The name of the town means "home of Tric's people." Tric is a Brittonic personal name, though it is unclear whether Tric himself was a Briton or whether he was descended from Anglo-Saxon migrants but given a name borrowed from Celtic speakers who possibly lived nearby. Either way, Threekingham itself is a Germanic name, given by speakers of Old English.[2]
A folk etymology that developed in the later Anglo-Saxon period derives the name from "home of the three kings," supposedly because three Danish kings were buried there; however, this is incorrect.[3]
The Domesday Book of 1086 records two churches in Threekingham; St Peter and St Mary. The church of St Mary was at Stow Green. Funerary remains have been found at Stow Green date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, and the church survived until the 18th century. It is possible that it was the site of an Early Medieval nunnery, founded in the late 7th century by St Werburgh and dedicated to St Ætheldreda. It was probably destroyed by the Danes c.870.[7]
Historian David Roffe describes St Ætheldreda's connection with Stow Green, saying the site, called "Ædeldreðestowe," was chosen because the saint's staff took root and sprouted leaves there.[8]
'Stow' is well known to be a place name denoting a holy place, or a burial place. According to Eilert Ekwall, "Old English 'stow' is recorded in senses such as 'place', 'inhabited place', 'holy place, hermitage, monastery', probably 'church'."[9]
The Medieval Stow Fair was held nearby, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south. It is possible that it was the site of the early medieval nunnery founded in the late 7th century by Saint Werburh, dedicated to Saint Æthelthryth, and probably destroyed by the Danes c. 870.[10]
There are ancient earthworks and a mound called Threekingham Beacon to the west of the village.[11] The post-medieval garden features overlie much older earthworks and tumuli. The remains of a moated manor house are in Hall Lane.[12]
There is a Whalebone Arch marking the entrance to Laundon Hall.
^John Insley, "Britons and Anglo-Saxons," in Kulturelle Integration und Personennamen im Mittelalter (ed. Wolfgang Haubrichs and Christa Jochum-Godglück), 2018, p. 268
^Eleanor Parker, Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England, 2018, p. 190
