All hail for St George at Richmond Castle
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 April 2012
National pride is usually at the heart of any St George’s Day event, but even more so at Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire on Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 April, when the kings’ troops are mustering support for a march North!
Thankfully, this is not a sign of a new skirmish with a Nordic nation, but a recreation of the St George’s Day celebrations from 1482, when the English army was preparing the ground for its march on Scotland the following year.
“We’re staging this event towards the end of the Wars of the Roses, when the houses of York and Lancaster were engaged in an ongoing dispute over the English crown. With each house calling on families around the country to support them, everyone would have been very weary after nearly 30 years of conflict, so the pageantry of St George’s Day would have been a perfect opportunity for soldiers and civilians alike to let their hair down,” comments Jon Hogan, English Heritage’s regional events manager.
21st century visitors will be invited to join in the celebrations, which will include living history, recreating a military encampment, as well as the chance to see some of the soldiers – for whom St George is also the patron saint – involved in mustering, drill and archery as they demonstrate their prowess with sword, spear and bow.
The highlights of each day will be the ultimate display of pageantry at 12 noon and 3.00pm each day, when St George mounts his noble stead for a horseback procession around the castle, including a skirmish with his famous foe, the dragon, in a play designed to entertain all the medieval citizens and soldiers.
The event runs each day from 11.00am to 5.00pm, with Richmond Castle itself open from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Admission prices are £5.50 for adults, £5.00 for concessions and £3.50 for children, or free for English Heritage members. For more details, please contact Richmond Castle on 01748 798228 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/richmondcastle
ENDS
For further media information, or a copy of the English Heritage events press pack for Yorkshire and the North, please contact:
Jay Commins – PRO English Heritage (Yorkshire)
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@fim.org.uk
