The Resistance: Alfred and the Danelaw · Spring Term

The Burh System

Exploring Alfred's innovative network of fortified towns designed to defend against future raids.

About This Topic

After the Battle of Edington, Alfred the Great knew that a single victory wouldn't keep the Vikings away forever. He created the 'Burh' system, a network of 33 fortified towns across Wessex, positioned so that no one was more than 20 miles (a day's march) from safety. This topic explores Alfred's genius as an urban planner and military strategist. For Year 5 students, this is a fascinating look at how many of our modern English towns, like Winchester, Chichester, and Oxford, were originally designed as Anglo-Saxon fortresses.

Students examine the 'Burghal Hidage', an ancient document that lists the burhs and how many men were needed to defend their walls. This connects to National Curriculum targets for settlements and land use. This topic comes alive when students can design their own burh or use maps to see how the system provided a 'honeycomb' of defence that the Vikings found impossible to break.

Learning Objectives

• Explain how the strategic placement and construction of burhs provided a defensive network against Viking raids.
• Analyze the 'Burghal Hidage' to calculate the number of men required to defend specific burhs.
• Identify at least three modern English towns that originated as Anglo-Saxon burhs.
• Compare the defensive strengths of Alfred's burh system with earlier Anglo-Saxon settlement defenses.
• Design a basic plan for a burh, including key defensive features and strategic location considerations.

Before You Start

Viking Raids and Settlements in Britain

Why: Students need a foundational understanding of the Viking threat to appreciate the necessity and purpose of Alfred's defensive measures.

Anglo-Saxon Society and Governance

Why: Knowledge of basic Anglo-Saxon social structures and leadership is helpful for understanding Alfred's authority and the organization of the burh system.

Key Vocabulary

Burh	A fortified Anglo-Saxon town or stronghold, often built with earthwork ramparts and ditches, designed for defense and administration.
Burghal Hidage	An early medieval document listing the burhs of Anglo-Saxon England and the number of hides (land units) associated with each, indicating their defensive capacity.
Hidage	A tax assessment based on the hide, a unit of land measurement, used to determine the number of men a burh could provide for defense.
Rampart	A defensive wall or embankment, typically made of earth and stone, surrounding a castle, town, or fort.
Ditch	A long, narrow excavation dug around a fortification, serving as an obstacle to attackers and often used to provide material for the rampart.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: Design a Burh

Groups are given a 'site' (e.g., a river bend or an old Roman ruin). They must design a burh, deciding where to put the walls, the gates, the market, and the church. They must explain how their design makes the town easy to defend but also a good place for people to live and trade.

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

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Simulation Game: The 20-Mile Rule

On a large map of Wessex, students place 'burh' markers. They use string to draw 20-mile circles around each one. They then 'attack' different points on the map with Viking pieces to see if the local farmers could reach a burh before being caught, demonstrating the effectiveness of the network.

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

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Think-Pair-Share: Why live in a Burh?

Students think about the pros and cons of moving from a lonely farm into a crowded, walled burh. They discuss in pairs, considering themes like safety vs. space, and then share whether they would have made the move if they lived in the 9th century.

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

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Real-World Connections

Urban planners today still consider defensive positioning and strategic access when designing new towns or city expansions, similar to Alfred's considerations for burh placement.

Archaeologists working at sites like Winchester or Oxford can uncover remnants of Anglo-Saxon defenses, providing physical evidence of the burh system and its impact on early town development.

The Royal Navy maintains a fleet of ships and a strategic network of bases to protect national interests and trade routes, echoing the need for a permanent naval force alongside land defenses as advocated by Alfred.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Burhs were just military forts.

What to Teach Instead

They were also designed to be vibrant trading centres. Alfred encouraged markets and mints (for making coins) to be set up inside the walls. A 'market day' role play helps students see that burhs were the beginning of many modern English towns, not just temporary army camps.

Common Misconception

The walls of the burhs were made of stone like later castles.

What to Teach Instead

Most early burhs had walls made of massive earth banks topped with wooden fences (palisades). Stone walls were often added much later. A hands-on activity using clay or sand to build 'earthworks' helps students understand the massive amount of digging required to build a burh.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a map showing a hypothetical Viking landing site and a few potential locations for a new burh. Ask them to circle the best location and write two sentences explaining why it is strategically advantageous for defense.

Quick Check

Ask students to hold up fingers to represent the number of men needed to defend a small burh versus a large one, based on information from the Burghal Hidage. Then, ask them to verbally explain the difference in defensive requirement.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'If you were Alfred, would you prioritize building more burhs or a stronger navy? Why?' Encourage students to justify their answers by referencing the defensive challenges faced by Anglo-Saxon England.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the word 'Burh' mean?

It is an Old English word for a 'fortified place'. It is where we get the modern word 'borough' (as in Scarborough or Middlesbrough) and the ending '-bury' (as in Canterbury or Salisbury). If a town name ends in one of these, it was likely once an Anglo-Saxon burh.

How did the burhs stop the Vikings?

The Vikings were great at 'hit and run' raids, but they weren't very good at 'sieges' (attacking walled towns for a long time). Because the burhs were so close together, the Vikings couldn't move through Wessex without being spotted and attacked from the nearest town. It made raiding too dangerous and difficult for them.

How can active learning help students understand the Burh system?

Active learning, like the '20-Mile Rule' simulation, turns a geographical concept into a game of strategy. Students can see for themselves how the 'circles of safety' overlap, which makes the logic of Alfred's plan much more obvious than just looking at a finished map. It helps them appreciate the scale of his vision.

Who paid for the burhs?

The system was paid for by a tax on land. Every 'hide' of land (enough to support one family) had to provide one man to help build and defend the walls. This was a huge commitment from the people of Wessex, showing how much they trusted Alfred and how much they wanted to be safe from the Vikings.