A BIT OF SLAP

Cite of £fte

Issue 12:2OO8/9 Free to members. One damned thing after another

One damned thing after another 2 Ten years ago, we were discussing the commemorative sculpture with the County Highways Department. We'd had our discussions with the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival 3 County Planning Department, the County Landscape Architect and the A Stroll around Flodden 5 County's arts advisor and had arrived at the cold practicalities of safety. The hurdle we had to overcome was the safety audit; 'the 2OO8 Spring tour: In search of the Templars 7 distilled wisdom of a team comprising of a police officer, accident investigator and an engineer'. This was 1998. The audit was duly Bloore Heath 11 completed, tough we were never allowed to see it. The focus drifted (a A Ryght Evil Place 12 word carefully chosen) toward policy. Gloucestershire didn't have any public art on roundabouts and there were a lot of principles to consider. The battle of Tewkesbury: The lost Carry on? 14 The principles were considered, and the proposals pronounced Norway's lost islands 15 acceptable. We moved onto the next set of hurdles. At a meeting in June 2007, we were told that a report could be taken to the Borough New Year resolutions 16 Council in September, but of course the flood delayed that. By fifteen Brigg Fair 17 months to date. And now the County Council have decided to do another assessment. Potting in Australia 18 I sometimes think that we should be in there and complaining loudly, The three Battles 19 but we've long adopted a 'softly softly' policy, not wanting to cause offence that might cause us more problems in the long run. The Banners 2O attitude of the various Councils is hard to comprehend, though. After The march from Chipping Sodbury 21 all, our offer is a no strings attached offer of a valuable asset for the town, one which it couldn't afford on its own and one which seems to The battlefields Trust 22 tick all the boxes about art, heritage and sustainability. No-one seems Money 23 to dispute this; they just lead us along a rambling journey through the nether regions of bureaucracy, with seemingly neither a purpose nor a Battle of Hexham: in its Place 26 conclusion Skirrets 27 All summer, I've been waiting for word that the long awaited report to the Council was finished. It seemed very close. We were even given a date, Bonfire night, at one point. That, of course, came and went. Along with the people we've been dealing with. All of the people referred to in the first paragraph have retired. I think that the Borough Council is on its fifth Chief Executive since we started. It isn't easy to understand what the problem is. The latest news is that the report will be available in the first week of January, Let's hope that it is favourable, and that 2009 will be the year when we finally leave the starting line! TEWKESBURY MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL In 2008, we put on several new events, some of which we'll never do again, some which will work with a bit more tuning and some The Society an4 the Festival are soul mates. Though they have different of which were an instant success. In the final category was a objectives an4 organisation there is g lot of overlap, so it seems appropriate visit by Robert Hardy, who did us proud. Leaving aside the to give the Festival a bitofa plug. rousing rendition of Henry V which opened the fair, he gave a talk on the English Longbow (what else!). This was fully subscribed, and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone able to get 2008 saw the twenty fifth re-enactment, from small beginnings in there. To fit it into a busy weekend schedule it was held on 1984 to what is now a major spectacle, well beyond the Sunday morning and a lot of re-enactors made the effort to community event it was intended to be, though no-one attend, which was good to see. anticipated that it would have been much more than a one-off event. It probably started at just the right time to grow with the This raises the idea of having some sort of 'fringe' of lectures, interest in medieval re-enactment as a hobby and had a drama, exhibitions, presentations and early music associated sufficiently relaxed approach to surrounding itself with rules for it with the festival is something that could be looked at seriously, to be fun for everyone involved. and is maybe something which the Society could get involved with. There are big difficulties; primarily that the indigenous The problem now is maintaining that atmosphere of disorganised Tewkesbury population won't produce enough interested harmony and complying with all the rules which now exist, both people to provide a viable audience and that the festival because new hurdles such as the laws about entertainment and weekend is too short and feature-packed for the re-enactors, the clear necessity to introduce controls simply because of the who probably would be interested, to spare the time. Ideas for size of the event. This raises blood pressure in the stressful run up which might help something develop gently would be to the event, but this is probably more to do with natural appreciated. resentment of imposed rules than any real belief that they are not needed. The big exception to this is the bizarre public For this year, the Festival planning is in the early stages, so it isn't entertainment regulations, but it's best not to go there! possible to say what might be on the agenda, though it will be a great day out for all the family, and for novices or battle buffs The principles underpinning the festival are that it must constantly alike. improve (things that don't get better get worse, and that's the road to ruin) and that the budget for the coming year is based TEWKESBURY MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL on the income from the previous year (which is simple financial prudence). One of the problems is expanding the event in a way that covers its costs, and this means doing things which will either grants or sponsors grants or things which people will want to pay 2009 for in sufficient quantities to cover the costs. Oddly, with so many people attending, the audience is a fickle one. We're confined to a weekend and most of our potential audience are fully 11 & 12 July occupied either as day visitors (the vast majority without a very deep interest in history) or participants with their own objectives - Make a note! for the weekend. A STROLL AROUND FLODDEN English billmen and archers. Characteristically, it was Lord Stanley, Northumberland has enough castles and churches to keep Bernie occupied arriving late on the battlefield with his archers who sealed the English for decades. It also has more than the average number of battlefields, being victory. on the front line for so many centuries. Though Margaret and E4warcl The battle lasted barely two hours. This was the last medieval battle continued their struggle here for several years after Towton, Flodden is fought on English soil; the last battle in which the long bow played a probably the most important site, being the last battle on English soil, the decisive role. last battle in which archery played a significant part and the last pitched The battlefield today is unspoiled by development; the only intrusions battle between the English and Scottish nations. being modern roads and farming practice. The battlefield is not found by the Flodden road, but by going to Branxton. Along a lane beyond the little village church where the dead king of Scotland was laid is a Flodden was a tragedy on every level. It was a battle which should carpark, and the beginning of a marked battlefield trail. There is even