The Wessex Region
The Wessex region covers the central southern counties of England, with Salisbury being a natural 'centre', the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire perdominating the old boundaries.
Some 'poetic licence' has been taken with the construction of this site which also encompasses West Sussex as the company has been established on the far Eastern boundary of the geographic area. As the site evolves, more distant parishes will be incorporated. Please refer to the index pages to establish the current coverage.
The name Wessex is an old remnant from before the Dark ages and corresponds roughly with the ancient Wessex Kingdom. It has never been an 'official' geographical location but has remained in common usage. Wessex was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms which divided England before its unification in the 9th century, the name being taken from the West Saxon people who inhabited the Western and central southern areas of the country. The name was revived, in particular, by Thomas Hardy.
There is continuing dispute as to the true boundaries of Wessex, the area defined by Hardy being used as a basis for discussion. Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire are included by such bodies as The Wessex Constitutional Convention and Wessex Society and maybe soon the Wessex Regionalists who are keen to concur, but not yet convinced. Much of the debate relies on the Western Shires acceptance of Hardy's boundaries which included the counties north of the Thames, together with Berkshire and NE Somerset, which were reputedly part of Mercia for most of the Anglo-Saxon period. Some people also see those areas as sharing a Dumnonian Celtic identity with Cornwall. Some opinion in Hampshire meanwhile, promotes the view that the Isle of Wight and Southern Hampshire were once part of the Jutish province and dispute its inclusion within the Wessex region.