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Home , Redditch, Staffordshire Hoard, Tamworth Castle

THE ANGLO-SAXONS

PLACES TO VISIT Guy Sjögren 7 ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, BRIXWORTH 9 SAXON CROSS-SHAFT, ST PETER’S CHURCHYARD,

ST WYSTAN’S CHURCH, REPTON 3 TAMWORTH Buxton Situated in the 1 Chesterfield heart of Not surprisingly, Wolverhampton, opportunities to DER and at the ’s see examples of BY highest point, is S Anglo-Saxon H the Collegiate I architecture are R Church of St rare. One such Stooke-on-Trent E Peter. The church opportunity is to 2 was founded in be found in the 994 AD by Lady S Derbyshire T Wulfruna and, in village of A the churchyard, F Derby of Brixworth Church Chapple/Friends Richard Repton, a mile F stands a 14-foot OR 1 or two off the DS E Lying a few miles to the east of our regional high Saxon Tamworth Borough Council Borough Tamworth HIR A38 between boundary is the church of All Saints in the cross-shaft. Jackie Stubbs Photography Stubbs Jackie Stafford Although its Derby and Tamworth, in South , was the 5 Shrewsbury Northamptonshire village of Brixworth. This Telford precise origin is Burton-on-Trent. It was at Repton in 653 AD that ancient capital of and was once home hilltop church, in continuous use as a place of Christianity was first preached in the . 4 Christian worship since its foundation by the unknown, it is to the King of Mercia’s palace. Quite apart 10 Sue Whitehouse Courtesy monks of Peterborough c. 680 AD, is one of probably a re- An abbey was built there and, early in the eighth from the castle’s intrinsic historical interest, superlatives. It is the largest surviving Anglo- used Roman column from Wroxeter or Wall. century, construction of the famous Repton crypt there is a permanent exhibition in the Long E WolverhamptonW Saxon building in , and has been Originally thought to have carried a cross- was begun. Twelve centuries later, Sir Nikolaus Gallery devoted to the ‘Tamworth Story’, a 9 IR H labelled as ‘perhaps the most imposing head, the column is elaborately carved and

Pevsner wrote: ‘the chancel... and the crypt form substantial part of which relates the history of PS W one of the most precious survivals of Anglo- SHRO architectural memorial of the seventh century combines acanthus leaf decoration

Tamworth in the Mercian era. If you intend A

yet surviving north of the Alps’. At the west end characteristic of the late-tenth century with Saxon architecture in England’. An added bonus R visiting Tamworth Castle, be aware that of the church an external stair turret is one of for visitors making the trip to Repton between W friezes of birds and beasts pecking fruit. opening hours vary depending upon the time only four similar ones to be found in England, 7 October and 27 November 2014 will be the Pollution and exposure have caused the of year. Visit the website or phone for up-to- I whilst the ring crypt around the apse at the east presence in the church of the Staffordshire 3 Ludlow C decoration to deteriorate over the centuries. date information. end is one of only three of its kind in Europe. Touring Exhibition, which uses high- Kidderrminster K However, if you are in Wolverhampton, it is

Tamworth Castle, The Holloway, Tamworth S 7 Church of All Saints, Church Road, Brixworth quality replicas and activities to tell the story of H WO H worth searching out the column.

B79 7NA Phone: + 44 (0) 1827 709 626 RC Redditch Warwick NN6 9DF the discovery of the hoard. E E

S IR The Collegiate Church of St Peter, or (0) 1827 709 629 R T Website: www.friendsofbrixworthchurch.org.uk

St Wystan’s Church, Willington Road, Repton E E Exchange Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1TS Website: www.tamworthcastle.co.uk E R DE65 6FH Website: www.reptonchurch.org.uk S 8 Phone: + 44 (0) 1902 422642 F H O Stratford-upon-Avon Website: ww.wulfruna.org.uk Worceester I 8 WORCESTER CATHEDRAL R 4 THE MERCIAN TRAIL R THE STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD AT THE E 2 POTTERIES MUSEUM & ART GALLERY D A visit to The Mercian Ledbury ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, S Worcester 10 WROXETER, Trail is being H Hereford Cathedral will I developed to R satisfy both link venues E Wroxeter is 6 Anglo-Saxon across generalists on the site of Staffordshire and the Roman and the West specialists city of CHURCH OF ST MARY AND Viroconium, Midlands, 6 ODDA’S CHAPEL, DEERHURST alike. The and to tell generalist, with the the story of 5 OFFA’S DYKE Strictly speaking, keen to redundant the the Gloucestershire discover the church of St The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery Art & Museum Potteries The Doubt exists Staffordshire village of Deerhurst Cathedral’s Andrew lying about the actual The exhibition of selected pieces from the Hoard and lies outside the © iStockphoto.com Anglo-Saxon a quarter of a

length of Offa’s Trust Conservation White/Churches Graham Staffordshire Hoard on permanent display at the Anglo- – roots, will find mile or so to Dyke, as Damian The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke- Saxon but only by a mere an exhibition in the Crypt and on the main floor the south. The earliest parts of the church are

