A TIMELINE OF BISHOPS WALTHAM HISTORY
By Tim Lambert
904 The king gives a manor to the Bishop of Winchester
1001 The Danes burn Bishops Waltham
1086 Bishops Waltham is a large village with a population of about 450 and 3 watermills
c 1138 The bishop builds a palace
1194 Richard the Lionheart stays at the palace
Late 13th Century By now Bishops Waltham has weekly markets
15th Century By now wool is made in Bishops Waltham
c 1540 A writer calls Bishops Waltham a pretty town
1602 Queen Elizabeth grants the right to hold 2 annual fairs in Bishops Waltham
1644 Royalist soldiers are besieged in the Bishops Palace for 3 days. They then surrender.
1645 Oliver Cromwell orders his men to damage the Bishops Palace to prevent it being used by royalists in the future
1679 A grammar school is founded in Bishops Waltham
The Bishops Palace by Wendy Pyatt
1801 Bishops Waltham has a population of 1,773
1805 French sailors captured at Trafalgar are held in Bishops Waltham
1809 The first bank opens in Bishops Waltham
1841 The market in Bishops Waltham ends
1863 A railway links Bishops Waltham to Botley
1864 Bishops Waltham gains gas light
1867 Brick making in Bishops Waltham begins
1890s Houses are built at Newtown
1901 Bishops Waltham has a population of 3,028
1932 The railway station in Bishops Waltham closes to passengers
1957 Brick making in Bishops Waltham ends
1960-62 Bishops Waltham gains main drainage
1971 A road is built by-passing the town centre
1980 Jubilee Hall is built
1986 The Bishops Waltham Society is formed
1987 A museum opens in Bishops Waltham
2001 Bishops Waltham has a population of 6,500