'How we built Jorvik': Viking museum creators reunite 40 years on

Kathleen Wilson and her mum Trish, from Hamilton in New Zealand, had no idea that it was 40 years to the day since Jorvik first opened when they arrived at the attraction this morning.

But Kathleen said she had been determined one day to bring her mum to see the underground museum she’d first seen almost 30 years ago, in 1997.

“It made a real impression on me - and I wanted to bring mum back to see it,” Kathleen said.

Kathleen Wilson and her mum Trish outside Jorvik this morning (Image: Stephen Lewis)

It also made a huge impression on them when they were introduced to four of the men – Peter Addyman, Colin Pyrah, Anthony Gaynor and Jan Podlewski – who were responsible for creating Jorvik 40 years ago.

“I think they were inspired! It’s amazing,” said Kathleen.

“I think they’ve done a lot for this city,” Trish added.

Peter, Colin, Anthony and Jan had reunited at Jorvik to mark the 40th anniversary of its opening.

And they were ken to share stories of those heady days 40 years ago when they created an attraction that was to set the standard for museums around the world.

Colin had been boss of a small Yorkshire media company – the Yorkshire Communications Group – which published weekly newspapers.

The men who made Jorvik - from left, Jan Podlewski, Peter Addyman, Anthony Gaynor and Colin Pyrah - outside the Viking museum this morning, 40 years to the day after it opened (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Fearing for the future of small newspapers even back then, he had diversified his company into photography and PR.

He initially approached the fledgling York Archaeological Trust - which had led the Coppergate dig which uncovered Viking Jorvik - planning to offer to do their PR for them.

Instead, he found himself being invited to create an underground Viking museum.

“They said: ‘We’re making a Viking museum. Would you like to pitch for it?’” he said.

“We knew nothing about museums, nothing about Vikings. So of course I said ‘Yes! Yes!’”

WATCH: Video interview with 'the men who made Jorvik'

Their initial plans were approved – and they then had 18 months to effectively recreate a Viking city in a concrete hole beneath the new Coppergate shopping centre – Viking sounds, smells, time cars and all.

It was a huge financial risk, both for Colin’s company and for the York Archaeological Trust, which had to borrow heavily to finance the project.

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On the day Jorvik opened, the four men gathered in a small meeting room above the new museum.

They still didn’t know whether it would prove popular or not.

And then someone looked out of the window.

“And there was this huge queue outside!” said Peter Addyman, who was the founding director of the York Archaeological Trust and the driving force behind Jorvik. “So we knew it had paid off!”

Queues outside Jorvik on its first day on April 14, 1984 (Image: York Archaeology)

Anthony Gaynor, who was the project director on the construction of Jorvik, admitted that even 40 years on he remained ‘immensely proud’ of what the team had achieved.

Jorvik has been revamped three times since 1984, with the benefit of new technology and a better understanding of the Vikings.

Kathleen Wilson and her mum Trish meeting Jorvik's creators Jan Podlewski, Peter Addyman, Anthony Gaynor and Colin Pyrah at the Viking museum today, 40 years after it first opened (Image: Stephen Lewis)

But the spirit of that original Jorvik – with its vivid recreation of Viking life deep beneath Coppergate on the actual site where archaeologists uncovered the evidence of Viking York - still lives on.

“In fact I still get a lot of people coming up to me and saying ‘I think the first one was the best one!’” Peter said.