About the WakeHereward Project

 

The WakeHereward Project was founded in 2013 by David Maile with a simple but ambitious mission: to bring Hereward the Wake back into the heart of the communities that had forgotten him.

For too long, England’s last great Anglo-Saxon rebel has been overshadowed by later legends. While Robin Hood and King Arthur dominate popular imagination, Hereward – the real historical figure who led the resistance against William the Conqueror in the Fens of eastern England – has remained a half-forgotten local hero.

 

The WakeHereward Project exists to change that and its contribution in bringing Hereward back into popular consciousness since 2013 is immeasurable and unquantifiable, but overwhelmingly significant.

 

We are an independent, community-driven initiative dedicated to researching, promoting, celebrating, and safeguarding the legacy of Hereward the Wake in his historic homelands of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, centred upon the wider Fenlands region.

 

What We Do

• Social Media

• Our unrelenting and dominant social media campaign has been running since 2013 across all platforms and continues to connect the legend of Hereward to a global audience. This coupled with the introduction of a Hereward website in 2017 served to bring Hereward out of 'forgotten memory' and back into 'active memory'.

• The promotion of the authentic historical figure on social media was groundbreaking and monumentally succesful.

• Living History & Re-enactment
  Through regular appearances by Rory Gibson as Hereward, we bring the 11th century to life at events, schools, and historic sites – making the past vivid, accessible and tangible for all ages.

• Heritage Trails & Interpretation
  We create and promote walking routes across Hereward’s sites including Domesday landholdings, starting with the Hereward Heartlands Trail around Witham on the Hill and the iconic Bowthorpe Oak and the route William the Conqueror took to get onto the Isle of Ely on the 'Conqueror's Trail' from Cambridge to Ely. Permanent interpretation boards and digital resources help visitors connect directly with the landscape he knew.

• Events & Festivals
  From Hereward Oak Day beneath Britain’s widest oak to the annual Hereward's Last Stand! or Hereward Returns! living-history events, we organise gatherings that celebrate local pride and shared history.

• Education & Outreach
  Talks, school visits, publications, and online resources ensure Hereward’s story reaches new generations. 

• Research & Safeguarding
  Working with historians and local partners, we promote accurate scholarship while protecting the intangible cultural heritage of Hereward’s legend – the oral traditions, place-names, and community identity he still inspires.

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The WakeHereward Project is entirely volunteer-led, independent and self-funded. We collaborate with local councils, heritage organisations, businesses schools and community groups to ensure Hereward’s story remains alive, relevant, and proudly told by his own folk.

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Enquiries email: davidm@herewardthewake.co.uk