Upcoming Events

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 2007 are:

Saturday 23^rd to Monday 25^th August 2008 - Thorp Perrow Arboretum

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 is also Lord of Craven with a castle at Skipton. He 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.

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.

Images of our camp site last year

Programme