You can find details of all events we currently plan to be attending below. We hope
you can make it along to see us in action soon! Our current list of events during
2008 are:
16th March – Towton Battlefield Commemoration, North Yorkshire
You can find photos and other information about this event here.
24th to 26th May – Skipton Castle, North Yorkshire
Information about the venue and event can be found here.
28th & 29th June – Muncaster Castle, Cumbria
Information about the venue and event can be found here. Detailed information about the event along with information on the intended events throughout the 2 day event can be downloaded as a PDF document here.
23rd to 25th August – Thorp Perrow Arboretum, North Yorkshire
Information about the venue and event can be found here.
Below is information about the events we held in 2007.
Saturday 26th to Monday 28th May 2007 - Living History at
Skipton Castle, Skipton, North Yorkshire
Scenario
It is May 1415. The King of England is King Henry V – crowned in 1413, aged 28 and
determined to pursue his claim to the throne of France – he is busy raising money
and men in Southampton for an invasion of Normandy.
The Lord of Skipton Castle - the 26 year old Lord John Clifford - has been ordered
to array the men of Craven and Westmorland to join the King at Southampton. Skipton
Castle is therefore busy as the mustering point for this array.
King James I of Scotland is an English prisoner, but it is known that the French
are attempting to persuade the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland in the absence
of the King, to attack the North of England. There is therefore a need to prepare
the defences of the North as well as to prepare for the invasion of France.
There is also discontent in England. In 1399, King Richard II was deposed by King
Henry V’s father and there are still those who believe that King Henry V is a usurper.
A plot is being hatched by the Earl of Cambridge to kill King Henry and replace
him as King by Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March. Will Lord John Clifford be tempted
to join the plot?
Visitors to Skipton Castle will see soldiers being mustered for France, preparations
being made for defence against the Scots, speculation about the possible course
of the war and the possibility of revolt. All this will happen against the backdrop
of everyday life continuing: craftsmen at their work, cooks preparing food, people
at work and leisure and soldiers practising with their weaponry.
Programme
|
|
Saturday |
Sunday |
Monday |
|
10.00 am |
Living History starts |
|
Living History starts |
|
11.30 am |
Muster of Soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
Muster of Soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
|
12.00 noon |
Practice with arms and armour |
Living History starts |
Muster of Soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
|
12.30 pm |
Muster of soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
|
1.00 pm |
Archery practice |
Practice with arms and armour |
Archery practice |
|
2.00 pm |
Victuals are served |
Victuals are served |
Victuals are served |
|
3.00 pm |
Knights School |
Entertainment |
Captain's Court |
|
4.00 pm |
Soldiers’ Competitions (including swordsmanship) |
Archery practice |
Muster of Soldiers |
|
4.30pm |
Soldiers depart for France |
|
5.00 pm |
Close |
Close |
Close |
|
Throughout |
Living History demonstrations |
Living History demonstrations |
Living Histrory demonstrations |
25th to 27th August 2007 - Living History at Thorp Perrow
Arboretum, Bedale, North Yorkshire
We will be holding our August Bank Holiday living history event at Thorp Perrow
Arboretum, near Bedale in North Yorkshire again. It is a three day event.
Scenario
It is August 1460 and England is in the midst of a civil war between the supporters
of King Henry VI (known as Lancastrians because Henry is also Duke of Lancaster)
and those of his rival the Duke of York. The previous year the Yorkists had fled
the country after their defeat at Ludford Bridge, but in June 1460 they returned
to England to defeat the King’s army at Northampton in July and to take the King
prisoner. Queen Margaret, and the Duke of Somerset, the King’s Chief Minister then
went to the North where their support was strongest and summoned a great army to
join with them at Pontefract. They appointed Lord John Clifford, known as ‘The Butcher’
as one of their commanders. Lord John Clifford is Sheriff of Westmorland with castles
at Appleby, Brough, Brougham and Pendragon and has a strong personal reason to take
up arms against the Yorkists - as they killed his father at St. Albans five years
previously and he has sworn revenge.
Where Will We Be Encamped At Thorp Perrow Aboretum
Images of our camp site last year
We therefore find a group of soldiers camped temporarily at Thorp Perrow on their
way from their usual posting in Westmorland to join with the Lancastrian army at
Pontefract. They are also instructed to ‘array’ (enlist) any able bodied person
who they find in the name of the King. These are dangerous times so some civilians
have chosen to travel with them for protection.
Wensleydale is a place that contains the estates of some of the Yorkist leaders:
The Earl of Salisbury whose main seat is Middleham Castle also holds Snape Hall
that is only a mile from Thorp Perrow while his son-in law William Fitzalan is Lord
of Bedale. Lord Scrope also holds Castle Bolton. These ‘Yorkist’ Lords are now in
the South, so the soldiers are quite happy to take necessary food and other supplies
from their lands and recruit local people to the Lancastrian army. However, they
also need to be on their guard.
Programme
|
|
Saturday |
Sunday/Monday |
|
10.00 am |
Living History starts |
Living History starts |
|
11.30 am |
Arraying of new Soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
Muster of soldiers and How a man shall be armed |
|
12.00 noon |
Practice with arms and armour |
Practice with arms and armour |
|
1.00 pm |
Archery practice |
Archery practice |
|
2.00 pm |
Dinner is served |
Dinner is served |
|
3.00 pm |
Captain’s Court |
Entertainment |
|
4.00 pm |
Soldiers’ Competitions
(including swordsmanship) |
Soldiers’ Competitions
(including swordsmanship) |
|
5.00 pm |
Close |
Close |
|
Throughout |
Living History demonstrations |
Living History demonstrations |