Malmesbury Benefits from Athelstan Project. Malmesbury is measuring the success of its Athelstan 1100 project which marked the anniversary of Athelstan becoming the first king of all England.
Thirty-six events took place in the town across across June, July and August this year. And statistics gathered from the events show that Malmesbury, with its current population of around 7,000 attracted over 8,000 external attendees.
Cllr Campbell Ritchie, who led the steering group of community groups and individual volunteers on behalf of Malmesbury Town Team said: ‘This campaign set out to generate a long-lasting legacy of interest in Athelstan’s place in Malmesbury’s history. Mission accomplished we’d say.
Events delivered
‘We delivered events where we used artwork, creativity, music and story-telling. And we also achieved our aims of delivering many of these events free of charge. Of the thirty-six events which took place, twenty-two were free. And 6,000 people came along to ticketed events.’
Kicking off the events, were a series of specialist talks delivered by leading historians:
- Tony McAleavy
- Professor Michael Wood OBE
- Tom Holland FRSL and …
- … the Very Reverend Professor Sarah Foot.
Community activities centred on three weekends in July. They started with the Big Athelstan Dig. That involved excavating thirteen test pits in various locations including private gardens.
Also enjoyed were:
- Anglo Saxon food, drink and craft fair
- A community Anglo-Saxon picnic
- An Anglo-Saxon re-enactment event by the organisation Regio Anglorum at St Aldhelm’s Mead.
There was also a celebration Anglo Saxon feast – that sold out within days.
Across the summer The Athelstan Museum, also run by volunteers, staged an Athelstan exhibition. It brought together relevant artefacts never before displayed in one place. These included the ‘Abingdon Sword’ loaned by the Ashmolean Museum. That’s an iron sword hilt found in 1874 yet dating from the time of Athelstan. Also:
- A charter signed by Athelstan dating to 939 AD loaned by the British Library and ..
- … Rare coins some dating back to the time of Athelstan and his grandfather Alfred The Great (loaned from Noonans). This exhibition ran until September 30.
Other moments to note:
- The opening of Athelstan Pilgrim Way in collaboration with the Diocese of Bristol.
- And the unveiling of King Athelstan banners in the high street with many designs by local school children.
- the specially created ‘Athelstan – A United Kingdom’ play held in the Abbey – written and produced by Alan Nixon and Paul Overton.
- Not forgetting the staging of a performance of the musical Oh Athelstan! by the pupils of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, also held in the Abbey.
Media stories about the project went around the world. In particular the revelation of 1,000-year-old remains of individuals found in early 2024 in the grounds of the Old Bell Hotel. They’re now undergoing extensive research. They featured in a double spread about Malmesbury’s Big Athelstan Dig in a national newspaper in September.
Measuring the effects
Malmesbury has measured the effect of this project by various means including:
- Counting the number of tickets bought and booked
- Recording the number of visitors to each separate event
- And registering the uptick in sales and visits around the town.
Campbell said: ‘Our statistics have now started to filter through. For example, our tourist information centre saw a seventy per cent increase in traffic in June 2024. Then a seventy-six per cent increase in July and a fourteen per cent increase in August. It’s the first time in its history that we have recorded more visitors in July than in August.
‘As for the Athelstan Museum, visitors almost doubled in July alone and sales in the museum’s shop tripled during this period. These were the measurable effects within Malmesbury. They don’t even consider the stories told regionally, nationally and internationally.”’
Across the summer, 104 organisations and businesses took part in various events with the town decked with King Athelstan merchandise including badges, T-shirts, fabric, stickers, bunting and even Athelstan ale and sausages. The event generated an income of £61,000 in ticket sales, sponsorship and grants with services in kind estimated at more than £28,000. Taking all this into account it achieved its target of breaking even. It’s expected there’ll be a small surplus to invest back into the community for future events.
Not the end
‘This is not the end,’ Campbell said. ‘The finds from Athelstan’s Big Malmesbury Dig will be on display in Malmesbury Town Hall on the 15th and 16th March 2025. There’ll be supporting explanations by Cotswold Archaeology. And we’re continuing our visits to people in the local community unable to attend our events to tell Athelstan’s amazing story.
‘The original films and songs made for Athelstan 1100 will also feature on a new Explore Malmesbury YouTube channel launching in Spring 2025. And Malmesbury’s Athelstan Trail will be available to enjoy for years to come.’
It’s not the end of this story. There will be new events and collaborations as the 1100th anniversary of other key moments in Athelstan’s reign come around. The Malmesbury team are liaising with colleagues in Kingston Upon Thames next year as they celebrate his coronation which took place there in 925AD.
To keep up to date with Athelstan 1100 and its ongoing events and legacy visit https://www.athelstan1100.co.uk/
