Capital city

I wonder when London became the capital of our country? Was it at the time of the Norman Conquest? Certainly by the twelfth century it was acknowledged as the capital. The reason I’m wondering is because for our ‘homework’ from our Saxlish group this week, we have been asked to find out what we can about Somerton and Wilton.

Pre-Conquest, Somerton, as you might guess from its name was the effective capital of Wessex, with King Ina and King Ethelbald having it as their main settlement, and later the famous King Alfred held his royal council here… So maybe at one time, since King Alfred the first King of England held court here, Somerton could be called the capital of England.

Wilton may be famous for its carpets, but in the eight century King Ethelwulf had a court here, had it as his administrative centre  issued charters from here which were later signed in Winchester. For a while Wilton was the county town of Wiltshire before it ‘retired’ to become the interesting little market town it is today, but once, like Somerton, it could have been called the capital of England.