The Woodwoses and Wildmen of Suffolk
On Wednesday, 24 April 2024, Matt Salusbury will give a talk entitled The Woodwoses and Wildmen of Suffolk. In Issue 32 of The Orford & District Local History Bulletin published in the summer of 2019, Matt Salusbury wrote an article on this topic and was due to give a related talk to the Friends of Orford Museum the following autumn. Sadly, Covid meant that this had to be cancelled but Matt is now coming to Butley Priory on Wednesday, 24 April 2024 to give us the long-awaited talk. The article in question has been posted on our website at www.orfordmuseum.org.uk. Alternatively, if you would like a printed copy of the bulletin itself, please contact Elizabeth Spinney via museums@suffolk.gov.uk.
Woodwoses or wildmen – men covered in thick fur, sometimes carrying clubs – are a common sight in Suffolk’s churches, carved in stone on fonts, on porches or on church towers. It’s a mystery why they are so many woodwoses in Suffolk and so few elsewhere. There are some Medieval accounts of Suffolk encounters with wildmen, including a captive wildmen in Orford Castle.
In this talk, freelance journalist and author Matt Salusbury presents an extensive survey of Suffolk wildmen – and possibly at least one wildwoman. What are their origins? Were they just a cultural import from Northern Europe?
Matt is also an English language teacher and the author of Mystery Animals of Suffolk (Leiston Press 2023). He lived in Dunwich and Chediston throughout the 2010s and is still Chair of the Trustees of Dunwich Museum as well as BBC Radio Suffolk’s big cat expert. He is a regular contributor to Fortean Times, and has written for publications including the Guardian, The Independent and History Today.
All talks start at 6.00pm and last about an hour and a half. Tickets cost £15.00 for Friends of Orford Museum, £18 for guests and include a complimentary glass of wine.
To book tickets for these talks, please go to our website at www.orfordmuseum.org.uk or email the Treasurer at info@orfordmuseum.org.uk.
