THE DARLING BUDS OF MAY

May is such a gorgeous month and we are hopeful of blue sky days as April was, well April with a few more showers than we expected. We now think it is about time for some sunshine. Our schedule is pretty sunny with a packed month of activities and shows for you and the family to enjoy.

The Vikings are with us for the May bank holiday and are a wild and exciting group who provide an exceptionally high standard of entertainment and quality of living history. Standards can vary quite a lot from one group to another and we feel very pleased to have found these Vikings who are outstanding and yet still manage to be polite to our visitors – in a sort of Viking way. Don’t lock up your daughters, bring them along.

On Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May we have a knights in armour weekend. This will not be a small event as we have decided to put on large events at Bank Holidays as usual but at some ordinary weekends too. You get great value at only £4.50 for adults and £4.00 concessions with children under 5 free. We think if you don’t charge too much they you get loyalty and our regular visitors know that are coming more and more.

The 1940’s event at the end of May is rapidly becoming a national event. There are literally hundreds of enactors, English, American and German plus all the civilians looking stunning like extras from Foyles War.

The children are particularly charming sporting balaclavas, gas masks and even carrying toys from the period. For those who love vehicles there are usually plenty of cars, vans and armoury on show. Young and old are fascinated by the show ending with a German and English Siege shoot out in the castle ruins – guess who wins!!

We all seem to feel a bit more patriotic this year with the Olympics and our own Queen’s Jubilee so the 1940’s weekend this May will have a really unique feel this year. At night you can buy tickets for our Swing Dance and let down your hair a bit with a Boogie to Glen Miller and if you are too young to know what on earth I mean, so am I, but I have got the hang of a having a great night here at the castle Swing Dance so hope you can join us.

There are many more events day and night on our schedule which you can find on this website so spend a little time browsing and know how welcome you will be here.

Best wishes

Lesley Smith
CURATOR.

Dear Friends,

It’s the opening of our new season for 2012 and having spent the morning with my event organisers I can honestly see we have the most fantastic programme ever seen at the castle, much of which has been in the planning for over a year – in some cases two years.

Just as a taster – our Bank Holidays have more on the programme than ever before with living history camps, battles (in some cases) and lots of music and fun too. The Jubilee celebrations will be marvellous and we have been honoured by being chosen as one of the official beacon sites for Her Majesty forming a diamond necklace across the nation. The Globe Theatre from London are coming to us in conjunction with the Lichfield Festival – imagine being able to see Shakespeare being performed here by the Globe theatre company! Yet another theatre company are coming later in the year to perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in full Elizabethan costume and not content with all this, we also have a “Land of Hope & Glory” concert with a famous Welsh Opera Singer coming to us for the outside performance – he is a man and he is quite a presence that is as big as his voice. Look up Anthony Lloyd-Davis and do book tickets for this event as quickly as you can as they will sell out.

Bonfire nights – three this year – brilliant as ever and for the first time in conjunction with a large optical illusion company, we are going to have a massive Halloween evening and be prepared to be amazed with an extraordinary sound and light show. Tickets available soon – believe it or not for the bonfire nights and Halloween, it is the book early principle.

On top of all this, there are regular smaller events here and lots of gorgeous weddings. Our glamorous marquee in the castle grounds has just been through a re-fit and new bar area, we all stood round oohing and aahing when it was unveiled. It has never looked so good.

Our brass band music festival in July is now one of the most important in the UK with literally hundreds of performers and profits going into Tutbury village itself to benefit all sorts of needs and desires for various groups.That is a Great British day in the old fashioned and glorious sense.

Do get those dresses out and linen suits for summer looks promising and whatever the weather, you can be sure of a warm welcome at Tutbury Castle for 2012 and just as an extra tempter our free entry cream teas are still on offer for some days of the week – what a treat.

Come and say hello if you see me in the grounds.

Best wishes to you all

Lesley Smith
CURATOR.

Dear Friends,

March wind blows us straight into our new season, for 2012. The Easter weekend this year falls on 8th March and as ever, you can expect we will make a tremendous effort to welcome visitors, new and regular, and their families.

