Place name evidence Olney is first mentioned in a Charter of AD 979 as Ollanege (‘ege’ was pronounced ‘ey’, meaning Island), when King Ethelred granted ten hides of land there to Aelfhere, (and later in the Domesday Book it was known as Ollnei). Incidentally, a hide, from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “family”, … Continue reading THE SAXON PERIOD (AD 410 – 1066)