 Hugh wrote a history of Peterborough Abbey, in Medieval Latin, in which he describes its foundation as "Medeshamstede" in the 7th century; its refoundation by Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester in the 10th century, and the subsequent change of name to ""Burh"", or "Borough", which he gives in the Anglo-Norman form ""Burch""; its growth in wealth prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066, as a result of which it is said to have become known as "the golden borough"; and he concludes with the election of Abbot William of Waterville.According to Prof. King, "Hugh's writings never stray far from the monastery, its fabric, and its endowment, and the saints who watched over it.