Friday 8 July 2011

Battlestead ... battle?


Up the slope from the village of Tatenhill is Battlestead Wood - and all over the wood are footpath signs imprinted with a Saxon warrior's head. This because an old legend in the village refers to a famous battle being fought there sometime pre-Conquest.
Trouble is: the documents referring to any battle are pretty thin, and the only real evidence of a battle there is the local verbal tradition. Still, it's quite spooky walking round the woods.

Coincidentally, the exhibition of Staffordshire Hoard pieces (all from the Saxon era) is now starting its tour round the county - being in Stafford at the moment. I saw some of it a year ago, but the pieces were so small, I found it hard to get enthusiastic.

Links: Staffordshire Hoard 2011 tour / Saxon sites in Staffordshire

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