The first 25 years — Tewkesbury Medieval Festival

1985

The hard core of locals who had decided to continue with the medieval adventure staged a similar event on the following year; a one-day fayre with a battle re-enactment. The local involvement in the battle decreased, and was replaced by re-enactment groups of many periods. There was a preponderance of Norse Film and Pageant members, giving the event a distinctly Viking flavour. The organisation of the fayre became more structured this year, in the hands of Pete Linnell and Steve Goodchild, who retained the local charity emphasis, but also introduced a variety of stalls, bringing in colour and a bohemian atmosphere with a number of "new age" stalls. The principle of charging a tithe to non-charity stalls was established, with all profits being directed to Green Deserts, a charity working in southern Sudan.

1986

In the early days there was not any intention of re-enacting Tewkesbury every year. In fact, the oft discussed ambition was to do Lord of the Rings battles. Variety was introduced this year by building a castle. The event was advertised as the ‘Storming of Holm Castle’. It became a two day event, based entirely on the Vineyards. Camping for participants was provided for the first time, in very primitive conditions. To prepare the props, a number of people worked on the field through the preceding week, including several members of other groups. What was achieved was remarkable, thanks to Len Clatworthy. In a few days there was a usable castle, complete with turrets and a defendable gate, a siege tower and a catapult. Today’s safety standards would have condemned the whole lot, but those in the castle at the final storming got a very good impression of what the real thing was like!

1987

More variety, with the main event becoming theatrical. The story of King Arthur was staged. Chief technical prop maker was Dave Cubbage, though this proved to be good theatre, it was not so popular with the re-enactors, who were by now coming in their hundreds. It entailed long periods of inactivity. The public had come to watch a lot of fighting, and they also became a little bored by it. The Fayre was now growing apace, and beginning to become an attraction in its own right. The stall mix was still local, charity and new age.

1988

Major changes were made this year, moving the event to the Mayday weekend, to participate in the charity Telethon being staged by ITV. As the weekend was close to the anniversary of the battle, it seemed to be a worthwhile experiment. It became a three day event, with camping being arranged at the Gupshill. This was not a very good year. The weather was poor. Many of the supporting events which had been promised failed to materialise, and worst of all the ‘Brew Crew’ a group of ‘travellers’, known for their anarchistic and antisocial attitudes, descended on the town, as a staging post before the Stow Horse Fair on the following weekend. This was not popular in the town, and there are still stories circulating about some of the things they did. The re-enactment returned to the Battle of Tewkesbury. Stephanie Smith replaced Pete Linnell in the Fayre organisation.

1989

Because of local concern about the effect of the ‘Convoy’ in 1988, and because an attractive offer was made, the event was transferred to Worcester for 1989, where the battle became the centrepiece of the Worcester Carnival. The fayre was abandoned for the year. With considerable help from SCUM, a fortification was built on the racecourse, and a siege and storming event was staged. It was probably the most dangerous battle staged, and in retrospect it was only by luck that there were no serious injuries. It prompted a more serious approach to safety.

1990

The Fayre returned to Tewkesbury. Because of forgetfulness, the Vineyards was not booked in time, and a caravan rally was held there instead. The event moved to ‘Bishops Ground’ in Lower Lode Lane (to which it returned in 2003). It continued to grow, both the Battle and fair. It was spoiled by the exceptionally hot weather, which affected those attending, and led to the delay of the re-enactment until early evening. This proved to be unpopular with both the re-enactors and the audience. Gary Essex took Stephanie Smith's place in the Fair organisation.

1991

The event was back on the Vineyards. It now settled on a re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury, and a few years of steady but not remarkable growth.

1992

Further steady progress.

1993

Another year without a change in the formula. There were now strong pressures for change, with the battle becoming too large to be safe on the Vineyards, and disagreements about direction among group members.

1994

A year of tragedy, change and triumph. The event was overshadowed by the death in a road accident of Mark Iwanczuk. Mark, Bernie Willoughby and Dave Cubbage had been working on a new departure, a dramatic presentation in the Abbey. This was developed and became his remembrance. It was a production which worked well in the Abbey, and also marked a return to innovation after several years of consolidation. The formula for the battle and fayre remained unchanged, but growth continued on all fronts, and the change in the character of the stalls, towards a "medieval market" was now becoming marked. For the first time since 1885 the battles took place on the Abbey Lawns Trust's meadow, allowing the Swilgate to be used as a safety barrier. This was a huge relief to the hard pressed and very worried safety officer. It also gave a site for the first authentic, "living history" camp which has become a regular feature.

