Discovering the Real Sceaftesige
When we set up the local branch of Regia Anglorum we wanted to tie it to a local settlement rather than just a county title. At the time we were practising in the paddock of an 8th century church in Cookham, but rather than take it from the town we used the island fort of Sceaftesige.
This article sets out not only to describe what the group knows about the original Sceaftesege Garrison, but also how the information was found out. Hopefully this will provide ideas to others who are looking for information on local historical sites. (It will also confirm with referees of the Cthulhu game why the library use roll takes so long and what it means!)
Our total knowledge of Sceaftesiege at the time of setting up the group was a single entry in "Britain Before the Norman Conquest" by the Office of Ordinance survey. This was :
Sceaftesege SH903858
First port of call was the local library, checking the local history books there and then using the library computer to search for references in any of the counties books. This drew a blank. Next stage was to follow up the reference in the Ordinance Survey. "Unidentified Forts of the Burghal Hildage, Medieval Archaeology 1964 Vol VIII p74-90". Back copies of this journal where not available at local or county libraries, nor did any of the local 'antique' book shops in Windsor Eton stock it. Most archaeologists I knew did not go back that far.
Eventually I found that the British Library holds copies of all major (and not so major) journals published in Britain. They do not loan out these journals, you have to request to study them on site. However if you can quote journal reference and page numbers they will photostat and send you extracts for a small fee. This paper gave me a date the site was believed to exist from and some information why it may have been built.
Next stage was to try and establish how long the fort was around for. I started by checking the Domesday references for Berkshire & Buckinghamshire (old maps show Cookham or Cockham to be part of the hundred of Beynhurst). This showed no reference to the fort, so it probably did not exist by 1086. The Domesday entry reads :
In Beynhurst hundred Cookham. King Edward held it.
Then 20 hides, but it never paid tax.
Land for 25 ploughs. 32 villagers and 21 cottagers with 20 ploughs 4 slaves; 2 mills at 22s 6d; 2 fisheries at 13s 4d; meadow, 50 acres; woodland at 100 pigs; the other half is in Windsor forest; from the new market which is now there 20s.
Value of the whole before 1066 £50; later £? 50s; now £36; however it pays £45
Of these 20 hydes, Reinbald the priest has 1.5 hydes from the king in alms, and the church of this manor with 8 cottagers and 1 plough; meadow, 15 acres; value 50s. Two other clerics have 0.5 hyde of it and 2 cottagers with 2 ploughs; meadow, 8 acres; value 5s.
References from other sources gave that Ethelred held a witan at Cookham in 997 AD , but no mention was found of a fort being there.
Next step was to try another resource that had come to light while checking out the local college library, the Berkshire CC Heritage Group. Berkshire County Council has a Heritage Group under the responsibility of the Highways and Planning Dept. Part of their role is to see what you could be burying when you seek planning permission. The Historic Structures Records database and the Sites and Monuments Record are available by prior arrangement. Mr David Hopkins of this dept was most responsive to my letters, providing the results from a database search and other information they knew of. They viewed Sceaftesege as a temporary fort set up to guard the Thames, Cookham becoming the main development for the area. A lot of the evidence for the site was covered in silt when the Thames Conservancy board dug a new lock in 1830. The victorian view of conservation obviously differed to ours. The database search provided the following information :
1) A find in Sashes field, 1830, =a number of skeletons, roman swords and javelin heads. Now in possession of Lord Boston
2) "An interesting but dubious report" on the proximity of a road from Silchester to Verulamium and that a settlement would be expected at Cookhams location. I've since found other texts describing a roman road from Sante Albanestoe to Cookham with its course lost just after Cookham.
3) Nicholas Brooks work on the Unidentified Forts of the Burghal Hildage
4) Dredging of lock cut in 1856 uncovered a number of iron weapons dating to the period of the viking attacks and in 1860 spear heads were found in another dredging exercise. Another in 1896 brought up a danish winged axe head and in 1958 a barbed spearhead was found while working on the island banks. These were now in the possession of Reading Museum.
The next obvious move was for a few of us to make a trip to Reading Museum, sketch books and cameras in hand. It was shut. For the next 2 years. Eventually from the council information office I found it was closed for renovation, all the exhibits were packed away, it wouldn't be opened for 2 years, no there was no else I could see, write to this address. I wrote to Mr Cram at the museum , who did contact me, only to say they knew nothing of these finds, but that the new Dark Age section would have area finds when it opened in a few years time. (Regia was invited to attend the re-opening parade a few years later, there was a few from Regia but only Kevin & Liz made it from our group). I've since seen sketches of spear heads from the Thames, but not the barbed spear unfortunately.
It was at this time Martin Trepte a member of ours working for the Maidenhead Advertiser, came into contact with Luke Over, a local historian of note. Luke was making a video of Cookham and its history and was keen to have us as living demonstration of the past. We also lead off a sponsored walk from Sceaftesege island in full kit (okay we ditched shields & spears after two miles but the rest of the ten miles was done in kit, some members wearing mail) .
Luke was able to pass on much information about the surrounding the area including the digging of the lock covering visible evidence of earth works and finds of spear heads and also a hammer head. Some of these were with Reading Museum, others were with the British Museum. Later there was an excavation of Sashes island but we couldn't wangle a way into it. A lot of this information was then published in Lukes books "The Royal Hundred of Cookham" and "The Royal County of Berkshire". In some ways this was useful and some ways disappointing as it included most of what had taken us time to find over the years, yet it added a lot more to our knowledge.
So what was found out of all this digging ? The Real Sceaftesige