There are lots of medieval enacting groups for the public to see and enjoy at properties such as ours and amongst them are a wide variation of quality of presentation. I have seen woolly jumpers sprayed silver to look like chain mail and a monk on one memorable occasion with his hood up and beneath , a head –set, not to mention the visible and ubiquitous “trainers” beneath. I might add, both these less than successful enactors were not here at Tutbury Castle, if they had arrived dressed like that, they wouldn’t have been here for long.

I , along with the rest of my team, want you to be thrilled at the sight of our living history enactors in amazing and accurate costumes here, where they belong, stirring up dreams of the best history and fairy stories that inspired and coloured our childhoods. Tournee will be with us this Easter who I think are one of the best groups in the UK. I don’t say this lightly having seen hundreds of groups on many sites over the decades. Tournee manage to combine accurate, colourful costumes and settings in terms of tents and battle whilst retaining that vital ability to talk to the general public in an enthusiastic and exciting way – instead of each other.

So just think what a sight this will be your family as they enter the compound of this magnificently sited royal castle. There are lots of other activities including guided tours in the Great Hall. Lots to eat and drink and at last, some fresh air and the promise of summer ahead.

On another exciting subject, we are now delighted to announce that the substantial book, published by the British Museum, about the findings of our 8 year research study here, including the dig, that many of you were involved in, is now available on sale in our on-line bookshop . It is so
extraordinary to discover within the pages of this work, the real Tutbury Castle in all her glory. Even on my most optimistic day, and i have many, I could not have foreseen how magnificent and huge this royal castle was. Many of the greatest names in English history from the Black Prince
to Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots, here. Some we knew about such as Queen Mary, but, there are new findings about her time here that
were previously unknown, particularly about the nature of her captivity. Henry VIII is a new find and there is even a great medieval Welsh Prince recorded here. There is also additional information about King Charles 1st and chapter upon chapter about how the castle was built.

If you love history, particularly English history, and are saddened by the destruction of some of our greatest building achievements suffering such destruction in the 17th. Century civil war, this is your chance “see” Tutbury Castle again, through this extraordinary work that took almost a decade to research and write. Look on our website under “gift ideas” – which is what it is in many ways, a gift to have the castle understood better than it has been in her whole history.

Best wishes to you all

Lesley Smith
CURATOR.

February 14th – the day when postmen are nervous and letter boxes are attacked by eager hopefuls. Romance and joy for all and in this year of 2012, a leap year, more proposals by the girls are expected in the ancient tradition.

Who was Saint Valentine? Or should I say, which one do you have in mind? There were at least 14 Valentines executed as Christians under Roman rule. According to some authorities, it is the Valentine under the Emperor Claudius II, who had a Christian priest executed in or about 280AD for carrying out forbidden Christian marriage ceremonies; that is our romantic hero.

The priest refused to stop his work for lovers to be married decently in their own faith and refused to deny Christ, and so died a martyr on the 14th February, now his Feast Day.

Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine.” I should like to point out at this point that I, as a historian, am highly suspicious of this tradition and I am sure you are too.

In 1836, under Pope Gregory XVI some remains of St. Valentine were said to have been identified and lifted from the Roman catacombs, placed in a casket, and sent as a gift of holy relics to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin where they remain to this day within an altar. This is still a place of pilgrimage, visited by lovers throughout the year and particularly on February 14th. Other relics are said to be in France, Austria, Malta and Scotland. Valentine certainly got around a bit. There is also a gold casket in one of the side altars in the main church of the Birmingham Oratory bearing the words “Corpus St. Valentin, M” (Body of St. Valentine, Martyr).

Geoffrey Chaucer (1342/43–1400). In his work “The Parliament of Fowles”, Chaucer chose Saint Valentine as a patron for that marriage, which is the first mention of Saint Valentine in a love poem. The poem also contains other symbols of love which came to be associated with Saint Valentine’s Day: Cupid and Venus. Therefore Chaucer began a tradition of composing love poetry on Saint Valentine’s Day.

