10th October, Newark

 The Other Partizan

 

 

Properly back on the road, now - a real wargame show.  I had to pinch myself ... it was good to be back.  Meeting people.  Talking about battlefields.  Pushing toy soldiers.  Browsing and chewing the fat. Plenty of that!

(The Other Partizan - talking to people)

To beguile the visitor, we took along The Battle of Northampton 1460 and a stand compatible 6mm version of Edgcote.

(full panoramic 15mm in the History Zone)

We were in good company - flanked by the Lance & Longbow Society and the Civil War Centre/Battlefields Trust, and opposite Wargame Developments.

 

 

(WD's Moscow 1812 game: as the pic shows, I manage to get some of the Grande Armee home)

We joined forces with the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society and Naseby 1645.

AROUND THE SHOW

As well as the Societies and the much-missed analogue shopping, there were some excellent Ancient and Medieval games ...

 

(Infamy, Infamy)

 

 

(54mm BB DBA) 

 

 

(Never Mind the Billhooks) 

(the English lines in the much admired Crecy game)

And outsid our periods, there was also much to admire:

 

(more games from The Other Partizan 2021)

 

It was difficult to decide if this was one of the best Partizans ever, or whether it was just because it has been such a long time sinc we were all able to experience this games and display 'in the flesh' as it were.

THE NORTHAMPTON GAME

We used Politics By Other Means to run through the key events of the Battle of Northampton.

 

(2pm ... the Yorkists attack) 

 

(inside the position: the calm before the storm)
 

 

(the attack, as watched from the Eleanor Cross by the Archbishop of Canterbury)

 

 

(NN1460: bottom right - the Earl of March's contingent breaks into the Lancastrian camp)

 

 As so often happens, the dice steered us in a very historical direction!

It was wonderful to be back out on the road, and to be a a real show.  Many of us were pinching ourselves!

The Wars of the Roses in Northamptonshire

July is that special month at the heart of the English campaigning season which saw fighting on both of Northamptonshire's 'Wars of the Roses' battlefields, Northampton 1460 and Edgcote 1469.  As a consequence, locally, it is a month of anniversary walks, talks and events.

 

(Northampton 1460 ... the visitors gather)

July 10th saw us stretched with both the commemoration of the battle at Northampton and a fete at nearby Naseby.  We had a (pre-booked, Covid compliant) capacity crowd for a morning walk on the 1460 battlefield - from Delapre Abbey to the Eleanor Cross (from which the primary sources tell us the battle was watched by the Archbishop of Canterbury).

 

(Northampton 1460: the view from the top of the battlefield)

 

(the view from the top of the battlefield - another way of visualising)

At the Eleanor Cross, Mike completed his account of the battle before handing over to me for a potted history of the monument (and its recent conservation), plus its part both in the events of 1460 and 1469 (when according to the Herbert family history, it was where the earl of Pembroke, and his brother, Sir Richard Herbert, were executed by Warwick in the wake of his victory at Edgcote).

 

(10th July 2021 at the Eleanor Cross, Northampton) 

At 2pm, the time of Warwick's attack at Northampton, we had a brief wreath laying with the town Mayor in remembrance of the fallen in this battle and more widely in wars and civil conflict.

With the weather on our side, we were then able to mix and meet with  members of the battlefield society and general visitors more informally.  We had a table up and a range of publications, so could recruit new members, hand out leaflets etc.  Almost back to normal.

 

(almost back to normal: Graham recruiting members at the Eleanor Cross) 

Towards the other end of the month, we were out on the trackways at Edgcote (spelt that way - no 'e' - and, contra Royal Mail, no 'Moor' tacked on).

Although commonly pinned to the 26th, as we have demonstrated, the battle of Edgcote was fought on 24th July, the eve of the feast of St James.  Another thing the Royal Mail got wrong.  It was such a pity they didn't consult the Battlefields Trust or the local battlefield society (ourselves) or just get someone to look it up in the most recent publication on the battle (Graham's book).

 

(first stop on the 2021 Edgcote anniversary walk)

Edgcote battlefield is threatened both by HS2 and by a proposed solar farm that has tried to slip into the landscape on the coat tails of HS2 ... so it was good to see the battlefield in reasonably good order and still fully accessible to the visitor.

