page_title: Wallingford, Oxfordshire
section_title: Medieval period
hierarchical_section_title: Wallingford, Oxfordshire / History / Medieval period
caption_attribution_description: English: wallingford ( oxfordshire UK ) castle ruins remains of saint nicholas college
context_page_description: Wallingford is a historic market town and civil parish located to the south of Oxford on the River Thames in England.
  Historically located in the county of Berkshire, it moved to Oxfordshire in 1974 as a result of the 1972 Local Government Act. Wallingford is 12 miles north of Reading, 13 miles south of Oxford and 11 miles north west of Henley-on-Thames. The town's population was 11,600 in the 2011 census.
  The town has played an important role in English history starting with the surrender of Stigand to William the Conqueror in 1066, which led to his taking the throne and the creation of Wallingford Castle. The castle and the town enjoyed royal status and flourished for much of the Middle Ages. The Treaty of Wallingford, which ended a civil war known as The Anarchy between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, was signed there.
  The town then entered a period of decline after the arrival of the Black Death and falling out of favour with the Tudor monarchs before being called on once again during the English Civil War. Wallingford held out as the last remaining Royalist stronghold in Berkshire before surrendering after a 16-week siege.
context_section_description: During the Norman conquest in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon lord Wigod allowed William the Conqueror's invading armies into Wallingford to rest and to cross the Thames unopposed. It is in Wallingford that Stigand the Archbishopric of Canterbury surrendered and submitted to William thereby all but ending opposition to William's ascent to the throne. From Wallingford, William with Stigand and his armies rode east to Berkhamsted where he received the final surrender from Edgar and the rest of the English leadership before marching on London for his coronation on Christmas Day.
  At that time, the river at Wallingford was the lowest point at which the river could be forded. The town subsequently stood in high favour with the Normans. The Domesday Book of 1085 lists Wallingford as one of only 18 towns in the kingdom with a population of over 2,000 people.
  Wallingford Castle was built soon afterward on the orders of William and became a key strategic centre controlling the Thames crossing and surrounding area.
caption: Ruins in the Wallingford Castle Gardens
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