Lichfield Camera Club Camera Lichfield Tyler’s article entitled ‘Worcester Cathedral - Telling the on-Trent has an interesting twist. Not only does kingdom of two-and-a-half Anglo-Saxon, although the precise date of its suggests. But, Story’ an excellent place to start. There, visitors the exhibition attempt to answer the question Mercia. In addition to Tamworth and the kilometres. Most foundation remains uncertain. Evidence short or long, will find a number of newly-designed ‘What can the Staffordshire Hoard tell us about Touring Exhibition, there are three permanent unusually, suggests that a church was built in the area of this massive storyboards and interactive touchscreens Anglo-Saxon life and death?’ but, by looking and complementary exhibitions. These are at Deerhurst has two the Roman bath in the fifth or sixth century. A Shropshire Tourism (UK) Ltd Tourism Shropshire linear earthwork Saxon churches: recounting the story of the Cathedral. For the

through the other end of the telescope, it also The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke- J.Hunt Courtesy preaching cross was erected in the churchyard unquestionably passes through the very western the ninth-century specialist, a visit to the Cathedral library and tries to answer another question: ‘What can on-Trent (Anglo-Saxon life and the importance in the eighth century. It is thought that the extremities of the West Midlands region. Offa’s Dyke parish church of St Mary and, 200 metres away, the archive, both of which have formed an integral everyday Anglo-Saxon objects tell us about the of Mercia); Birmingham Museum and Art oldest existing fabric in the present church forms one of the English National Trails. In Shropshire, eleventh-century Odda’s Chapel, with St Mary’s being part of the life of the cathedral since Anglo- Staffordshire Hoard?’ This fascinating exhibition Gallery (the craftsmanship of the hoard dates from the eighth or ninth century. This there are two sections of the trail for which circular regarded as one of the most complete Anglo-Saxon Saxon times, will be a rewarding experience. consists of large stones which came from the sets pieces from the hoard in context among makers, and Mercia’s international links); and walks have been devised: one is a ten-kilometre walk churches in England. For further information on St Mary’s, Guided tours of these resources are available, items from the museum’s collection of Anglo- the Chapter House, (the starting at Llanymynech; the other, of just over seven go to the Cotswold website below and scroll down the list although by prior appointment only. For further public buildings of the Roman town. The Saxon finds, many never displayed before. Thus Christianisation of Mercia, featuring the kilometres, starts and finishes at Oswestry. More on the right-hand side to find Deerhurst. For information information on the library tour – and for tours Churches Conservation Trust – the national the display offers an intriguing glimpse into our Lichfield Angel and the St Chad Gospels, as adventurous walkers might want to attempt all, or part on Odda’s Chapel, go to the English Heritage website of the Cathedral − please ring the appropriate charity protecting historic churches at risk, ancestors’ lives. well as a small number of pieces from the of, the National Trail. Either way, the websites below will below. telephone number below. including St Andrew’s – refers to the church as ‘an archaeologist’s delight’. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Bethesda hoard). Further information, including help you with your planning before you reach for your Church of St Mary and Odda’s Chapel, Deerhurst, GL19 4BX Worcester Cathedral, Worcester WR1 2LA Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3DW locations, opening times and contact details, boots. Websites: www..info/places Phone: Library tours + 44 (0) 1905 732922 St Andrew’s Church, Wroxeter SY5 6PH Phone: +44 (0) 1782 232323 can be found on the website below. Websites: www.shropshirewalking.co.uk/offas-dyke www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/ Cathedral tours + 44 (0) 1905 732900 Website: www.visitchurches.org.uk (The Website: www.stokemuseums.org.uk Website: www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk www.nationaltrail.co.uk/offas-dyke-path oddas-chapel Website: www.worcestercathedral.co.uk Churches Conservation Trust) 24 www.historywm.com www.historywm.com 25