Big weekend show Sept 21/22 2013

Blimey..... OK, its that time of year again! its the biggie at Stamford Bridge for another two day event. This may prove to be our best yet! 

Open to the public from 10.30am - 4.00pm on sat, and 10.30am - 3.30pm on sun, we ahould have a really good turn out with probably over 300 dark ages reenactors, plus a longboat, living history enampment, archaeological groups, and of course our BOSB tent. On the sun the Stamford Bridge Butcher will be having a barbeque also .....so get yerself there, be you thane, jarl, huscarl or king!

Fulford Battle not lost yet!

Chas continues the battle for the Fulford Battle site. See link: #

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/battlefield-saga-set-for-high-court-1-5927001

The position of English heritage astounds me. Rather than put a block on the development until proof is secure about the site, they are happy to allow the development to go ahead without prior archaeological investigation to see if Germany Beck is indeed the likely place of the Battle of Fulford. If it is an important battlefield, the land and artefacts are lost for good, then the so called
'guardians' of our heitage will be seen to be politically biased and ineffective as the proper organisation to handle our heritage.

The fact that both EH and Persimmon Homes stand by an outdated decision and will not allow any deviation on that, smacks to me of collusion and indifference, and the fact that York Council have allowed this to go on over such an important bloodstained site again will be be judged by our children's children as a severe laspe of historical judgement.

Chas Jones and the Fulford development plans

Exciting news

Exciting news here in Stamford Bridge. We are beginning our very first archaeological excavation to find out where the actual battle took place, its a long road - but we are finally on the way!

We aim to track backwards to the romamn road systems around the area, the reason being that the saxons would probably have used any existing roads and tracks network and crossing points (with a new bridge). So if we can confirm the roman crossing places on the river derwent then we can retrace the battle moves, high ground etc. We dont have an exact description of the battle site thru contemporary accounts, as Stamford Bridge was such a small place, not worthy of even a mention in the 1086 Domesday book.

Our problem is the other roman crossing point about a mile downstream near to Low Catton, is this one earlier or a later one than the traditional crossing point in the village?  - well, this is what we need to find out. 

Heres a few pics of the first days excavating...watch this space!

Being told the basics of survey and geophysing

Off we go....

The digger gets stuck in....we needed about 18ins of Victorian farming topsoil to be removed

Down to the nitty gritty,

Our dilemma, which is the crossing point where the battle centred on?

 
 

 

Hi everyone, a very exciting year ahead with many events and projects planned for the BoSB Society.

 

Above is the poster for the June12th talk by The Battlefield Trusts' Julian Humphrys.

 

FULFORD lastest news

Below are two reports on the dismal news about Fulford. First is from the local BBC news site and then the other is from the York Press. My reaction is of course disgust and sadness on allowing the whole thing to be outside the control of both the local Parish Council and he people who live there. It also raises serious questions as to the credibility of English Heritage, who AGAIN have failed to be the guardians of Englands historic sites when threatened by modern development.

 

All the recent coverage in Radio, TV and the Press is too little, too late. If there was every any doubt about the site being the place of the battle then why didn't EH insist on a full and proper archaeological dig to the developers (as happens elsewhere before ground is broken) to finalise the question once and for all. But this they refused despite Chas Jones' findings and even their admittance it PROBABLY is the site after all...BUT EH will not still add it to the official Battlefields Register - it defies logic!!

 

Oh and P.S. - the Battlesfields Trust has kept very quiet on this matter...again its support has been sorely missed....

 

Fulford homes to be built on 1066 'battle site'

BBC News 25th April 2013

A new decision has been made to build more than 600 homes on the "likely" site of a 1066 battle. The City of York Council planning committee agreed to development on land near Mitchell's Lane, Fulford, York. English Heritage said the site at Germany Beck remained the "most likely candidate" for the Battle of Fulford.

Ben Hudson, an estate agent, said York had a great shortage of new homes and it was "increasingly difficult to get a foot on the housing ladder." Outline planning consent for the scheme was granted in 2007 and a public inquiry into the development was held in 2006. Details of the site's design, appearance and landscaping have now been approved.

Archaeological investigation

English Heritage said it had been the subject of extensive archaeological investigation and significant changes to the landscape had taken place since 1066. The organisation said it was not possible to say that the battle site had been securely identified.

The battle was lost by the defending northern army but it forced King Harold to march north and defeat the invading Vikings at the battle of Stamford Bridge.
The clash at Fulford marked the beginning of the end of Anglo-Saxon rule.
Shortly after the two northern battles, the Norman invasion of 1066 was successful at Hastings.

Chas Jones, a battlefield historian, said: "We have a unique archaeological database here." Mr Jones said there was evidence of the recycling of weapons on the Germany Beck site to re-arm for the next clash. The battle at Stamford Bridge was just days after Fulford. "This is Pompeii as far as battlefields are concerned," he added.