Some of the fields didn't seem to have been as 'active' as usual ... whether this was Covid neglect of HS2 blight was unclear.

 

(me talking about medieval battle at Edgcote)

 

 

(Graham pointing out the rebel positions at Edgcote)

 

(looking back at the Royalist position)

 

(Graham Turner's visualisation of the Royalist lines)

 

 

(looking into the dead ground behind the rebel position - it is probably via this hollow that Clapham's unseen reinforcements approached the battlefield) 

 

 

(click to enlarge ... an attempt to pin the views to their positions on the battlefield)

 

A few weeks later, I was back on Northampton battlefield doing an evening walk and interpretation for the Friends of Kettering Art Gallery and Museum.

 

July is also 'awards season' in Northamptonshire, and I'm pleased to be able to report that having done well in a number of specific categories, NBS was given a special 'judges choice' award in recognition of our innovative and determined work to preserve and publicise historic battlefields and to keep public engagement up throughout the Covid restrictions.  They particularly liked the toy soldier displays and miniature battlefields.

 

Next month sees the anniversary of Bosworth.

July 2019, Edgcote, Northamptonshire

July is the anniversary month of the Wars of the Roses battles of Northampton and Edgcote.

Northampton was fought on July 10 1460.

And Edgcote was fought nine years later on 24th July 2019 (not, as you will see all over the internet, on the 26th - a tradition which dates to the following century and has no contemporary corroboration).   This year is therefore the 550th anniversary and sees the culmination of a 2 year project to reevaluate the evidence and to complete a wargame-able model of the encounter.

(we had a good gathering for the anniversary evening visit to Northampton)

(the iconic symbol of Warwick's victory, The Eleanor Cross, is under conservation right now)

Earlier in the month we were still in recce mode at Edgcote.

(NBS team Recce on the battlefield at Edgcote)

(Edgcote 1469: looking across Danesmoor at the Royalist positions)

A few weeks later we were showing the HS2 Oral History Team the lie of the land.

(HS2 with us at Edgcote ... reading the Welsh poems)

And we took the Wargame to the Conference of Wargamers

(Edgcote 1469 at CoW)

(Edgcote at CoW 2019 ... Clapham's cavalry attack falls back after doing its job)

(Edgcote at CoW 2019: Henry Tudor awaits his escape options in the Royalist camp)

On the anniversary, the 24th, we led a walk on the battlefield ... note how the colour of the crops has changed in just a few weeks)

(550 years after the battle: Edgcote 1469)

(Anniversary walk: Phil interprets the battle of Edgcote from the Royalist perspective)

... and at the end of the week we took the model to the Edgcote Study Day at Abington Park Museum (Northampton Museum)

(Edgcote 550 Conference: Ann Parry Owen discusses the Welsh sources on the battle)

(Edgcote 550 Conference: weapons and equipment)

In addition to Ann's agenda setting discussion of Medieval Welsh sources on the battle, Graham analysed the documentary evidence and I looked for clue in the visual sources.

(Robin of Redesdale?: a contemporary woodcut of Robin Hood)

(the Edgcote model ... Clapham attacks)

Next up, the game will go to the Defence Academy and then on to Partizan  at Newark Showground in August.

August and September, Middle England

On the Battlefields of historic England

The outdoor heritage event and battlefield anniversary has always been an important part of our English Summers.  The traditional campaigning season made May to September an active time for warfare and, as a consequence, many of our historic battles took place in the Summer months.

With wargame shows now happening in the Summer (when wargaming was 'young', July and August were pretty much left clear for family holidays ... ) there are plenty of clashes.  Over the second and third weekends of August we had 6 wargame shows or battlefield events to participate in - just for the East Midlands.
  

The engagement feedback shows all these activities are worth doing but it does mean both Bosworth and Partizan, for example, were 'morning's only' for me, as I swapped shifts with someone else in another part of the region.