never have been fought, and it was a battle after which the Scottish a rack with battle trail leaflets. lament 'Flowers of the Forest' was composed in remembrance of the loss of nine thousand Scots, including the king and almost the entire The battlefield has been marked for many years by a monument, a ruling class of the country. large cross on Piper's Hill, marking the probable centre of the English lines, occupied by the Lord Admiral, son of the Earl of Surrey. From James IV was a good and respected king. He had brought stability and here there is a circular route linking the ridges which formed the prosperity in his twenty five year reign. He married Margaret, daughter centres of the two armies. Thanks to grants from the National Lottery of Henry VII, giving him a close link with the English throne. In 1512 and Northamptonshire County Council, assistance from the Battlefields he renewed the 'auld alliance' with Louis XII, which proved to be his Trust and what is obviously a considerable local input from ?????. undoing. This was a mutual aid alliance, and when Henry VIII planned an invasion of France in 1513 he had no choice but to act. Walking the battlefield using the leaflet is easy. There is an 'inner' route, which spans the centre of both lines, an additional route passing James assembled an army of 40,000 men and invaded England. His through some fairly sensitive wildlife areas, out of bounds whilst birds army didn't go far. It roamed around Northumberland, never more are nesting, and a route around the outer fringes by car. than a few miles from, the border, as if he were giving token support to Louis. He took the border castles at Norham, Etal and Ford, taking a The inner route is very comprehensively interpreted and it would be strong position on Flodden Hill when he learned that an English army impossible to walk it and not get a good impression of the battlefield was coming. and the progress of the battle. Walking is easy on wide and well maintained paths. There's a current plan to make the site accessible to The Earl of Surrey led the English. Rather than accept the Scottish people with walking problems, which would be a remarkable invitation to Battle, Surrey carried out one of those remarkable achievement. On the day we visited, the only other people there was a manoeuvres that seem completely impossible today. He took his army field trip from Wooler USA, and whilst they all negotiated the steps In a flanking move past the Scots, and turned to face them from the and stile I'm sure that they will appreciate an easy route. north. On the morning of September 9th, the Scots found themselves cut off from their homeland by an English army advancing to Branxton The success of the experience is in the interpretation panels. There are Hill, about a mile from their position. James had to hastily turn his six on the route, plus one at the monument. They mark key points in forces to meet this threat, abandoning his carefully prepared positions. the centre of the battlefield, which are described. They additionally each provide some background information and a graphic; maybe From then on, all the luck was with the English. Early Scottish success arms or armour, maybe landscape. The panels are excellent, and are was negated when their pikemen, trained to use these new weapons something to aspire to by the French, got bogged down, literally, and were cut to pieces by 2OO8 SPRING TOUR photographed them, (he promised me some prints, but no sign yet). The architecture is 'decorated' gothic and probably no earlier than the 1320s. In Search ofthe Templars (an4 a Tu4oi- house party) The Society spring trip Thirteen twenties!!! Now,'as any fule no,' the Templars were bloodily to Temple Balsall, Sun4ay March 9th 2008 suppressed by the King of France, with a bit of help from the Pope, in 1314. Motivated by jealousy of their power and wealth, for by this time they were poor knights no more, and being seriously strapped for cash himself, Phillippe Templars! The name still resonates. From the bad guy in 'Ivanhoe' destroyed IV had the old grand master Jaques Molay and one hundred and twenty two of by his illicit love for the Jewish girl (so much more interesting than the titular the brethren arraigned on a catalogue of absurd charges and burnt at the hero and the blonde bird) to the higher mystical baloney of Dan Brown's little stake. The English crown rather reluctantly followed suit and dismantled the earner, those strange old warrior monks continue to cast their spell. Our order in England but without the bonfires (they were told to go somewhere recent brush with the Poor Knights of Christ came as a direct result of quiet and repent). The bulk of their property was handed over to their brother something I heard on radio 4 (where else!). The programme's presenter was order The Knights of St John, or Hospitallers. Incidentally old Molay had the standing in a church somewhere in Warwickshire, the nave of which he last laugh albeit posthumously. He cursed King and Pope and before the year informed us was flanked by grim visaged life size stone Templars. Wow! I had was out both were dead. It didn't end there. A spate of premature fatalities to see this! among Phillippe's male heirs soon put paid to the entire Capetian line of kings Thus it was that we headed off on a bright spring Sunday morning into the thus triggering the 100 years war as Edward III, son of a Capetian princess wilds of Warwickshire, retracing much of the journey we had done the pursued his claim. But that's another story. previous year to find Shakespeare's auntie and Baddersley Clinton manor So, those "grim visaged" blokes in the roof are Hospitallers, not Templars and house. this is a Hospitaller chapel. It seems that the Poor Knights made do with a We wended along pretty country lanes. The name Balsall had initially conjured much more humble oratory in their old hall which still stands just to the west up images of Birmingham, but not a bit of it. We rounded a corner and there it and very much in the shadow ofthe chapel. stood, on a slight rise, a high red sandstone gothic building, the focal point This was their chief preceptary, or headquarters, in the midlands and although and crowning glory of a small complex of picturesque vernacular stuff, it now looks like a picturesque brick farmhouse with lattice windows and cute surrounded by rough pasture falling away to willows and a little brook. The dormers, a timbered, aisled hall reputedly lurks within. Penny and Amanda place seemed not to have changed. It would not have been surprising to have marched down and banged on the door. "Can we have a look inside?" "No! seen Templars, maybe two on one horse, the iconic symbol of their poverty, You can't come in! We've just been to church." This from a gaggle of startled emerging through those trees. They didn't, though. Perhaps they were out. old ladies who live there, it being part of the almshouses that now occupy Round the bend into the village and before us a carpark (not Templar). The most of the site. rest ofthe party had already arrived; quite a turnout, first ofthe season, Clive, So, the Templar church isn't Templar at all, (you can't even trust Radio 4 Wendy and Mum, Ruth and Brian, Peggy and Anton, Maggie, Ian and the anymore) and the old hall is full of old ladies, "fetch the gun Alice", who don't Aardvarks. welcome people who want to have a nose at their 13th century oak beams and We were immediately accosted by churchgoers. 