August 17, 2018 11.28 am This story is over 67 months old

Lincolnite of the week: Historian Erik Grigg

He finds himself teaching kids, adults and even Jeremy Clarkson

When Dr Erik Grigg was 14-years-old, he was keen to learn everything he could about history, but now he finds himself teaching children, adults and even Jeremy Clarkson.

Visitors to Lincoln Castle who are taken on a tour by Dr Erik Grigg will tell you that his enthusiasm for history is infectious.

Erik is the learning officer for the heritage service of Lincolnshire County Council, but he can be found outside of term time conducting talks at Lincoln Castle, The Collection and many other places around the county.

When the Top Gear crew came to Lincoln to recharge the electronic cars, Dr Grigg was asked to give Jeremy Clarkson and James May a tour of the city.

He has lots of tales to tell, including one about this lion at Lincoln Castle. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite.

Now Dr Erik Grigg is also using his vast knowledge of medieval history to release a new book about the Dark Ages.

The book, called ‘Warfare, Raiding and Defence in Early Medieval Britain’, focusses on how small scale raiding helped to shape Britain as we know it today.

Dr Erik Grigg is holding a talk at Lincoln Central Library on Friday, August 17 at 1pm to celebrate the book launch.

Tickets for the book launch are £2 per person and can be bought at the library where there will be light refreshments and a chance to learn about the fighting style of the Anglo-Saxons.

This isn’t Erik’s first book, he was asked by Lincoln BIG to write the children’s book for the Knight’s Trail two years ago.

He told The Lincolnite about how rewarding his job can be: “It was really nice to take something that is well-researched and make it fun and interesting for kids.

“When I take kids around a tour of Lincoln Castle, I often ask them if they remember the trail and whether they read the book.

“One girl said that ‘she loved it and read the book seven times,’ so was shocked to hear that I wrote it.”

Watch the full video for a taste of Erik Grigg’s enthusiasm for his job as a historian.