Charters of Barking Abbey and Waltham Holy Cross

Barking Abbey is the only English nunnery which has an institutional history stretching from its foundation in the seventh century to its dissolution by Henry VIII (with a short interruption during the Viking Age). A hitherto unknown cache of eight Anglo-Saxon charters from Barking was discovered in the 1980s and these are edited here for the first time, along with other early documents from the house. These are set in context by a comprehensive and ground-breaking introduction to the history of Anglo-Saxon Barking. The volume also includes an edition of the important charter of Edward the Confessor for the abbey of Waltham Holy Cross, with an introduction exploring the history and archaeology of Waltham.