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CHURCH AT KIRKBURN
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ATHELSTAN, CALVIN AND THE BATTLE
OF BRUNANBURH
OF BRUNANBURH
Bishop David Lunn
Two books I’ve been reading had some fascinating bits and pieces about Kirkburn and Tibthorpe that I thought might be of interest to those living here now. They are ‘the Age of Athelstan’ by Paul Hill, and ‘The Forgotten Landscapes of the Yorkshire Wolds’ by Chris Fenton-Thomas. Both were printed by Tempus in 2004 and 2005. Chris Fenton-Thomas is a local lad from South Dalton now on the staff of Sheffield University.
Athelstan, Kirkburn and the Battle of Brunanburh
Athelstan, who reigned from 924-939, was the first to be ‘Rex totius Britanniae’. The great crisis of his reign came with the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 when he was challenged by the united armies of the rulers of Scotland and much of the Viking North. Athelstan’s great victory over the Vikings that had sailed up the Humber and the armies of Constantine, King of Scotland and the Northmen from Ireland ensured that the north of England was to be the north of England rather than the south of Scotland or a bit of Denmark and that makes it the third most important battle in our history (that is, after Hastings and Stamford Bridge) But
nobody knows for certain where it happened. But in 1888 Thomas Holderness of Driffield argues very strongly that it was at Battleburn. Though Mr Hill is not convinced and thinks the battle was fought more or less where the Meadowhall Shopping Centre is now, he recognises that Mr Holderness does make a good case for the Battleburn site.
First of all Holderness had to explain why the East Riding of Yorkshire should be the favoured area for the battle. He does this by pinning his argument on the widely reported fact that the allies came with their ships up the Humber Estuary. Local fishermen told him that the Humber is a dangerous and choppy place and that the allies would surely not have considered it appropriate to anchor there. Instead, they would have north as far up the River Hull as possible to set
Athelstan, Kirkburn and the Battle of Brunanburh
Athelstan, who reigned from 924-
First of all Holderness had to explain why the East Riding of Yorkshire should be the favoured area for the battle. He does this by pinning his argument on the widely reported fact that the allies came with their ships up the Humber Estuary. Local fishermen told him that the Humber is a dangerous and choppy place and that the allies would surely not have considered it appropriate to anchor there. Instead, they would have north as far up the River Hull as possible to set