Origins

The Thegns of Mercia began in 2011 shortly after discovery of the spectacular Staffordshire Hoard - spectacular gold treasure unearthed in a field near Lichfield which became world famous, and electrified interest in the fascinating time sometimes known as the "Anglo-Saxon Period" - 449-1066 CE, particularly in the local area.

Thegns of Mercia was founded to help people learn about the people who lived in this exciting period; to understand their cultures, see their magnificent artwork and crafts, hear the music and poetry round the campfire, and discover how they laid the foundations for much of what we enjoy today. Making as much of our kit as we could ourselves, and helping to get new people - especially the young - involved in the period, participating in local community and charity events, we have grown substantially and now have growing opportunities to work with clients across the heritage sector.

Our diverse team is dedicated to our not-for-profit educational mission, and presenting this exciting and wonderfully rich historic period in a way which is apart from modern politics or stigma, with strict focus on evidence-based presentation.

The Challenge

Though hugely important to our local, national, and world history, the Anglo-Saxon period is a difficult period to bring to life due to the lack of infrastructure. There are few maintained historic sites, precious few sites with reconstructed buildings belonging to this time, and, mostly, we must work out of tent-based encampments, in a constant battle against the elements. Nowhere is this more difficult than in the Midlands and North West.

Though much of our gear appears well funded, most of it has been hand-crafted over the years by our team, and belongs to a small subset of the team who kindly make their collections available for the rest of us - particularly our younger members, as they gradually develop their own kits. In this way we manage to mostly ensure that financial means is not an obstacle for people to get involved!

The tents and furniture which enable our work are communal and belong to the not-for-profit organisation, but have been gradually failing and were due for replacement.

Disaster Strikes

In late July 2018 a community event gatecrashed by a series of thunderstorms led to most of our makeshift encampment being destroyed. The situation is now more urgent; we need to replace much our encampment in a matter of weeks. Can you help?