Title
2007 - Bridgham press coverage 2
Contributor
Sharon McCann
Text
Vikings on the rampage!
Words by ADAM GRETTON
A thousand years after they ransacked and destroyed East Anglia’s main cities, a horde of savage and fierce-looking Viking warriors descended on a small Norfolk village at the weekend.
More than 100 battle-ready Anglo-Saxon fighters and their Danish foes, dressed in chainmail and wielding shields, spears, swords and axes, turned a farmer’s field into a battlefield at Bridgham, near Thetford.
But instead of running for their lives, hundreds of families gathered to cheer on the skirmish at the weekend which marked the climax of the Breckland village’s millennium celebrations.
Residents donned medieval costumes along with Viking re-enactors from across the country as visitors took a journey back into the Dark Ages to mark the 1000th anniversary.
Organisers spoke last night of their “delight” at the successful Viking event, which was the highlight of a nine-month programme of events to commemorate 1,000 years since wealthy Saxon widow Aelfwaru bequeathed the parish "to the monks of Ely Cathedral”.
Revellers at a slightly damp Mill Field were treated to living history exhibitions, weapons demonstrations, archery, music from medieval minstrels and a concert band, before experiencing the re- enactment of two of the area’s most bloody battles between Viking invaders and the East Angles.
David O’Neale, band conductor, historian and organiser of the millennium celebrations, said he was “relieved” that the free event had gone so well, with an estimated 2,000 visitors over the two days.
“We have had a fantastic time and the Vikings said they have never had such a hospitable reception and will remember Bridgham for a long time.
“We didn't know if the weather would keep everyone away or we would be inundated because it was a free event. As many as 75pc of the population of Bridgham have moved here in the last 15 years and there has been a massive turnover. This has brought people together,” he said.
The highlights of the festivities, which were paid for by a nearly £9,000 grant from the National Lottery, included re-enactments of the 1004 Battle of Thetford, on Saturday, and the 1010 Battle of Ringmere, which was rounded up with a more Peaceful choral evensong with the Bishop of Norwich and the cathedral choir last night.
Rodney Newton, from London, who was commissioned to write the Bridgham Salute for the Bridgham and Harling Band, which had its world premier on Saturday, said he was “impressed” with the weekend.
“It has been great and the remarkable thing is the way the village with 300 inhabitants has pulled together to produce such a spectacle that would match bigger resources. There are a lot of talented people in Bridgham,” he said.
Terry Warren, from The Vikings re- enactment group, which brought members from as far afield as Yorkshire, Northumberland, Sussex and Hampshire, said he had a “terrific” time in Bridgham.
When dying wldow Aelfwaru left the parish of Bridgham to Ely Cathedral in 1007, the small settlement would have consisted of a few wooden huts and a handful of farming families. Soil quality in the Breckland area provides notoriously poor crop yields, so farmers were dependent on livestock for their source of food and income. Children as young as five years would have been required to spin wool in order to make material that could be sold on at market.
Today, Bridgham remains a picture-postcard rural village with just 132 houses and a population of 330.
Over the last few years. the village has seen a lot of new faces, which has added a vibrant mix of pensioners, young families, professionals and creative types.
Ironically, it is also a place where workers commute to, with the Waste Recycling PLC and Wren offices at Manor Farm and the nearby industrial estates at Roudham.
BRIDGHAM TIMELINE
1007 — Aelfwaru bequeaths Bridgham to the monks of Ely on February 27.
1010 ~ The Vikings defeat the Saxons at the nearby Battle of Ringmere.
1086 — Bridgham is recorded in the Domesday Book.
1300-30 — St Mary's Church is built.
1348-9 — Nearly ha|f of the village dies in the Black Death.
1558 — Ely loses the village to the Crown.
1680 — Red Lion pub is built and Bridgham Church tower collapses.
1800 - Manor Farm and Flint Farm are built.
1802 - Stephen Comyn, Nelson's chaplain, becomes rector.
1845 — Roudham Junction rail station is formed.
1877 — Bridgham School opens.
1914-19 —The Great War claims 23 lives from Bridgham and Roudham.
1964 — The Red Lion closes and Bridgham Flower Show ends.
