The Jutons

A longer read

A project about place, anchored within the Parish boundary of rural West Meon in Hampshire. By way of orientation, the Parish boundary has a line. This particular line reminds us of a blackbird sitting on a perch. A perch is an Anglo-Saxon unit used to measure an area. The Saxons landed on the Hampshire coastline around 495 AD. The Saxons were not the only successful invaders. The Danish Jutes followed, arriving in 501 AD. The Jutes settled in the Meon Valley and became known as the Meonwara – wara meant ‘people’ or ‘tribe’. While the meaning of the word Meon is not known for sure, it is thought to be Celtic, or even Pre-Celtic for ‘swift one.’ The River Meon is a chalk stream, fed almost entirely by springs and with a strong energy due to the steep gradient of its flow. Perhaps this is the ‘swift one’. The story unfolds around the lives of the 749 people living in the village at the time of a government census. The question is, what year are we talking about?