Not a historical mystery to solve this time, but a bit of old Somerset recently uncovered by present day Somerset in the form of a silver and niello brooch, found in a field near Cheddar. It’s now on display in the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.
The brooch is dated 800-900AD, coinciding with the reign of King Alfred, and is presumed to have been lost, distressingly, rather than hidden as it didn’t form part of a hoard. A splendid conservation job has been carried out to restore it and it’s rated ‘one of the most important single objects ever found in the county’ – alongside the Alfred Jewel.
This is the brooch when it was recovered from the earth:
The Cheddar brooch as found
And, pictured up the other way, once restored:
The Cheddar Brooch restored
Cheddar, as we know, was the site of a royal palace; and although the archaeological evidence suggests this dated from the 10th century, it appears that Alfred built a wooden hall at Cheddar which became a minster. There is a suggestion that a royal hunting lodge at Wedmore (the name means Hunting Moor) was relocated to Cheddar, some four miles north of Wedmore. and on the southern edge of the Mendips. Both Cheddar and Wedmore had connections with Alfred: the Treaty of Wedmore was agreed (according to Asser) in 878 between Alfred and Guthrum after the Dane’s defeat at Edington.
Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey report has a brief history of Wedmore and its royal connections. The village stands on rising ground and the immediate area still has the name of ‘Island of Wedmore’, harking back to the time when the Somerset Levels were watery marshes through which an archipelago was formed comprising the Isle of Athelney, the Isle of Avalon and the Isle of Wedmore and many others.
Old Somerset 