As work on the Doom reconstruction was in progress and our fascination with the Medieval period gathered pace, we invited artist Steve to join the fantastic Company of Merrie Folke in delivering a festival of Medieval merriment for local primary school children on 20 and 21 March 2024.
The two day event saw 204 KS2 children immersed in the world of Medieval England with hand crafted ‘cheesy farts’ cooking over an open fire outside in the Medieval encampment alongside musicians and dancing, storytelling, a whimsical puppet show, gory demonstrations by a barber surgeon and a cunning man, and an opportunity to make both a hand pressed clay pilgrimage badge and a lavender bag. Inside the church, Steve was joined by the Merrie Folke’s Scrivener to lead the children in a hands-on illuminated manuscript art workshop, complete with gold leaf and quill pen signatures.
To launch our exhibition and unveil the Doom painting in a setting befitting of its historically authentic methods, we held an atmospheric candlelit evening of Medieval festivities on Saturday 27 April 2024. Essex based Shwam band the Colchester Waits transported the audience back in time with a packed performance programme spanning the 1400s and 1500s and a whole host of intriguing historical instruments. Even the refreshments were authentic, with spiced Biscottes, Gingerbread, Pye of Apple and savoury Tartes gracing the interval menu, along with spiced apple cyder and wine!
With the help of our wonderful tech volunteers, we were able to put the top notch audio visual system at St Mary’s to the test, with this being our first ever recorded event.
You can see the concert for yourself here:
