Wirral's Hidden History Revealed
The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw
After years of fighting, Alfred the Great was able to bring the Vikings or Danes to the negotiating table, following his decisive victory at the battle of Edington in 878 AD.
Welsh & The Anglo Saxons
The relationships between the Welsh and the Anglo-Saxons were a complex and often confusing subject. Following the withdrawal of the Roman military in about 410 AD, Southern Britain still maintained Roman Civic and Military organisation whilst various small Kingdoms formed in the North and the West. The Saxons and Angles as well as Jutes and other Germanic groups had been settled in…
Sweyn Forkbeard
Following Athelstan’s victory at Brunanburh in 937 AD, a path lay open to a united England which would see a dynasty of Anglo-Saxon kings rule a country which had, after centuries of warfare with the Vikings finally defeated the northern menace.
Hengist and Horsa
Hengist and horsa, founders of the english people or mythical Legend? Legend states that the Germanic brothers Hengist and Horsa were the leaders of warbands of Saxons, Jutes and Angles who invaded post Roman Britain in the 5th century. Sources state that they had landed at Ebbsfleet (Eopwinesfleot) on the Isle of Thanet and that they had been employed by the British…
Post Conquest Fyrd
It is often assumed that after the Norman conquest, that many Anglo-Saxon institutions became redundant or were replaced by others, of Norman origin.
Paris Siege – 885-886 AD
In the recent TV series Vikings, Ragnar Lothbrok’s attack on Paris was a visual masterpiece in portraying a dramatic and brutal fight which was certainly entertaining, but what really happened? Was the film a true representation of what had occurred?
Offa
Offa became King of Mercia in 757 AD. The son of Thingfrith, he claimed descent from Eowa, the brother of Penda, the great pagan King of Mercia who defeated the Christian Northumbrian King, Oswald at the battle of Maserfield in 641 or 642 AD
Eric Bloodaxe
Hail to you Eric, be welcome here and come into the hall, gallant King. The Eiriksmal So reads the epitaph, the Eiriksmal, written by an unknown Norse poet in the service of Eric’s widowed wife.
Constantinople 860AD
On the 18th of October 860 AD, the city guards of the great city of Constantinople were alerted to a fleet of over 200 longships appearing on the horizon. They had entered the Bosporus from the Black Sea. The city’s warning bells rang out and the guards stationed at the many gates of the city prepared to close and bar the entry…
The Battle of Nectansmere
Nectansmere or the battle of Dunnichen Moss is a little-known battle, especially south of the Scottish borders, but when studied it is clear that it played both an important part in deciding as to who would rule Northern Britain and as to which form of Christianity would hold sway over the region. The church of Rome or that of the Celtic church.
The Battle Of Degsastan
Aethelfrith, pagan king of Bernicia – ‘Ravin as a wolf’
The various clashes between the early Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were just as ferocious as those that would be fought against the later Viking incursions which began in the late 8th century.
The Battle Of Maserfield
The Battle of Maserfield. 5th of August 641 (642) Northumbria Clashed with Mercia.
The various clashes between the early Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were just as ferocious as those that would be fought against the later Viking incursions which began in the late 8th century.
Saxon shore forts
The Saxon Shore Forts
By the mid third century, the Roman Empire was facing major economic and military issues. The response in Britain to military threats from Germanic raiders was to build a series of fortresses along the Eastern coast.
Alfred The Great
To write a full history of Alfred the Great would neither do justice to this great King or to his achievements. Somehow, when all seemed lost, Alfred managed to keep both his head and the freedom of the Kingdom of Wessex, and, in turn, set the Anglo-Saxons on the path to eventual victory over the Vikings and the long road to the formation of a unified English nation.
The Battle of Tettenhall
The battle of Tettenhall (also called the battle of Wodnesfeld) was fought on the 5th of August 910 AD, in an area which is now a suburb of modern- day Wolverhampton. It’s a battle that is little known to most people yet it was one of the most significant battles ever fought between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.