June 2016

History hangout
invasion, King Alfred was most concerned about
the abundant crops and food supply to London
– as to whether the Vikings might steal them for
themselves, or burn them.
A great feat of tidal engineering The map below
shows where King Alfred’s military engineers
subsequently divided the River Lea into many
narrow rivulets. Once cut, they installed dams to
halt the incoming tides, thereby preventing tidal
waters from reaching Ware.
These dams were so effective they prevented
the Danes from escaping south. This great
feat of strategic military engineering has rarely
been matched in history. The Danish fleet was
grounded, so forcing the Vikings to re-plan their
entire strategy.
King Alfred the Great
Stephen Selby investigates
King Alfred the Great and
the Hackney connection
From the heights of what is now Springfield Park,
the River Lea was in clear sight all the way down
to the River Thames. Eleven hundred years ago,
Anglo Saxon defenders could follow the sails of
the west-bound Danish fleet rounding into the
estuary of the Lea at flood-water. With wind and
tide, rapid progress might allow the entire fleet to
reach and set up their pre-planned camp at Ware
in three to four hours.
There is a legend about Saxon graves of the
king’s paymaster and other noblemen buried
on the high mound in the north-east corner
of Springfield park. It is possibly true because
there was a serious skirmish recorded in Sir John
Spelman’s The Life of Alfred the Great. His 1709
chronicle also recalls Alfred’s presence while
surveying the strategic implications of the Lea
Valley. Having been forewarned of this deadly
The invaders were now forced to travel on foot all
the way from Ware to Bridgnorth in Shropshire
along Watling Street. The Vikings must equally
have implemented a strategic back-up to garrison
and fortified this entire route, which was how, for
over 100 years, Britain became divided into two
separate "administrations" – the Saxons ruling the
south and west, the Vikings the north and east
under Danelaw.
King Edgar’s Danelaw prevailed despite the defeat of
Edmund Ironside in AD1016. King Knut then became
king of the whole of England, (plus Denmark, Norway
and parts of Sweden) until AD1035. Danelaw was
respected throughout the land.
Knut’s son was Edward the Confessor whose vying
successors were King Harold and William, Duke of
Normandy. And, as they say, the rest is history.
Cary's 1786 map of London
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