Row over offical's Battle of Fulford site admission

York Press 25th April 2013

AN ENGLISH Heritage official has admitted that Germany Beck – where York planners today look set to give final approval to a 650-home development – probably is the site of the Battle of Fulford.

But he said that including the site in the official Register of Historic Battlefields would “raise the temperature of discussions” regarding the reserved matters planning application. He also revealed that, after the land had been developed, it would be very unlikely to merit inclusion in the Register. 

The comments came in an internal report in February last year to a battlefields panel by Nick Bridgland, the organisation’s Battlefields panel coordinator and designation team Leader (North), as English Heritage considered a request by archaeologist Chas Jones to consider inclusion in the Register. 

Mr Bridgland said: “It is clear the Battle of Fulford is of sufficient historical importance for inclusion in the Register. On the basis of probability, Germany Beck can be identified as the location of the Battle of Fulford.” 

He said inclusion in the register was not obligatory, and added: “Given the planning history of this site, EH is currently considering responding to the request to ‘Register with advice’ which recognises that Germany Beck is likely to be the location of the battle, but that, given the planning situation, refrains from adding the site to the register.” 

Mr Jones said he found the attitude revealed in the document extraordinary, and accused English Heritage of an “utterly cynical dereliction of its duty as guardians of our heritage.” 

Fulford parish chairman Alan Smith said the parish was dismayed at English Heritage’s behaviour. 

An English Heritage spokeswoman said it was always very difficult to determine conclusively the exact site of an early battlefield and the Battle of Fulford was no exception. She said:

“Our staff report was delivered to our Battlefields Panel, an independent body of experts who provide guidance and advice, in February 2012. “By the next meeting, in November 2012, we had carried out a thorough and exhaustive review of all of the evidence before us to suggest Fulford should be added to the register, and we decided the evidence was not conclusive. That is the reason we have not added it to the register.” 

She added that following further representations from Mr Jones, an independent review committee would look at that decision in coming months.

Telegraph article about Battle of Fulford, 11 April 2013

Below is a copy of the article that appeared in todays edition of the Telegraph entitled 'Hands off our land'.

Please read and support if you can in any way , eg twitter, or facebook or email link to friends or interested parties, the more people know about this then the more we can oppose the building of houses on one of York's (and Yorkshires) most important battlefields.

New skirmish over site of the 'lost' battle of 1066

The site of a battle that opened the way for Kind Harold's defeat at Hastings is at the centre of a new conflict over plans to build hundreds of new houses. 

A re-enactor in Anglo-Saxon warrior costume at the presumed site of the battle of Fulford.  Photo: Guzelian

It is the forgotten battle of 1066 which shaped the course of English history. At Fulford, outside York, an invading Norse army defeated Anglo-Saxon forces, killing 5,000 men and, historians say, opening the way for King Harold’s defeat at Hastings to William the Conqueror.

But almost 1,000 years later, what is believed to be the site of the battle is at the centre of a conflict over plans for hundreds of new houses. The dispute over the site comes amid fears that more schemes will be given the go-ahead as a result of the Government’s relaxation of the planning laws.

Alan Smith, the chairman of Fulford parish council, said developing the site would be an “act of cultural vandalism”.

“No amount of money could ever restore the battlefield landscape once it is covered in concrete,” he said.

Local people have been opposing plans for the site, called Germany Beck, for three decades after it was earmarked for development in the Eighties. Outline planning permission for 700 homes was granted in 2005, but since then residents have fought a rearguard action and highlighted the battle’s part in history, producing their own version of the Bayeux Tapestry.

This month the local council will rule on a detailed planning application from Persimmon Homes. Campaigners have now asked the council to overturn the original planning approval and also want English Heritage to declare formally that Germany Beck is the site of the Battle of Fulford, and put it on its register of historically important battle sites in England. The question of whether it is a battle site has already been investigated by English Heritage, and declared inconclusive, but Chas Jones, the director of Fulford Battlefield Society, has secured a review.

Mr Jones said: “A civilised county does not destroy an irreplaceable asset.”

Simon Usher, of Persimmon Homes, said English Heritage made it clear the site does not meet requirements to be on the register of battlefields.

I include a commented response from someone within the Fulford Society.

earlmorcar
04/08/2013 05:27 AM
 

'' The article does not cover the evidence for the battlesite at Fulford which is compelling and makes the decison to destroy it incomprehensible.

The battelsite at Fulford is unique since it has provided battle debris. No battlesite of this era, such as Hastings, has yet produced a single credible piece of physical evidence. The reason so much has survived at Fulford is discussed below.

