‘The Story of the Saxons in the Meon Valley’ www.saxonsinthemeonvalley.org.uk Saxon Heritage Visits & Experience Ashmolean (Oxford) & Reading Museums PURPOSE AND CONTEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT This brief sets out an opportunity, partly funded by the Heritage Lottery, to visit Saxon heritage locations It is an invitation to villagers in the Meon Valley. Please nominate yourself and/or one or two other people. We will decide and confirm participation as soon as possible. For details on what we will experience and where it fits into our programme see the next couple of pages. The visit to England’s Bayeux Tapestry is a great opportunity for those wishing to work on the Meon Valley embroidery tapestry – workshop the next day; Saturday September 28th DETAILS OF THE VISITS TO READING & OXFORD When: Friday 27th September Transport: Small coach If you have a mobility limitation which prevents you using ordinary transport we will arrange another transport option Cost per person: £15 inclusive of transport, fees and buffet lunch After about 50% subsidy from the Friends of Corhampton Church Heritage Lottery grant Itinerary for the day: 08:00 Meet at Meon Hall, Meonstoke (car parking available) The local Macmillan Cancer ‘world’s biggest coffee morning’ will be open for business! 08:30 Leave Meonstoke 10:00 The Museum of Reading Coffee and guided tour of the authentic English copy (19th Century) of the Bayeux Tapestry 12:15 Oxford Town Hall, a magnificent Victorian building with stunning architecture, feature fireplaces, wood panelling and chandeliers Buffet lunch and talk by Professor Join Blair Professor Blair is a Fellow in History at The Queen's College, Oxford, and Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology in the University of Oxford. His academic interests centre on the history, archaeology, and landscape of medieval England, notably churches, settlements and material culture. He is the author of Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire (1994) and The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society (2005), and gave the James Ford Lectures in British History for 2013 with the title `Building the Anglo-Saxon Landscape'. 14:00 The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford - Guided tour of the Saxon collection Our guide will be Dr Eleanor Standley, lecturer in Medieval Archaeology and curator of the Ashmolean Saxon collection The Ashmolean is one of the principal centres of archaeological excellence in Britain; the Anglo-Saxon and medieval antiquities collection occupies a leading position in the museum. The collection includes the ‘Alfred Jewel’ (late 9th century) considered to be the most precious relic of its age. 15:00 Free time and opportunity to browse the other Ashmolean collections or to visit Oxford 16:30 Leave Oxford 18:30 Arrive back at Meonstoke Interested individuals should put the date of 27the September and send an email to/or telephone Sarah Snowden, [email protected] / tel: 07855855194; Sarah will be in touch to confirm and collect payment For more information on the experience see next page Page 1 of 2 INTRODUCING ‘THE STORY OF THE SAXONS IN THE MEON VALLEY’ A programme to bring to life the story of the Saxons in the Meon Valley has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the South Downs National Park Authority, and Winchester City and Hampshire County Councils The Saxons settled in England after the Romans left in the 5th Century AD. Saxon rule and culture was established and developed over six centuries until the Norman Conquest in 1066. What was until recently known as the ‘dark ages’ has, as a result of recent excavations, discoveries and research, been increasingly seen as an age of rich heritage that largely forms the basis of our modern English governmental system, culture and language. The programme is being coordinated by a local charity, the ‘Friends of Corhampton Saxon Church’; in the centre of the Meon Valley the church dates from 1020AD when it served a peaceful Saxon farming community; and has continued to do so for 1000 years. The River Meon runs from East Meon on the South Downs through ten villages to Titchfield on the Solent. All these villages have expressed an interest in the programme and are represented in discussions and plans. The programme will run from May 2013 to the summer of 2014 and will contribute to the national commemoration in 2016 of the 950th anniversary of the battles in 1066 of Scarborough, Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. These battles against Vikings and Normans, and the subsequent Norman Conquest marked the end of the Saxon era; but not the Saxon heritage, the corner stone of our English heritage and culture. The programme will include community engagement with experts in creative and cultural activities, alongside historical and archaeological quests. We will re-create and celebrate music and singing, embroidery, weaving, painting, writing and reading (local history, poetry, plays) and performances (people and puppets). VISITING THE ASHMOLEAN (OXFORD) AND READING MUSEUMS We have identified these two museums, which are relatively accessible to the Meon Valley, as offering exciting opportunities for us to engage our Saxon heritage1. THE SAXON COLLECTIONS AT THE TWO MUSEUMS The Ashmolean’s Saxon collection is part of a larger collection covering England from 400 to 1600 (The Saxon era was from 4th to 11th centuries and later). Its highlights include the museum’s greatest treasure (and possibly the most precious discovered artefact of the Saxon era) - the remarkable Alfred Jewel. “No other artefact surviving from the Anglo-Saxon era embodies so many rich resonances as the Alfred Jewel. It is a matchless piece of goldsmith's work by a master-craftsman operating under the patronage of the West Saxon court. The Jewel represents the pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon technological achievement, while the name of the monarch which it proclaims places it among the most precious of royal relics.” “In 1693 it was ploughed up in a field at North Petherton, Somerset, a few miles from Athelney Abbey, the stronghold in the marshes from which Alfred launched his counter- attack on the Great Army of the Danes.” (http://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/highlights/alfred-jewel.html) The connection to Alfred the Great of Winchester, King of Wessex and Saxon England, makes the jewel a central part of our local heritage. Reading Museum houses one of the most remarkable, and well-kept secrets, of our Saxon heritage – an authentic replica of the Bayeux Tapestry (‘embroidery’) Britain's full-size copy of the famous embroidered Bayeux Tapestry is displayed in its magnificent entirety in this purpose-built gallery. This faithful replica is 70 metres long. It was made by 35 skilled Victorian women embroiderers in 1885 so that Britain should have its own copy of the tapestry. It tells the story of the events leading up to and following the Battle of Hastings in 1066 The gallery also explores the background and impact of the Norman Conquest of 1066, including the history of Saxon migration and Viking raids on the Reading area over the preceding 400 years. www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/seeing-our- collections/bayeux-gallery & www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk OXFORD UNIVERSITY – Professor John Blair & Dr Eleanor Standby We are privileged to be able to meet John Blair, an eminent Saxon era historian (who will share his learning with us over lunch). Eleanor Standby is both a lecturer in Saxon history at the University and the curator of the Saxon collection at the Ashmolean Museum. She will guide us through the collection and introduce us to the ‘Alfred Jewel’ 1 Other locations/events under consideration are Saxon Winchester; the British Museum & Library in London; the Staffordshire Hoard collection in the Birmingham and Stoke on Trent museums; the Sutton Hoo Saxon ship burial heritage site and West Stow Saxon village in Suffolk; the annual Battle of Hastings re-enactment at Hastings Page 2 of 2 .