It is 10 years ago today since the world famous ‘Crossens Canoe’ was lowered into place at the new The Atkinson in Southport!
Sometimes known as ‘King Arthur’s Canoe’, this 1,500 years old relic is one of Southport’s most treasured artefacts.
It was used by people in around 500 AD on the huge lake that existed at the time at Martin Mere – at the time the largest lake in the country. For context over the age of the canoe, the Romans left Britain in 410 AD.
It was the lake where, according to legend, King Arthur took his Excalibur sword from The Lady In The Lake.
It arrived at The Atkinson, on Lord Street, on the morning of Sunday, 13th October 2013.
A team of workers using a crane worked very carefully as they introduced the Crossens Canoe to its new home.
It was one of the main features of the new Atkinson cultural hub, which was re-opened in 2013 following a three and a half year, £20 million transformation led by Sefton Council.
Sefton’s major arts hub is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
In October 2013, the Crossens Canoe was suspended in The Atkinson between the library and the main building – where it has become a permanent feature of the building, bringing the collections to life for all visitors to admire.
There is no admission to go and see it.
The ancient artefact, which hails from the Arthurian age, arrived at The Atkinson on a flatbed truck and was installed on a purpose built cradle which hangs four metres off the ground.
The Crossens Canoe is lowered into place at The Atkinson in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand up For Southport
The canoe can be seen from all floors of the Atkinson, allowing visitors to view this historic exhibit from a range of different angles.
The canoe was found on 22nd April 1899 in a field near Crossens by local farmer Peter Brookfield whilst he was ploughing his field.
Peter Brookfield sent for Reverend William Bulpit, a keen local historian, who identified the canoe as having an early age and being of interest.
It was first displayed in the Conservatory at the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown and then it moved to the Victoria Schools of Science and Art in Southport (now The Atkinson) until 1907.
It was loaned to Liverpool Museum until 1st March 1946, and then went on display at the Botanic Gardens Museum where it remained until the building’s closure in 2011.
Stephen Whittle, The Atkinson’s Museums and Galleries Manager said in 2013:
“The canoe is a fascinating and still very enigmatic object. It dates from a time that we know very little about and it raises all sorts of interesting questions about the people who were living on the edge of Martin Mere 1,500 years ago.
“Hopefully by bringing it back to such a public location it will prompt further interest and investigation into its origins and use.”
Rev.Bulpitt with the Crossens Canoe shortly after its removal from the farm. Photo by The Atkinson
The canoe is one of 11 found in the area over time but most were allowed to decay.
The field where it was found lay near the northern shore of the former lake known as Martin Mere.
Martin Mere was the largest lake in England before it was drained in the 18th and 19th centuries and had a diameter of two miles and a circumference of 18 miles!
There are legends that connect Martin Mere with King Arthur and Lancelot of the Lake.
It was supposedly the place where King Arthur was given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake.
At the end of the legends, Martin Mere is the water into which Bedivere eventually hurls the great sword on the wishes of the dying Arthur.
Lancelot’s mother came to Lancashire to escape her enemies in France and whilst attempting to save her husband’s life, she left baby Lancelot by the lake.
The Crossens Canoe is lowered into place at The Atkinson in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand up For Southport
The nymph Vivian adopted Lancelot and vanished into the lake with him. When he appears at Lancelot’s court aged 18 he is knighted ‘Lancelot of the Lake’.
In 1996 a sample of the canoe was sent off for radiocarbon dating, dated to AD 535. Radiocarbon dating was carried out by the School of Biological and Earth Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University and Beta Analytical Incorporation Radiocarbon Dating Services in Miami.
The date of AD 535 is very interesting as it places the canoe at the very end of the Roman period but at a time considered too early for the Anglo-Saxon settlement in the region.
It shows that whoever was living here at that time was exploiting the wetlands in and around Martin Mere.
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