I had every good intention to write this in June, but as always life gets in the way, for every good day there are weeks of crap. Anyway, I digress, this is an account of my birthday, well the day after. I don’t normally celebrate birthdays. I have never seen the purpose, why celebrate a day that you didn’t really have any say in, it was just sort of pushed on you. However, I have wanted to visit Sutton Hoo for as long as I can remember, I should point out I have sort of been there twice before. Let me clarify, I went to an open-air film screening of the film ‘The Dig’ and on another occasion to watch a production of ‘Macbeth’ both in the evening. So having been there twice I had never seen the burial mounds, museum, house or indeed any of Sutton Hoo in daylight. Luckily ‘M’ had offered to take me and never being one to miss an opportunity I meekly inquired if we could also go and look at Basil Browns house as it had recently got a blue plaque, and the veritable jewel in the crown of this day out? ‘Time Team’ would be starting an excavation at the Hoo, yes you read that correctly ‘Time Team’.
Let the quest begin……….
The weather forecast for the window surrounding my birthday had been decidedly iffy. On the day the weather was on our side, we set off under warm, bright, blue skies with perfect white fluffy clouds. The Gods were smiling down on us, or the weather forecasters had got it wrong? Let’s go with the former, it has more of a ring to it!
Our first port of call was the village of Rickinghall a small village in Suffolk. The journey was certainly epic, although in a rather humble way. We travelled along A roads to B roads to not much more than lanes surrounded by the wonderful Suffolk landscape all set under those epic East Anglian wide-open skies. Rickinghall is a small sleepy village typical of the area. It was the birth place of Mackenzie Bowell the Prime Minister of Canada from 1894 to 1896. I should make it clear not being Canadian I could not care less! We were here to look at the long-time home of one Basil Brown. This largely self-educated man with a passion for astronomy and archaeology, humble and of very limited means, he would have remained just a man of local interest. Had it not been in 1939 on the brink of the Second World War he made the discovery of what is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of all time. The great ship burial at Sutton Hoo.
His home like the man is unpretentious, you can only look at the outside as it is still a private residence. The only thing to make it stand out from the rest is the blue plaque and the broken Sky dish, but I think this is a latter addition from when he and his wife resided here.
So, was it worth the journey? just to stand in the street and gawp at someone’s home? Yes completely, in your minds eye you can see Basil on his bike, sorting his ‘collections’ in his multiple sheds, or sitting in his living room surrounded by his books, in front of the fire with his pipe reading his latest acquisition that he can’t really afford.
So now onwards to the site that shone a light into the Dark Ages ………
The journey from Rickinghall to Sutton Hoo mirrored our earlier journey, twisting roads surrounded by wonderful scenery under the blanket of the epic sky. Other than being forced to go "old school" when the satnav stopped, followed by a total loss of signal. In England you can never really get lost, but we certainly didn’t know exactly where we were! ‘M’ soon got us back on track and there it was, Sutton Hoo.
We parked the car and made our way to the entrance, passing the large sculpture of the famous and symbolic helmet. The people that work and volunteer here are wonderful, they seem as pleased to be here as you are. After entering, the first thing to hit your senses is the full-size skeletal ship sculpture. It takes your breath away just thinking about this immense ship being pulled across land from the river Deben to its final resting place.
We then set off for Tranmere House, the home of Edith Pretty who instigated the investigation of the mounds. The house is striking from the outside, but on entering it felt very staid and cold. This could be because there is very little furniture in it, but it felt tinged with sadness. It was nice to get back out into the sunshine. It does give a good view of the stunning landscape of the site. From there we set off for the burial mounds.
At ground level it is rather under whelming to look at the mounds as they are little more than bumps in the landscape other than Mound One which has been reproduced to its imagined height. It became obvious that we had to visit the viewing tower, not something I was relishing. I have never been a fan of height, well not so much the height, the looking down bit, I am one of those people who feel they are being dragged over the edge. However, being in a place of great warrior kings it would have been rather cowardly not to go up. So up we went, ‘M’ being incredibly annoying by insisting I keep looking out as we ascended the tower and pointing out how the wind was making the tower sway? All of which I was working out for myself and demonstrating by clinging on to the handrail until my knuckles turned white. We finally reached the top, then it happened……………. The grass is cut around the mounds to make them stand out, leaving the grass long on the mounds. In the breeze the long grass was swaying on the mounds, turning them from inanimate objects to a magical moving other worldly mystical place. I was transported into the enchanted world of Beowulf. Any feeling of being under whelmed vanished in that second, now I was truly in the world of warrior kings, the dark ages now glowed with light.
From the Burial Mounds we walked back to the gift shop and café, where we had tea and coffee. After that it was on to the Exhibition Hall, which is fascinating with great exhibits, including some replicas of the finds. The centre piece being the replica of the famous helmet which was stunning. Now for Time Team.
Time Team have been granted permission to complete a large-scale excavation in the Garden Field and put in test pits over various parts of the sight over a period of two years, when we visited it was just three days in. As we walked towards the Field, we spotted Tim Taylor the producer from the original Time Team TV program and now on social media talking to Dr. Helen Geake an expert on the site and another original. 'M' and I had seen her in 2022 giving a talk in Needham Market on the construction of a replica Sutton Hoo ship.
We passed through the gate and there it was, a trench about the size of a tennis court and four inches deep. To say ‘M’ was not impressed would be an understatement “I have dug deeper holes to plant bulbs” was her only comment. I then set about ‘mansplaining’ the finer points of archaeological exploration only to be met with a roll of her eyes and a look of pity towards me. If I was gifted to hear thoughts, I think she told me to “get a life”. I then in desperation started to point out some of the old gang, there was Matt Williams and Stuart Ainsworth. It was then she reminded me that she never liked Time Team. ‘M’ asked did I want my picture taken with any of them, which was kind, no disrespect to any of the above but they weren’t Mick Aston who is now sadly no longer with us. For me he was Time Team and indeed the face of Public archaeology.
So that was my birthday and what a birthday! I visited the home of a hero, the man whose excavating skills gave us one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever. Then on to Sutton Hoo, its very difficult to put into words what a wonderful place it is and would recommend it to anyone. Like all great sagas it doesn’t end there. Hopefully in the near future, London to the British Museum to see the artifacts, and to Woodbridge to visit the Longshed to view the construction of the replica ship. The visit to Woodbridge will obviously involve another visit to the Hoo.
So as the sunsets and we came to the end of this part of our quest we returned to the hall, there to feast on pizza for ‘M’ and a large donner kebab for the warrior king. Well done to Dovercourt Grill the nicest people you could meet and the greatest chilli sauce in the world (no, I don’t work for them!). A big thank you to ‘M’ for making it such a great day, and yes, she did really enjoy it, even though I never fail to drive her to distraction.
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