Keynsham & Saltford
Local History Society
Timeline
Keynsham & Saltford History
In 1965, when K&S LHS was first formed, we recognised that there was very little of Keynsham and Saltford's history that had been recorded. Since then some of our members have conducted their own personal research or conducted academic research, which has uncovered more information about Keynsham and Saltford. We have also been fortunate to have received many presentations, from guest speakers, that has also widened our knowledge.
We hope this Timeline page will act as a chronological record of the known history for Keynsham and Saltford. This page will grow, as our knowledge grows. If you notice any inaccuracy or have some information you feel would be useful to be included on our Timeline, please contact us.
Prehistory & the Romans
Prehistory & the Romans
Early humans definitely lived here, first hunting and later farming as early as 500,000 years ago. In the Iron Age, about 2,500 years ago, they built Stantonbury Hill Fort, south of Keynsham, a project involving many people.
Roman Times
During the Roman occupation of Britain there was a Roman settlement called Trajectus which has been located on the edge of Keynsham, at Somerdale, by a geophysical survey.
Two Roman Villas have been discovered, a small house at Somerdale when Fry’s built their factory in 1921 & a very large villa at Keynsham Cemetery, which opened in 1878. By 1922/23 it became difficult to dig graves down through Roman floors and walls. Both villas were founded after the middle of the third century AD. A fine mosaic was found at the Cemetery, and is now on display in Keynsham Library, and two stone coffins were unearthed at Somerdale. Scattered finds of pottery in the parish indicate 3rd and 4th century occupation.
However, the earliest coin found dated 37CE, with a number in the 1st and 2nd centuries, along with brooches from the same period. The most notable datable object is a pedestal base for a statue, whose inscription dates to 155CE. Other finds included military belt plates, which, if they belong to the 1st century, may suggest that Roman occupation at Somerdale began as a small military post near the confluence of the Rivers Chew and Avon, associated with the water transport of lead from the Mendip mines.
Entry Produced by Sue Tatford, August 2026.
Roman Times
Photograph of work done by Archaeological Surveys Ltd before redevelopment of Somerdale.
St Keyna
490CE
St Keyna 490CE
St Keyna is said to have rebuffed the advances of her admirers, preferring to dedicate her time to her religious beliefs and sought permission to serve God in a wooded area now known to be Keynsham. She was warned that the area was full of serpents and was uninhabitable. Legend has it that she ignored the warning and turned the serpents, including snakes and vipers, into stone and she settled in the area.
The stone serpents were of course prehistoric ammonite fossil stones, which can been seen around Keynsham.
Medieval Period
We don't know much about the 500 years after the Roman army left. But, for a while, this area was a frontier. The West Saxons, pushing west, threatened the territory of the Britons. This is when the defenders built the Wansdyke ditch.
Later the Saxons built a minster church with burial grounds at Keynsham. For 871CE we find the name of the town first written down as Cawine's hamme. Keynsham Manor was held by the King himself at the time of the Domesday survey of 1086CE. It then passed to William, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, who chose to build an Augustinian Abbey in the memory of his dying 16 year old son, Robert. Later research also suggests the abbey may also have been created following the experiences of William and his brother Roger during the Civil War of 1139-1153.
Above summary is based on the research by Andy Williams, Exeter University, 2026.
Medieval Period
Burial of Bishop Heahmund
Photo of Anglo-Saxon Cross Shaft dated c800CE. Found during the modern-day archaeology at Keynsham. Cross-Shaft was a large stone inscribed monument that indicated the presence of a minster or church. This cross-shaft would have been upright and likely to have been on public display at the time of Heahmund's burial.
22nd March 871CE
Bishop Heahmund
Bishop Heahmund was a ninth-century Bishop of Sherborne who played a significant role within the kingdom of Wessex during a period of increasing Viking conflict. His early career appears to have developed within the royal court of Wessex, where he was likely influenced and mentored by his predecessor, Bishop Ealhstan. Heahmund was appointed Bishop of Sherborne in 867 CE and appears to have combined his ecclesiastical responsibilities with a close involvement in the political and military affairs of the West Saxon kingdom.
