The sights and sounds of one of the most troubled eras of English history will be recreated in Robin Hood’s backyard this weekend.
RSPB Sherwood Forest, Edwinstowe, will host a Wars of the Roses event on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9, with the spirit of the late 15th century captured by re-enactment and living history groups.
It is an chance to get up close and personal with history, as rival Yorkists and Lancastrians set up their camps on the forest reserve’s events green.
The Royal Houses of York and Lancaster fought bloody battles up and down the country as Civil War raged for more than 30 years, a conflict which ultimately resulted in the rise of the Tudor dynasty which held the English throne for the next century — and now it is time for Sherwood to have its very own battle.
The groups taking part include: Lord Thomas Stanley’s Retinue, The Gray Household, Beaufort Companye, Coventry Levy, The Woodville Household, The Thomas Fitzgeralds, The Savile Household, The English Free Company, The Neville Household and The Oxford Household.
There will be armour and weapons on display, and an Arming Race will pit armour-wearing soldiers against each other in a test of strength and speed.
With so much at stake in the wars, the two sides will also come to blows in the Skirmish of Sherwood.
There will be a chance for visitors to learn the movements and skills that soldiers of the period would have been expected to demonstrate to be ready for battle
Life at the time of the Wars of the Roses was also about much more than the battlefield. The skills of the era’s artisans and craftspeople will be on display, with a fashion show set to celebrate the finery worn by men and women of the day, as well as displays of medieval cooking, weaving and spinning.
The events start on both days at 10am and admission is free. Parking charges apply.
