SOMERSET NEWS: Historic Alfred Jewel goes on show!

THE Alfred Jewel, one of the most celebrated treasures from Anglo-Saxon England, is returning to Somerset for the first time in nearly 300 years.

It will be on display at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton from Saturday (January 31, 2015) until February 28, 2015.

To mark this very special event, Professor Simons Keynes, from Cambridge University, will be talking about the Jewel on Wednesday, February 11, at 7.30pm in the museum.

Tickets for the talk cost £8 and can be booked by calling the museum on 01823-255088.

The visitor services manager, Susie Simmons, said: “The Alfred Jewel is such an important treasure and we’re delighted to be having it on display during February.

“We’re especially pleased that Professor Simon Keynes, one of the country’s leading experts on the jewel, is coming to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with us.

“It should be a fabulous evening, and everyone who attends will also have a chance to see the jewel after the talk.”

PHOTO – TOP: The Alfred Jewel.

PHOTO – RIGHT: Alfred the Great who was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.

Earlier this month the South West Heritage Trust announced that, through the kindness of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford, the Jewel was coming back to Somerset.

The Jewel, which dates from the late ninth century, was found near North Petherton Church in 1693.

It is lavishly made of gold, enamel and rock crystal and includes the image of a seated figure. It also bears an inscription which translates as “Alfred ordered me to be made.”

It has long been assumed that King Alfred the Great commissioned the Jewel, and that it may have been his gift to the abbey at Athelney which he founded in thanksgiving for his defeat of the Vikings in 878.

Tags:
News.