Stafford 913 - 2013 Celebrate 1100 Years of History

Stafford 913 - 2013 1,100 Years of History Events and Exhibitions Programme to Celebrate the Birth of the Burh

The Ancient High House Greengate Street, Stafford, ST16 2JA tel 01785 619 131 email ahh@staffordbc.gov.uk web staffordbc.gov.uk/heritage Stafford Castle Newport Road,Stafford, ST16 1DJ tel 01785 257 698 email heritage@staffordbc.gov.uk web staffordbc.gov.uk/heritage Izaak Walton's Cottage Worston Lane, Stone ST15 0PA tel 01785 760 278 email heritage@staffordbc.gov.uk web staffordbc.gov.uk/heritage Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archives Service Staffordshire Record Office, Eastgate Street, Stafford ST16 2LZ tel 01785 278 373 web www.staffordshire.gov.uk/archives

If you need this information in large print, Braille, other language or on audio cassette please contact 01785 619 000 or email info@staffordbc.gov.uk All information correct at time of going to print.

Leisure and Culture | www.staffordbc.gov.uk

Friday 3 May | 7.30pm Dan Cruickshank History Talk Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

TV presenter, author and architectural historian Dan Cruickshank is more than a seasoned traveller. He has explored places that most of us only dream of. For his celebrated TV series Around The World In 80 Treasures he journeyed through 36 countries in four and a half months on a quest to tell the story of civilisation through some of man’s greatest achievements. Dan’s travels explored the origins, construction and mysteries of some of the most extraordinary monuments known to man and their connections to the great civilisations of the world. Tickets £16 (£14 conc). To book call the box office on 01785 254 653 or visit www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk.

Preceded on the same programme by:

Darkness and Light: Stafford’s Anglo Saxon origins

Archaeologist and Staffordshire Hoard expert Stephen Dean reveals newly discovered facts and finds to explain Æthelflaed and the founding of Stafford in 913 AD.

Tuesday 18 June to Saturday 27 July | 10am - 4pm Stafford 913 - 2013: The Making of a County Town History Exhibition at the Ancient High House

A look at the people and events that helped shape the town during the eleven hundred years since its foundation by the warrior-princess Æthelflaed. Rare documents, artefacts and illustrations tell Stafford’s unique place in British history.

Supported by SAMS, County Records Office, The Trustees of the William Salt Library and local collections.

Saturday 22 June | 10am - 4pm Anglo Saxon Artisans The Ancient High House

Meet and talk to the Anglo Saxon Warriors at the Ancient High House. With children’s Anglo Saxon rune-making workshops. Just drop in. Free admission. Children’s workshops £2.

Saturday 13 July | 11am and 2pm Anglo Saxon Stafford Town Tour The Ancient High House

Join us for a one hour tour taking in sites dating back to the birth of the burh in 913. Free tour - meet at the Ancient High House.

Saturday 27 July | 10am - 4pm Anglo Saxon Jewellery The Ancient High House

Children’s Anglo Saxon jewellery making workshops.

Just drop in. Free admission. Children’s workshops £2.

Tuesday 30 July to Saturday 26 October Stafford’s 1913 Millenary Pageant History Exhibition at the Ancient High House

A look back at how Staffordians celebrated the town’s Millenia in 1913.

Supported by SAMS, County Records Office, The Trustees of the William Salt Library and local collections.

Saturday 3 August | 10am - 4pm Kids on Parade The Ancient High House

Children’s pageant costume-making workshops.

Just drop in. Free admission. Children’s workshops £2.

Sunday 18 August | 11am - 4pm The Anglo Saxons Stafford Castle

Visit the encampment and learn more about our Saxon ancestors with ‘arming the warrior’, coin minting, and bone carving activities. Children’s rune making workshops and Anglo Saxon board games. Free admission.

Saturday 7 September | 10am - 4pm Staffordshire Heritage Day: Stafford Burh 913 Castlechurch Church Hall, Newport Road, Stafford

The Staffordshire Heritage Group presents a day of illustrated talks about Anglo Saxon Stafford. Ticket price includes lunch and refreshments £15 per person. Pre-booking essential call 01785 850 345 or email mdodkins@aol.com.

Friday 13 September to Friday 4 October Mon to Fri 10am - 4pm | Sat 10am - 12.30pm Stafford: A Proper Little Town Staffordshire Record Office

An exhibition of unique and irreplaceable Stafford Borough collections. The archives on display range from a first hand account of the visit of Elizabeth I to Stafford and the description of the brutal execution of the priest Robert Sutton to photographs of the lost pubs of Stafford.

Staffordshire Archives and Heritage in conjunction with the William Salt Library.

2013 marks the 1100 year anniversary since the founding of Stafford. Æthelflaed Lady of the Mercians, daughter of King Alfred the Great, fortified Stafford as a burh or defended settlement in 913.

Stafford, as a frontier town, was to play a key role in the Saxon re-conquest of the West Midlands, which led to the re-unification of England and Æthelstan becoming the first king in 927.

For more information on the birth of the burh and to find out the full list of celebration events please visit www. staffordbc.gov.uk/celebrate Statue of Æthelflaed at Tamworth Castle Image courtesy of Tamworth Borough Council.

Richard II and Queen Elizabeth I from Stafford's Millenary Pageant in 1913.

Image courtesy of Staffordshire County Council.

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