'We've just been at the the vicar, who came in to say hello, is young, friendly, has fierce red hair service; this place belonged to the Templars you know', the man began to (henna) and is a lady. Not quite what you might expect, but apt as the later explain. He was getting into his stride, but we made our apologies; 'haven't history ofthe place does seem pretty matriarchal. got much time, just a quick look at the Church!' We scooted off past some The Hospitallers moved out in the 1470s and set the hall to a lay tenant. Had neat looking seventeenth century collegiate style buildings and there it was. they been discomfited by the recent death of their Grand Master elect John Large, red, high gabled, smothered in gargoyles and corbel heads. A sight to Langstrother, executed for being on the wrong side at the battle of behold. Tewkesbury? After years of neglect following the reformation with the Entry was though the west door. Inside it is spacious and barn like. No aisles Hospitallers expelled from England, the old complex was saved by two pious and no divisions, though originally there would have been a rood screen. It sisters. Lady Anne Holbourne restored the church and installed a priest, Lady feels like a college chapel, which is pretty much what it is. The 'grim visaged Katherine Leveson succeeding her in the 1620s founded the almshouses and a Templars' are actually corbals, helping to hold up the roof. If I'd known that school, only a stones throw away and still going strong it would seem, but they were that high up I would have brought a pair of binoculars. Ian without the thrashings! 8 In fact it was Dudley, Elizabeth's favourite boyfriend, who had drawn me back All in all Temple Balsall remains a fascinating and rather lovely bit of old to Kenilworth. He was the last of the great owners of the place and he spent a Warwickshire, but it was time for us to go. Stomachs rumbled; lunch fortune transforming it into a Tudor gin palace worthy of the Hollywood beckoned. shenanigans of the 1575 royal visit. There was masque, music, jousting, We headed off down the road to a place called the "Heron's Nest", a canal side boating on the mere to spectacular fireworks and it rained! Nothing changes. pub that did food. The original humble hostelry had been enlarged many fold Now, one of the two castle buildings to have survived intact and which was and re-named many times (this was its fourth or fifth incarnation) but probably run up for this great bash is Dudley's gate-house. Lean, elegant, managed to retain some charm and the catering was admirably efficient. I done in a kind of simplified late medieval cum renaissance style it survived the had sausage 'n mash, Brian Informed me that whatever he was having was general rack and ruin because after the civil war the roundhead governor of very acceptable, so that was alright. It was a long lunch and welcome but we the castle bought it and settled in. It remained in private ownership until quite were burning daylight and were hoping to round off the day with Kenilworth recently and is only now open to the public. There was a chance to get Castle and a quick look at the gilded effigy of Richard Beauchamp in St Mary's perhaps just a flavour of what the castle was really like in those last heady Warwick. Full of sausage, mash and beer we headed off. days before the fall. We all filed in, even those who had nipped off for a cup Kenilworth is mostly the castle. The town itself is small and rather drab with of tea in the Long Barn rather than inspect a load of ruins. too much post-war redevelopment. The castle is vast and dominating but very The first room on the ground floor had been the old gate passage, filled in at ruinous and now quite hard to read. What was once its most remarkable both ends with nice mullioned windows and furnished with choice bits of decor feature is now totally gone. from elsewhere. There is a large, very expensive marble fireplace studded In the middle ages the place was surrounded by a huge mere, it was one of with monograms of Robert Dudley, family badges and if I remember rightly the great water fortresses of England and pretty much impregnable. Now the much protestation of loyalty to the Queen. How could it be otherwise, these only impediment to the visitor is the ticket office and THE GIFT SHOP. As we great courtiers played a dangerous game all dressed up in a last Indian summer of courtly love. Dudley probably fancied a crown and once or twice waited in the queue some were drawn to the tempting displays of glossy seemed to come giddyingly close to it. His own unfortunate wife had come to literature, castle guides, HERITAGE England coffee table books (legs not a highly suspicious end, apparently falling from a balcony at Cumnor Place. included), "Make your own Tudor pomanders" by Jane Seymour, "How to keep Did she slip or ? Bess was too canny to get caught in his web, but he was your head In a crisis" by Ann Boleyn. Then there were the toys. I liked the plastic great helms held on with a piece of elastic. You could smell the past. still her boy 'Swete Robyn', she enjoyed the game and loved him to the end. The queue slackened, we got our tickets and made a dash for it, before us the Upstairs there are several rooms furnished a la Elizabethan, one with the obligatory four poster bed, all bulging balusters and smothered in enough mighty 12th century keep built by one of the de Clintons (not William surely carving to give you nightmares. Whether Queen Elizabeth ever slept on It is though I think the former president does claim "relations" with that family). De Clinton did not long enjoy his new fortress. It was soon requisitioned by not recorded. Finally there is the exhibition. Very English Heritage - sober, informative, prints and the like, but you could slip your hand into a steel Henry I, far too strong to be left in the hands of a potentially troublesome vassal, and remained a royal possession until Queen Elizabeth gave it to gauntlet (repro. and nailed to the table so you couldn't nick It, but a nice touch) and a rather fetching pair if embroidered riding boots Victoria Beckham Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Easy to see why the royals hung onto it for would kill for, believed to be Gloriana's! so long for the monster that now loomed over us still looks Armageddon proof, a gargantuan turreted block-house in red sandstone, walls twenty feet thick, Well, we'd seen a bit if the real deal but now we were being chivvied out by a rearing up from a massive plinth of masonry and rammed earth. It Is an girl in an English Heritage pullover. Did she have auburn hair and a slightly illusion. A quick trot round the back reveals a huge breach where the fourth regal demeanour? I can't quite remember. wall should be, though it never did fall to a frontal assault. During the puritan Commonwealth the beast was slighted by Act of Parliament and several well It was a quarter to five. Outside the castle grounds were being cleared. We placed barrels of gunpowder. A war-weary and paranoid administration had were mildly diverted by a party of strange foreign young people, their dress decided that enough was enough. Most of the rest, John of Gaunt's fabulous colourful and slightly eccentric - perhaps they had escaped from a Romanian great hall with a roof second only to that at Westminster and the elaborate travelling circus. One girl amused the others, running up and down the grassy range of lodgings raised by Robert Dudley In its last Elizabethan flowering, banks and laughing, showy as a parakeet. Ill bet it was much the same in were left to rot. 1575. We made for the exit, THE GIFT SHOP had closed now, no chance of a late sale. Time to head home. Oh, and as for Richard Beauchamp and his 10 gilded tomb, that would have to wait for another day. Down at St Mary's they'd be halfway through evensong and the candles lit. A RYGHT EVIL PLACE

