South Kesteven | herewardthewake

Safeguarding Hereward in South Kesteven

Here at the WakeHereward Project we are proud of our long rich history and heritage of bringing Hereward back from the brink of obscurity into popular consciousness, and not least of all proud of our proven success in South Kesteven and in particular the town of Bourne.

Having been long identified as possibly Hereward's home town, Bourne has reaped much benefit from the project's unrelenting activity since its formation in 2013 and long will it continue.

While uncertainty surrounds Hereward's tenure of the Manor of Bourne before the Norman Conquest, it is recorded that Hereward held a Manor at Witham on the Hill about four miles outside of Bourne.

Focusing on his landholdings at Witham on the Hill in particular and South Kesteven in general,, the WakeHereward Project are introducing the Hereward Heartlands Hiking Trail, with its official opening hike on Sunday 1st MARCH. (Details to follow).

It is a 8.75km (5.4 miles) hike through the landscape where Hereward held a Manor and many acres of land, passing through Woodland, over Meadowland and across Ploughland that dances with the East Glen river and its tentacles that irrigate and drain the landscape.

The Hereward Heartlands Trail is the first Hereward Trail in South Kesteven, but more are coming. It forms part of our long-term strategy of safeguarding the Hereward legend in South Kesteven and Lincolnshire.

Hereward Heartlands Trail

Safeguarding Hereward in South Kesteven

Living Heritage of a Lincolnshire Icon

Hereward the Wake is more than a historical figure – he is a living element of intangible cultural heritage in south Lincolnshire. In the district of South Kesteven, where his Domesday lands centred, his legend continues to shape community identity, local storytelling, and a shared sense of resistance and resilience, almost solely due to the extensive work by the WakeHereward Project since 2013. Our activities and initiatives have served to take Hereward out of 'forgotten memory' back into 'active memory' across the region.

The WakeHereward Project is committed to safeguarding this heritage in line with UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. We do not seek to “freeze” Hereward in the past, but to ensure his story remains vital, relevant, and continuously recreated by the communities who inherit it.

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How We Safeguard Hereward’s Living Heritage

Oral Traditions & Expressions
We actively preserve and transmit the legendary narratives associated with Hereward – from medieval chronicles to local folklore passed down through generations. Through talks, guided walks, and digital resources, we keep these oral traditions alive in contemporary language and contexts.

Social Practices, Rituals & Festive Events
Annual events such as Hereward Oak Day (21 December) and the planned Hereward Returns! festival revitalise community gatherings that celebrate Hereward. These occasions foster collective memory and reinforce local pride in south Kesteven’s unique place in England’s story of resistance.

Performing Arts

Re-enactments featuring Rory Gibson as Hereward - making Hereward tangible, he lives again - together with storytelling about his Exile, his Last Stand, his return from exile, authentic folk music, and drama, encourage fresh artistic interpretations. By bringing the legend to new audiences – including schools and families – we ensure Hereward’s spirit is performed and reimagined for each generation in our own special style we call Medieval Street Theatre.

Knowledge & Practices Concerning Nature & the Universe
Our Hereward Trails (beginning with the Hereward Heartlands Trail around Witham on the Hill, Manthorpe, Toft, Lound, and the Bowthorpe Oak) connect the legend directly to the landscape. Walkers experience the fen-edge environment that shaped Hereward’s guerrilla tactics and his deep bond with the natural world.

Community Participation & Transmission
At the heart of our work is empowering local people – residents, schools, businesses, and visitors – to become the primary actors in identifying, interpreting, and transmitting Hereward’s heritage. Through, volunteer-led events, living history and educational outreach, we facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills, and meaning across generations.

Raising Awareness
Permanent interpretation boards, digital resources, and media engagement all serve to heighten public understanding of Hereward’s significance as a living cultural heritage icon of south Lincolnshire.

By focusing on relevance, evolution, and community ownership, the WakeHereward Project ensures that Hereward the Wake remains not a distant historical curiosity, but a dynamic, shared heritage that continues to inspire pride, creativity, and connection in South Kesteven today.

The WakeHereward Project promotes cultural education, heritage tourism, and community engagement across the Fenlands and the East of England, regionally, nationwide and globally.

The company's educational and global activities reflect the principles and intent of the following UNESCO conventions and recommendations:

Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore
(UNESCO, Paris 1989).
Convention for thw Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
(UNESCO, Paris 2003).
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of the Cultural Expressions (UNESCO, Paris, 2005).
These form part of the organisation's guiding cultural and educational ethos.

South Kesteven district is in the south-west of Lincolnshire. (Image courtesy Creative Commons: Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16089972)

Safeguarding the Hereward legend in Bourne and South Kesteven since 2013

The WakeHereward Project has been actively promoting, establishing, preserving and safeguarding Hereward the Wake's legacy in Bourne and South Kesteven since 2013, with a focus on Public Talks, Historical Re-enactments, Living History, Events, and community engagement. Through partnerships with local organisations, Fundraising, Educational, Tourism and Health & Wellbeing initiatives, the Project has helped raise hundreds of Pounds for charity, re-introduced Hereward to thousands, and established Bourne as a key hub for Hereward heritage.

