Battle of Lydford Memorial, Lydford, Dartmoor National Park

Battle of Lydford Memorial, Lydford, Dartmoor National Park

Near English Heritage's Lydford Castle (English Heritage), across the road from Lydford St Petroc's Church, is a distinctive memorial topped by a Viking axe crossing a Saxon shield. This marks the 'SITE OF DANISH SAXON CONFLICT. 997 AD'.

The following is taken from 'The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' edited by Michael James Swanton. This is freely available on Google Books to which we provide an external link:

'997. Here is this year the raiding-army [sic] travelled round Devonshire into the mouth of the Severn, and there raided, both in Cornwall and Wales and in Devon; then they went up at Watchet, and wrought great harm there by burning and by slaughtering of men, and after that turned back round Penwith Tail to the south side, and then turned into the mouth of the Tamar, and then went up until the came to Lydford, and burned and killed everything that they met, and burned down Ordwulf's monastery at Tavistock, and brought indescribable war-booty with them to the ships.'

Across the road, by the wall that separates church and castle, also see the Lydford Viking Rune Stone. 'Ordwulf's monastery' is Tavistock Abbey (Ruin).

If Dartmoor battles are of interest, we'd recommend you visit the Battle of Bovey Heath Battlefield and the Battle of Sourton Down Battlefield.