Haver the Viking king to be resurrected as 10ft stilt puppet for parade through Haverhill
A Viking king who inspired the name of Haverhill will be resurrected in a creative parade through the town.
A 10ft stilt puppet of Haver the Viking king will tour the town with his three Viking drummers on Saturday, September 4.
The giant stilt walking Haver has been created by Colchester-based artist Joanna Peacock after Nick Keeble, Haverhill Town Council arts and leisure manager, began to think about the origins of the town’s name.
He said: “I asked Google and the answer I got was very exciting.
“An article from the local paper in the early 70s told the story of how a great Viking warrior called Haver was the ‘virtual ruler of all England’ who beat King Alfred in battle and slew King Edmund too.
“I had never realised how Haverhill’s founder was such an important historical figure.
“Unfortunately, a footnote revealed that there was no reference to Haver anywhere else on the internet. I felt deflated. And thought no more of it for a while.”
His interest in the story was rekindled after one of the events in the town’s Summer Saturdays programme involved street performers on stilts.
He contacted Joanna, who the town council has worked with on previous events, to build the giant stilt walking Haver.
Building a 10ft puppet is something she had never attempted before but the artist loves a creative challenge.
Joanna said: “Creating Haver the Viking is a great opportunity to ignite the imaginations of local children and give them something to be proud of.”
Nick has also composed an epic poem based on the newspaper article which tells the story of Haver in a dramatic rhyme.
The event on September 4 at 11am, dubbed Haverhill’s Horrible History, The Legend of Haver the Dane, will see the Viking king and his drummers parade through the town centre from Haverhill Arts Centre with a storyteller reading out the epic poem and hoards of children with shields.
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