Another Iron In The Fire
The vikings had a huge influence on Cumbria, yet relatively little is know about them. A new project, ‘Moorforge’ has set out to make that a thing of the past.
Photo credit: Sarah Millar
In the heart of the Cumbria, a piece of true living history is being created. Moorforge, a project funded by Cumbria Community Foundation, is a unique site offering to entertain and educate the public on the lost knowledge of the viking era. Think the Jorvik Centre in York, on a rural scale. Located in between Gilcrux and Tallentire, the Moorforge site is slightly out of the way, but then it needs to be; its isolation only adds to its authenticity.
David Watson, the village Blacksmith, built the first lodge five years ago and after meeting fellow viking enthusiast and re enactor, Luke Moloney, they started work on the second one last summer. They currently have plans for a full size longhouse and additional features such as smoke houses, bread ovens and a Pagen religious site, to be used as an outdoor classroom.
The lodges are exact replicas of a viking era forge, based on findings from Iceland and Northern Scotland and have been built using authentic techniques as far as possible. The forge is representative of a generic countryside lodge, that a viking farmer in Cumbria would have lived in.
Luke said: “We are going to be here working it as authentically as possible. It’s an element of experimental archeology, things will go wrong but we can adapt to things just like they would have done.”
This community interest project, has the potential to offer a whole host of opportunities for every demographic, from schools to older generations. Willow weaving, wood carving and blacksmithing workshops are on the agenda, alongwith arts and crafts and storytelling events in the longhouse. There is plans to hold live action role play events and even to expand into the wedding market.
Luke explained: “The more you start looking into the viking way of life, you realise that there’s a lot of lost knowledge, lost stories and heritage that has been done away with.”
He added: “We call the period the dark ages and it’s the worst possible name because it’s not a dark time in history…The way they made things was so far advanced, it took 500 years after that for people to catch up with technology.”
The influence that vikings and saxons have had on today’s popular culture is inarguable, just look at the popularity of TV shows such as Game of Thrones. From the place names to the hog back graves in local churchyards, to the famous Gosforth Cross; the vikings are very much an integral part of Cumbria’s heritage.
David explained: “People remember the Romans because they had such a big impact and they changed people. The vikings came here to live, they married locals and over a period of a few hundred years, they completely blended in.
“It’s not necessarily as obvious and the evidence is from a short period of time, but it’s there and it is a big influence in this area.”
By the time of the open day, the working forge will be up and running and ready to welcome people for demonstrations, re enactments, woodworking and weapons displays. There will be a number of talks throughout the day, including one from local archeologist Andy Parsons, who will discuss great finds in Cumbria. Visitors can have a go at archery and even trying on armour.
David said: “If people come and they’ve had a good time that’s great; if they learnt something even better. The idea is to get people here and get them interested, it’s a neglected niche that deserves to be shouted about a little more.”
David and Luke have set up a Just Giving page to help fund the project. For more information visit the ‘Moorforge’ Facebook page.
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