Reap and Tillage: The Vikings in Cheshire
3 September 2010
An exciting new exhibition, Reap and Tillage: The Vikings
in Cheshire, will open at the Grosvenor Museum,
Chester, on Saturday, 11 September.
The arrival of the Vikings on the shores of north Wirral, having
been driven out of Ireland initiated a mass migration to this area.
The Viking settlement of Cheshire in the 10th century is an
important, and often overlooked, part of our local history.
The new community influenced society, trade and the landscape in
North West England and their legacy can still be seen here today in
the form of buildings, archaeology, place names and even in the
DNA of local
people.
Reap and Tillage will examine how the Vikings arrived, lived and
worked in our region, and take a look at what they have left
behind.
The Grosvenor Museum has worked in partnership with national
museums and with expert conservators to bring together fascinating
artefacts from the period and has worked with local community
organisations, schools and universities to interpret these
artefacts for display.
The exhibition will run a range of exhibitions from 11 September
2010 to 9 January 2011 at the Grosvenor Museum before touring
Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse, Northwich, and the Williamson
Museum and Art Gallery in Birkenhead.
A special event celebrating the joint launch of this exhibition
and 10-10-10: 50 Years of the Weirdstone of Brisingamen will take
place at the museum on Saturday, 18 September. Visitors are invited
to attend the event between 11am and 4pm to meet Viking traders and
warriors, and have a go at some Viking crafts.
The exhibition and launch day are part of the Viking Festival
2010. This festival, coordinated by the Grosvenor Museum and
part-funded by HLF
Your Heritage, aims to encourage local communities to explore their
Viking heritage.
An exciting programme of free events including craft workshops,
film shows, lectures and a conference will be running between
September 2010 and January 2011, with a special week of family fun
activities during October half-term.
For more information contact the Grosvenor Museum on
tel: 01244 402008 or the Grosvenor
Museum website.