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SO, now we know . . . This year's Battle of
Nantwich commemoration will be
 staged as a two-day event at Reaseheath College on the
edge of Nantwich on August 26 and 27 - the Sunday and Monday of the Late
Summer Bank Holiday.
(This year's January
commemoration of Holly Holy Day was reduced to a wreath-laying ceremony
on Nantwich Square).
Taking part in August will be the Sealed Knot,
and also involved will be Reaseheath College, as the venue providers,
the Holly Holy Day Committee, and a newcomer on the
scene: the Battlefields Trust.
A grant of £50,000 has been
awarded to the Nantwich Now Market Town Project - which is a three-year
project (ending in 2007 presumably since it was launched in 2005) to
boost the town - by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The money will be used for the major summer
muster which it is hoped will attract 12,000 visitors to the town. The
figure was originally 15,000.
The Chronicle (July 18) said:
"The cash boost will go a long way to fulfilling the £85,000 needed for
the Battle of Nantwich Major Muster . . ." More than 2,000 Sealed Knot
troops are expected to take part, along with a new element - horses.
Quoted in the Nantwich Guardian
of July 12, Beverley Cope, the Nantwich Now Market Town Project Manager,
said: "The long term benefits (of the lottery money) will include
safeguarding the annual Holly Holy Day event and the continuation of our
heritage for years to come."
Here's some of what will be taking
place:
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The two-day battle re-enactment by the
Sealed Knot at Reaseheath College, complete with a "living camp"
giving visitors the chance to see how the soldiers and those with them
lived.
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Horses will be featured - something that
doesn't happen on Mill Island.
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A free lecture on "The Common Soldier" by a
Civil War expert.
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A children's medal competition. Children up
to the age of 12 are being asked to design a medal to mark the occasion.
The winner will receive a cast medal of their design (which will be on
sale at the event), a family ticket for four and a £30 book token.
Family tickets and £20 and £10 book tokens will go to the children
placed second and third. Nantwich Museum will display the winning
medals. (Next January, there will be displays and workshops at Nantwich Museum.)
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For the full details, visit the website
www.bigbattleofnantwich.org.uk which is very informative.
Although the Major Muster is
more than a month away (as I write), let's hope that the low pressure
area that has anchored rain clouds over the country will have moved on
well before then - giving the land time to dry out. Otherwise the
"battle site" will quickly become a quagmire as the troops and horses do
battle.
lPicture:
93-year-old Andy Gillitt who has been a Nantwich member of the Sealed
Knot for many years.
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