In 868 the Mercian king appealed to Æthelred and Alfred for assistance against the Danes, who were in possession of Nottingham.
It was probably about this time that Æthelred fell ill, and the Norwegians and Danes from Ireland unsuccessfully besieged Chester.
In 911 Æthelred died and Edward took over Middlesex and Oxfordshire.
In 1001 Æthelred gave this monastery and the town of Bradford to the nunnery of Shaftesbury, in order that the nuns might have a safe refuge against the insults of the Danes.
In the reign of Æthelred II., called the Unready (but more correctly the Redeless), the Danes were more successful in their operations against London, but the inhabitants resisted stoutly.