I am delighted to introduce our new series all about the Anglo-Saxons!

Created in partnership with Ipswich Museum and Arts Council England, this is our first course designed specifically for UK Key Stage 2 History (7 – 11 year-olds) and is intended to be used by both schools and home educators.

Filmed on location at Ipswich Museum and West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, the series explores key questions relating to this fascinating era. The series uses Ipswich’s rich Anglo-Saxon history as a microcosm to explore the wider Anglo-Saxon experience throughout England.

Start your membership today for complete access to all of our BAFTA award-winning history resources, including our new Anglo-Saxon series.

Why Ipswich?

Situated on England’s east coast, Ipswich became a prominent settlement and trading post during the Anglo-Saxon era, renowned for its unique pottery.

Ipswich’s significance was firmly established in the public consciousness when in 1939 an amateur archeologist called Basil Brown was asked by local land owner, Edith Pretty, to excavate strange mounds on her land at Sutton Hoo, just ten miles from Ipswich’s city centre.

Basil Brown unearthed the most intact Anglo-Saxon grave in Europe, consisting of a vast 27 metre long ship, and a burial chamber complete with incredible objects from as far afield as Sri Lanka.

The burial ship, jewellery and, in particular, the iconic helmet uncovered at Sutton Hoo suggest the person buried here was a powerful Anglo-Saxon leader, yet one key question continues to perplex historians: who was this grave for? Was this the final resting place of Rædwald, a powerful 7th century king of East Anglia? It’s unlikely we’ll ever know for sure, but the discovery leaves little doubt that Ipswich was a very important place during the Anglo-Saxon era.

West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village

We were delighted to film much of this series at West Stow Anglo-Saxon village and we worked closely with their educational team on the content.

West Stow is the site of an Anglo-Saxon village occupied from AD 420-650. The village was reconstructed in the 20th century, with the intention of reforming the buildings as accurately as possible.

The village provided the perfect backdrop for the series and it was a joy to work at such a beautiful and tranquil location. We were especially lucky with the weather when filming the ‘One Take’, and were delighted to capture our ‘take’ with the sun setting through the trees behind us. We hope you enjoy the visual result!

West Stow is open daily from 10am – 5pm and hosts educational visits for schools and home educators.

Meet the Anglo-Saxons with Edie Clark!

Following an exciting introduction to the Anglo-Saxons in our ‘One Take’ video, the series then follows intrepid time-travelling historian, Edie Clark (Narisha Lawson), as she interviews a host of Anglo-Saxon characters to better understand their reasons for travelling to Britain as well as their society and culture.

Edie even comes face-to-face with both Anglo-Saxon royalty and the infamous Viking leader, Guthrum. The tone of the series is fun and engaging and designed to appeal to a slightly younger audience than our KS3 content.

Each of our enquiry-led videos is supported with teacher guidance, activity sheets, PowerPoint presentations and answer banks so you can use the videos as engaging starting points for further exploration.

Alfred, Æthelflæd & Æthelstan

As well as spending time with the most iconic Anglo-Saxon leader, Alfred the Great, the series also explores the significance of Alfred’s formidable daughter, Æthelflæd, and his often overlooked grandson, Æthelstan.

Æthelflæd’s pivotal role in repelling Viking attacks and strengthening Mercia required some significant musical swagger in our ‘One Take’, and we had a lot of fun reimagining Nicki Minaj’s powerful verse from ‘Monster’ (Ye, 2010) from Æthelflæd’s perspective!

When researching the series, I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for Alfred’s grandson, Æthelstan. Following his definitive victory at the Battle of Brunanburh, Æthelstan united England for the first time, and can genuinely lay claim to being the first King of England.

Unfortunately for Æthelstan, the Norman Conquest rather overshadowed his legacy. We couldn’t help poking fun at the unfortunate Æthelstan in our ‘One Take’, which I hope you’ll enjoy!

Basil Brown & Nina Frances Layard

Our final video in the series introduces two of Suffolk’s most iconic archeologists, Basil Brown and Nina Frances Layard, and is designed to help students consider the vital work of archeologists in informing our understanding of the Anglo-Saxon era.

Basil Brown faced scepticism from the academic community because he was self-taught. Many professional archaeologists doubted his abilities and dismissed his findings. His historic discovery at Sutton Hoo has been recently reimagined in ‘The Dig’ (Netflix, 2021), with Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown. It’s well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it!

Whilst Nina Frances Layard hasn’t yet experienced the Netflix spotlight, her story as a female archeologist in a male-dominated field mirrors Basil’s struggle for acceptance and recognition. Her discoveries, including beautiful bead necklaces at Hadleigh Road in Ipswich have further informed our understanding of Ipswich’s prominence during the Anglo-Saxon era.

We hope that students will enjoy these introductions to Basil and Nina’s lives and work and might perhaps inspire their own archeological adventures.

Enjoy the series!

There is nothing more to do than to encourage you to start your membership and enjoy exploring the complete series with your students!

Alongside five captivating short-form videos, you’ll find online flashcards and quizzes, as well as Teacher Packs and, in a History Bombs’ first, PowerPoint presentations! These are designed to be used by educators to structure and guide your learning and we really hope you enjoy using them.

All teaching materials are also included within our sustainably printed Teacher Handbooks, which provide a handy companion for teachers and home educators.

Enjoy the series and I can’t wait to hear your feedback!

Credits

Commissioning Executive – Dr Frank Hargrave

Educational Consultants – Steph Paull & Lynette Allison

Historical Consultant – Tim Rousham

Producer – Chris Hobbs

Director – Ellie Rogers

Series Writer – Dylan Townley

‘One Take’ Script & Music – Chris Hobbs

Camera Operators – Samuel Jackson & Matteo Zenini

Drone Operator – Samuel Jackson

Focus Puller – Chris Hayden

Sound – Geoffrey Pheasant

Unit Stills/BTS Photography – Veronika Casarova

Hair & Make Up – Frances Straker

Production Assistants – Lucy Morris & Charlie Burgess

Educational Content Writer – Charlie Burgess

Presenters – Chris Hobbs & Narisha Lawson

Cast (in order of appearance) – Tom Tokley, Alex Tobias, Richard Soames, Beth Eyre, Tom Crowley, Guy Kelly, Jack Marriner-Brown, Jack Tivey, Vyvyan Almond, Kate Morgan-Jones, Barnaby Jago

Background Artists – John Wills, Ben Ridgeon, Keith Venables, Jackie Bush, Rosie Wilkin, Doug Grant, Lizzie Musson, Elizabeth Burke, Philip Burke