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Rocks & Rows, Sailing Routes across the Atlantic and the Copper Trade

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head - Museum in England in Cumbria

Submitted by Anne T on Saturday, 20 May 2023  Page Views: 5942

Date UncertainSite Name: Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head Alternative Name: Wasdale Head Viking Longboat Timbers
Country: England County: Cumbria Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Egremont  Nearest Village: Wasdale Head
Map Ref: NY18830869
Latitude: 54.467065N  Longitude: 3.253866W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head
Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head submitted by Anne T : Another roof beam, said to have come from a Viking long ship. (Vote or comment on this photo)
St. Olaf's Church in the tiny hamlet of Wasdale Head claims to be one of the smallest in England with four roof trusses said to have come from Viking long ships, which seems rather unlikely. The churchyard is tiny and very poignant. Reading the grave markers, many of those buried here lost their lives on the surrounding fells, particularly Scawfell (old spelling).

According to the Carlisle Diocese website, the church was originally built in 1550 but had no dedication until 1977. It originally had an earth floor and few seats, although the more recent pews look as if the church will hold around 50 people. The roof trusses certainly look very old, although the roof has obviously been refurbished at some point in the fairly recent past.

There is only one road into Wasdale Head, running through Nether Wasdale village. Proceeding north east from Nether Wasdale, the road splits. The right hand fork running alongside Wast Water with its commanding views of the peaks beyond and the dominating scree slopes plummeting down into the waters of the lake; the left hand fork takes you up onto the hillside but joins the lower lake road approximately half way to Wasdale Head. Be warned, the road is one lane wide with passing places and very busy with traffic going in both directions. At some places there is a drop straight down into the lake below, but balances this with plenty of viewpoints with parking places. Parking is available around the village green at NY 18683 08551.
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Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head
Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head submitted by Anne T : These roof trusses are said to come from Viking long ships, reused in the church roof. They are certainly ancient and well preserved. This roof truss sits above the sanctuary. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head
Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head submitted by Antonine : Photo taken in 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head
Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head submitted by Anne T : Another roof beam, said to have come from a Viking long ship. Whilst there was a sign board with the history of the church, there was no real indication of which of the timbers were purported to be Viking. It was a matter of taking an educated guess in a church very busy with other walkers. (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NY1808 : Window in St.Olaf's Church, Wasdale Head by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2014(licence)
NY1808 : St.Olaf's Church, Wasdale Head by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2014(licence)
NY1808 : St.Olaf's Church, Wasdale Head by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2014(licence)
NY1808 : St Olaf&#8217;s Church, Wasdale Head by Peter S
by Peter S
©2014(licence)
NY1808 : Interior of St. Olaf's Church by Peter Jeffery
by Peter Jeffery
©2016(licence)

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"Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head by Andy B on Sunday, 21 May 2023
(User Info | Send a Message)
James Wright, @jpwarchaeology buildings archaeologist says:
Nothing there looks anything other than post-med carpentry. If the church was built c 1550, how and why were ex-situ timbers from a Viking craft stockpiled for 500+ years? It seems super unlikely...
https://twitter.com/jpwarchaeology/status/1660205457414266881

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