The Battle of Britain - Brunanburgh was it local?

[Lordmagic]

:QuestionM Hi, just wondering if anyone is interested in the Battle of Britain, the original Battle in/around the 900AD? Was it near Burnley, theres many of place names and claims to support this, I've followed this subject for a while and although dates are not in concrete it surely must have something behind it? What do you think? :flamethro :yield:

[Rolyat]

Yeah, I'd like to know a little more about it that I already do, I just can't find much reliable info on the subject. I'm aware that Waltons Spire, above Nelson, is supposed to have been built upon a monument to the Battle of Brunanburgh but I don't know much more.

The picture I've posted was taken on a mucky April evening earlier this year.

[Lordmagic]

Ok I'm at work at present, when I get home I'll post some interesting stuff so you can ponder over it, got maps, piccys and lots of info on this matter

[Rolyat]

Nice one, thank you

[Darkstar]

Walton's spire used to be a monolith, but the land owner A.T. Roe (sp?) had a stone mason dress it and add the spire as he thought it was a pagan site. Nearby is/was Nave hill farm which has what looks like a burial mound, it is possible that this was viking in origin, as the name is nave hill not knave as some spell it. A nave is the curved part inside a church which is roughly boat shaped, Therefore it is possibly a ship burial or ship type burial (as in Sutton Hoo) there are also 2 round barrows very near. If this is so then buried there could be 7 viking jarls (earls) and 5 minor kings.
I think that the burnley area is a definate possibility for the battle, which incidently wouldn't have been a pitched battle but more a series of running skirmishers, most of the evidence is conjecture but, Aethelston was king of Mercia he annexed the kingdom of Northumbria at. At the time of the battle Constantine king of the picts marched down to Mercia, the Irish vikings came over to England and sailed up the Ribble, the Yorkshire vikings came over the border and Athelston marched north past Wales where he also kicked ***. It seems logical that this area would be the meeting place for the various armies.

Sorry about the lenght of this post, but it is a subject i am very interested in, there is a lot more that could be said but this is not an essay lol.

[Rolyat]

Post what you want, at least as far as I'm concerned, as I'd like to know more. It's on topic.

[Lordmagic]

Thats right, I think Waltons Spire has been redressed by the said landowner, thats the Victorians all over, Empire building spoilt alot of our heritage but it gave us a land to be proud of also! The spire is reputed to be of Norse origin (the base anyway), The Nave has undergone some form of dig, where in the early 1900's various items were recovered along with a deceased person but there is no evidence of the finds surviving to this day, do you know where they are? I think they were an axe head, shield and other bits and bobs, I'll let you know later. Another site mentioned was Mereclough, and a field locally known as Battlefield, where it is reputed to have a large boulder within the enclosure where the kings and Earls of the armies met before battle, does anyone know of this area? Another area of claim is Elslack but it definately makes sense to do battle around these parts when you look at ancient borders and their writings of history especially the northern border of Mercia merging with Northumbria, the River Ribble running straight through these locations and the ancient trading route from Lancashire over the pennines to Yorkshire............ MMMmmmm let you think about it for now.

[Col.Kurtz]

Well I've never heard any of this information before, but find it fascinating! I look forward to hearing more.

[Digsyboy]

same here Col
Carry on chaps - its actually quite spooky that three reletively newbies to the site who (i presume) don't know each other - are all bang into this
Excellent - post away - I can't really contribute but will enjoy reading it!

[Lordmagic]

A Little known History Lesson:

AD 937, Here Athelstan,king of the earls the lord,
rewarder of heroes, and his brother eke,
Edmund atheling, elder ot the ancient race, slew in the fight,
with the edge of their swords, the foe at Brunanburgh!
The sons of Edward their board-walls clove,
and hewed their banners,with the wrecks of their hammers.
So they were taught by kindred zeal,
that they at camp oft against any robber
their land should defend,their hoards and homes.
Pursuing fell the Scottish clans;
the men of the fleet in numbers fell;
amidst the din of the field the warrior swate.
Since the sun was up in morning-tide,gigantic light!
glad over grounds, Gods candle bright,eternal Lord!-
until the noble creature sat in the western main:
there lay many of the Northern heroes under a shower of arrows, shot over shields;
and Scotlands boast, a Scythian race, the mighty seeds of Mars!
With chosen troops, throughout the day,
the West-Saxons fierce pressed on the loathed bands; hewed down the fugitives,
and scattered the rear, with strong mill-sharpened blades.
The Mercians too the hard hand-play,
spared not to any of those with Anlaf,
over the briney deep in the ships bosum
sought this land for the hardy fight.
Five kings lay on the field of battle,
in the bloom of youth, pierced with swords.
So seven eke of the earls of Anlaf;
and of the ships crew unnumbered crowds.
There was dispersed the little band of hardy Scots, the dread of northern hordes; urged to the noisy deep by unrelenting fate!
The king of the fleet with hie slender craft
escaped with his life on the felon flood;-
and so to Constantine, the valiant chief,
returned to the north in hasty flight.
The hoary Hildrinc cared not to boast among his kindred.
Here was the remnant of relations and friends
slain with the sword in the crowded fight.
His son too he left on the field on battle,
mangled with wounds, young at the fight.
The fair-haired youth had no reason to boast
of the slaughtering strife.
Nor old Inwood and Anlaf the more
with the wrecks of their army could laugh and say,
that they on the field of stern command better workmen were,
in the conflict of banners, the clash of spears,
the meeting of heroes, and the rustling of weapons, which they on the field of slaughter
played with the sons of Edward.
The northmen sailed in their nailed ships,
a dreary remnant, on the roaring sea; over deep water
Dublin they sought, and Irelands shores, in great disgrace.
Such then the brothers, both together king and atheling,
sought their country, West-Saxon land, in fight triumphant.
They left behind them, raw to devour,
teh sallow kite, the swarthy raven with horny nib,
and the hoarse vulture, with the eagle swift to consume his prey;
the greedy gos-hawk, and that grey beast the wolf of the weald.
No slaughter yet was greater made ever on this island, of people slain, before this same,
with the edge of the sword;
as the books inform us of the old historians;
since hither came from the eastern shores
the Angles and the Saxons, over the broad sea, and Britain sought,-
and gained the land.

[wayneyboy1942]

Well you learn alsorts of stuff on BW!!!! I've never heard of this battle but as the others have said it's very interesting and I'm a bit ashamed that I've been ignorant of these facts til now!!! Thanks for the info!!!

[Lordmagic]

Just a little bit more Info for you: AD.93,King Athelstan finally defeated the Danes who had been raiding the Land for many years, at the Battle of Brunanburgh.
Some experts believe that this battle took place on the Hurstwood and Worsthorne moorlands above Burnley in Lancashire where the River Brun has its source.
The name of this battle could be translated as meaning "on the brown banks" or even "fortification on the brown banks".
Whatever the truth may be, after the battle, Burnley belonged to the King of England.
He appointed baliffs to look after it, to collect taxes,to administer justice and to control what happened there.
After AD 937 the people of Burnley were no longer entirely free men.
Building and settlement were controlled and some of the riches of the land were creamed off for the King.
On the outskirts of Burnley,possible battle-sites have been suggested.
Local folklore tells of a Great Battle which was fought in ancient times in the hills above Burnley with tales of the River Brun flowing red with blood.
There has also been tales of farmers ploughing up various pieces of weaponry said to date from this Great Battle.
Whilst these may be "stories and folklore", history dictates that there is always an element of truth in there somewhere.
One traditional story states that the Hill of Shelfield (north of Burnley) was supposedly the site of a battle in Saxon times.
Nearby is a large mound which is either a glacial deposit or according to the story, it is the Knaves Hill or mound beneath which the warriors killed in the Battle were buried.
One account states that Shelfield Hill was once the site of an ancient camp.
The site is now known as Walton Spire which was erected in Victorian times on top of a stone marker of unknown date.
The whole area has an historic past.
Within a half mile radius there is a dismantled ring of stones, a possible burial chamber and an Iron Age Fort which was eventually occupied by the Romans.
Within a mile radius there there are many other documented sites of early occupation.
The area was also well served with roads or trackways dating from Iron Age times or even earlier, right up to the present day.
The main Bronze Age trade route from Ireland to the European Continent passed through this area.
The Romans also had a presence in the area. The area is high , relatively flat ground surrounded by higher ground.
The whole area covers approximately 3-4 square miles.
If a battle was fought here, it would seem to be the ideal place for it, being well served, at the time, by relatively good tracks for ease of movement for the troops.

[Digsyboy]

sounds to me like a place for Time-team to visit
bring on baldric

[Darkstar]

Originally Posted by Digsyboy

sounds to me like a place for Time-team to visit
bring on baldric

Don't worry mr D, i have a cunning plan.

[Lordmagic]

Yeah......... Often thought of that untill I viewed an episode were Tony and Mick was denying all claims of the battle in the Burnley area... Their loss, tut, typical southerners. But thats the only way for sure, lets all get some shovels and buckets grow a beard wear round glasses and shout 'Tony, come and look what I've found'.