(Naseby 373 .. Civil War exhibits and the Northampton Battlefields Society)

Late July saw the Sealed Knot and Naseby Project celebrating the birth of the Army of Parliament with a public event in the village.   The Northampton Battlefield Society and Battlefields Trust were present and NBS were running games of Northampton 1460 to entertain visitors sheltering from the squally conditions on what was the bad weekend of a splendid Summer.

(NBS at Naseby 373: Paul explains how to play Northampton 1460)

We were involved in two guiding days at Fotheringhay, on with NBS and one with the Friends of Kettering Art Gallery and Museum.  Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire was, of course, the hub of the Yorkist homelands in the Wars of the Roses, birthplace of Richard III and resting place of his father Richard Duke of York who was killed at the battle of Wakefield just after Christmas in 1460. 

(the motte at Fotheringhay with the iconic Yorkist church on the horizon)

The following weekend started with setting up the 54mm DBA-based game of the battle on the Battlefields Trust stand at Bosworth.  Much in the news at the moment, this battlefield needs protecting.

(Bosworth 1485 on the Battlefields Trust stand at this year's Bosworth Festival event)

Hinckley-Bosworth Planning are considering giving permission for the construction of a vehicle testing track on what is the bottom left-hand corner of the battlefield layout above.  It needs to be stopped.

Is this on the registered battlefield?  Yes.  Were soldiers on that part of the battlefield?  Yes. Has archaeology been found there?  Yes.  Are there important battlefield views from there?  Yes.  Could the test track be built somewhere else?  Of course (though the developer says not - but they would say that, wouldn't they?)

Here's a link to the petition.  Please sign it.  Even if you are not in the UK, your 'vote' is important ... this is a heritage site of world-wide interest (as the Richard III reburial coverage around the World showed) ..

SAVE BOSWORTH BATTLEFIELD PETITION

D-Day for this is 15th September when the Planning Committee makes a final decision.  I will be there putting the case for conservation and I need your support.

This is an important part of one of the most important battlefields in England.  It is on the Battlefields Register and the associated Richard III story brings millions to Leicestershire. The issue couldn't be clearer - if you can build here then no heritage site is safe.  Sign the petition.  Write to your MP.

(more scenes from my morning at Bosworth 2018)

(Bosworth 1485: small medieval field guns)

Here's another view of the DBA model ...

(Bosworth 1485 ... the shoot-out between Norfolk's and Oxford's divisions)

... and from Bosworth it was off to one of the Fotheringhay tours above and then to Partizan.

Meanwhile ...

Northampton Battlefields Society has been a strong supporter of the town's Heritage Open Days, and offered hourly interpretations of the Queen Eleanor Cross and the battle of Northampton.  You will recall that the battle was watched from the cross and that, 9 years later, Warwick brought the leaders of the Royalist army his men had defeated at Edgcote to the cross for execution.

(the NBS heritage gazebo and HQ at the Eleanor Cross, Northampton)

We had to put up a gazebo on a windy Sunday morning (three people trying to hold down four wayward legs!) but we got there in the end - and over the weekend we were able to introduce a valuable number of new people to the views of the battlefield and the story of the cross.  Some had come from as far away as Surrey to hear about Northampton's past.

(Nenefest ... celebrating the heritage and diversity of the River Nene Regional Park)

And then there was Nenefest.  And an opportunity to get the Northampton 1460 model out.  The event was not over-run with visitors but it gives me an excuse to put up some pictures of the battlefield!

(Northampton 1460 ... the Yorkists advance)

(Nenefest 2018: Northampton Battlefields Society display weapons and meet the public)

(Northampton 1460: the Lancastrian defences ... 15mm figures by Phil Steele with Fluttering Flags by Graham Fordham)

There's one more of these events to come, BBC Radio Northampton's Northamptonshire Day at Delapre Abbey on September 30th.  It is usually a fantastic event and very well supported.  The Battlefield Society will be there, the Shows North team will be there and we will have lots of battlefield stuff in the marquee and guided visits to the battlefield. 

All in sight of the battlefield and a short walk from the Eleanor Cross, symbol of Warwick's victories (and logo of the Battlefields Society).  Amazingly, despite all our campaigning, it is another heritage monument at risk.   It is a national treasure.

(heritage at risk: a medieval masterpiece, Northampton's Eleanor Cross)