Celebrate the feast of St George at Beeston Castle

Cheshire’s ‘Castle of the Rock’ will reverberate with the sound of steel on steel when English Heritage celebrates the feast of England’s Patron Saint with a medieval pageant at Beeston Castle, near Nantwich in Cheshire over the weekend of 24 & 25 April.

For two days, the grounds of Beeston Castle will be populated by members of the Lion Rampant re-enactment group, who will recreate the sights and sounds of a medieval celebration. Minstrels and singers will create an evocative atmosphere of music and dance, whilst the knights take advantage of the festival to practice and hone their combat skills in hand-to-hand combat training!

“The feast of St George would have been one of the greatest in the calendar, and the Lion Rampant group is one of the finest in the country at bringing to life the spirit of medieval celebration,” comments English Heritage’s events manager, Jon Hogan. “Visitors can see how members of the nobility let their hair down and relaxed – sometimes engaging in civilised dances with their ladies, and sometimes giving their fellow knight’s armour a good clobbering in good-natured contests and tournaments!”

Throughout the weekend, members of the public will be invited to join the celebrations, learning new skills like juggling or swordsmanship, or simply watching the knights and archers as they show off their considerable prowess with sword, mace or longbow, with demonstrations throughout the day. The highlight of the day will be the grand Tournament taking place at 3.30pm – several rounds of hand-to-hand combat and skirmish, culminating in the grand melée, a ferocious battle in which only one man will be left standing…

“Beeston Castle is a wonderful site to hold an event like this – children really enjoy watching the displays, then can spend hours playing in the woodland park, imagining what it would be like to have been a soldier laying siege to this formidable castle, or preparing an ambush for mum and day as they walk around the site’s woodland trails!” adds Jon.

The event runs from 11.00am to 5.00pm, with Beeston Castle itself open from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Admission prices are £6.00 for adults, £5.50 for concessions and £3.50 for children, or free for English Heritage members.

For more information, please call Beeston Castle on 01829 260464 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/beestoncastle

ENDS

This is just one in a series of events being staged at Beeston Castle this year. Other events include: Fairy trail for children 1-3 May Civil War 29-31 May A king's treasure 19-20 June Medieval clash of knights 24-25 July Gruesome Tudors 7-8 August Gladiators & Warriors 21-22 August Dark age dressing up 23-31October

For further media information, a copy of the 2010 Beeston Castle press pack, or a free press pass for our events, please contact: Jay Commins PRO – English Heritage (Beeston Castle) Tel: 0113 251 5698 Mob: 07810 546567 Email: jay@fim.org.uk