Wakehereward Project

'To raise the profile of Hereward the Wake across his native Fenlands and beyond'

Welcome to The WakeHereward Project.

This page represents a project designed to inform, discuss & raise the profile of the 11th Century folklore legend Hereward the Wake.

Hereward is a national icon whose story has fallen out of popular folk knowledge in the Fenlands over the last generation or so, yet quite paradoxically the last twenty years has seen a renaissance in his popularity as a literary figure for authors such as James Wilde, Stuart Binns and Paul Kingsnorth and as a historical figure through the research of Professor Elisabeth van Houts and others.

Contemporary evidence of his existence, at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066 and all that), is scant. He is however recorded in the two most reliable sources of the age; the Anglo Saxon Chronicle and Domesday Book.

It was during the 12th century and within living memory that a monk wrote an account of Hereward's deeds whereby he was exiled and began a career as a mercenary soldier with a 'band of men'.

Whilst fighting for the Count of Flanders as a 'magister militum' (Military Commander) he heard that England had fallen and returned to find that a retinue of Norman Knights had murdered his brother and molested his mother.

The monk tells of how Hereward single-handedly slaughtered 14 Norman knights and stuck their decapitated heads on spikes at the entrance to his deceased fathers residence at Bourne. His legend grew. . .

His sacking of Peterborough Abbey with Danish Vikings and defence of Ely against William the Conqueror passed into legend seemingly almost as it happened. In the late nineteenth century through a number of literary works Hereward became recognised as symbolising the spirit of English resistance to the Norman Conquest.

As an icon he is as relevant to English freedom as William Wallace was to become to Scottish freedom some 250 years later. But unlike Wallace, or Owen Glendower of Wales, or for that matter Robin Hood, and King Arthur, there has never been a statue erected to honour one of England's greatest folk heroes.

There are other factors but it is this confusion between historical authenticity and folklore hero that has likely cost Hereward his place on the plinth

Based in the Fenlands of Eastern England the WakeHereward Project seeks to utilise Hereward the Wake as a model and 'icon' to which a whole range of tourism businesses, local authorities and third sector businesses can subscribe.

The WakeHereward Project is currently undertaking a consultation period discussing and proposing a logical step by step plan focusing on tourism promotion opportunities.

Seeking how best to promote the Fen landscape through a coordinated approach by uniting constituent parts that may not have enough tourism appeal on their own for the benefit of the local Economy and Employment; the Environment - Wildlife and Waterways; Education, Heritage, History and Culture of the Fenlands of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.









. Twitter.com/WakeHereward
Twitter.com/HerewardCountry