Æthelred of Wessex of Mercia, appealed to him for help against the Vikings. Æthelred and his brother, the future Alfred the Great, led a West Saxon army to Nottingham, but there was no decisive battle, and Burgred bought off the Vikings. In 874 the Vikings defeated Burgred and drove him into exile. In 870 the Vikings turned their attention to Wessex, and on 4 January 871 at the Battle of Reading, Æthelred suffered a heavy defeat. Although he was able to re-form his army in time to win a victory at the Battle of Ashdown, he suffered further defeats on 22 January at
Frensham a charter conveying to the Catholic church 60 hides of land that included Farnham, Frensham and Churt. This became the property of Hedda, Bishop of Winchester. The origins of the name Frensham come from 'Frena's ham'. Frena was the name of either a Danish Earl who was killed in the battle of Ashdown in the year 871, or of a Saxon who was driven south from Northumberland by the Danes in 993. The second part 'ham' means 'settlement', and is also from where we get the word 'home', so Frensham is 'Frena's settlement'. In 1348, Frensham suffered from the plague.