We’re still recovering from one of our all-time great weekends at Nantwich – cold, muddy and hard work but packed with good friends and good fun!
Every January, the Sealed Knot gathers in Nantwich, the market town in Cheshire that was besieged by Royalist forces in 1644, to commemorate and reenact the lifting of the siege by a Parliamentarian army under the command of Thomas Fairfax. The winter festival, which has been going on since the 1970s, is named ‘Holly Holy Day’ after the sprigs of holly the Parliamentarians wore in their hats and is a revival of the day of thanksgiving that happened annually until the 1700s.
As the only public reenactment event in mid-winter, it’s a wonderful opportunity to come together as a regiment outside our usual season and have a great battle with a great bash afterwards – and this year was definitely no exception.
This year we were joined by a number of new members, for whom this was their first taste of Nantwich: John, Deniz, Carl, Cristina, Caitriona, Kelly, ‘Abbo’ and Amanda.
It was also a special occasion for us because we inaugurated our new regimental flag. Flags, called ‘colours’, were the heart of a 17th Century regiment and, with its four hard-won battle honours and regimental symbol of three red ‘lozenges’, ours is no different. Measuring six feet by six feet, this new flag was adorned with fluttering ribbons in remembrance for our friend and comrade Jodie, who died suddenly before Christmas.
Photo by Ruth Lochrie
It may have been chilly (though less so than last year), but we always receive a warm welcome from local people who lined the streets in their hundreds to watch a massed march of the Sealed Knot down Welsh Row and into the market square. Nantwich is an ancient and historic town, with some beautiful timber-frame buildings and narrow streets, which makes it the perfect location for us to sing our regiment song – Thomas Ravenscroft’s Remember, O Thou Man. It can be such a stirring sound as the beat of the drums and our singing bounce off the walls…
Photos above by Peter Robinson
Once we reached the packed Market Square, it was time for the judging for the Rosebowl – the annual competition for ‘best regiment’ – as each regiment goes through their drill manoeuvres.
We then marched down to the battlefield on Mill Island, with our troops trying to avoid the mud while still giving a good account of themselves against the Royalists. The battle is always hard going, but we had some great opposition and lots of fun fights.
Once battle was done, it came time for the announcement of who had won the Rosebowl trophy. It’s important to us that we support the competition: practising for it really boosts the regiment’s solidarity, gives us an excuse for our annual training weekend, and is a lot of fun to boot.
So we were delighted when it was announced that we had won for the second year in a row!
The Rosebowl was presented to Manchester’s second-in-command Michael Molcher by Deputy Nantwich Mayor Councillor Stuart Bostock and Colin Bisset, Captain of the Yeoman of the Knot.
Photos above by Ruth Lochrie
A hearty huzzah to the regiments taking part – the King’s Lifeguard, Prince Rupert’s Regiment of Horse, and Sir Arthur Haselrig’s Companie of Foote – who we’re already looking forward to competing against next year!
Once we’d walked back to our lodgings it was time to celebrate and, as is customary, we piled into The Oddfellows Arms on Welsh Row, whose landlord generously donated the traditional ‘first fill’ of the Rosebowl – which our members soon polished off! It was a truly great evening of friendship, fun and laughter – and we can’t wait to do it all again!
A huge thank you must go to our hosts, the King’s Lifeguard which – along with a small army of volunteers – puts on another brilliantly organised weekend.
Photos by Levitt Parkes
Photos by Jonathan White
Photos by Ruth Lochrie
Photos by Henry Gage
So now we’re nursing our tired and bruised bodies – as well as a few well-deserved hangovers – but we’re itching to get back into kit and we have some great events planned.
If this account and the photos and videos have whetted your appetite and you fancy giving it a go it couldn’t be easier – for as little as £10 you could have a taster weekend and we’ll provide all the reenactment kit you need! Visit our website, drop us a line, and you could be marching onto a battlefield with us!
Until next year, Nantwich!