1995

A change in the management of the event saw a single co-ordinator of both battle and market in Dave Cubbage. This gave the advantage of integrating the activities properly rather than giving them different objectives. Cross-funding of the battle from the fayre proceeds now gave the battle a budget to innovate with, but at the cost of abandoning the charitable donations from the fair. A second production was staged in the Abbey, written and produced by Bernie Willoughby, entitled "the Savagery of Men". Again it was well received, but the last of the series, because of the work involved and conflicting demands on time.

1996

For the 525th anniversary of the battle, a major effort was made, and the growth of the event exceeded all expectations. For the first time there were European re-enactors coming in numbers. Horses were brought in as a special attraction, and the marketing was under the name "1471: The Arrivall". The battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury were both re-enacted. A less successful feature introduced was a march from the town centre to the Gupshill, using the roads and lanes which would have been used by the Lancastrian army. Walking in the heat through fields and lanes with no audience was not popular among those who did it. Pointing out that this was a reaction which probably mirrored the fifteenth century one was no consolation. An unintended, but memorable, attraction was the wedding of Jane and Nick Baalam in the Abbey on the Saturday morning, in a fifteenth century style. The bride's progress to the Abbey, on horseback down the High Street and Church Street drew surprised and admiring crowds. (There were also demands for a repeat the following year). Success brought its own problems. The battle site was too crowded for safety. Security on the Vineyards was very inadequate, and Saturday night was badly disturbed by vandals. There was also a worry about what would happen if it rained. The Council reserved the right to stop the use of the site if it was too wet, and that would have caused chaos with people now coming long distances in large numbers.

1997

After great debate, much research and a detailed appraisal of the options, the whole event was moved to a new site south of the Gupshill. This was unpopular with the town's traders, but the reasons were accepted. A free bus service was established, to keep some contact with the town. The event was again a success, with another record growth, overall estimated at 20%. This vindicated the decision to move, though there was a lot of comment from all quarters that the Vinyards site was preferred. Costs of running the event were also rising, with the need for portaloos, water supplies and all the other items which came with growth. For the first time, the a litter picking crew was paid to clear the site. A bit of an indulgence for the organisers! This was to be Dave Cubbage’s swansong as event co-ordinator. The town was very quiet, and totally lacking in the unique atmosphere of previous years. An attempt at a procession did not work, though there was a Sunday procession to the Abbey.

1998

At the Gupshill site again, but marred by atrocious weather, the event's growth was slowed a little, but the international dimension is now growing markedly. With Jane Baalam now taking the overall co-ordinating role, the emphasis upon total authenticity was less acute, and in the fayre in particular there is a re-emergence of interesting and alternative things. For the re-enactors, the authentic campsite has proved to be a great attraction, being twice the size of the previous year, with the market being 50% larger. For the first time the Little Museum became part of the weekend, with Alex and Pam Summers living a fifteenth century merchant’s life in it. What didn't work was the attempts to get a procession into the town. Possibly this was because of the weather, and clashes with on-site activities.

1999

Growth on the site continued with the help and co-operation of James Warner, of the adjacent Southwick Farm. He was prepared to adjust his cropping plans to allow the use of more and more land, and also, at his own risk, introduced a jousting show, which remained a feature whilst the event was at the Gupshill. The event organisation was now focussed into areas of activity, with Mike Fowler managing the battle, Andrew (Henry) Lawrence running the fair, Peggy Clatworthy dealing with entertainment and Gary Essex doing site services. One of Jane’s innovations.

2000

An extra item this year was beheadings. A small re-enactment of the chase of the Lancastrians into the Abbey, their trial and execution followed the closure of the main event. This was surprisingly well received, and has grown into a popular regular feature. A second small addition was rent collecting, with a small group attending on selected businesses in town to demand rent. Some of the proprietors really entered the spirit, arming themselves with cudgels. Others paid the rent in kind.

2001

Another good year, with the event now settled into a formula which worked. The international nature of the event was now very evident, with regular attendees from Belgium, France and Germany as well as the Irish re-enactors who have been coming since the early days, and are as much a part of the event as their compatriots are of the Cheltenham Festival.

