In 2016, the remains of an important Anglo-Saxon building were discovered on our land at the Sylva Wood Centre in south Oxfordshire. We are excited to announce that thanks to the support of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund we will be reconstructing the house, with help from volunteers, and launching a series of exciting education activities. Known as the House of Wessex, the education project will run from June 2018 until November 2019 with the ultimate aim of celebrating the birth of the Kingdom of England.

Archaeological excavations of the ‘House of Wessex’ being undertaken by volunteers led by Oxford University’s Continuing Education Department, in partnership with the School of Archaeology, at the Sylva Wood Centre in September 2016
Main Activities
- Working with teams of volunteers we will accurately reconstruct the Anglo-Saxon building, on its original footprint, using treewrighting techniques, tools and materials faithful to the 7th Century.
- With local history groups and other partners we will create a heritage trail, linking our site to nearby historic features and sites.
- We will be working closely with local schools.
- With a living history society, we will hold public open days at the site.

House of Wessex reconstruction drawings, by Carpenter’s Fellowship.
Get involved
We are beginning to look for people to work with us in this exciting project. We will run courses during which you can learn a whole range of news skills, or you can get involved in other ways as a volunteer.
Find out more on our new webpage for the project www.sylva.org.uk/wessex which includes a link to a dedicated newsletter you can join to receive early notice of opportunities to get involved in the reconstruction.
Our newly-appointed House of Wessex project manager is Lesley Best. You can contact Lesley at wessex@sylva.org.uk