Background to the area in the late Anglo-Saxon period and the importance of Wallingford as a fortified centre in the Thames Valley under the control of Edward the Confessor/Harold. Events surrounding the Norman Conquest led to William and his army coming to Wallingford a few weeks after his victory at Hastings. Negotiations at Wallingford for the handover of the kingdom led to the submission of the Saxons at Berkhamsted and the crowning of William on Christmas Day 1066 in London. 1067-71 Initial building of Wallingford Castle as the third great royal castle of the Thames Valley (Tower of London, Windsor and Wallingford). The Norman development of the castle, and Wallingford’s role in the 12^thcentury Civil War as Empress Matilda’s stronghold, and the place where the end of the war was finally negotiated in 1153.