Reconstructing the landscape, by drilling hundreds of holes, allowed the literature to be better understood. For example, we can now see that 'King Harald and his best men' would have been in dead ground and out of sight of the English army so their attack would have been the surprise described.

The tidal flooding over the 1066 landscape would indeed have meant that the English responded slowly when King Harald counter-attacked, The peak tidal inrush would have drowned any warriors in the ditch and forced their bodies together like stepping stones, as the literature describes.

The finds are fascinating since they suggest that many of the war-bands set up their own metal recyling hearths right beside where the action had taken place and immediately after their victory. We can deduce this because we have found the hearth debris and many tools along with part-made, Viking-style weapons close to the glacial ditch where we already suspected the battle had been fought.

It was the arrival of King Harold from the south, and his complete victory at Stamford Bridge just 5 days after Fulford, that probably led the re-cycling work to be abandoned leaving so much material for us to find. Flooding would quickly have buried the hearths in an area of countryside that has been largely undisturbed for 1000 years.

The evidence from Fulford might also explain why battle debris has not been found at Hastings - It looks as if the victors normally did a good 'clean up' job. Sadly, when we revealed the information about the finds, which has been published by the Royal Armouries last year, we were prevented from doing any further work. It is now intended that the area should be destroyed without any further investigation.

This is shameful at some many levels.

As  matter of record English Heritage:
1 Informed the City Planners  in 2005 that the Germany Beck was the likely site of the battle of Fulford.
2 The expert panel on Battlefields '..very strongly recommended the desingation ..' of the site last year.
3 The designation decision relied on misleading information provided by the developers (rather than a site visit!) and this desingation decision is before the High Court at the moment, pending Judicial Review.

The flawed desingation decision nevertheless included, as a footnote, the statement that Germany Beck is the most likely location for this important battle. So the statement by Persimmon Homes, that 'English Heritage made it clear the site does not meet requirements to be on the register of battlefields' is far from the truth. The English Heritage decision was highly nuanced and relied on wrong information promoted by the developers which is doubtless why the Court has accepted the judicial challenge.

I would invite readers to use Google Earth to visit the battle site which is on the southern edge of York where they will note that the land has not been built-over and a visit to the site of the British Geological Survey will (with some serious searching) reveal the ditch that divided the armies in 1066 was carved when the last great ice-sheet retreated and has altered very little since then.
  
I write this as an 'intereted party', quoted in the article, who is working to save our heritage.''

Here is the full link to the short, but very important Telegraph article.
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/9976305/New-skirmish-over-site-of-the-lost-battle-of-1066.html

 

YES we are! And if you want a ticket contact me here or at: chrisrock62@hotmail.com

We need your support to make this a success - its our first real community event and the funds it raises can make a big difference to the society.

Plus there's a great chance to dance the night away to a fantastic band!!

Fulford Battle site - the battle goes on.

Fulford Battle field

 

Historian Chas Jones on the 'shield wall' on the field of the Battle of Fulford

Interesting attached article from the Yorkshire Post 16th Feb 2013

We must try and help in any way we can.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/general-news/battlefield-claim-may-win-war-over-plan-for-homes-1-5417845

A  very good article and most interesting. Yes we must support this and stop it happening there, we may have already lost part of our battle site to housing and Fulford should be protected.

This took my eye, ...I quote from the article:'' The spokeswoman said: “While Germany Beck remains the most likely candidate for the site of the Battle of Fulford, it is not possible to say that it has been securely identified.

The battlefields selection guide is clear that historical significance and secure identification of the site are essential criteria for inclusion on the register.

Representatives from both York Council and Persimmon Homes stressed there is no conclusive proof to suggest the land was the location of the battle. ''

Hmmm, so how did Stamford Bridge succeed to fill in this critea? Ok we definately have historical significance, but secure identification?? Where in English Heritage archives is this evidence? This is something we questioned at a Battle of Stamford bridge Society meeting weeks ago about the guidelines for the boundary which EH has drawn up for the Stamford Bridge battlesite. Maybe we need to dig deeper on this.

Chris.
PS. I have posted some pix on the PHOTOS page and below is a link to a Youtube video of Gunnars visit last thursday night. It was a great success and an excellent turnout, Gunnar was well received and made us all even more realise how significant the 1066 battlesites are.
See the short video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56FkdyA5JnE

A REAL Viking comes to Stamford Bridge

Yes we are happy to have as guest speaker on 21st Feb 2013, a living descendant of King Harald Sigurdsson (Hardrada), Jarl Gunnar Olafsson. On Gunnars facebook page he explains how in Iceland the family name traces the heritage of when and where they originate from, one tradition they still hold on to dearly, unlike other countries... The Icelandic groups are new to the re-enactment scene, although they do have lots of societies and history groups, but as far as putting on public shows its all new territory for them; in fact the head of the York group, the Volsung Vikings recently went to Iceland to show them how to act and fight like a Viking....bizarre!

