Photo opportunity: 3pm, Sunday 11 July, West Stow Country Park near Bury St Edmunds: members of the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Trust along with councillors and staff from St Edmundsbury Borough Council, will be attending a dedication of the celebration stone by archaeologist Dr West.
One of the UK’s most distinguished archaeologists, Dr Stanley West, has departed Suffolk after more than 50 years of exceptional archaeological work in the county. Dr West, who is well known for overseeing the excavation of the Anglo-SaxonVillage at West Stow and for his ground breaking theories on Anglo-Saxon architecture, has retired with his wife to an idyllic village in Gloucestershire.
Dr West’s retirement is being marked by a farewell event at West Stow Country Park on Sunday 11 July, when those who have had the honour of working with Dr West will gather to witness him ‘dedicate’ the new Celebration Stone which is currently being carved by local stonemason and sculptor, Brian Ansell.
The Celebration Stone represents the past and present people of West Stow, including the Anglo-Saxons settlers who built a village there in the fifth to seventh centuries. Over the past year depictions of the Anglo-Saxon settlers and those of Dr West and his team of archaeologists who excavated and studied the remains of the village in the 1960s and 1970s, have been carved into a limestone rock weighing three tonnes. The project is nearing completion and features the faces of some key individuals involved in the excavations and reconstructions, including that of Dr West. The stone is a very hard-wearing type of rock and should stand as testament to Dr West’s achievements for the next 2,000 years or so!
As a young man, Dr West worked alongside the infamous Basil Brown, who unearthed the Sutton Hoo ship burial. Dr West went on to lead the excavations of West Stow site and
analyse the evidence from those excavations. Today at West Stow there is a unique reconstruction of the Anglo-SaxonVillage, built on the original settlement site. The re-constructed houses are based on theories developed Dr West as after the archaeological excavations at West Stow.
Councillor Terry Clements, St Edmundsbury Borough Council Cabinet member for Sport and Leisure, said:
“There is so much to be grateful to Dr West for. His inspired interpretation of the West Stow evidence has made an enormous contribution to the understanding of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors and the way they lived here in East Anglia about 1,500 years ago. His work as a member of the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Trust over the past 30 years has been invaluable and has made possible the development of the reconstructed Village. St Edmundsbury Borough Council manages the Anglo-SaxonVillage which is now one of the UK’s most highly regarded archaeological sites, but without Dr West’s contribution, the reconstructed Village simply wouldn’t exist”.
The Anglo-SaxonVillage is set in a 125 acre CountryPark which boasts woodland, river, lake and heath. There is also a nature trail, bird hides, café, gift shop and children’s play area. WestStowCountryPark & Anglo-SaxonVillage is located six miles NW of Bury St Edmunds just off the A1101; just follow the brown tourist signs to the Anglo-SaxonVillage. The Village is open from 10am to 5pm (last ticket at 4pm) and the CountryPark from 8am to 8pm. For further information please call the visitor centre on: 01284 728718, email weststow@stedsbc.gov.uk or visit the website www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/weststow.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL CHRISTINE WHITE TO CONFIRM PHOTOGRAPHER’S ATTENDANCE
- Further details available from Christine White (Ranger/Events) 01284 728718 or christine.white@stedsbc.gov.uk
- WestStowCountryPark & Anglo-SaxonVillage are part of Bury St Edmunds Borough Council.
ISSUED BY MARIA ETHRIDGE, COMMUNICATIONS UNIT, ST EDMUNDSBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL. Tel 01284 757033 email maria.ethridge@stedsbc.gov.uk
