Please Sir,
We Want Our Treasure Back
After recently being involved in a number meetings with like-minded people - via Preserving Preston's Heritage - who also have concerns about the loss of and neglect of a number of heritage buildings in and around the city, one of the topics of conversation was about what could be done to better celebrate our culture, heritage and history. Amongst other things, we talked about how the city could do more to commemorate the role the it played in the English Civil War(s) and the Jacobite Rebellion, for example.
One aspect of the history that I always feel is totally underrated is the Cuerdale Hoard. It is hardly ever talked about and I am fairly confident that there is only a relatively small number people in the area that have even heard of it. If you asked them about Vikings, I am sure the majority would mention York as a place associated with Viking activity and probably wouldn't even think about Preston.
I accept that the situation is further complicated by the fact that the find location is now considered to be in South Ribble, since the Local Government Act of 1972. Prior to that Cuerdale was in Preston Rural District. And none of this was at all relevant at the time of burial circa 900 AD (or "Common Era", if that's your preferred way of considering things). Nor was it when it was subsequently dug up again some 940(ish) years later.
The Cuerdale Hoard consists of over 8500 silver objects, weighing some 40kg in total. Most of the pieces are coins, together with ingots (silver bars) and cut-up brooches, chains, rings and other ornaments (hacksilver). It had been buried in a lead container.
The Cuerdale Hoard was considered the greatest Viking silver treasure trove ever found, outside Russia, far exceeding in scale and range any hoard found in Scandinavia or the western areas of Viking settlement.
The Cuerdale Hoard is believed to have been buried by Vikings who were sailing up the River Ribble, likely around 900-910 AD, and this was possibly as a result of them being forced out of Dublin in 902 AD. At this time the Ribble Valley was an important Viking route between the Irish Sea and York.
The Cuerdale Hoard was found on the south bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire on 15th May 1840, on the property of Mr William Assheton of Downham Hall.
The Cuerdale Hoard was found by workmen digging on the embankment of the River Ribble near Cuerdale Hall (now Cuerdale Hall Farm, which incorporates several listed buildings). The hoard was buried in a lead chest, and is dated to the Viking period. It is the largest hoard of its kind ever found in England.
Most of the coins were minted in Viking-controlled England, while the hacksilver is mainly Irish or Irish-Viking in form and decoration. Other pieces originated from further afield – Scotland, the Continent, Scandinavia, the Baltic Sea region and the Islamic lands of Central Asia and the Middle East. In this way, the Cuerdale Hoard reflects the Vikings’ extensive international connections across much of the known world.
There is actually a commemorative stone that has been placed at the find location, but again hardly anybody knows about it or has ever seen it. The find was initially marked by the planting of a tree, but I understand that it died about a hundred years later. At that point the Cuerdale Hoard Stone was placed in the spot.
There's more about it on one of my previous Facebook posts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/historyofpreston/permalink/404723578810690/
.
I was moaning about it then, and I'm still moaning about it now!
I'm doing my best to put it on the map:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jVfRQDvuM6ZUP4ja7
.
The story of the find is interesting enough in itself, let alone how the hoard got there in the first place. Having been found getting towards two hundred years ago now, the event is somewhat lost in time. I can only imagine the rapture of the people on 'Digging for Britain' if it had been discovered in 2024. We would never hear the last of it.
My biggest gripe is that you can hardly see anything of it locally. That really doesn't do the cause any good, when it comes to drumming up interest in the story.
According to the available information, I understand that a small portion of the Cuerdale Hoard, specifically around 88 coins, is currently held at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery in Preston ( The Harris ), which is the closest museum to where the hoard was discovered.
That's a shame. If I had my way, it would all be there. I realise that it is not as simple as that. Even if somebody was to gift the whole collection to the Museum, there is a great responsibility of looking after it and keeping it secure. However, I'm sure we could have a bit more...
Being philosophical about it, the workmen could have run off with the lot and melted it all down. At least that didn't happen. The difficulty is that, after the initial arguments of ownership between the estate of William Assheton and the Duchy of Lancaster (an estate of the British sovereign), the majority of the find was declared "treasure trove" and given to the British Museum. A small portion was distributed to the workmen who found it, and some pieces were potentially taken by the landowner or his steward due to disputes over ownership at the time. Essentially, the bulk of the hoard ended up in the British Museum collection.
About 60 items selected from the hoard are held and displayed by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Some coins minted at Quentovic in northern France (possibly near present-day Étaples) are held by the Château-musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer. The National Museums Liverpool also has some objects from the Cuerdale Hoard. Unfortunately, a number of items ended up in private collections. It is said that the hoard was dispersed to more than 170 recipients soon after its discovery.
There is currently one coin for sale online that is suspected to have originated from the hoard. It is classed as 'Viking Coinage of York, a Cnut Silver Penny'. It is formerly of the Motcomb Collection and is very likely to have come from the Cuerdale Hoard. Apart from a handful of coins discovered in 1611 at Harkirke, Lancashire and some isolated single finds across Europe, it is conservatively estimated that at least 99% of surviving examples of this type were part of the Cuerdale Hoard.
It could be yours for only £1,650.00!
Getting back to my hope of having it all back up here, I understand that the British Museum has been taking a bit of flack over recent years about stuff they have 'robbed' from other countries. Particularly things that were 'acquired' during the British colonial era. The most prominent example being the Elgin Marbles from Greece, leading to calls for their return to their country of origin.
Maybe, in the same vein, the hoard should be coming back to its county of origin. Having said that, I can see the irony of me complaining about the museum robbing a collection that was effectively something the Vikings possibly robbed to amass in the first place.
In my opinion, having around 88 coins available to see in Preston is a bit rubbish. I quite like the capital and Oxford, but I'm a bit miffed that I have to trek there to see this stuff...
If we did have more of it in Preston, I am sure that it would create a lot more interest in the subject locally. It might just generate a bit of tourism, when people from further afield want to see it. Believe me, the interest is there. If a Belgian heavy metal band are writing songs about it, the attraction is far-reaching.
See also: In Search of the Cuerdale Hoard
~
Preserving Preston’s Heritage
This Facebook page if for the campaign group that was set up by volunteers united by a shared passion for Preston, its history and heritage. We have undertaken this venture in a spirit of positivity.
Please join us.
https://www.facebook.com/PreservingPrestonsHeritage
~
Comments
Post a Comment