The five boroughs

This is a name collectively given to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln and Stamford (not where the battle of Stamford Bridge was fought). The earliest written use of this name is in 942 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Current evidence suggests that all five centres were important before the arrival of the Danes (contrary to some previous opinion). When the Great Army settled the area in 877 these five towns were selected as defensive centres for the surrounding countryside. Each was important enough to contain a mint and they were probably fortified although there is no conclusive evidence. It is known, however, that Derby, Leicester and Lincoln had Roman walls and that re-use of these would match the pattern of Wessex using existing fortifications for its Burhs where possible.

The five boroughs were captured by Wessex in 917-918 when Edward the Elder conquered the Danelaw. The Viking kingdom of York under Olaf Guthfrithsson recaptured the towns in 940, with the Saxons winning them back in 942.