to
250-545: The West Coast Main Line , travelling to destinations such as Birmingham New Street , Milton Keynes Central and London Euston . Wing is served by buses running services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and between Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury operated by Z&S International. The M1 motorway is 13 miles to the east, on the other side of Dunstable . House of Wessex The House of Wessex became rulers of
275-823: The Confessor , who was a son of Æthelred, who was later succeeded by Harold Godwinson , a member of the House of Godwin , possibly a side branch of the Cerdicings (see Ancestry of the Godwins ). After the Battle of Hastings , the victorious Duke of Normandy became William I of England . Anglo-Saxon attempts to restore native rule in the person of Edgar the Ætheling , a grandson of Edmund Ironside who had originally been passed over in favour of Harold, were unsuccessful and William's descendants secured their rule. Chroniclers describe conflicting stories about Edgar's later years, including
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#1732780883318300-579: The NNE of All Saints’ Church at the end of the High Street are the earthwork remains of a late 11th-, early 12th-century Norman motte-and-bailey castle , which is positioned at the top of Castle Hill. The castle likely had an inner and possibly an outer bailey to the East, although this has now all been built over by the road and housing. The remaining mound stands around 16 feet high and covers an area of around 120 feet. Wing Motte and Bailey castle Wing also features
325-620: The Sixth Form but in 2010 there were over 170 on roll. This has impacted on facilities but with the new dining hall in place as of February 2011. Each year there is a Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputies appointed and these help constitute the Sixth Form Committee. Other members include the Head Boy and Head Girl, plus two deputies, from each of the four Houses (Austen, Churchill, Nightingale and Shakespeare). Wing, Buckinghamshire Wing , known in antiquated times as Wyng ,
350-565: The Thames Estuary and eventually scrapped altogether. As a permanent celebration of the victory, Buckinghamshire County Council planted a spinney of over 400 trees on a 3-acre site that would have been at the centre of the airport. As of 2023, there are no airports in the UK with more than two active paved runways. Wing is about three miles from Leighton Buzzard railway station , which is served by West Midlands Trains and Southern trains on
375-510: The country, with evidence showing the site has had religious use going back well over 1300 years. The Anglo-Saxon origin of All Saints' parish church makes it one of the oldest churches in England, though St Paul’s Cathedral in London, for example, was originally dedicated in 604 AD. An ancient track, part of the pre-historic Icknield Way linking Oxford with Cambridge , once passed through
400-699: The dynasty were buried at the cathedral in Winchester, first in the Old Minster and then the New Minster . The remains of many of these rulers and others were vandalized during the English Civil War; currently the bones rest jumbled in different mortuary chests in the current cathedral . Though London was already a prominent city in pre-Conquest England, only one king from the House of Wessex
425-548: The name was first recorded in the Domesday Book . His great, great-grandfather was the first Lord Cottesloe. The title was given to him for his father's service to Nelson. The Cottesloe School has grown rapidly. Work on the dining room and its kitchens were completed in February 2011. A £3m Sports Hall and new classroom block facilities had been created and fully finished by 2016. In 2005 fewer than 70 students attended
450-569: The names of the nearby village of Wingrave and the nearby hamlet of Wingbury have the same etymology . The remains of the temple referred to may be under the Anglo-Saxon Church of England parish church of All Saints . The BBC programme Meet the Ancestors came to Wing in 2000 and recreated the face of an Anglo-Saxon girl found buried in the old graveyard. Wing claims to have the oldest continuously used religious site in
475-422: The primary purpose of RAF Wing was for training Wellington bomber crews. With the base in such close proximity to the village, the sight and sound of aircraft flying over the village became an part of everyday life. The village hall became a popular destination for aircrew and airfield personnel where weekly dances took place. The village pubs were also frequent destinations. At the end of the war RAF Wing served as
500-558: The school for students.” Formerly Wing County Secondary School, opened officially on July 7th 1960. In 1993, it became grant maintained and changed its name to The Cottesloe School. The origins of The Cottesloe School's name were explained at the inauguration of the Grant Maintained School in Wing. Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for Bucks, The Hon Commander John Fremantle, whose father is the present Lord Cottesloe , said
525-571: The throne, since his father, William the Conqueror already had a tenuous claim to the English throne, and he had an even more tenuous one, forming a link between the two dynasties. Henry II was a descendant of the House of Wessex in the female line, something that contemporary English commentators noted with approval. The House of Wessex predominantly ruled from Winchester ( Wintan-ceastre ). Going back to Cynegils , several kings and consorts of
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#1732780883318550-513: The throne. Their rule was often contested, notably by the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard who invaded in 995 and occupied the united English throne from 1013 to 1014, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready and his son Edmund Ironside . Sweyn, his son Canute and his successors ruled until 1042 . After Harthacanute , there was a brief Anglo-Saxon restoration between 1042 and 1066 under Edward
575-557: The village. This was used in the Middle Ages and led to an increase in the village's size, though with the advent of modern roads and motorways this is less used today. As early as the 7th century there was an abbey near the village at Ascott , that had been built by an unknown member of the House of Wessex royal family and given to a Benedictine convent in Angers . The Anglo-Saxon church in Wing, dedicated to All Saints ,
600-414: Was also built at about this time for St Birinus , but evidence found in the 15th century during extensive renovations on the church suggest a Roman structure had stood on this site beforehand. It is unusual among religious buildings of this age for the church and abbey to have been built apart, it was normal for them to be constructed within the same complex of buildings. One possible explanation for this
625-462: Was buried there ( Æthelred the Unready , at Old St. Paul's , now lost). Edward the Confessor favored Westminster as a residence, and his construction of a large Romanesque church there would lead to its later prominence . Other kings from the Wessex dynasty are buried at Sherborne , Wimborne , and Brookwood . For a family tree of the House of Wessex from Cerdic down to the children of King Alfred
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