1979 - Post Office closes.
1983 — Last shop closes.
Words by ADAM GRETTON
A thousand years after they ransacked and destroyed East Anglia’s main cities, a horde of savage and fierce-looking Viking warriors descended on a small Norfolk village at the weekend.
More than 100 battle-ready Anglo-Saxon fighters and their Danish foes, dressed in chainmail and wielding shields, spears, swords and axes, turned a farmer’s field into a battlefield at Bridgham, near Thetford.
But instead of running for their lives, hundreds of families gathered to cheer on the skirmish at the weekend which marked the climax of the Breckland village’s millennium celebrations.
Residents donned medieval costumes along with Viking re-enactors from across the country as visitors took a journey back into the Dark Ages to mark the 1000th anniversary.
Organisers spoke last night of their “delight” at the successful Viking event, which was the highlight of a nine-month programme of events to commemorate 1,000 years since wealthy Saxon widow Aelfwaru bequeathed the parish "to the monks of Ely Cathedral”.
Revellers at a slightly damp Mill Field were treated to living history exhibitions, weapons demonstrations, archery, music from medieval minstrels and a concert band, before experiencing the re- enactment of two of the area’s most bloody battles between Viking invaders and the East Angles.
David O’Neale, band conductor, historian and organiser of the millennium celebrations, said he was “relieved” that the free event had gone so well, with an estimated 2,000 visitors over the two days.
“We have had a fantastic time and the Vikings said they have never had such a hospitable reception and will remember Bridgham for a long time.
“We didn't know if the weather would keep everyone away or we would be inundated because it was a free event. As many as 75pc of the population of Bridgham have moved here in the last 15 years and there has been a massive turnover. This has brought people together,” he said.
The highlights of the festivities, which were paid for by a nearly £9,000 grant from the National Lottery, included re-enactments of the 1004 Battle of Thetford, on Saturday, and the 1010 Battle of Ringmere, which was rounded up with a more Peaceful choral evensong with the Bishop of Norwich and the cathedral choir last night.
Rodney Newton, from London, who was commissioned to write the Bridgham Salute for the Bridgham and Harling Band, which had its world premier on Saturday, said he was “impressed” with the weekend.
“It has been great and the remarkable thing is the way the village with 300 inhabitants has pulled together to produce such a spectacle that would match bigger resources. There are a lot of talented people in Bridgham,” he said.
Terry Warren, from The Vikings re- enactment group, which brought members from as far afield as Yorkshire, Northumberland, Sussex and Hampshire, said he had a “terrific” time in Bridgham.
When dying wldow Aelfwaru left the parish of Bridgham to Ely Cathedral in 1007, the small settlement would have consisted of a few wooden huts and a handful of farming families. Soil quality in the Breckland area provides notoriously poor crop yields, so farmers were dependent on livestock for their source of food and income. Children as young as five years would have been required to spin wool in order to make material that could be sold on at market.
Today, Bridgham remains a picture-postcard rural village with just 132 houses and a population of 330.
Over the last few years. the village has seen a lot of new faces, which has added a vibrant mix of pensioners, young families, professionals and creative types.
Ironically, it is also a place where workers commute to, with the Waste Recycling PLC and Wren offices at Manor Farm and the nearby industrial estates at Roudham.
BRIDGHAM TIMELINE
1007 — Aelfwaru bequeaths Bridgham to the monks of Ely on February 27.
1010 ~ The Vikings defeat the Saxons at the nearby Battle of Ringmere.
1086 — Bridgham is recorded in the Domesday Book.
1300-30 — St Mary's Church is built.
1348-9 — Nearly ha|f of the village dies in the Black Death.
1558 — Ely loses the village to the Crown.
1680 — Red Lion pub is built and Bridgham Church tower collapses.
1800 - Manor Farm and Flint Farm are built.
1802 - Stephen Comyn, Nelson's chaplain, becomes rector.
1845 — Roudham Junction rail station is formed.
1877 — Bridgham School opens.
1914-19 —The Great War claims 23 lives from Bridgham and Roudham.
1964 — The Red Lion closes and Bridgham Flower Show ends.
1979 - Post Office closes.
1983 — Last shop closes.
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