Just hope Gunnar has forgiven us for the death of his great ancestor here in 1066....

Well, I have decided to make my next project the 'Great Siege of Yorke' in 1644. I have done some very early initial research and I am confident that I can make a really good walking tour and combined book about the events of the siege and its after effects. I have began putting together the a4 leaflet and its early stages make it really exciting. There's nothing like this available to the interested casual visitor or more seasoned historical walker and battlefield addict at the moment in York, and its a piece of Yorks history usually neglected amongst the more popular Roman, Viking, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian periods.

Hopefully i will uncover some fascinating facts, lost locations, archaeological evidence and even some un-earthly tales to divulge to the walking groups. Here's some pix of Walmgate I took on Saturday last, having often read about signs of bombardment from the Parliamentarian guns on Lamel Hill and St Lawerences Church yard i decided to go and look for myself. Having seen the results of musket fire on the Gatehouse of Falkland Palace where i used to work, i know what the signature of the lead ball and cannon ball on stone looks like.

I also took some pix of St Sampsons church in the centre of York. Apparently due to the lack of any positive break thru by targetting the thick walls the Parliament gunners decided to aim for what they could see, and this included the highest church steeples and towers. Look carefully at the tower and you can see the original brickwork and the newer replacement work when the tower was reconstructed.

Outer wall on Walmgate barbican showing the effects of lead shot on the stone.

Larger diameter concave damage on the Walmgate barbican, probably due to a small cannon or culverin, about 5-6ins across. The trauma around the centre is typical of when iron or lead and stone meet. The frustration of the gunners to make large breaches to the strong defences are obvious. In fact the city walls were never broken down due to the bombardment, only by undermining the walls did the besiegers gain any access.

The barbican outer wall with noticable sagging of the stone work, probably due to the underground mining work carried out by the Parliamentarians, which was counter mined by the Royalists inside.

St Sampsons Church. The outer side of the tower with quite obvious new stonework showing where the gunners had a bit of effective target practice, with no strategic or military results.

One interesting aspect is the dual between the guns placed on Cliffords tower and the cannon situated on Lamel Hill, at least 100 shots were fired at the Parliament site, I wonder how many iron cannon ball still lie under the earth around there, now called Lamel Beeches. Methinks a knock on a few doors around the modern housing estate may uncover some results.....

Well here we are in 2013... and hopefully it's going to be a good year. Plans are in hand to continue with the Stamford Bridge Society and its promotion of the battle, and with the continued selling of the book and the new range of other items i have had produced. I will be adding an extra page on the site dedicated to promotional items and things for sale very soon, including A4 and A3 full colour posters, an exclusive limited edition set of A5 postcards and bookmarks and other items.

BattlegroundYorkshire will continue to expand this year also. I am beginning to undertake research on the next instalment of the series looking at either the Siege of York in 1644 or the Baedecker Raid on York in 1942. Depending on which is the most viable as an initial information leaflet / walking guide, (similiar to the Stamford Bridge one), i will then develop it into a personal guided tour and another book going into more detail with new illustrations as standard.

The late summer and winter was both exciting AND frustrating as far as the Battle of Stamford Bridge was concerned. In September we had the 2 day event in the village itself, (photos on photos page) and in October I was invited down to Waltham Abbey (photos on photos page also) to partake in the King Harolds Day event there. It was an excellent chance to advertise both the new Society and sell the new book at both events and we were blessed with excellent weather on both occasions. Crowds were good and very interested in what we were doing, the book and other items sold really well and we managed to get loads of new members interested in us. 2013 will be even better and bigger for both events and we hope to include new items on the agenda for the visitors at the Stamford event...watch this space or visit the Battle of Stamford Bridge website link.

In December we held a festive evening and fun quiz which went down really well, free food was even included... held a raffle too. We intend to hold more social evenings rather than just talks and regular society gatherings, this we hope will widen the interest as non-members are welcome to join the fun.

Our only downside was the terrible weather... we had planned our very first archaeological cooperation day looking at a stretch of old roman road near to Stamford Bridge in November. So i got all tooled up, packed my sarnies and filled my coffee flask, walking boots, waterproof jacket and rain hat all togged on, only to find the heavy rain had waterlogged the field. I half expected it but there was no point in even attempting to walk the field, the equipment would never had worked anyway in the half filled swimming pool. So we have planned for another drier day, hopefully very soon, but again its still waterlogged around this area and the clay based soil takes a long time to drain and firm out. We need a nice long dry spell and bright sunshine, then we can attempt another go at finding some new archaeological evidence that will help to piece together the story of 1066. So watch this space.....