PARISH HISTORY - The Vikings
Let’s start with the Viking invasion, which was met by King Egbert. Now you may already be asking what King Egbert was doing in Charmouth. Had he had a tip-off or was he on his holidays and called to the scene by an eagle-eyed young urchin who had spotted Viking longships on the horizon?
Some research shows that there’s more to this tale than meets the eye. The conventional account, as summed up on the Charmouth village website, goes as follows. There were: “…two great confrontations on the banks of the River Cerne (Char) between Viking raiders and local forces led by King Egbert and later by his son King Aethelwulf of the West Saxons. On both occasions, after a great slaughter the Vikings withdrew.”
So Aethelwulf, as well as his father, was down here, ready to repel the Vikings. At least the Vikings were repelled on both occasions. But hang on, from The Life of King Egbert, we learn more about the fight in the year 833:
“…confusion spread among the Anglo-Saxons enabling the Danes to decisively defeat Egbert and his men, so that they ended by fleeing under cover of darkness. Though “there was a great slaughter made,” yet “the Danes maintained possession of the battle-spot.” The bloody losses Egbert suffered in this his first military defeat, included Herefrith, bishop of Winchester, and Sigelm, bishop of Sherborne…”
So he didn’t win after all, and he sent two of his bishops into the fray. Surely that’s a bit off. Would they send The Rt. Revd. Michael Scott-Joynt (until fairly recently, the bishop of Winchester) to fight in Iraq?
Anyway, a bit more research reveals an oft-repeated legend that St Wite (whose remains are buried in the Church at Whtchurch Canonicorum in a box marked “+HIC. REQUESCT. RELIQE. SCE. WITE”) was killed by the Vikings in that same raid.
Finally, however, a little more research reveals that the Vikings actually invaded not at Charmouth but at Carhampton on the North Devon/Somerset coast (hence the Battle of Carhampton at which, you guessed it, Egbert was defeated by the Vikings).
All of which presumably suggests that St Wite died a different death and that the mighty waters of the River Char (which is so narrow that you can jump across it at Charmouth) never ran red with the blood of Vikings or Egbert’s bishops.
In any case, it seems that we can’t be quite certain of the facts when it comes to the invasion of Charmouth. So what about the fishtrap and the deserted village of Stanton St. Gabriel?
Some research shows that there’s more to this tale than meets the eye. The conventional account, as summed up on the Charmouth village website, goes as follows. There were: “…two great confrontations on the banks of the River Cerne (Char) between Viking raiders and local forces led by King Egbert and later by his son King Aethelwulf of the West Saxons. On both occasions, after a great slaughter the Vikings withdrew.”
So Aethelwulf, as well as his father, was down here, ready to repel the Vikings. At least the Vikings were repelled on both occasions. But hang on, from The Life of King Egbert, we learn more about the fight in the year 833:
“…confusion spread among the Anglo-Saxons enabling the Danes to decisively defeat Egbert and his men, so that they ended by fleeing under cover of darkness. Though “there was a great slaughter made,” yet “the Danes maintained possession of the battle-spot.” The bloody losses Egbert suffered in this his first military defeat, included Herefrith, bishop of Winchester, and Sigelm, bishop of Sherborne…”
So he didn’t win after all, and he sent two of his bishops into the fray. Surely that’s a bit off. Would they send The Rt. Revd. Michael Scott-Joynt (until fairly recently, the bishop of Winchester) to fight in Iraq?
Anyway, a bit more research reveals an oft-repeated legend that St Wite (whose remains are buried in the Church at Whtchurch Canonicorum in a box marked “+HIC. REQUESCT. RELIQE. SCE. WITE”) was killed by the Vikings in that same raid.
Finally, however, a little more research reveals that the Vikings actually invaded not at Charmouth but at Carhampton on the North Devon/Somerset coast (hence the Battle of Carhampton at which, you guessed it, Egbert was defeated by the Vikings).
All of which presumably suggests that St Wite died a different death and that the mighty waters of the River Char (which is so narrow that you can jump across it at Charmouth) never ran red with the blood of Vikings or Egbert’s bishops.
In any case, it seems that we can’t be quite certain of the facts when it comes to the invasion of Charmouth. So what about the fishtrap and the deserted village of Stanton St. Gabriel?
On to the fishtrap...
Also in 'Parish History':
Vikings ~ Fishtrap ~ Desertion ~ Recent times ~ Saddening agents ~ Digory Gordge ~ Buildings & Archaeology ~ Old photos
Vikings ~ Fishtrap ~ Desertion ~ Recent times ~ Saddening agents ~ Digory Gordge ~ Buildings & Archaeology ~ Old photos