Many yegrs ago, dramatic pieces were performed in Tewkesbury Abbey as part ofthe Medieval Festival, in the days when it was a much smaller event.

To mark the 25th anniversary, and co-incidentally the first anniversary of BLORE HEATH the 2007 floods, the Abbey were persuaded to give us their venue again. Tewkesbury Arts and Drama Society were persuaded to partner us in staging Blore Heath is near Market Drayton, in Shropshire. On 23 September 1459, a play which Bernie Willoughby wrore for the occasion. It had only one

James Touchet, Lord Audley, intercepted the Earl of Salisbury, who was taking performance, on Thursday 17th July. a large Yorkist contingent from Middleham to Ludlow, to join Richard Duke of York. This was the first battle since the first St Albans clash. Despite appearing to have had huge superiority in numbers and to have chosen the battle site, the It is rare to watch a performance of an event of historical importance in the Lancastrians lost. Lord Audley was killed, and the battlefield is marked by a very place it had occurred in reality. Here in the nave of Tewkesbury Abbey cross commemorating him. we had such an experience with Bernie Willoughby's excellent short play 'A Ryght Evil Place' Queen Margaret is reputed to have watched the battle from Mucklestone church tower nearby. Watching battles from churches seems to have been a The play performed by Tewkesbury Arts and Drama Society together with weakness of Margaret's. In this case, she made her escape by getting the members of the Medieval Festival re-enactors and music written by the blacksmith to reverse her horse's shoes, so that it looked as if she was going renowned Bill Hunt, a musician in his own ryght, depicts the build up to the the other way. As a ruse, this seems a bit improbable, and it would be battle between the Lancastrian and Yorkists armies fought at Tewkesbury in interesting to see someone re-enacting this, to see if it would really work! 1471. There is a threat to the battlefield in the form of an application to open a quarry The exiled Margaret of Anjou returned to England from France and with her at Folly Wood. An application made for the same thing 15 years ago was Lancastrian army made a fresh bid for the throne, only to be routed by the rejected. In November, public consultation on the County's mineral plan began, Yorkists, bringing an end to the War ofthe Roses here at Tewkesbury. but to date there has been no news of a decision. Leading the cast is Karen Steger, professionally crafting her character Margaret 2009 is the 550th anniversary of the battle. The Blore Heath Heritage Group of Anjou with serenity, portraying strength for her army and love for her son stages a re-enactment every year, the last of the campaigning season. In 2009 Prince Edward, ably played by Scott Batchelor. Performances given by other it is on 19 & 20 September. They are aiming to make it an event to remember. members of the cast were exciting, colourful and with a touch of brilliance Mouchel Parkman, a multi-national engineering consultancy company are brought meaning to the battle re-enactment held in Tewkesbury just a few supporting the battlefield through a community volunteering project and are hoping to win a heritage lottery grant to develop both the re-enactment and the days before. battlefield. The latter would be through developing a 'heritage trail' with You would be forgiven if, having been in town for a few days you had got used interpretation panels and developing the educational potential of the site and to the townsfolk's costumes as the norm. The actors in their costumes, the battle. battledress and weaponry (Did I see a pair of spectacles go into the midst of battle?) under stage lighting and with full use of the aisles and transepts of the Abbey, brought the audience into an atmosphere of medieval action and the want for more. Lord Audley's eldest son by his second marriage was Sir Humphrey Touchet (born circa 1435). He married Elizabeth Courtenay, widow of Sir James The battle scene, with its dramatic drumbeat, battle-cries and the banner Luttrell. Like his father, he supported the House of Lancaster. He was taken carriers holding high the coat of arms of those fighting, criss-crossing the prisoner at the battle of Tewkesbury and for treason. Executed with the other stage through fighting men and dead bodies, showed skill and effective Lancastrian leaders he was buried under the pavement in the Chapel of St staging by Richard Hughes the director, adding extra pace to this heart-racing Nicolas, in the Abbey. production.

