From the 820s the town declined because of repeated Viking attacks, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that it was "refounded" by Alfred the Great in 886.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded how "there was nothing but disturbance and wickedness and robbery".

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records his marriage to King Æthelstan's sister at Tamworth on 30 January 926.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also records an earlier battle on the same site.

However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the Danish Viking settlers "were engaged in ploughing and making a living for themselves.

Presumably slavery is what is meant when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the capture of villages and booty as a result of war.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also records an exceptional tide on 11 November 1099 which flooded the land, but these were rare occurrences.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded the incident:

It was during Beorhtric's reign that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the first Viking raids on England occurred.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the town as Cippanhamme and this could refer to Cippa who had his Hamm, an enclosure in a river meadow.