It was a weekend of two halves at the major Sealed Knot muster at Charlton Park on first May Bank Holiday weekend – thanks to the English weather 😂😂😂
The Earl of Manchester’s made their way to the rolling West Country for a weekend of hanging out with friends, enjoying a drink, oh, and a battle or two! Organised by our friends in Sir William Waller’s Brigade of the Armie of Parliament, this was the first ‘major’ of the year – that means the whole Sealed Knot turns out, including a fantastic contingent of cavalry and cannon!
But even before we got to that, one of the advantages of the long Bank Holiday weekends is that we get a full day to hang out, relax, and catch up with friends we’ve not seen for months. And, of course, whenever more than one reenactor gathers you’ll find them making and mending! We sat around the campsite, knitting hats, fixing broken leatherwork, sewing, and chatting. It was a lovely wholesome time, made better by the blazing sunshine!
@english.civil.war When you get reenactors in a field they immediately start making and mending 🤣 Always great to have a spare day before battle! #theweekend #historytok #historicalreenactment #sealedknot #crafting #crafts #knitting #sewing #repair
Of course, we’re there to reenact and Sunday and Monday saw us take to the field with our comrades in Lord Fairfax’s brigade. From a skirmish in the woods to great fights on the wide, flat battlefield, we owe a big thanks to our opponents, Sir Marmaduke Rawdon’s Regiment of Foote, Henry Tillier’s Regiment of Foote, Prince Rupert’s Blewcoats, and Colonel Stephen Hawkins’ Regiment of Foote for some very fun and very hard scraps!
It was on Sunday that the temperature took a tumble, hitting 2º overnight, but luckily there was a very warm beer tent for us to gather in, so we enjoyed three great nights of socialising and dancing – with a quick trip to the chip van on the way back to our tents!
@english.civil.war Feel like you kinda wasted your Bank Holiday weekend? WE DIDN’T! Look at what we got up to at Charlton Park in Wiltshire! #historicalreenactment #sealedknot #history #historical #hobby #weekend #hobbies #historytok #historytime #friends #besttime #greatweekend #gettogether #earlofmanchestersregimentoffoote #fyp #foryoupage #meme
This weekend we also welcomed our newest member, Lizzy, who took advantage of our ‘try it for a tenner’ offer – allowing her to try an event before signing up for the year! It’s the best way to see if reenacting with us is right for you – find out more here…
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- Our newest member, Lizzy
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- Corporal Herridge and Lieutenant-Colonel France
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- Elder Sergeant Huck-Jones and young Henry
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- Musketeer Corr & Lieutenant Molcher
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- Private Beeley wonders where the rest of the cannon crew has gone!
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- Musketeers Lizzy and Stephen wait for battle in the woods
The musket block get ready for action with a selfie!
The pike block enjoy a much-deserved post-battle pint
Thanks to everyone from Manchester’s who made it to Charlton Park and for the organisers for putting on a great weekend! Our next event is Golcar Lily Day in West Yorkshire and the next major muster is recreating the Battle of Naseby at Lamport Hall on Spring Bank Holiday!
Enjoyed this post and want to give it a go? You could be taking part for as little as £10, with your kit provided! This hobby has something for everyone and by joining our regiment 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!
Enjoy this gallery of images from the weekend by Daz’s Photography:
Photos by Ruth Lochrie
