Page 30 - Phonebox Magazine October 2016

Newport Pagnell Civil War Weekend
AGoes with a bang
round 8,000 people saw history re- created at one of the biggest and best attended events in Newport Pagnell for decades.
The two-day Newport Pagnell Civil War Weekend saw more than 550 re-enactors from the English Civil War Society fight spectacular battles in front of huge crowds on Bury Field Common over the Bank Holiday.
On Sunday The Mayor of Milton Keynes Cllr Steve Coventry and The Mayor of Newport Pagnell Cllr Derek Eastman fired a cannon each to start a community event that has been two years in the planning. Not even a downpour at the height of the battle that afternoon dampened the crowd’s enthusiasm to stay and see who prevailed – the Royalist Cavaliers. On Bank Holiday Monday the sun shone on a Roundhead victory and on Saturday hundreds of people lined the High Street to watch soldiers march through the town.
Richard Meredith, chair of the NP CWW committee said: “Our aim was to generate a new interest in the role Newport Pagnell played in the Civil War in an
entertaining way, to bring the community together and show how much the amenity of Bury Field is cherished. That has been achieved, and more. “This has been a real team effort by our committee and volunteers, our partners the ECWS and with the help of many individuals, groups and local councils, which is greatly appreciated,” he said.
ECWS Director James Addy said its members had a ‘fantastic’ time at the event. “The public were so enthusiastic, the organisation brilliant, and it was so good to be able to do an event while camping next to a lovely town on a eld with 17th century historical connections.
“Everybody is asking, when is the next one?” he said. With the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Newport Pagnell Town Council, Milton Keynes Council, Milton Keynes Community Foundation and the Bury Field Commoners Association the two-day event was open to the public for free. In September an educational outreach project, led by NP CWW co- chairman Geoff Morris and with support from ECWS, showed hundreds of local school children how the English Civil War affected the town.
30 Phonebox Magazine | October 2016