11 12 The music played by Bill Hunt and Des Avery was haunting, evocative and worked well for the acoustics of the Abbey, bringing a tingle to the hair at the back of your neck. Acoustics in the Abbey are fine for music but not so for THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY: THE LOST CARRY ON? speech. Further rehearsal time inside the Abbey may have solved this problem, for it has been said, that to overcome the echo from any speech, one Research into the history of the seminal 'Carry On' series by a local come4y should speak clearly but slowly. By doing this, the word catches up with its film buff has revealed some surprising fads .... own echo and with good timing, the next word is clear of the previous echo. The rehearsed follow on process will give the effect of continuous uncluttered Research in the Pinewood studio archives in connection with the 50th speech! anniversary of the first Carry On film has revealed that plans were well developed for a Carry On treatment of the story of the Battle of Tewkesbury. The final scene, The Epilogue, where the full cast stand facing their audience The project was eventually shelved in the belief that the Wars of the Roses holding a candle calling out the names of the dead, is a moving inspirational might prove too obscure a subject for many cinemagoers and the historical end to an excellent production. focus was shifted to a more well-known period in the English monarchy (or at Angle and Geoff Pope. least one with fewer key figures), resulting in the release of Carry On Henry in 1971 (the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury). The archives, however, still contain the suggested casting for the original treatment by Carry On writer Talbot Rothwell - provisionally titled 'Carry on Slapping or Pardon My Arrivall' - which gives an insight into how the finished product RECORDED FOR POSTERITY might have looked. 'A ryght Evil Place' was a link between the Medieval Festival and the Abbey's Margaret d'Anjou was clearly envisaged as a dominating matriarchal figure as 'Over the Rainbow' event, which marked the anniversary of Tewkesbury's Hattie Jacques was pencilled in for the role; playing against her, Charles great floods. Tewkesbury Videoo Club filmed the whols show and have sine Hawtrey was the natural choice for a physically unprepossessing and been working on a DVD of the week's events, including the play. This will be somewhat fey King Henry VI. There is no record of who was to play Prince available sometime in the NewYear. There is a suggestion that once he mann Edward, their son, although a note suggests that Jim Dale was to be project is coompleted there may be a DVD of the play. This would be a bonus. approached to reprise the earnest juvenile he portrayed in other Carry On outings. Kenneths Williams and Connor were due to play against each other in the roles of Lord Wenlock and the Duke of Somerset respectively - Williams EASYFUNDRAISING relying on his mastery of elderly and dissolute characterisations while Connor adopted the robust military mien that suited him well. Opposite them, the I don't pretend to understand this one, which seems too good to be true. If you double act of aspirant King Edward IV and worldly-wise tough nut Gloucester use the internet for shopping, and shop using links from would be in the capable hands of Bernard Bresslaw and Sid James, reprising a easyfundraising.org.uk you can nominate a charity to receive a donation, partnership that had proved highly successful. Unsurprisingly, Barbara which amounts to 15% of the purchase value. TBS is registered, so please Windsor was to appear as the love (or at least sex) interest in the role of a shop through this site and nominate us! It costs no more, and we can add to Tewkesbury town wench (presumably with the ability to pass unmolested through the Lancastrian lines to reach Gloucester her lover in Tredington!), our funds. The following is copied from the web site: with Joan Sims as her innkeeper mother. The role of Abbott of Tewkesbury We provide a FREE fundraising service where you can raise funds for any charity, trust, Abbey was assigned to Terry Scott; when the basis of the project was shifted school, club, good cause or community group you support when you shop online. to the court of Henry VIII, Scott's role was simply rewritten as Cardinal Wolseley, keeping the character more or less intact. The final piece of Choose from over 600 of the UK's best-known retailers including many popular names casting, and based on his starring role in as Lurcio the Slave in 'Up Pompeii' such as Amazon, Next, Argos, John Lewis and HMV, and when you shop using the links (also by Talbot Rothwell), was to be Frankie Howerd as a Yorkist wagon on our site up to 15% from every purchase you make is donated to the cause you driver, author of 'The Arrivall' and narrator to the film as a whole. choose to nominate. Sad to think that, had the film made it to production, the level of awareness It doesn't cost a penny extra to shop and raise funds for your cause using our site, and of the Battle nationwide (or at least a version of it) might now be much as many retailers now give extra discounts when you buy online, you can even save greater! money! C/ive Montellier Tewkesbury, 1 April 2008 13 14 NORWAY'S LOST ISLANDS NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Whilst England was fighting its own internal wars, Scotland was taking My resolution was to have this Slap finished well before Christmas, advantage of Scandinavian problems to increase its domains. but even pre new year resolutions can go wrong, and now it is to get it finished early in January! This gives an opportunity for a new year review of some of the things that the Society 5HOIAD be doing. In the 14th century Norway still treated Orkney and Shetland as a Norwegian province, but the Scottish influence was growing, and in 1379 the Scottish earl Henry Sinclair took control over the islands on Number one item on the list is always the commemorative sculpture, mainly behalf of the Norwegian king Hakon VI Magnusson. because it will be a huge commitment once we get the go ahead (there's been quite a time commitment to date, but this will pale into insignificance!) In 1380, king Hakon married Margaret, daughter of Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark. When he died Margaret became regent. On her father's Working on the display in Tewkesbury Museum seems a little like painting the death she became regent of Denmark as well. In 1397, at the Forth Bridge. We never quite get it finished before its time for a major change. Convention of Kalmar, the thrones of Noway, Denmark and Sweden The last major overhaul was for the Duke of Edinburgh's visit, and now we're were united under king Eric. In time, Norway came under the control of at it again. There are changes afoot in the management of the Museum as the Denmark. Borough Council is withdrawing its support as part of another belt tightening round. There is also extra space, so we're hoping that our area can be Count Christian of Oldenburg succeeded Eric. The struggle to maintain dedicated to the middle ages, and that the Romans can be housed elsewhere. Sweden as a part of the union, together with his natural fecklessness, left Work has started, and will proceed spasmodically, on Sunday mornings, for the him very short of money. He received papal permission to found next couple of months. Scandanavia's first University, but he couldn't raise the funds. The battlefield itself has an air of neglect, which is probably not the worst When his daughter Margaret became engaged to James III of Scotland thing that could happen to it. The problem is that some of the neglect is not at in 1468 he needed money to pay for the dowry. Without the knowledge all good for interpretation and questions about preservation of the historic of the Norwegian Riksrad (Council of the Realm) he entered into a landscape spring up. Some years ago a Battlefield Management Plan was contract on 8 September 1468 with the King of Scotland in which he commissioned and not implemented. This idea needs to be revived, and pawned the Orkneys for 50,000 Rhenish guilders. On 28 May the next probably a committee of interested parties, landowners and 'stakeholders' is year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders. Just to be on needed to agree on priorities and to implement them. The actions will be both the safe side he secured a clause in the contract which gave future maintenance items and interpretation. This will need quite a bit of legwork and kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg research to get it started and a lot of goodwill to make it work. To date we've of gold or 2,310 kg of silver. received very little in the way of co-operation but maybe if we can present a properly developed plan we might persuade some of the parties of the Several kings of Denmark-Norway tried to redeem the islands during the advantages in working together and in having an attraction to both serious and 17th and 18th centuries. Each claim was dismissed by the Privy Council casual visitors. in Edinburgh. The islands were already at that time under a strong influence from English language and customs, but the connection with Alongside this we need good literature. A leaflet to go with the walk which Norway remained for some time. Norwegian institutions and authorities aspires to the quality of the Flodden one. A leaflet for the Abbey describing partly continued to function, and the Norn language was both spoken what happened there and where to look for the evidence. And a leaflet and written for a long time. describing some of the longer walks associated with the battle.

