We were thrilled to be invited to a one-day multi-period event in Huddersfield as part of the annual Golcar Lily Day celebrations.

This was a chance for us to be a little more relaxed than usual, enjoy some good historical cooking and games, as well as wrangling some younger members of the public for a quick drill.

The day is named after famous preacher and founder of Methodism, John Wesley, apparently saying that the people of Golcar were “as gentle as lilies” when compared to their neighbours and the name has stuck!

A few of us arrived early on the Saturday morning and quickly discovered that our large canopy we’d brought, required more than five of us to put up! Fortunately we were joined shortly after by our friends from Lieutenant-Colonel John Lilburne’s Regiment of Foote, who were able to offer help.

The day ran smoothly with a few drill displays, and some very impressive cannon fire just to make sure the whole town had woken up properly! One of the highlights of the day was the march through the town, where we had a chance to flex our shouting muscles to a good-sized crowd and see everything else that the Lily Day organisers had put on through the streets.

Some of our younger members took advantage of the funfair opposite the reenactment arena… some of our big-kid members also took advantage of the bar serving icy slushies throughout the very sunny day (no complaints).

With a record number of volunteers for the children’s practice pike drill, it meant that our pike block was easily chased off the field by the menacing new recruits!

The day ended with an amazing chance to mingle with all of the other reenactors after the event had closed to the public, where we all got to share a huge chilli and a few beers, generously provided by the organisers… there’s something very lovely about sitting down between a medieval lady and a WW1 soldier to eat your nachos after a hard days work!

We’re at Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire on second May Bank Holiday weekend – want to give it a go? Drop us a message and take part for as little as £10, with your kit provided! This hobby has something for everyone and this summer you could:

💥 Fire a cannon!

⚔️ Fire a musket and go into hand-to-hand!

🥁 Be a drummer and lead the regiment!

𓐬 Or block in with our pikeman to take on the enemy!

If that’s not your thing then join our living history, where you can learn traditional skills 🔨🪡🍳

Visit our join up page or email earlofmanchesterspr@gmail.com and discover a brand new hobby you’ll love!