2002

A change of management at the Gupshill brought greater interference from the company which owned it, and a desire to have a formal cut of the profits. The arrangements had always been that the fields were provided free of charge, the pub gaining from the extra business and the goodwill it brought. Because of the late start to the discussions, they were persuaded to back off. The event itself was another great success, though very hard work for those who set up the site and managed the event.

2003

Major changes. The owners of the Gupshill were insistent that they wanted a slice of the action, and were not prepared to negotiate. The Black Bear view was that if they got what they wanted it would both undermine the by now quite delicate finances, and was also the thin end of the wedge. As in 1997, a detailed appraisal was carried out, and after much debate a site between Lower Lode Lane and Lincoln’s Green Lane was agreed. It proved hard work getting agreement from three landowners, (Corus Hotels, Severn Trent Water and Tewkesbury Borough Council) and consulting all the locals, but there wasn’t a lot of opposition. Despite months of planning for everything which could possibly go wrong, the whole thing was thrown into confusion by a very major burst water main just outside the site on the day before the fair, which took the entire weekend to fix. Some things are unpredictable! The first casualties were a coach of Polish re-enactors, who found the route they had been given was suddenly blocked. They drove around Tewkesbury for a long time before they found the back way in. The chaos was added to by the numbers of campers exceeding the space allocated, by quite a long way. This wasn’t an issue of less space, but of more campers. Emergency measures had to be introduced quickly, and a lot of favours were asked and given in the town. The weather was much as it had been in 1990, when it was last on the same site; far too hot. Nevertheless, the public enjoyed it, and despite the burst main and a few problems of layout which hadn’t been foreseen, it went as planned. The biggest complaint was probably visibility of the battle on a flat site, which is much worse than on the Gupshill site. A big bonus was the much higher presence of re-enactors in town, and the ability to organise a proper procession to the Abbey for the beheadings.

2004

There has been more soul-searching and disagreement of the way forward than at any time since 1984. This being the twenty first event, there was a strong camp to make it one of the best. The opposite party felt that everyone was so burned out with the problems of planning and staging the 2003 event that it would be better to take a year out to recover. There was also a problem with the site. The owners of the Gupshill had had a change of mind, and made overtures to get the event returned. All these things were hotly debated. The outcome was that the event will be as 2003, having made an investment in the site the prevailing view was that it should be given another go. The festival proceeded as planned, and was another great success as far as the re-enactor community and the general public was concerned. The memorable ‘discovery’ of the year was a German pipe and drum band, ‘Schelmish’, who came along because someone had told them that they’d like Tewkesbury. Tewkesbury liked them, and they are coming back in 2005, with a bigger CD stock. The Abbey also became involved, after a long gap. Paul Williams, the vicar, held a service on the Bloody Meadow in the early morning. ‘Because it is part of his parish’ This is the beginning of a growing relationship. The year was also notable for the numbers of people involved in the executions, which considerably exceeded 100 for the first time. For safety reasons, this will need a re-think. After the event, Mick stood down as battle co-ordinator and Andrew as the trader organiser.

2005

After 21 years, Tewkesbury medieval festival has come of age. It has been project in alternative ways of doing things, which has worked very well, and revealed some unexpected talents. It is the nature of organisations to grow or to die. The Festival has grown, and now it has reached maturity it is reconsidering how it works. The days of being pioneers on the frontier were good and exciting, but the frontier has gone, and the organisation has to recognise that. Tewkesbury Medieval Festival has been established as a company limited by guarantee, a ‘not for profit’ company. The first step to becoming a registered charity, this means that there will be a structure which can be much more inclusive, and involve stakeholders, both from the re-enactment community and from Tewkesbury interests in a positive way. The first steps have been taken to secure the future. The biggest single issue is financial viability, as for the past two years the event has failed to break even. The 2005 event was a real success in many ways. A large team of volunteers rallied round and with their help the financial position was turned around. It was a hot weekend, but the battle went to plan, and the fair was a success. The Abbey is now featuring large in the event, with a service of Compline, which followed the executions attracting a good attendance to a candlelit Abbey. There was a congregation of 160 at the morning service on the Bloody Meadow. On the negative side, this was the last event for Mick Fowler and Jane Baalam, who both resigned to regain their lives, and to concentrate on the re-enactment side of things. It will be hard to replace their experience and expertise.

