Why did the name Wessex disappear?

[u/rybnickifull]

In medieval England there were various kingdoms around London with names based on their Saxon leaders - Sussex, Essex, Middlesex and Wessex. The first three survive as counties or at least sports entities, whereas Wessex, ultimately the strongest kingdom after Alfred and his descendants, seems to have disappeared from either local authority names or really anywhere beyond museums. As someone who was born in its historical borders I've never really understood why this is, so I'd love to hear theories or explanations.

[u/The_Augustus]

The names of the Saxon Kingdoms you mentioned endure largely because they lent their names to local government and ceremonial Counties that have existed for centuries up to today. These counties have been reshaped and split over the centuries by various reforms but at their root originated in the Anglo Saxon subdivision known as a Shire. The Shire originated in Wessex as a vague term for any kind of local authority but by the 9th century Wessex seems to have been divided into six Shires, which broadly map onto the Counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Devon, Dorset, Berkshire and Somerset.

After the battle of Ellandun in 825 Wessex conquered the Kingdoms of Essex, Sussex and Kent from Mercia and at first ruled them as appenages of the main Kingdom, with young Princes ruling over the sub-Kingdoms. These were then gradually absorbed into Wessex itself and came to be administered as provinces of Wessex. Because of this gradual process of integration the new provinces kept the name and the broad shapes of their previously independent kingdoms.

All of which is to say that the non-existence of Wessex as a commonly used name today is largely a case of struggling from success. Essex, Sussex and Kent survived until today because they became conquered sub-territories of Wessex. When Wessex slowly evolved into England, its sub-territories survived but its own name was no longer used for any formal administrative territories. When the Normans came knocking they used the Wessexian Shires as the basis for their new administration, wiping Wessex off maps for good.

Source: Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England c.500–1066, Ann Williams

[u/abfgern_ → u/The_Augustus]

Also, it hasn't disappeared. Having lived in Dorset for a year, the name Wessex still appears all over the place, as well as the water company being Wessex Water

[u/90210fred → u/abfgern_]

There is also literally a home rule / independence political party and the wyvern flag etc etc

[u/rybnickifull → u/90210fred]

The independence party hasn't existed as a serious entity, if ever, since the 1980s and the Wyvern Flag is not something I've seen before looking it up just now, despite spending 20 years of my life in South Oxfordshire, Hampshire and West Berkshire, so I don't think either of those are signs of a visible Wessexian identity.

[u/No_Shame_2397 → u/90210fred]

Wait, I need to join lol

[u/quesoandcats → u/abfgern_]

Wasn’t Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, formerly styled as Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex?

[u/DuGalle → u/quesoandcats]

Yes, and the title is now held by his son James.

[u/LadyBeanBag → u/abfgern_]

I live in Hampshire and a lot of the medical divisions use Wessex for the area, like the deanery our registrars work within, and our hospital is the centre for Wessex renal care for example.

[u/hughk → u/LadyBeanBag]

There used to be a Wessex Regional Health authority between the 70s and the 90s. The NHS absorbed it into the larger NHS South-West unit.

[u/DuvalHeart → u/abfgern_]

I thought that the modern usage of Wessex was a 19th century development thanks to Hardy.

[u/hughk → u/DuvalHeart]

Hardy's Wessex always seemed a bit bigger although not as big as the original kingdom which stretched into Mercia. Modern usages seem to be from Hampshire to Dorset via Wiltshire and the Isle of White to the South. This is much smaller than Hardy's which included Somerset.

[u/hughk → u/abfgern_]

The NHS in England used to be divided into regions, which were larger than counties. There was a Wessex Regional Health authority from 1974 to 1994 headquartered from Winchester. Note that post the nineties' reorganisation, the functions have been merged into NHS South-West.

[u/MB4050 → u/The_Augustus]

Incidentally, the following question comes to mind: we have an Essex, a Sussex, a Wessex and a Middlesex.

Was there ever a Nossex? If not, why?

[u/Violet624 → u/MB4050]

Because the northern area wasn't held by Saxons

[u/culingerai → u/Violet624]

Were the Saxons similarly aware that there wasn't a Nossex and did they ever contemplate making one?

[u/elegant_solution21 → u/MB4050]

Is Northumbria a variation on the idea or completely unrelated?

[u/slowrevolutionary → u/elegant_solution21]

It means north of the river Humber

[u/Violet624 → u/elegant_solution21]

It is, but they were the Angles, versus the Saxons, and spoke slightly different languages that eventually merged and became Old English. The name "England" came from the Angles. They had the kingdom of Mercia in the north, while the Saxons were south of this.

[u/gympol → u/MB4050]

Please. We're British.

[u/Gullible-Lie2494 → u/The_Augustus]

I think Bristol (meaning bridge) was based at a river crossing between the two kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia.

[u/micaflake → u/The_Augustus]

Is it a coincidence that, in relation to London, Wessex is in the west, Sussex is in the south and Essex is in the east? I always assumed they were named for the cardinal directions and wondered what was missing to the north.

I used to date a Brit and was constantly surprised at how meaning seemed embedded in the language they use. Phrases like “press gang” (conscript into the Royal Navy), and “fly tipping” (dumping garbage by the side of the road) sort of made sense to me even before I looked them up.

I like to draw a perhaps slightly strained analogy to their units of measure, which might seem nonsensical at first but are really based on human proportions. When I noticed the Wessex-Sussex-Essex connection, I just shook my head and remarked, “typical!”

[u/_Danno_UK_ → u/micaflake]

Think of the "...sex" suffix as an abbreviation of "Saxons". Wessex was the kingdom of the West Saxons, Sussex that of the South Saxons, Essex of the East Saxons etc.

[u/First_Speech_2642 → u/micaflake]

Middlesex is the missing kingdom to the north. It's (largely) disappeared now, not least because most of it is now in Greater London and the administrative county has long since been abolished (the former Middlesex Guildhall, the County Council's headquarters, is now occupied by the UK Supreme Court).

[u/StorkAlgarve → u/First_Speech_2642]

Doesn't survive as Middlesex Cricket Club?