Victory is Sealed
CAVALRY, cannons and chaos are coming to a village near Ashbourne and families are invited to watch what is said to be the largest re-enactment event to take place in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
The Sealed Knot Society will go to battle on the fields of Moorside Farm in Ellastone Road, Cauldon Lowe, over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The free event, which will be held on Sunday, August 29, and Monday, August 30, from noon each day, is aimed at bringing history to life, organisers say, and there will also be a living history display with an array of stalls.
The Sealed Knot Society is the oldest re-enactment society in the UK, a registered educational charity, and the single biggest re-enactment society in Europe.
Organisers promise an eyeopening event which will offer a chance to experience at first hand the horrors of a nation at war with itself, as well as providing a glimpse of everyday life in those days. Member Dave Cooper, who is hosting the event, said: “The aims of the society are not to glorify war, but to honour those that died in the many battles of the English Civil War, and to educate the public about those wars, and also about the lives and times of people in that period.
“The name of the society derives from a group, which, during the Protectorate, plotted for the restoration of the monarchy. Here the similarity ends as the present society is non political.
“Our events vary in size, a major battle lasts for two or three days, often, but not always, over Bank Holiday weekends, and can see thousands of combatants taking to the field.
“In small groups we visit schools at their request to give pupils a more hands-on approach to history by seeing us in costume, being able to ask us questions, and also handle some of the equipment we take with us. Pupils can learn about cookery, clothes, education and politics alongside the weapons and battle strategies in their own schools from people who have studied the period.
“The event at Moorside Farm is to be a Major Battle, one of our larger events with battle displays on Sunday and Monday including a living history encampment to get a feel for 17th century life and talk to the re-enactors.
“As a result of Covid-19 this is our first major event since 2019 and we are not advertising as extensively as usual but aiming to promote the event locally to limit audience attendance. The event will be free to attend to reduce the personal interaction in taking money issuing tickets.”
Visit www.thesealedknot.org.uk
The aims of the society are not to glorify war, but to honour those that died in the English Civil War. Dave Cooper