In 871 CE, Heahmund fought alongside the West Saxons against the Vikings at the Battle of Merantune, where he was killed. His death is recorded by the chronicler Æthelweard, whose account provides additional information to that contained within the surviving versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Early accounts record that Heahmund’s body was subsequently taken to Keynsham, for burial.
Above summary is based on the research by Andy Williams, Exeter University, 2026.
1086
Domesday Book
The Domesday Book was a manuscript record of the ‘Great Survey’, which identified who was living in the country, what lands they owned, what assets they held and hence what income could be generated for the realm by taxation. The survey included entries for Keynsham, Saltford, Stanton Drew, Belluton, Compton Dando and Chew Magna, and recorded the presence of 17 mills on the River Avon and River Chew, 8 of which belonged to Keynsham Abbey. The mills would variously have been flour, corn or grist mills.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
Domesday Book
Religious Sanctuary
1092
Justyn (believed to have been Lord Morgannwg of Glamorganshire) fled to Keynsham to take religious sanctuary. Suggests the continued presence of a religious establishment at Keynsham.
16th March 1167
Pope Alexander III wrote a letter to Roger, Bishop of Worcester (brother to William 2nd Earl of Gloucester) giving his permission to build the Abbey at Keynsham.
According to the Cardiff Annals, work started in 1169.
Above summary is based on the research by Andy Williams, Exeter University, 2026.
Pope Authorises Keynsham Abbey
Keynsham Abbey
Image of Keynsham Abbey Ruins within Keynsham Memorial Park
1172-1173 - Foundation Ceremony
Keynsham Abbey was officially founded between May 1172 and April 1173. It was established as an Augustinian Abbey, under the Order of St Victor of Paris. The official foundation ceremony was attended by Abbot Richard from St Augustine's at Bristol and Abbot Andrew of Wigmore Abbey, both churches were also from the same Order of Victor.
Above summary is based on the research by Andy Williams, Exeter University, 2026.
1200-1600
Medieval Woollen Industry
Sheep had been reared for their wool and weaving undertaken at a subsistence level in the Anglo-Saxon period, but in the late 1100s the industry rapidly expanded. The trade was most active between 1250 to 1350, which was described as the Jewel in the Realm c.1270. Since the 1350s the Lord Chancellor has sat on the Woolsack in Parliament, signifying the importance of wool to the nation’s wealth. Keynsham Abbey would have been heavily in volved with the trade on their extensive estates. From the 1250s, several mills were adapted to perform fulling or tucking, a process of cleaning and felting woven cloth before being sold for clothing manufacture. Fulling mills were recorded at Keynsham on the River Avon, with mills of the River Chew at Keynsham, Woodborough, Pensford and Chew Magna.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
Mill History: Medieval Woollen Industry
Edward II 1307-1327
King Edward confirmed the original charter granting the Manor & Hundred of Keynsham to the Abbey.
15th December 1495
On December 15th 1495 Jasper Tudor, whilst at his Manor of Thornbury, made his will. He specified that his body should be buried in the monastery of our lady at Keynsham. He died eleven days later on December 26 1495. He had claimed the honour of Patronage “in right of his wife”, meaning he had the right of burial in the Abbey.
Death & Burial of Jasper Tudor
Dissolution by Henry VIII
23rd January 1539
Keynsham Abbey, the abbot and 10 canons surrender to John Tregonwell, principal commissioner for King Henry VIII under the authority of the Act of Supremacy 1534.
1539+
Following the dissolution, the Bridges family bought the land and were the leading local family until the 1770s. From 1642-49 the Civil War caused great suffering. Locals supported Parliament, but Sir Thomas Bridges was a Royalist. During the conflict the County Bridge at Keynsham was destroyed. In 1685, James, Duke of Monmouth, led the rebellion against James II taking his army to Keynsham. He was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor and executed for treason.