The other long standing failure is the web site. This has had no work done to it for ten years now and it is well overdue for a thorough overhaul. It shouldn't be a big job, and it is one which has been started countless times but never

15 16 brought to the point where it can be launched. There is lots of information and POTTING IN AUSTRALIA lots of graphics so it shouldn't be such a big task. The Chinese proverb says about even the longest journeys starting with a single step. Taking that step There is no doubt that the internet is g life enhancing invention. Not only seems to be the problem. does Kofe Anngn contgct you personally from time to time to offer you money if you contact his friendly Nigerian bank manager, but it allows Other than these few things, plus keeping up the programme of walks and talks, most of the other things we have to plan for are trips out. Once we have strangers from across the world with overlapping interests to become a programme of events for 2009 we'll circulate it. friends.

We should achieve some of this in 2009! Mike Godsell is a potter living in Busselton in Western Australia. Out of the blue came an email asking for a little help. Help at 13,000 miles is normally pretty straightforward, because there's nothing about it which involves physical effort; it's usually sending information which is already to hand, or BRIGG FAIR researching a little into new areas. This proved to be the case with Mike. He emigrated from Cheltenham many years ago with his wife, who was born in Tewkesbury Mop Fgir is g wonderful relic of the past, but we have g Fletchers Alley in Tewkesbury. He has memories of the town in the sixties, romanticised view of both this and fairs in general. The medieval particularly the pubs! He was remembering his roots in a little project; foundation of fairs is complex, an4 this short description explains the origin making a relief of medieval battle for the tourist market. With his local roots of another fair of proud tradition, and the toll extraction opportunities he's decided to dedicate it to Tewkesbury. Though tourists in Busselton seem to be predominantly from Japan, that doesn't seem to be a problem. It will presented by a bridge. also reduce the questions about authenticity! There is very little in Western Australia about fifteenth century European history apparently. The things he was interested were information for a short leaflet and During the reign of King John in the 13th century, Hugh Neville of heraldry, so that was easy. This resulted in an exchange of emails. Mike is Raby Castle in County Durham desired the daughter of Sir Stephen de retired and is pursuing his potting interests at the Busselton Pottery, a local Camara. Lord of Glanford Bridge. Hugh Neville gave King John 20 co-operative. He sent a picture of his completed project, reproduced below, marks and a Palfrey worth 5 marks (a Palfrey being a saddle-horse for so if you should ever find yourself in Bussleton, call in and buy one. ??? has riding particularly by ladies) and thereby obtained permission to marry the longest pier in Australia. I've had an invite for a beer at the bar at the the lady concerned and the right to hold two fairs of three days and six end of the pier, an invite which I'm sure would be extended to any member of the Society, though it's a long way to go just for an XXXX. days, in Brigg. The Charter of 1236, granted by King John, states that "Ernisius Neville, he and his heirs may have for ever one market every week on Thursday at the bridge of Glanford and one fair there in every year during four days viz: St. James' day and the three days following so that it be not to the nuisance of neighbouring fairs and neighbouring markets." The Yarhorough Roll states: "Gilbert de Neville has at Glanford Bridge a market on Thursday, and fairs on the feast of St. James for 6 days, he has also there tolls of all merchandise (mercimoniis) bought or sold. Also he has tolls from the feast of the Apostles: Philip and James until the feast of St. Peter ad Vincular, of carts passing over the said bridge and likewise of all animals passing to the fairs or from the fairs bought or sold, and it is unknown by what warrant".

17 18 talking. We didn't gain any new members but we must have sown a seed with THE THREE BATTLES a lot of people who maybe came to the medieval festival or decided to look a little more deeply into our history. This corner of England hasn't been in the front line of the struggles which have defined our history, but it has been the scene of three of the defining For 2009, the second Three Battles Festival is fixed for 13th June, in Worcester battles,- Evesham, Tewkesbury and Worcester. Each separated by a couple of Guildhall. The formula will be much the same, but the advertising should be better, having learned from 2008 and there may be more groups contributing. centuries, each having a significant impact on events

Later in June, on 27th & 28th, we've been invited to have a stand at the South Midlands branch of the Armoured Vehicle Association open day at Ashdown Evesham has the Simon de Montfort Society. They have been instrumental in Camp near Badsey. Whilst this is primarily a twentieth century event, they are having the memorial to Simon erected in the Abbey Grounds, and for many keen to promote local history. A partnership with the Evesham and Worcester years have held a commemoration at the beginning of August, which has been Societies will promote joint working, and may lead to better things. attended by representatives from Tewkesbury. In the last two years a considerable amount of hard work has come to fruition in a lease over land around the Battle Well and the establishment of a footpath, a permissive right of way, with a descriptive leaflet. BANNERS

Worcester has a much more recent Society. The City is home to an active re- In 2008, there were 104 banners flying in the streets of enactment community and in the past hosted an annual re-enactment of the Tewkesbury. This is the most successful enterprise that the Society flight of King Charles, though this was stopped for 'health and safety' reasons. is involved in. The colour in the streets is the envy of many, the The thrust of the Battle of Worcester Society is to develop a better heraldry is a route into history which fascinates children, there is a understanding of the battlefield and improve its interpretation. One initiative is steady demand for images for all sorts of purposes and the a commemorative sculpture, which sounds very familiar! business of managing the banner stock has become a Developing links between the three battle sites has been suggested in the community enterprise in its own right. past, but as far as officialdom is concerned there is a major obstacle. Tewkesbury is in Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire is officially in the South The workload is now such that we've formed a sub committee to West. Obtaining grants to develop ideas which span the South West and West share the workload, which is now divided between production, Midlands region is asking more of the system than it can deliver. The tourism sales and hanging. The administration grows by the year. and educational potential, though, should be considerable if the resources and knowledge are pooled. We now have weekly banner painting sessions, to maintain the The three Societies have made a start with joint ventures. The first was in the banners we have and to increase the stock by 15 or so banners Worcester Guildhall in the spring. We called it the 'Three Battles' festival. It a year. New 'dyers, tinters and gilders' are always welcome, as was a good start. The Guildhall is an excellent venue and even with limited are those who are able to help put up the banners, which is a advertising and little outside to attract people in we had a steady stream of major exercise these days. Sessions are currently held on Friday visitors. The Societies were joined by the Richard III Society, an obvious evenings, between 7.30 and 9.30 in the Annexe in Barton Street. choice to supplement the Wars of the Roses section, the Worcestershire We hope to move to Thursdays once TADS finish rehearsing for Archives, who were promoting their resources, and the Battlefields Trust, their current play. advertising their existence and purpose.

