As Matilda’s birthday treat, we were going to go to Kenilworth Castle the day before her birthday to see the re-enactment of the famous siege. Unfortunately the weather forecast wrongly predicted that it was going to rain, so we stayed inside that day whilst watching the boiling sun. It was very shameful! But the next day, on the proper, real birthday, we went there when the forecast said it was warm. We met Tilly’s friend Katie and her mum and dad, Chris and Dave.
As it’s the school holidays, there was a queue that would have taken at least an hour to stand in. It so happened to be an absolutely scorching hot day, so whilst people stood in the queue they were applying sun cream to their children, or telling their husband to wait while they went to the car specifically to get their baby a sun hat. Also, back at the castle’s grounds, loads of fun things were going on; the re-enactment was just starting, the castle had opened, the stalls had opened and the surgeon’s scene was going on at that mintue. Luckily for us, we had bought our tickets online that morning, so we walked straight past them! We heard a young lady with her two children trying to tell the security guard that they were members and they shouldn’t have had to stand in the queue. As we wandered past clutching our tickets, she snapped at the guard, “Why are they going past then?” and the guard had to explain that we may not even be members, but that we had already booked our tickets.
Now, at 1266, French Simon de Montfort, who was actually on the English side, decided that he would rebel against the evil Henry III and Prince Edward, who weren’t obeying the Magna Carter, a form the King had to sign for special rules. Unfortunately de Montfort couldn’t fight because he was dead – bleugh. So his followers decided that they would remain on his side and fight against the evil King and his son. They hid in Kenilworth Castle, not knowing that this would leave the English army in decision for laying a siege.
Finally, after a huge, huge siege, de Montfort’s followers had won. But Henry and Edward were eager to push England back together again, and forget about the Magna Carter and its rules once more. So yet again they laid Kenilworth under another siege, for months; almost a year; and finally, they had won. England was left under the poor reign of Horrid Henry III and, for most of the time, by Evil Edward.
We watched both sieges being re-enacted, Katie joining us halfway through the first. It was such hot weather that sitting there, bathing in the hot sun and burning by its sweaty boundaries, was like sitting in a sauna for hours whilst watching a brilliant play on the patio. But really, it was performed in the proper place, with a proper siege tower which they set on fire; in the proper Kenilworth, not a garden, where you launged in a sauna. In fact, it was so hot that on both sieges Mummy had to plaster us in yet more sun screen, wiping it up and down our arms in inch-thick layers. It was mildly amusing. The sun, however and of course, was a little downfall in the real watching of the re-enactment, yet it did not distract us entirely.
There were stalls all round, too. Big ones; little ones; cooking ones; spices ones; skins ones; fighting ones; knight ones; medium ones; but all of them very interesting. And of course we went and looked round the stalls, especially the spices ones – “Nutmeg.” “This one?” “Rock salt – I think.” “This one?” “Cumin powder.” “This one?” “Cinammon.” it was great!
There was a medieval surgeon who showed us leeches and things they would have used to ‘cure’ people.
And William and I had a go at ‘Knight School’, which was a bit rubbish!
We went and walked around the top of the castle too – “Wow, wow, wow!” – and into all of the cellars underground – “I didn’t know they had such amazing things!”
By the time we’d got home, ’twas already seven o’clock! It was a good day.
THE SIEGE OF KENILWORTH
The candle flickered one last time, and finally it went out. The room was silent, dark, and an odd sort of eerie echoing came from the dining hall a corridor or so away, as the guests rapidly banged on the tables and shouted to each other. Yet in the courtroom ‘twas not merrymaking. Every lord and lady in there were quiet. Tears brimmed in one’s eyes. After a short while, an old man lay in a bed by the corner of the room. He turned this way and that, though only in his mind. He was so weak now that movement was a hardship to him. He opened his mouth limply.
“When I die,” he murmured in a crackled voice with an off-French accent, “You, my fair courtiers, shall not let England fall under the reign of Edward, nor Henry. That loathsome tyrant knows not a thing about how to rule. He has not yet obeyed the Magna Carter. He does not have the rights to become an overlord.” All in a rapid wave, the courtiers murmured agreements. “As time comes and goes, my minutes are hastening.” Tears filled his own blue-green eyes.
“Fetch the doctor,” Lord Harrison whispered quickly into his neighbour’s ear.
“Which doctor?” asked Lord Hunter.