Below is a chronological summary of major contributions, drawn from project records and visible on the website and social media platforms.

September 2017: 'Hereward Returns!' at Baldocks Mill, Bourne – Inaugural re-introduction of Hereward in Bourne for the Bourne Civic Society as part of the project’s greater re-introduction of Hereward across the eastern region.Included Anglo-Saxon Harp music & Ballads, Crafts with Mia’s Bayeux Tapestry replica, guest speakers, and historical talks. All costs covered by the Project, marking the start of Hereward's modern revival in the area.

July 2018: Professor Maria Peltzer from University of Buenos Aires presents on ‘Evaluating Hereward as a Cultural Heritage icon of the Fens’ in a talk at Baldocks Mill, broadening the understanding of the role the folk hero plays in local societies globally. Hereward becomes noted by UNESCO & the WakeHereward Project adopts UNESCO regulations on Cultural Heritage..

September 2018: Hereward Returns! at Baldocks Mill with re-enactment demonstrations, music with the Fen Wanderer and Crafts with Mia’s Bayeux Tapestry replica. Professor David Roffe appearance: The WakeHereward Project forging the Hereward narrative towards Roffe’s "Hereward the Wake and the Barony of Bourne" thereby legitimising Hereward's Bourne connections (as opposed to the competing theory which gives no Bourne origin).

Mia Hansson with her incredible Bayeux Tapestry replica at Baldock's Mill Hereward Returns event in September 2017. Mia has appeared in Bourne three times as part of WakeHereward Project promotion of Hereward in the town.

Professor David Roffe with David Maile of the WakeHereward Project & the Norman who has taken over the Manor at Bourne (Baldocks Mill 2018)

September 2020: ‘Hereward Returns!’ Online Talk with Professor Maria Peltzer (UNESCO) – "Cultural Heritage Hereward" – Virtual event evaluating Hereward as a cultural icon, with focus on Bourne and South Kesteven heritage, hosted by the Project. Publication of academic text.

September 2021: Hereward Returns! at Folkingham Castle, South Kesteven – Aveland History Group Festival featured re-enactment of Hereward's Return from Exile by Hereward Living History and a talk by David Maile. (Heritage Linc’s part-funded costs) part of wider efforts to connect Hereward to local landscapes and re-connect post-Covid.

September 2022: Hereward Returns! Bourne Visual profiling and photo-shoot with Rory G as Hereward engaging with the public in Bourne and Bourne Wood.

April 2023: ‘An Evening Remembering Hereward’ Old Town Hall, Bourne – talk with Prof David Roffe, Dr James Pearce, Mia's Bayeux Tapestry display, the Dark Bardess with Ballads on the Lyre and Rory Gibson as Hereward. Raised over £600 for Bourne Old Town Hall restoration charity all costs met by WakeHereward Project. (originally scheduled for 2022 but postponed due to illness to Professor Roffe). This talk publicly and officially legitimised Hereward’s association with Bourne from Hereward’s official biographer..

Dr James Pearce, Rory Gibson, Professor David Roffe, Gemma Parker & David Maile - Old Town Hall April 2023

Professor Maria Peltzer with Brenda & Jim Jones of Bourne Civic Society after her talk at Baldocks Mill 2018 'Evaluating Hereward as intangible cultural heritage of the Fens'

Hereward & his Band - Folkingham Castle 2021

Safeguarding Hereward in Bourne and South Kesteven

2023–2024: (September each) Hereward Returns! at Thorney Abbey (Thorney Festival) (near Bourne) – Annual events shifted to Thorney due to being Alzheimers Charity fundraisers. Mia's Bayeux Tapestry replica, Rory G as Hereward and David Maile talks, maintaining Bourne ties through promotion and attendees. Helping raise over £400 for Alzheimers Society.

April 2024: Bourne To Shine Charity Fundraiser Event – Supporting Bourne History Group's trail inauguration event with Rory G as Hereward, marking out a history trail in Bourne, funds raised for charity.

September 2025: ‘Hereward Returns!’ at Bourne Town FC with Rory G as Hereward at the Cup match v Rushden. Crowd engagement, leading teams out, rousing the crowd with his horn announcing the return of Hereward.

December 2025: Hereward Oak Day at Bowthorpe Oak near Witham on the Hill commemorating Hereward’s Exile, under the Oak tree, a living memorial to Hereward’s time with Rory G as Hereward.

February 2026: ‘Hereward Heartlands Trail' official opening Hike leader David Maile with Rory G as Hereward lead guests through the landscape where Hereward once held land..

2026 - more to come...

Anglo Saxons at Baldocks Mill 2018, Mia's Bayeux Tapestry Baldocks Mill 2017 & Hereward recruiting for his Band of Men at Bowthorpe in December 2025.