Viking Reenactment & Living History for Wirral, N. Wales, Liverpool & Chester.
Established in 1998 the Wirhalh Skip Felagr (The Wirral Ship Fellowship) is Merseyside's leading early medieval Living History group, and is part of the much larger international "dark age" reenactment society Regia Anglorum. As a not for profit, volunteer run, heritage education group the Skip Felagr focus primarily upon engaging people with the archaeology of the Hiberno Norse Vikings who settled the end of the Wirral peninsula from 902AD. However we can portray other cultures from the beginning of the Viking invasion in 793AD to beyond the Norman conquest in 1066AD.
Those years were a turbulent time in the British Isles as the land was divided into many small kingdoms occupied by both native people and numerous invaders and settlers. Their different communities were rich and varied but each impacted on one another, with Anglo Scandinavian societies emerging all around the country. Through our popular public events the Skip Felagr recreate in extraordinary and entertaining detail all aspects of their lives - and deaths.
Our living history displays demonstrating early medieval social customs along with period crafts such as herb lore, bone carving or textile working offer an intimate and engaging insight into some of the often overlooked challenges of everyday life more than a thousand years ago. In contrast our violent combat displays dramatically portray the less commonplace but more crowd pleasing aspects of the conflicts between the Vikings and their Anglo Saxon neighbours.
As a research driven organisation we strive to give an authentic view of our past that accurately reflects the latest archaeological finds and theories. However, we remain an audience focused group that aims to promote our local heritage in a popular, hands on format which is enjoyable and accessible to all ages and abilities. Balancing these two goals is a big part of the challenge and satisfaction in educating people about the dark age society of Viking Wirral.
