The Danes

The Anglian kingdom of Mercia was at its first peak of power in the C7th, when it ruled all of Midland England. Its capital was Tamworth. The South Mercians then numbered 5000 households and the Hwiccan sub-kingdom 7000. In the days of Offa Mercia was again the chief state of England, but after 825 its overlarge empire was in decline. Viking raids showed the weakness of the Anglo-Saxon realms, and in 866 the Danish 'host' landed in East Anglia.

Northumbria fell and Mercia fol-lowed after eight years of war. The Birmingham Plateau was sporadically raided during the C8-9th. Its distance from the sea meant that there were fewer summer camps than elsewhere, but raids on stolen horses were increasingly frequent and always Irresistible. After the final defeat of Mercia the Danes took for their own the territory east and north of Watling Street, leaving a client king on the Hwiccan throne. Thus Birmingham and its neighbours, though they may have suffered during the years of invasion, were not to become Danish then or later. In 880 Alfred of Wessex ended for a time the threat to southern England, and the Danes retired to the Danelaw.

From the days of the marauders a few names have survived. 'Danes' Camp' is an alternative name for Berry Mound, and there were other camps at Kings Norton and Cheswick Green in Solihull. It was long believed that Metchley Camp was built by Danes, and it may well have been occupied by them, though no archaeological evi-dence has been found. Doubtless ancient earthworks were used by many armed bands throughout history. There have been no place-names ending in -thorpe or -by to indicate Danish settlement anywhere in our region.