King Cenwalh of Wessex, returning from a…
648 CE
King Cenwalh of Wessex, returning from a three-year exile in East Anglia to reclaim his kingdom, gives three thousand hides of land around Ashdown to his nephew, Cuthred, possibly sub-king of Berkshire.
Cenwahl invites bishop Birinus to establish, under his direction, the Old Minster in Winchester.
Together, they have a small stone church built.