We used the opportunity to be productive. Alongside the leaflets and displays about the battle we painted banners. Heraldry is always attractive to the public, and there's plenty of opportunity to talk about aspects as well as plenty of aspects to talk about. We had a steady stream of visitors and did a lot of 19 20 THE MARCH FROM CHIPPING SODBURY THE BATTLEFIELDS TRUST

In the run-up to the 25th Tewkesbury Medieval Festival, the Town's Air and Tewkesbury Battlefield Society is a group member ofthe Battlefields Trust. Sea Cadets rose to a challenge from the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society to Society members can obtain a £5 discount on individual membership. The recreate the march to battle of the Yorkist and Lancastrian Armies as they Battlefields Trust is an important lobbying body, a centre of expertise an4 a converged for their decisive clash in May 1471. Accounts of the Battle source of information on battlefield issues. show that the armies nearly came to blows near Chipping Sodbury before the Lancastrians slipped away towards Gloucester in a dash for the Severn crossing; finding the city barred to them, they made their way north along The Battlefields Trust is a charitable Trust whose objectives are to: the Severn to Tewkesbury where, with no time to pass through the town, they had no option but to turn and fight. In the meantime, the Yorkist army 3 save battlefields from destruction by motorways, housing shadowed their opponents, making their way along the Cotswold ridge developments etc. 3 provide a range of battlefield-related activities and information, before passing through the village of Cheltenham and camping overnight including the quarterly journal 'Battlefield', battlefield walks and at Tredington ready to do battle the following morning. conferences 3 liaise with local and national organisations to preserve battlefields In the 2008 re-enactment, Tewkesbury's Sea Cadets elected to follow the for posterity Lancastrian route. With their numbers whittled away by other cadet 3 improve the interpretation and presentation of battlefields commitments, the team was reduced to three. After a day exploring the key points along the way, including Wickwar, Berkeley and Slimbridge, they The Battlefields Trust is active in all sorts of areas at the moment, not only set out by foot from Norton on Sunday morning, stopping - as the organising tours of battlefields and conferences but also supporting Lancastrian forces likely did - at Offa's Chapel in Deerhurst before battlefield interpretation all over the country with leaflets and panels, retracing the steps of the Lancastrian army along the Severn Way to including some sites which are pretty well unrecognisable, such as Turnham Tewkesbury in the company the Secretary of the Battlefield Society. Green in West London. Keeping an eye on planning applications which might affect battlefields is an The air cadet team was similarly reduced, this time to one. Undaunted, he important aspect of their work, and though there are no big campaigns at set out alone from Chipping Sodbury on Saturday morning by mountain the moment there are always things, mostly roads, quarries and wind bike to follow the route believed to have been taken by the Yorkist army, turbines at the moment, chipping away at sites. via Hillesley, Nymsfield, Stroud and Birdlip, then sweeping through For details of membership, visit www.battlefieldstrust.com/members. Shurdington and onto Tredington and Tewkesbury.

Unlike their predecessors, the two teams met amicably on Tewkesbury's Bloody Meadow, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the Battle, then embarking on a tour of the battlefield and a pint at the Bell before FRANK FRANKLIN striding united into the Town to be met at the Abbey Gates by Town Councillors and Society officers. Frank Franklin died suddenly of a heart attack, having just returned from a trip to Cheltenham, and whilst poring over a map, doubtless Though this was a small start, it demonstrates that it is both challenging planning a walk. Frank was one of out longest serving members, and a and fun. It is a superb opportunity to give our resident Cadet organisations frequent helper at our various stalls. For a while he served on the a chance to see their Town through the eyes of a medieval soldier as they committee. He was remarkably fit and active, thinking nothing of approached the battlefield by the original routes. Now that they've done it walking the length of France. He was a very active Cotswold Warden. once, we hope to make this an annual event to commemorate those who Our sincere commiserations to Betty, and his daughters. took part and to raise awareness of the Battle of Tewkesbury's key place in English history.

