A HISTORIAN who believes a bloody medieval battle, which defined the course of English history, took place in the North-East, has visited the site he claims saw the slaughter of thousands of men.

Dr Andrew Breeze met with Lanchester history enthusiasts, the land owner and reporter Gavin Havery to discuss his theory.

SQUELCHING through a muddy field, just south of the B6296, near Lanchester in County Durham, Dr Andrew Breeze is clearly excited.

Looking around the remains of the Roman fort of Longovicium, down across the lush green fields towards the River Browney, his confidence is growing.

Dr Breeze has been researching the location of the Battle Brunanburh of 937AD, the location of which has baffled historians for more than 500 years.

It is a key date in the formation of the country as it unified rival factions after King Æthelstan of Wessex crushed an invading army of Scots, Strathclyders, and Vikings from Dublin.

“I get the sense of history being made here,” the 59-year-old university lecturer exclaims.

“Over a thousand years an almighty battle took place where we are standing, which led to the creation of the England we know today.”

Dr Breeze says Brunanburh is the Old English for ‘stronghold of the Browney, and the only River Browney which fits the evidence is the one near Lanchester, which is conveniently on an old Roman road which would have been used to move armies around the country.

A famous poem about the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the deaths of five kings and seven earls among Æthelstan's enemies, along with thousands of others who took part in the gigantic bloody conflict.

Dr Breeze said more evidence linking the battle field with Lanchester comes from Simeon of Durham, a 12th century monk, who wrote that Brunanburh was fought on a 'swelling hill'.

Having visited the area and attended a meeting with Lanchester Local History Society and landowner Nick Greenwell, which was organised by the Northern Echo, Dr Andrew Breeze is now even more sure of his theory.

He said: “It has been useful and exciting for me to see this place, which I think marks a great day in English history.

“It means I have been able to obtain expert information from people who have local knowledge and they have been pointing out where the Roman road ran and telling me about discoveries, but they have also been pointing out objections.

“They have been saying we have had plenty of Roman remains but we have had nothing from the early tenth century, such as coins and remains of Viking weapons or anything like that.”

Dr Breeze said the discovery of the Hurbuck Hoard, a collection of Anglo-Saxon farming and woodwork tools found nearby in 1861 could be significant.

He was also interested to learn of the discovery of a human leg, amputated below the knee still wearing a sandal, which could be Roman, Saxon, or Viking, and was discovered in a peat bog in the late 19th century and is now thought to be in the British Museum.

He added: “I am very encouraged, but a lot of work needs to be done.

“We need to look at excavation reports and previous finds to see if we have evidence of the early tenth century but have so far not recognised its significance.”

John Thompson and John Gall, the chairman and president of Lanchester Local History Society, have agreed to conduct further research into old maps of the area to see if any place names give clues the historic battle took place in the area.

Mr Thompson says: “I am very enthused about this and interested in it.

“I hope something comes of it and there is a certainly the potential for it. It makes a lot of sense.

“The next step is to start looking at field names to see if there are any clues but nobody has looked for archeological evidence so far.

“But as Holmes said to Watson: ‘I found it because I looked for it.’”

Nick Greenwell, whose family has owned the land surrounding the Roman fort since around 1640, said he would like to see parts of it excavated but would not be allowed to by English Heritage.

Once a dig is undertaken the remains would have to be protected and doing it carefully enough would prove expensive.

Mr Greenwell said archeological evidence of artefacts found on the land did not support Dr Breeze’s theory but that does not mean he is wrong.

He said items of Roman bronze had been found but nothing from the Anglo-Saxon era.

The history society has speculated that any weaponry would have been collected by scavengers after the battle and would not have been left.

Mr Greenwell is also keen to deter any treasure hunters who are thinking of coming to the area to use metal detectors to search for medieval bounty.

He said: “It would be fascinating if it was true, but we do not want people coming and having a dig willy nilly.

“You be looking for a needle in a haystack. But if anyone did find anything and didn’t let on then the history and evidence would be lost and we would never know.

“That would be the biggest problem.”