Bold plans for museum to remember Wolverhampton's 910 Battle of Tettenhall, when Vikings were driven out of Britain
It was the savage battle that created England as we now know it – yet is largely unknown by the city where it took place, Wolverhampton.
Everyone schoolboy knows Hastings, 1066. Yet Tettenhall, 910 – a bloodbath that shaped the boundaries of this nation – has been near erased from history.
On August 5 of that year, an Anglo-Saxon force, led by King Edward the Elder and his sister Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, put a huge invading Viking force to the sword.
Thousands perished, including two Danish kings, and by the end of the slaughter Viking plans to rule this country lay in ruins.
Now a £400,000 plan to give the Battle of Tettenhall the prominence it deserves has been unveiled.
To that end, discussions have begun to turn the disused Tettenhall Pumping Station, a listed, Victorian building on Regis Road, into a museum, housing not only a permanent battle exhibition, but also areas dedicated to Wolverhampton’s transport and industrial heritage and its role in the two world wars.
It will also tell the story of Aethelflaed, a true local warrior queen. The public know about Boudica, but are clueless when it comes to a ruler who really gave the Vikings a kicking.
There are hopes of a historical battle trail threading through Wolverhampton, re-enactments, speakers, school education packs and funding for 30 art commissions to add to the 910 experience.