21 22 MONEY Meanwhile, all as not well with Irish coinage. In 1460, a parliament in Drogheda enacted 'a proper coin separate from the coin of England The use of money an4 bills of exchange for Accounting was amazingly well was with more convenience agreed to be had in Ireland'. Besides groats and pennies, an issue was struck 'heavily imprinted on one part a4vance4 in the fifteenth century, respon4ing to Europe-wide trying. The of it a crown and the other part a cross, called a Patrick, of which eight history of coinage 4uring the perio4 hol4s some fascinating facts. shall pass for one denier'. This seemed to be the only convenience; a coin worth one half of a farthing. Since at least 800AD the unit of currency in England was the penny. Known initially as the Denier, from the Roman denarius the coinage was To attempt to address the shortage of coinage, Edward IV s reign saw adopted by the Saxons from the Prankish king Charlemagne. the penny devalued again. He reduced the silver content from 15 to 12 grains. This saw the value of silver increase from 29 to 33s/lb. In order to Coins were hammer struck from blanks of known weight at mints maintain the ratio between silver and gold without striking new gold controlled by the King or the Church. Because of the huge amount of coins the Noble was increased in value from 6s 8d to 8s 4d. These tampering with coinage that was possible, precautions were taken. The changes worked, and bullion came flooding in. Trier/ of fhe Pyx' is still carried out ceremonially, but in the middle ages a sample of two coins had to be taken from every 'journey weight', 720 Edward introduced new gold coins, the first since Edward III. He minted Troy Ounces, struck. These coins were placed in a 'pyx box' and taken the Ryal, worth 10s, and the Angel, which replaced the revalued Noble, for examination for purity and the existence of the secret mark used to at 6s 4d. The Ryal was short lived, being ceased by Warwick in 1470 check that a coin was genuine. The secret marks were changed every during the readaption. three months. Trouble of money supply was a continuing problem in Ireland, and the Pennies were of silver. It wasn't until the reign of Edward III that gold unusual step of doubling their value was hit upon. New coins were struck coins of high denominations were struck. These were called Nobles. The in Dublin, called Doubles, worth 8d. In 1472 English coins were revalued link between the value of silver and gold coins was fixed by a ratio of in Ireland, with groats being worth 5d. In 1475 they were raised to 6d. weight. The ratio was 9:100; 9 units of gold had equal value to 100 units Quite how this worked in terms of silver content and trade with England of silver. isn't at all obvious. In the troubled reign of Richard II things started to go wrong. Coins were Scottish coinage followed much the same pattern as English and Irish, being minted in London and Calais. There were gold nobles, half nobles, with the silver penny and gold noble. Long before England, though, quarter nobles and silver groats, half groats, pennies, halfpennies and they introduced copper and copper alloy (billon) pennies. During the farthings. At a time when the value of the coin was in the metal it was reign of Robert III (1390-1406) the Lion replaced the noble. James III made from, value was an important consideration. English silver coins (1460-1488) seemed to have an obsession with new coins, introducing were undervalued, and as a result they found their way, illegally, to the the gold Rider and Unicorn and the billon Plack. Scottish gold coins took continent in large numbers, leading to a great scarcity of coins. their names from the symbols on them. The Plack, originally worth threepence, took their name from the French 'plaque', a thin piece of Henry IV inherited this economic problem. He tried export duty on coins, metal. but to no effect. In 1412 coinage was devalued. The official weight of a gold noble was reduced from 120 to 108 grains, and a silver penny from With the advent of the Tudors, money, like so many other things, 18 to 15 grains. This stopped the rot. Henry V was the beneficiary of this, changed forever. During the reign of Henry VII coins became things of and he acted to increase the money supply, by reopening the Royal beauty as well as utility. New methods of die cutting combined with mints in York and Calais. War became the downfall, as the French and better considered designs were the beginning. In 1489 the first English Burgundians allied against England and blockaded the English wool twenty shilling coin was introduced. Starting life as the Double Ryal, the trade. The Duke of Burgundy refused to allow gold to be used to pay for king himself renamed it the Sovereign. This was in the year that he named his new flag ship the Sovereign of the Seas. Henry played a wool, and the English gold supply dried up. Just as today, scientific advanced is driven by adversity. Henry VI's government encouraged strategic game. research into alchemy, but with no success. The Calais mint stopped The most surprising thing is that though the Shilling had been used as a producing gold coins in 1428 and closed forever in 1440. unit of account since Saxon times there had never been a 12d coin. The 23 24 word itself derives from the Saxon 'sailing', meaning a 'piece cut off. BATTLE OF HEXHAM IN ITS PLACE This describes a small piece of scrap silver used to make up the weight of worn coins when payment was by weight of silver. In 1504, Henry John Sacjler an4 Alex Speirs are the authors of this book, published by Ergo introduced the Testoon, a silver twelve pence piece. Its name was quickly changed to shilling. Press, of Hexham, in 2007 at £8.99. ISBN Number 15:978-0-9552758-7-6

The Tudors were not universally good at managing the coinage of the A book about a small window in time such as a battle or campaign has realm, and by the reign of Queen Elizabeth there was a considerable to be formulaic. The day has to have a context, which demands a quantity of debased silver coinage in circulation. This was collected at description of the major events leading up to it. With the Wars of the various centres through the realm, stamped and revalued. Shillings Roses it's difficult not to start with Edward III. We need to know a little became 4%d or 2

SG

25 26 It was cooked that night and all the guests Partook of some and you can guess SKIRRETS the rest. It was the culprit - this wondrous veg. The hall was filled with farts most strong, Skirrets are a sort of water parsnip. They are not a favoured vegetable Both malodorous and very, very long. You may wish to know of what I speak nowadays, but their twin attributes were said to be aphrodisiac qualities The answer is one you will have to seek Back in history; as now it seems That this wonder veg no longer grows upon our shores or 'neath our and a source of flatulence. hedgerows

Let me tell you a tale of an era long past When men were bold and women's But look up skirret in your dictionary. It is the veg of which you should be wary bosoms were vast. We found a sample of this interesting plant in the US of A at the Plymouth Times were hard and food was scarce. Especially so, if the game was fierce Plant-ation. But vegetables they did abound if you had the time and had the ground. We brought it home and tended it with loving care. It did quite well so was Some crops grew well and flourished so helped keep people well nourished planted out to get more air Others, however, were in short supply especially when affected by blight or fly. And hopefully a healthy, plentiful crop. But Oh Misery Me - it does not like the English soil One veg that was held in high esteem because of a side-effect that did seem However hard we nurtured and did toil The skirret died, The water parsnip is a To keep the appetite of all quite keen for persons of the opposite gender flop. And make them look with glances tender. This worked quite well in early stages When damsel peeped o'er her bible pages at the object of her heightening With sincere apologies for the poor quality of the rhymes, lack of metre and desire general non-ability to write poetry. If anyone can do better - please do so. We Whilst he, in turn, did read the messages of sighs and glances, till he did could have a competition, although skirrets would not be the prize! perspire.

But all was not at this point lost the couple found a corner, a nook, a spot Where their embraces could be carried on without them being spied upon. They kissed and touched and all seemed dandy, especially as by now both were randy. He did persuade her then to rest upon a conveniently-placed well-stuffed cushion. She sank with grace but without her drawers on and encouraged him to strip his person.

He bent right down to take off his hose and then when he did least suppose That she whom he called "his dear heart" could wait much longer, a raucous fart Did rippie and roar and fill the chamber. She pulled away with face askew, He really did not know what to do. But then another followed his, Of different odour but much more fizz. It was too much - they had to laugh, Their passion being now quite abated. They wondered when their lust could be sated. But first they had to find out why their bodies should in unison let fly With such noisy and noisome farts. They discussed the food that they had eaten But for quite some time there were quite beaten until a villein did deliver some more Of a delicious but quite rare veg they'd had before. 27 28