West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village
At West Stow you can walk in the footsteps of our ancestors, explore their homes, see the evidence for yourself - then make up your own mind.
West Stow boasts a remarkable reconstruction of six Anglo-Saxon buildings on their original site, built using tools and techniques from the period. The Anglo-Saxon Centre includes an fascinating display of archaeological finds from local Saxon sites, and there is a bright new cafeteria & gift shop. There is a children's play area, picnic area and visitor centre. Special events and re-enactments bring the village to life during holiday periods year. Call for programme of events. The 125 acre park and heathland nature reserve surrounding it is rich in wildlife and excellent for bird-watching, with a nature trail woods, river, lake and bird hides. Take Eastern Counties bus 155 to Lackford, then a 2-mile walk.
The site has been occupied by a succession of peoples since the end of the last ice age. The site was used by stone age hunter-gatherer groups six or seven thousand years ago, who left behind concentrations of flint tools and waste flakes in eleven concentrations on that hill.
Altogether, with a scatter of such artefacts, some 21,000 flint flakes and tools were recovered. No evidence of domestic settlement was found, apart from the concentration of flint tools, which included many arrowheads.
The Anglo-Saxon great settlement took place around this time according firstly to Gildas, then Bede, then the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which largely repeated the same story.
Not all of Britain was settled immediately by the Anglo-Saxons. It took more than 200 years for the borders of Saxon England to be pushed to the far west.
Various theories have been put forward to account for the Anglo-Saxon migration. Certainly they had been raiding Britain for 200 years and were aware of rich pickings to be had and, no doubt, the geography of much of the Eastern sea-board.
There are no contemporary accounts of the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The nearest narrative we have is by a British priest call Gildas, living in Wales or Cornwall, and writing about 550. He records that the ruler of Britain invited three ship loads of Saxons to defend the country against the Picts, and gave them land in the East of the country. Subsequently they rebelled and the conquest began.
A nationally important Anglo-Saxon cemetery has just been excavated at Eriswell, within the site of RAF Lakenheath. The excavations took place in 1997 and the site is believed to date from AD500 - 600. A major find has been a warrior buried complete with his horse and all its harness. Around 200 burials were expected to be excavated.
VISITORS INFORMATION:
West Stow opening Hours:
Village and Museum
10am - 5pm daily - last entry at 4pm in summer
and 3.30pm in winter
Shop
10am - 5pm daily
Country park
9am - 5pm in winter and 9am - 8pm in summer
Cafe
The cafe will be open between 10.30am - 4pm
West Stow Admission Charges:
Country park and parking
free
Anglo Saxon Village and Museum
£6 adults
£4 children and concessions
free to under 5's
£18 Family ticket (covers up to 6 people,with a minimum of of one child)
This buys you a Heritage Ticket which allows you to come back to West Stow for a further 5 free visits or entry into Moyse's Hall
Additional charge for some events