2006

Another of a string of festival successes, if the internet chat is to be believed. The event was a financial success, and no-one got hurt, so not only were the re-enactors happy but the organisers were as well. It was not without problems, chief of which was disaster with the promised and hoped-for grandstand, intended to deal with the main public complaint, of not being able to see. In the event, the grandstand arrived in a thunderstorm and was too big to be manoeuvred onto the battlefield. The organisation took a big step towards the future by entrusting the battle to the Plantagenet Society. This proved to be a good move, as they were able to look at it with new eyes and introduced both democracy and gradual change. The spectacle was well received by the public, and the new structure by the re-enactors. Other changes were few.

2007

A year to remember! June was rain, rain, rain (so was July, but we were not to know that). Two weeks before the Festival, the site was totally under water, and we were having daily situation reports. By the Monday before the Festival, the water had receded from a lot of the site, and a decision was made not to cancel. This meant a complete re-organisation, as the battlefield, all the authentic camping fields and the crew site were too wet to use. With a lot of help, a minor miracle was achieved, and the event went ahead in warm and sunny weather with remarkably cheerful people and few mishaps. Little did we know that this was the last good weather of the year. Two weeks later came the deluge. Elfin Safety became a more prominent issue, with this being a feature of both our licences (site occupation and entertainment) which the Council kept a beady eye on. A sign of the times. The planned changes included the extension of the event (at last) into the football field beyond the Bloody Meadow. This was to be the carpark, but was quickly drafted in as the battlefield and Yorkist camp. It looked very good with Burgundian tents up the slope. The other first was a grandstand, which this time could be brought on to site. This was really a dry run for 2008, which is just as well, because a lot of useful lessons were learned. Because of the extra costs brought about by soggy ground and last minute changes, expenditure exceeded income. Considerably. This, though, brought out the best in people, and the support and help given and offered by re-enactment groups and traders has gone a long way to keeping us on course for 2008, the 25th re-enactment.

2008

The 25th event. A lot of planning was done, over a long period. Some ideas fell by the wayside, but many were seen through, with varying success. An early fringe item was the march from Chipping Sodbury to Tewkesbury, following both the Yorkist and Lancastrian routes. The idea was to do it at around about the battle anniversary, and to get some publicity with staged events in key places. Maybe next year! We recruited the air cadets and sea cadets (What happened to the army is a mystery). Despite the enthusiasm, confirmation was far too late to arrange any civic stuff, and in the event numbers were small. Those who did enjoyed it, and there was a suggestion of a repeat event. Maybe. The talking point was the procession. We’ve had big procession in the past, but these stopped when the site moved to the Gupshill, restarting in a small way with the move to Lincoln’s Green Lane. Arranging this started in January, but in July the police decided on decisive action to prevent interference with the smooth flow of traffic. Apparently, national policy is that they don’t give active support to processions, they stop them interfering with traffic, they’re legally prevented from stopping the traffic and they’re not insured to steward processions. Being too late to safely cancel the event, it went ahead anyway. It was forced, under threat, to stick to the pavement. The public stood in the road to watch, so the traffic stopped anyway! It did the police no favours. It generated lots of reaction and brought a focus on their community role. There were no big changes to the site arrangements. Car parking is becoming a bigger worry as popularity increases and this year the old football field was added to the inventory as the battle was able to go back to its allocated field. The weather was kinder than 2007, but was by no means good. Heavy rain during the last setting up days brought in a great depression, and having to tow vehicles on to the site was an ominous first for the festival. It quickly became clear that the Bloody meadow was too wet to use, so again space was lost for living history camping. For the first time ever the Fair was officially opened, by a real celebrity and with panache. Robert Hardy did the honours, starting low key and steadily developing his speech to the crescendo of Henry V’s Agincourt speech. Magnificent! On Sunday, he gave a talk on the great warbow to a packed audience, mostly of re-enanctors. Another special addition was Destrier’s jousting. They performed on the battle field, where we tried to keep a full programme of events. As always, weather plays a big part in success, and this year we were off to a bad start, with a sodden site. The intermittent but sometimes heavy rain was a problem on Saturday, but Sunday was much nicer. The sun came out, everything dried out, and as happiness is packing a dry tent people were happy. The end was slightly marred by an unexpected gridlock as everyone left. Something else to put right for next year. And that’s it. The feedback was good. Lots of exhausted organisers, but all that pre-event talk of the twenty fifth at last turned towards the twenty sixth.

The First 25 Years Not To Be Fogotten

A History of the Festival: The First 25 Years