New History Festival is Top Summer Day Out
for Motorists
Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, 9-10 August
2003
08 July 2003
Motoring enthusiasts can see vintage cars - and make exciting
discoveries about the country's past - at a new action-packed two-day
history event this summer from English Heritage.
Festival of History is a superb new celebration of the
rich variety of England's social and military history. Held at Stoneleigh
Park, Coventry on 9-10 August, from 9.30am - 6pm, there's something
for all to enjoy. From thrilling battle re-enactments involving a cast
of hundreds to Roman horse racing, catwalk fashion through the ages
and a Victorian wedding, there are displays covering all aspects of
life in the past, from food and gardening to medicine, music and even
law and order!
Battle spectacular will be the re-enactment of the famous
Battle of Edgehill which took place near Stoneleigh Park in 1642 and
was the first Civil War conflict between the Royalists and the Roundheads.
Up to 700 performers will make a dramatic spectacle as tensions rise
and the action
unfolds.
Living history forms a central part of the Festival, with
few aspects of historic daily life left unscrutinised. A township featuring
ten historic houses and their inhabitants will show 'ideal' homes from
medieval to more modern times. Grisly medical procedures, methods of
hygiene and even the centuries-old methods of dealing with marital disputes
and petty thievery come under the spotlight, making compelling watching!
Visitors can be guests at a Warwickshire Victorian wedding
and witness everything from the proposal to the feasting at the end
of the day. There's a fashion show through the ages, with stylish couples
from the middle ages to more recent times in the coolest clothes of
the day. And gardeners will enjoy finding out how common plants have
been used for medicines, soaps, distillation, preservation and perfumery.
Other event highlights include:
Vintage cars and bikes from Coventry Transport Museum, including an
historical bicycle race
Roman gladiators locked in combat and Roman horse racing
The Household Cavalry in a thrilling Victorian Ride showing superb skill-at-arms
Medieval jousting - colourful knights on horseback
Medieval falconry - magnificent birds of prey flying free
Georgian cricket - costumed game played to entertaining 18th century
rules
Swordfighting demonstrations from the middle ages
Period fairground rides, with galloping horses, swing boats and coconut
shy
Tudor puppet show
Queen Victoria, her lady-in-waiting and a Victorian rat catcher
Tudor barber surgeon and Florence Nightingale
Traditional crafts demonstrations
Stuart and medieval cookery demonstrations
Music and dance through the ages
Antarctic explorers - a three man sledging party from 1900 - 1915
Family history, with a look at the ancestry of the famous like Victoria
Beckham
Hands-on children's crafts
A series of lectures will also be held throughout each day with top
speakers including historians David Starkey, Alison Weir and Simon Thurley,
Chief Executive of English Heritage.
Admission is £12 for adults, £9 for concessions
and £6 for children; family tickets (two adults and up to three
children under 16) are available for £30. English Heritage members
are admitted for half-price. Tickets can be pre-booked by calling 0870
333 1183. Stoneleigh Park's easy-to-reach location is just south of
Coventry city centre on the B4113, just off the A46. There is ample
free car parking on site. For more information, call 0870 333 1183 or
visit www.english-heritage.org.uk
Families visiting Festival of History can get some tips
from The History Channel's expert historians on researching their family
history. They can put the information to practical use in the autumn.
From September they can take part in The History Channel's Family History
Project, with prizes to be won plus the chance to have a story broadcast
as a short TV programme - visitors can register at The History Channel's
Family History Marquee, call 0845 671 6005 or visit www.thefamilyhistoryproject.co.uk
