Tewkesbury Medieval Festival

The Tewkesbury Medieval Festival 2011 promises to be the biggest and best medieval spectacular of them all, when the two day Gloucestershire event gets underway.

The annual Tewkesbury Medieval Festival sees living history enthusiasts travelling from all over Europe to take part in the medieval spectacular, and on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 July 2011 families from across Gloucestershire will also be flocking to the two-day event.

Handsome knights will be laying their lives down for their kings, battling it out for the crown of England, whilst their families live in medieval encampments for the weekend – working, eating and sleeping just as they would have done during the legendary Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

You can also expect to see the festival’s time-travelling residents entertaining the crowds – complete with a skilful jester who will be mystifying audiences with magical tricks, and a minstrel set to keep the crowds entertained by with his musical dexterity.

Regular festival-goers will also be hoping for a return of the Bright Knight Learning Tent, where youngsters can learn more about medieval life. Plus, organisers promise, there may even be a dragon or two, as well as other mysterious and ferocious creatures lurking nearby.

Head to Tewkesbury for the annual weekend event and you will also find live music, combat displays and demonstrations of ancient crafts, as well as an array of stalls selling everything from suits of armour to bags of sweets. A beer tent will help everyone get in the festival spirit with real ales and, if you want to have an authentic taste of the past, mead.

The Tewkesbury Medieval Festival 2011 will take place on the fields off Lincoln Green Lane, the site of the original Battle of Tewkesbury of 4 May 1471, when the Houses of York and Lancaster met in a bloody battle which left thousands of brave men, including Edward Prince of Wales, dead – and put Edward IV firmly on the throne of England.

The festival site runs from 11am on both days, and is followed by a host of events in Tewkesbury town centre. While the Saturday specifically will include the trial and beheading of a number of captured Lancastrians, as well as a service of Compline in Tewkesbury Abbey – just as would have been heard in the 15th century.