Episode Overview
In the 7th century, Vikings navigated up an Essex creek, where legend has it they captured a nun faced with a grim choice: preserve her modesty or accept death. She chose death, carrying her severed head up the hill to her church before collapsing. This nun was St. Osyth, the wife of the King of Essex, and her death site eventually transformed into a shrine, leading to the establishment of a settlement. In the 12th century, Richard de Belmais, Bishop of London, established an Augustinian Priory there, which thrived until the Dissolution in 1539, becoming one of Europe's wealthiest monasteries. Recently, a local boatbuilder discovered decayed timbers in St Osyth Creek, gradually uncovered by the tides. These timbers might belong to a medieval wharf that supported the town's early development, hinting at a larger historical mystery, as the current town originates from the 15th century, while the Pri