Our planned speaker for the evening was laid low by Covid so we were very lucky to have Martyn Roper to talk to us at very short notice. His subject was A Guide to Anglo-Saxon East Anglia, and we had a whistle-stop tour of many sites, some well-known and others more obscure.
Martyn made the point that although the Romans were thought to have been here before the Anglo-Saxons this was probably not true as there had been trade between the Netherlands and Germany well before the Romans invaded. He thinks many Anglo-Saxons just ‘became’ Roman for peace and convenience.
We were all aware of the Sutton Hoo Site, the Devil’s Ditch/Dyke and the reconstructed village at West Stow, but only a few members had visited the tumuli (3 hills) at Bartlow and St Peter on the Wall at Bradwell, and fewer still had seen Burgh Castle, a shore fort, not for defence but for taxes on goods coming in to the country or Fling Dyke near Fulbourn, a smaller version of the Devil’s Ditch, and many of us are planning trips to see these ancient sites.
We also learned of King Alfred’s wish that everyone, especially the clergy, should be able to read and write and in his reign there was a move away from Latin. Martyn attempted to teach us a few words of Anglo –Saxon, not as difficult as it sounds.
We also digressed into the history of Sudbury, Viking invasions and battle sites throughout the area.
Martyn is a very amusing and entertaining speaker and we laughed often during his talk, but he really knows his subject and we all learned a lot.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 18th April and it is the AGM. We will start at the earlier time of 7pm, and the speaker at 7.30 will be Geoffrey Robinson on The Worlingworth Golden Jubilee Painting (King George the Third, 1810.) A replica will be on display.