Roman Trajectus Evidence of occupation dates back to
prehistoric times, and during the
Roman period, Keynsham may have been the site of the Roman settlement of Trajectus, which is the Latin word for "bridgehead." It is believed that a settlement around a Roman ford over the River Avon existed somewhere in the vicinity, and the numerous Roman ruins discovered in Keynsham make it a likely candidate for this lost settlement. In 1877 during construction of the Durley Hill Cemetery, the remains of a
grand Roman villa with over 30 rooms was discovered. At the same time as the grand Roman villa was being excavated at Durley Hill Cemetery, a second smaller villa was discovered during the construction of Fry's
Somerdale Chocolate Factory.
Medieval Keynsham According to legend,
Saint Keyne, daughter of King
Brychan of
Brycheiniog (Brecon), lived here on the banks of the
River Avon during the 5th century. Before settling here, she had been warned by the local King that the marshy area was swarming with snakes, which prevented habitation. St Keyne prayed to the heavens and turned the snakes to stone. The fossil
ammonites found in the area were believed to be the result. However, there is no evidence that her cult was ever celebrated in Keynsham. Some scattered archeological evidence suggests that an Anglo-Saxon settlement existed in Keynsham in the High Street area, and that in the 9th century a
Minster church existed in Keynsham as well. The town is also listed in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as "Cainesham." It has therefore been suggested that the origin of Keynsham's name is not, in fact Saint Keyne, but from "Ceagin (Caega)." Around 1170,
Keynsham Abbey was founded by the Victorine
congregation of
canon regulars. Archeological evidence suggests that the abbey was built over the site of the previous Saxon Minster church. The abbey survived until the
dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, and a house was subsequently built on the site. The remains have been designated as a Grade I
listed building by
English Heritage.
Stuart era Keynsham played a part in the
Civil War as the
Roundheads occupied the town and also camped there for the night, using the pub now known as the Lock Keeper Inn as a guard post.
Bridges Almshouses were built around 1685 and may have been for the widows of those killed in the rebellion.
Post World War II Keynsham rose to fame during the late 1950s and early 1960s when it featured in a long-running series of advertisements on
Radio Luxembourg for
Horace Batchelor's Infra-draw betting system. To obtain the system, listeners had to write to Batchelor's Keynsham post office box, and Keynsham was always painstakingly spelled out on-air, with Batchelor famously intoning "Keynsham – spelt K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M – Keynsham, Bristol". This was done because the proper pronunciation of Keynsham – "Cane-sham" – does not make the spelling of Keynsham immediately obvious to the radio listener. Since the 1950s Keynsham has become a dormitory town for
Bristol and
Bath. The High Street shopping area has been remodelled, and a Town Hall, Library, and Clock Tower were built in the mid-1960s. Before the creation of
Chew Valley Lake and river level controls at
Keynsham Lock and weir, Keynsham was prone to flooding. The
Great Flood of 1968 inundated large parts of the town, destroying the town's bridges including the county bridge over the Avon which had stood since medieval times, and private premises on Dapps Hill; the devastation was viewed by the
Duke of Edinburgh. After the flood the Memorial Park, which had been laid out after
World War II was extended.
2010s regeneration Design work for
regeneration of the town hall area was awarded by
Bath and North East Somerset Council to
Aedas in 2010, with the works cost stated in 2011 to be ( in 2012). Realisation of the plans is hoped to "attract new business and jobs", in the aftermath of the announcement of the
Cadbury Somerdale Factory closure. The Council's planning committee in August 2012 deferred the approval decision, pending alterations to the external appearance of the building. These were approved in October 2012, with demolition commencing in the same month. The regenerated
Keynsham Civic Centre came back into use in late 2014 and early 2015. In the latter half of the 2010s, Keynsham underwent rapid expansion with hundreds of new homes built. ==Governance==