WHEN the Roman army withdrew from England in the fifth century, the Saxons seized the opportunity to take over what they regarded as a prosperous and plunderable country.

These Germanic settlers (the term Saxon now commonly includes other tribes such as the Angles and Jutes) came across from the continent in their thousands, and really made their mark on our shores.

Indeed, ‘Engla land’, means ‘land of the Angles’ – the name given to the area of Roman Britannia they invaded.

Dorset had its fair share of Saxon settlers, who left their legacy behind in many ways. The name Wessex, of which Dorset is a part, means Kingdom of the West Saxons.

That’s not to say the locals didn’t put up a fight. A defensive ditch, known as Bokerley Dyke, ran for several miles on the Cranborne Chase ridgeway, constructed to keep the Saxon invaders out of Dorset. It is understood to have allowed the Romano-British people to survive in Dorset for almost 200 years after the Roman occupation officially ended.

After capturing East Dorset in the mid-7th century, the Saxons then moved west. Another defence, Combs Ditch, was constructed between Blandford and Bere Regis but it wasn’t enough to keep out the hoards.

The Saxons tended to live a rural lifestyle similar to that of their natural homeland. Very few of their timber buildings remain, yet a number of stone churches still stand, at least in part. A great example is St Martin’s in Wareham. Dating back 1,000 years, it’s not only the oldest but the most complete Saxon church in Dorset. Evidence of its Saxon origins include a tall, narrow nave and chancel, late Saxon wall-arcading in the North West Isle and traces of a Saxon door.

Other local buildings with Saxon foundations include Shaftesbury Abbey, Sherborne Monastery, St Candida & Holy Cross Church at Whitchurch Canonicorum, and Canford Magna Parish Church. Not forgetting Wimborne Minster – officially the Minster Church of St Cuthburga who was sister to King Ina, the King of the West Saxons.

Christchurch can also trace its origins back more than a thousand years, to the fortified Saxon burgh of Tweoxneam – corrupted to Twynham – meaning the place between two rivers.

The current priory was built on the site of a selection of seventh-century chapels and monastic buildings, while the harbour became one of the most important in Saxon England as it was easily reached from the continent and vessels could travel up the river Avon to Salisbury.

A Saxon watermill on the Town Quay, called Place Mill, remains to this day and has been carefully restored and is open to visitors. The bridge approaching the mill is also from this era and the Saxon arches can be clearly seen.

Another important legacy left by the Saxons are the shires. Our current county lines follow the line of the Saxon shire boundaries almost exactly, and our patchwork of small fields are of Saxon origins.

But then, Saxons were excellent farmers. Their huge ox ploughs breathed new life into the heavy soils untouched by the Romans and the Britons, and crops grew in abundance.

They lived in thatched tent-like huts called tuns that were usually built in forest clearings or next to rivers. One of the places they were known to have settled is Holdenhurst near Bournemouth. Being on the edge of the flood plain of the lower Stour valley made it an ideal location for early farmers and there have been a large number of archaeological finds in the area.

When settlements became overpopulated, they would cut down more forest, leading to the words Ley/Lea, Hurst, East, West, North, South or Bottom added to the name.

The Kingdom of Wessex grew steadily stronger during the ninth century under Alfred the Great who was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. By the end of his reign Alfred was recognised as overlord by several southern kingdoms.

But the south coast had been under constant threat from the Danish Vikings, and in retaliation Alfred created a fleet of ships to fight at sea (it was the first English navy). He also built 29 burhs or forts in Wessex, no more than 20 miles apart, to keep raiders at bay.

Christchurch was one such fortified town. It was defended by the sea on one side and by two rivers, the Stour and the Avon on the other two sides. An earth rampart faced with stone was thus erected on the remaining side, probably with a wooden fighting top and palisade. Parts of the old Saxon town wall were discovered in the early 1970s.

Bargates was named after the burgh’s gate, which stood at the north end of town until it was removed in 1744.

Wareham and Shaftesbury were also fortified, but Wareham’s town walls have survived better than any others.

Wareham became one of the most important towns in the county in the Saxon era, housing two mints for the issue of royal money. Its area was listed as 1,600 hides (one hide being the area sufficient to house a peasant and his family) – the third largest in the realm.

Brute force was also used to counter the wave after wave of Viking raids. In 2009, 51 beheaded skeletons were discovered at the top of Ridgeway Hill near Weymouth during excavations for the relief road.

Carbon dating shows they were buried between AD 890 and AD 1030, a time of considerable conflict between the resident Saxon population and invading Danes. The skeletons were young Viking men, aged mainly between 17 and 25 and showed evidence of “multiple blows to the vertebrae, jawbones and skulls with a large, very sharp weapon such as a sword.” They had been murdered by Saxons.

Sadly for them, they were no match for the Normans who put an end to Saxon rule in England with The Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Norman army, with their horses and archers, annihilated the Saxon foot soldiers, and William the Conqueror was crowned king of England on December 25, 1066.