Project Showcase Battle of 910 AD: Aethelflaed

Aethelflaed Heritage Arts Trail & Historical Exhibition

We’re excited to share the latest developments in our journey to bring Wolverhampton’s history to life through the Aethelflaed Arts Trail and Exhibition — a legacy project celebrating the Battle of 910 AD and the rich tapestry of our city’s past.

Over recent months, our project team has been busy forging invaluable connections with historians, archaeologists, and key cultural stakeholders, laying the groundwork for a truly collaborative heritage experience.

We’ve also been thrilled by the response to our online community feedback survey, which has received overwhelmingly positive support from across the district. A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who has already shared their thoughts — your ideas and enthusiasm continue to shape the vision.

📝 If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can still contribute — just follow the link below.

As part of our long-term vision, we are designing a dedicated brand logo to represent the Aethelflaed Heritage Trail. This will become the visual marker across trail maps, signage, exhibitions, and educational resources.

We’ve developed a number of logo options — and we want your voice in choosing the design that best captures the spirit of the trail.
🗳️ Voting will open shortly via the project page — keep an eye out and help us shape the trail’s identity!

We’ve been out and about meeting residents, hosting discussions, and sharing our plans! Highlights include:

• A presentation to over 80 Rotary Club members at South Staffordshire Golf Club
• A fantastic presence at the Smestow Valley Festival, where we connected with dozens of local groups and families

Mark your calendars — we’ve got some fantastic opportunities to get involved:

• Creative community workshops across the borough , Rachel Arnold and local artists  are hosting some fantastic workshops at the The Gallery please click on the events tab below to see what's on offer.
• A special Battle of 910 AD re-enactment at Wightwick Manor, hosted by the National Trust — taking place Tuesday 19th August 2025

We’d love to see you at one of these events — come be part of the story!

*NEW*

We’ve now launched our Project Donations & Sponsorship Page — a one-stop portal to find out how you can:

• Sponsor an individual artwork
• Donate toward trail development
• Volunteer or offer expertise

We warmly welcome supporters of all kinds — whether you’re an individual passionate about local history, a business interested in partnering, or a community group eager to be involved.

We are currently working hard to secure core funding to bring the project to life. While we currently have no formal funding in place, we’ve developed a robust and detailed project plan and budget, which you can view below.

We’re actively preparing applications for:

• Severn Trent Community Fund (Development Phase funding)
  Outcome expected January 2025
  🔗 Learn more about this fund
   
• Arts Council England
   
• Heritage Lottery: Healthy Communities Together Programme
  Encouraging heritage projects with strong wellbeing and community impact
  🔗 More about this programme
   

To qualify for these funds, we urgently require 10% match funding — just under £47,000 — to move forward.

We’ve also reached out to local funding contacts, including Wolverhampton City Council and the Mayor’s Fund, and await updates on potential local support.

Project Lead, Rebecca Cresswell, recently met with Catherine Perry, Development Officer for Wolverhampton City Council. Catherine kindly shared advice on sponsorship and potential funding routes. While the city’s existing Smestow Valley regeneration project (funded by the Heritage Lottery) does not currently cover artistic elements, we’re continuing conversations to ensure alignment and collaboration where possible.

We’ve had some thrilling developments on the academic front!

Renowned historian Michael Wood responded warmly to our outreach, describing the project as “important” and expressing interest in following our progress — timely, as he launches a new book on The Lady Aethelflaed later this year.

Even more exciting — we’re currently in early dialogue with the wonderful 'Archaeology in Mind' who are continuing to support,  We hope that we will be able to fund a dedicated commission for archaeological research as part of the project