emblem historically used by King Edward the Confessor on the reverse side of pennies minted by him. The heraldic design continued to represent both Wessex and Edward in classical heraldry and is found on a number of church windows in derived shields such as the Arms of the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey, which was founded by the king). Cultural and political identity in modern times Thomas Hardy used a fictionalised Wessex as a setting for many of his novels, adopting his friend William Barnes' term Wessex for their home county of Dorset and its neighbouring counties in the south and west of England. Hardy's Wessex excluded Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but the city of Oxford, which he called "Christminster", was visited as part of Wessex in Jude the Obscure. He gave each of his Wessex counties a fictionalised name, such as with Berkshire, which is known in the novels as "North Wessex". The film Shakespeare in Love included a character called "Lord Wessex" – a title which did not exist in Elizabethan times. The ITV television series Broadchurch takes place in the Wessex area, primarily the county of Dorset. It features government agencies such as Wessex Police and Wessex Crown Court, and several characters are seen attending South Wessex Secondary School. In the book and television series The Last Kingdom, Wessex is the primary setting, focusing on the rule of Alfred the Great and the war against the Vikings. Wessex is the setting for Robert Harris's 2019 novel The Second Sleep, set in a quasi-medieval England after the collapse of modern technological society.Wessex'' remains a common term for the area. Many organisations that cover the area of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire use the name Wessex in their company or organisation name; for example Wessex Bus, Wessex Water, and Wessex Institute of Technology. The Wessex Constitutional Convention and Wessex Regionalist Party are minor groups seeking increased political autonomy for the region. A number of British Army units also use the name Wessex, such as the Wessex Regiment, and 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery – known as the 'Wessex Gunners'. See also Heptarchy Earl of Wessex List of monarchs of Wessex Footnotes Bibliography Blair, Peter Hunter (17 July 2003). An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. External links The Burghal Hidage Thomas Hardy's Wessex Research site by Dr Birgit Plietzsch The History Files: Kings of