A tall and plain-looking oak door with a metal frame has been dated back to the days of Danes and Anglo-Saxons. Both newcomers to the British Isles, the two groups fought for the right to govern the farms and villages that had sprung up since the end of the Roman occupation. In fact the visible ruins of Roman architecture were then believed to be the result of churches damned to Hell for the misdeeds of their congregation. The religious conviction of the locals at the time was so strong that people could be killed for thinking different thoughts. Known as heresy and sacrilege, these totalitarian crimes saw many meet their end because they would rather speak their hearts than pretend to agree.
The door has been repaired many times as it has been in continual use for a thousand years however it was tested for authenticity in the 1970s. The true originality of the oak panelling was confirmed and so was a legend that has endured as long as the door itself. Once, when it was a new door, a Dane was condemned to be flayed to death because of his beliefs. A possibility much more certain now that a fair skinned individual has has skin fragments identified in the grain.
Flaying sinners against church doors has been a common punishment in the past. In that often the judge and jury were made of a parish council, the churches buildings must have been central to village justice. In Anglo-Saxon times there was little central authority to govern the national legal system and so it was often left completely in the hands of the victims and their companions.
The first time that flaying was mentioned in a national document was not until Henry I in 1100 AD and this then was intended as the punishment for slaying one's lord. This being a much higher crime than sacrilege, the practice of flaying people against church doors seems to have stopped shortly after the end of the Viking period.
The door has been removed in recent years however the pieces of skin are kept by the Saffron Walden Museum.
The door has been repaired many times as it has been in continual use for a thousand years however it was tested for authenticity in the 1970s. The true originality of the oak panelling was confirmed and so was a legend that has endured as long as the door itself. Once, when it was a new door, a Dane was condemned to be flayed to death because of his beliefs. A possibility much more certain now that a fair skinned individual has has skin fragments identified in the grain.
Flaying sinners against church doors has been a common punishment in the past. In that often the judge and jury were made of a parish council, the churches buildings must have been central to village justice. In Anglo-Saxon times there was little central authority to govern the national legal system and so it was often left completely in the hands of the victims and their companions.
The first time that flaying was mentioned in a national document was not until Henry I in 1100 AD and this then was intended as the punishment for slaying one's lord. This being a much higher crime than sacrilege, the practice of flaying people against church doors seems to have stopped shortly after the end of the Viking period.
The door has been removed in recent years however the pieces of skin are kept by the Saffron Walden Museum.