Post Dissolution
Mill History: Metal Working: Copper, Brass and Steel
1600-1850
Metal Working: Copper, Brass and Steel
In the late 1600s, experiments were made with smelting copper in the Avon Valley. The economic demand for copper and copper alloys experienced a step change in 1689 when the Bill of Rights gave Bristol merchants access to the lucrative Africa trade. West Africans valued copper and brass very highly and the demand for trading goods lead to the adaption of multiple mills in the region for brass and copper working, such mills appearing at Keynsham, Saltford and Swineford on the river Avon and Woodborough, Woolard, Publow, Belluton and Bye Mills on the river Chew. The industry massively contracted following the abolition of slavery in 1807. Keynsham also hosted a steel mill in this period making agricultural edge tools.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
1600-1850
Textiles, dyeing and leather
Twerton, upstream from Kelston and Saltford, saw a large expansion of the woollen industry in the late 1700s, with three water powered mills being constructed on the two weirs. Keynsham did not see the same expansion, but the site now known ss Albert Mill was adapted for wool processing in the 1770s but was converted to cotton-spinning in the 1780s. It was rebuilt in 1836 as a grist mill but later adapted for crushing lime and ochre before being rebuilt again in 1873, following a major fire, as a logwood mill to produce dyes.
Other mills in the region were adapted for producing dyestuffs, including Swineford (late 1800s). There were also associations with the leather trade with a tannery located in Woolard C1630 to 1870s) and a leather mill at Saltford.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
Mill History: Textiles, Dyeing and Leather
Mill History: Steam and Electricity
1850-1950
Steam and Electricity
With the introduction of steam power, engines were incorporated into some mills to enable continued operation when water levels were low. In 1834, the Avon Brass Mill was extended by the introduction of a new workshop complex upstream of the watermill powered by a steam engine.
In 1896, the Keynsham Electric Light and Power Company was founded to supply the town with electricity. Power was generated by a Water Turbine at Chewton Keynsham, supplemented by a Steam Engine in Keynsham High Street. The company closed in 1922.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
Modern Industry - Frys
1920s
From the 1400s, some of our many water mills were used for beating woollen cloth, instead of grinding corn. In the early 1700s, South Mill in Keynsham was making steel and the use of machinery spread. Albert Mill had many uses, lastly for crushing bark to make dyes. Then, in the 1920s, the arrival of the Fry's Chocolate Factory changed the town for ever.
1950 to present day
Flood Prevention
The River Avon and River Chew are prone to flooding; the River Chew being fed from springs on the Mendip Hills and the River Avon by springs around Tetbury and Sherston. The rivers can rise quickly following heavy rain in their catchment areas giving rise to short term flooding: in 1968 heavy rain caused a sudden flood on the River Chew, destroying bridges and causing extensive damage.
Since 1968, both the River Avon and River Chew have been subject to flood prevention measures which have largely swept away evidence of the former mills.
Above summary by Tony Coverdale, 2026..
Mill History: Flood Prevention
10th July 1968
The Great Flood of 10th July 1968
The storm that passed across southern England on 10th July was at its most severe over the upper Chew valley where rainfall totals exceeded 6 inches. The valley is steep-sided and when vegetation and soil could absorb no more the water poured into the ditches and tributaries of the river causing the water level to rise very rapidly. Large flows move more quickly and the destructive power of the water washed away bridges and some buildings in its path. As it neared Keynsham the flood water hit the wall across the valley at Chewton Keynsham. When that collapsed the resulting “wall” of water moved downstream. Above Albert Mill the valley narrows so the flood deepened and then hit the Dapps Hill Bridge area of Keynsham like a tidal wave, flooding houses to the top of the ground floor. At Bath Hill Bridge a stranded car was washed off the bridge and three of the occupants died. Nearby shops and houses were badly damaged.
The next morning saw a huge recovery operation begin, but it took several years to replace the bridges and buildings destroyed, whilst many of those affected saw their lives changed forever.
Above summary by Richard Dyson, 2026..
Great Flood
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