Hereward the Wake

Long before the legend of Robin Hood, East Anglia had its own outlaw, known by the name of Hereward the Wake. Throughout history, much has been written about Hereward, just as it has about Robin Hood. And like in the tales of Robin Hood, it’s sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction.

After William the Conqueror invaded Britain in 1066, the Normans seized a lot of land and property owned by the English.

Hereward the Saxon, who was born in South Lincolnshire but lived in the Peterborough area, led a group of Fenland rebels against the Norman aristocracy. They teamed up with a Danish fleet, led by King Swein Estrithsson, in raiding and pillaging Peterborough Abbey in 1070 in protest at the appointment of a Norman abbot. [The Battle of Hastings 1066]


Peterborough Cathedral, formerly known as Peterborough Abbey.

Afterwards Hereward is said to have gone into hiding on the Isle of Ely with a group of outlaws. They were left weakened after King William made a pact with the Danes and they sailed home.

The king sent Norman troops to Ely to hunt for the Saxon rebels. The soldiers weren’t used to the boggy Fens and many drowned in the marshlands. [The Norman Conquest School Site]

Help from the North

A group of Northern earls by the names of Edwin, Siward and Morcar joined the outlaws.

According to Benedictine monk and Thirteenth Century chronicler Matthew Paris, the earls and their followers were responsible for a series of sabotages, orchestrated from Ely.

“There, under the leadership of Hereward the Wake, they make frequent sallies and do much damage.... The King, coming against them, surrounds the Isle with his forces, makes roads and bridges, renders the deep swamps passable for man and beast and builds the castle at Wisbech.” [Local Ancestors]

The old Cambridge Castle on Castle Hill was built by the Normans in 1068 to protect the city from a possible invasion by Hereward the Wake. [Cambridge History]


All that remains of the old Cambridge Castle site.

Defeat

Norman troops attempted to invade Ely again in 1071. This time they were successful. The king “forced the local monks to tell him the way through the marshland onto the island”. The Saxon rebels were besieged. [The Norman Conquest School Site]

According to some accounts, Hereward managed to escape, continuing to fight the Normans from the Fens. Eventually he reached an agreement with William.

Despite the rebels’ defeat, Hereward is remembered as the hero of the Saxons, writes Thomas Bulfinch.

“For his splendid defence of Ely they forgave his final surrender to Duke William; they attributed to him all the virtues supposed to be inherent in the free-born, and all the glorious valour on which the English prided themselves.” [Bulfinch]

The legend lives on

The legend of Hereward the Wake lives on in popular culture and Fen folklore.

The Saxon outlaw is mentioned in Pink Floyd’s 1968 rock song, Let There Be More Light. He has also featured in numerous novels and television documentaries.

One of Peterborough’s most popular radio stations, Hereward FM, is named after Hereward the Wake.

There are numerous businesses and organisations throughout East Anglia containing the name “Hereward”. These include an Ely pub called The Hereward, a Haddenham bookstore called Hereward Books, and the Rotary Club of Ely-Hereward.

There is also a long-distance footpath linking Peterborough with March, Ely and Brandon, called the Hereward Way. It starts from Oakham Railway Station, 11 miles north of Stamford, and continues through the Fens.

Sources

DirectGov