Who's heard of the Battle of Ashingdon 1016 then?

Anyone who puts their hand up can then use the same hand to apply a self-administered pat on the head.

The fact is, not a lot of people are familiar with this major historic event, and that includes many who live in Ashingdon itself, some school-teachers among them.

However, all that should change if Ian Yearsley gets his way.

"The Battle of Ashingdon was a major event and it would be good if we could remember it - and commemorate it," says Ian.

Ian is a local historian who has published a number of successful books about Essex. His diligent writing and research has resulted in a widespread reputation - and repetitive strain injury.

Looking around for a project that didn't involve too much word-processing, Ian decided to become promoter-in-chief of the Battle of Ashingdon. The project has swiftly become a passion.

"I do think it's important that people understand the history on their doorstep," says Ian.

The great battle between two kingdoms took place exactly 990 years ago this week, on St Luke's Day (October 18) 1016.

Ian wants to see an extensive commemoration of the battle 1,000 years on, so he has just ten years to get everything in place.

"The way time goes by, ten years is just about adequate," he says, at least half-seriously.

Stage one is to generate greater awareness of the geographical site itself, and its focal point, the ancient church on the top of Ashingdon hill.

Ashingdon is a surprising place. It gives the impression of a pleasant but anonymous blanket of suburbia. In fact, it is a slimline town, just a few blocks deep. To the north, the des res developments soon peter out and you are in open country, dropping away to the River Crouch.

It is here that you will find a well-hidden Essex gem, the little church of St Andrew, Ashingdon.

It is believed the original church was established on the orders of King Canute to commemorate the victory that put him into power.

The churchyard at Ashingdon commands a view to the Crouch on the north and to the battlefield below, which stretches away to another fine hilltop church, Canewdon.

In ten years time, Ian would like to see a full-bloodied re-enactment of the Battle of Ashingdon - and blooded is the word. In terms of mortality ratio, the battle was probably the bloodiest ever fought on British soil. The Massacre of Ashingdon might be a more appropriate title.

Standing in the churchyard, Ian is able to depict with surprising precision the deployment of forces on the day of the battle, with the Viking longships berthed beside the Crouch, and the two armies facing one another from Ashingdon and Canewdon hills.

Then the forces plunged into the fields below and the long day's slaughter commenced.

Ian first came to this place at the age of 18 and has been fascinated with it ever since. He has spent many hours studying it from the above, in the churchyard.

The terrain is peaceful now, but not that peaceful.

"I've talked to local people who have been walking their dogs at night and felt some strange presence that sent shivers up their spine." Ian says. "Some have heard the sort of noise you could associate with a battlefield.

And that includes at least one person who didn't even know there had been a battle here."

The poet laureate and military historian Robert Southey wrote the Battle of Ashingdon was as momentous in its way as the Battle of Hastings, just less well commemorated. The reason for this balance is that, unlike William the Conqueror, Ashingdon never had a devoted PR man.

Just how much difference this can make is shown by the nearby Battle of Maldon.

This was a much smaller affair than Ashingdon yet far more people know about it and the site has been preserved by the National Trust.

The reason for this imbalance is that Maldon had one of the most famous of early English poems devoted to it.

Now, 990 years on, and on the principle of better late than never, Ian has set out to redress this balance. He has written and published an impressive epic poem in the style of the Anglo-Saxon bards.

"The first line came to me as I was stepping into the lift at Alexandra House," says Ian, who works part-time for Customs and Revenue in Southend.

That line, "Low sun shone on English fields," kicked off what must certainly counts as the first Anglo-Saxon poem to begin life in a civil service elevator.

Ian will soon embark on a series of live readings of the poem, as a warm-up act for the fully fledged celebrations that he plans in 2016.

These are nothing if not ambitious. "Imagine a statue of Edmund and a statue of Canute, one on Ashingdon hill, the other on Canewdon hill. They would be staring at each other across the battlefield," he surmises.

It's infectious stuff. Albeit a millennium late, the Battle of Ashingdon at long last has a capable PR man.