Warriors and ancient crafts brought to life
Celebrate the thrilling history of Norfolk’s past, as this coastal town is invaded once again for the Sheringham Viking Festival
Many of us are captivated by the sense of mystery and romance that surrounds Viking history and this has only been encouraged by popular TV shows such as Vikings and The Last Kingdom in recent years.
Norfolk is thought to have been dominated by Viking occupation during the 9th century, although little evidence remains today. Sheringham was established as a Viking settlement in around 900AD when the town was given to Viking warrior Scira to honour his battle victories. In fact, the town’s name translates as ‘Scira-ham’ or ‘town of Scira’s people’.
But why celebrate such ruthless invaders? “It is something of a myth that there was a big ongoing conflict between the Vikings and Christians in Norfolk,” says Fraser Carson, Viking Re-enactor. “For the most part Vikings were very open-minded and adopted new ways of life if they saw that someone was doing it better. The Vikings became part of the people here and so now make up the ancestry of the UK.”
The annual Sheringham Viking Festival is set to raid the town again on Saturday 1st April this year, with the action starting from 10am. Beeston Common will be transformed into a Viking encampment made up of canvas tents and awnings with small fires going. Visitors will see warriors adjusting and repairing weapons, families cooking and preparing food, craftsman dying cloth and working leather and many other Viking crafts and skills. There will be traders and food-sellers and opportunities to have a go at activities, such as axe throwing.
“The camp will essentially be people living as they did in the dark ages,” describes Fraser. “You will have this sense of stepping back in time to a military camp on the move.” Fraser leads the Wuffa Re-enactment Society who bring the historical content and knowledge to the festival in Sheringham. The group have over 50 members who participate in mock-battle and living history, demonstrating the Viking way of life through their historic dress, re-enactment and knowledge.
“The turbulent history of the Vikings and Saxons is fascinating to study,” says Fraser. “People are drawn to the dark ages because we simply don’t know as much about it as other periods of history. The sense of mystery creates a deep interest in people. It appears such a brutal time, but there is also a real sense of craftsmanship and art and passion in the people back then. It wasn’t all just brooding warriors.”
The Wuffa Re-enactment group take their research seriously and try to portray Viking life as accurately as they can. “The Vikings unfortunately didn’t write anything down,” explains Fraser, “and the historical sources we do have can be massively biased. We pull information from as many different places as possible to double check interpretations. It can be too easy to fall into what we call ‘modern Vikingism’, horned helmets, lots of furs and war paint, which is not an accurate representation at all.”
Highlights of the Sheringham Viking Festival include a battle display which will give spectators a taste of what combat was like and the tactics used at the time. Later in the afternoon, the Vikings will lead visitors in a torchlit parade down the high street to a replica Viking ship on the beach. Then, in a re-enactment of Viking burial traditions, archers will fire lit arrows at the boat, spectacularly sending it up in flames for a grand finale.
Colin Seal founded the event with support from Sheringham Carnival Committee eight years ago. “The original purpose was to celebrate the Viking influence on our culture and boost the trade and vibrancy of Sheringham town,” he explains. “The success of the festival is a combined effort from quite a few people including a health and safety team, builders and logistics as well as the amazing commitment of Wuffa volunteers.”
“Every year it grows and we have new ideas to include,” adds Ian Kime, who is organising the event for 2023. “We have plans to make the entrance to Beeston Common into the gates of Valhalla and the dragon on the front of the ship will be engineered to have smoke tumbling out. The Viking boat started as a small rowing boat in the earlier years and now it’s a 20ft replica Viking ship built by Brian Howe and his son Henry!”
“Children find the whole day very exciting,” Colin says, “but adults love it too. It’s all about exploring history, having fun and bringing people into the town. As dusk falls, it becomes very atmospheric and lots of people hang around for drinks and good company in a very pagan way.”
The festival entry is free of charge and all are welcome to join in honouring the Viking ancestors of Sheringham and learning more about this mysterious, vibrant time.
And for those with the bravery to take it a step further, the Wuffa Re-Enactment Society are always open to new members to join their ranks. Discover more information at
www.wearewuffa.wixsite.com/wuffa
IMAGES: Gareth Gabriel at The Studio Sheringham