“For this was on Seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh theere to chese his make [mate]…”
(Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parliament of Fowles, circa 1380)

Prospective lovers have been saying or singing their romantic verses of love throughout history within these shores. In the Middle Ages, Courtly Love was in true, pure Arthurian style, seen as the height of fashionable behaviour for the elite. Many of us now think Valentines are likely to have originated in the 19th century but in fact the paper Valentine originated as early as in the 15th. Century. Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was confined in the Tower of London in 1415 following the Battle of Agincourt, is thought to be the first to write a Valentine. His wife, who was living in France, received around 60 poems written by the Duke which are real romantic treasures and now form part of the Royal papers here in England.

Written valentines became widespread in England by the 17th century when friends and sweethearts exchanged notes and gifts on St. Valentine’s day. The exchange of flowers is attributed to Charles II of Sweden when in the 1700s he brought the Persian poetical art known as the “language of flowers” to Europe. Romantic secrets were passed by the giving of a single flower, with bouquets eventually becoming commonplace. Some flowers were more popular than others, as is still the case today. Venus, the Roman Godess of love, was believed to favour the red rose which is now accepted worldwide to represent romance, and of course, the red rose is our national flower.

By Victorian times, printed Valentine cards were becoming popular and the newly implemented “penny post” made it easier to sent written cards. Hardly surprisingly, they became known as “penny postcards”. Cards were collected into albums and displayed to friends and guests when they visited. No doubt to cackle over victoriously if they had more than other young ladies. Later they were made more impressive by the use of a photograph with a post card printed on the back. Ladies were employed to tint the black & white images. England was the first country to produce Valentines commercially and these were produced on embossed paper with perforations to give a lace effect. All very charming and ladylike unlike some of the Valentines that have appeared in card shops over the past decade which involve rushing children past in case they read the front! Who would have thought that this humble beginning of the Valentine card would lead to today’s multi-million pound market?

We have all had romantic moments. My late husband proposing to me on Valentine’s night in the Savoy Hotel by candlelight. I also remember the incredibly handsome man I was once on the deck of a ship with on a Norwegian Fjord on a mid-summer night of soft grey light and then finally, there was the man who scribbled all over his face with a biro whilst I was talking to him. Now the latter was not very romantic but very, very funny as a memory. I was very young and he was very enthusiastic and represented a print company but also attempting to ask me to join him for dinner. He was rather pleased with himself and whilst speaking animatedly to me, he was dragging the end of his biro across his cheeks and forehead. He did not know he was doing it, and if he did, certainly had no idea he was holding the pen the wrong way round. I sat mesmerised as he dragged blue biro all over his face. I had no idea how to tell him as I was so embarrassed. I roar laughing to this day at the memory of what he looked like when he had finished scribbling and if it seems unkind of me – in my defence he had broken a number of hearts in the company I worked in. I didn’t see him again…

The early part of any New Year is madly busy at Tutbury Castle with all staff manning the phones with verve. Christmas and New Year means proposals of marriage.

Lots of breathtaking excited telephone calls and visits by couples holding hands tightly and relief when we are able to – usually – let them have the wedding date of their choice.

There may be economic gloom and lots of anxiety for people but if our wedding bookings are any gauge, they have increased at Tutbury Castle by double. What does this prove? Romance isn’t dead. Thank you, Saint Valentine.

BE MY VALENTINE…

Those nervous post folks, if not savaged by dogs at this time of the year they tend to have cards snatched by eager and hopeful types seeking romance or better still, a mystery potential lover.

In the office, my girls – more than the chaps crow over the pretty pink envelopes and bunches of flowers which arrive in impressive numbers some years.

Don’t forget those of you who wish to propose marriage, our Great Hall is available for free, by appointment, to dip on one knee and make the most romantic and memorable proposal in front of our log fire in complete privacy. We have done this over the years and it has been a great success and I hope that in the great historical tradition of women proposing to men on the 29th February in this leap year – we have at least one woman do it here. One for the castle records.

Now I can announce that for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, Tutbury Castle has been chosen as one of the Queen’s properties for a special event that the public can attend on Saturday 2nd. June as part of our wonderful Elizabethan celebrations. I haven’t given much away because I am not able to say any more at this stage but it will be an honour for us and also an honour for us to be able to share it with our visitors over that extraordinary and historic extended weekend. More information when I can.

The first presentation of our Witch of Manningtree evenings sold out quicker than any other event of its type we have offered, beating even Queen Elizabeth 1st. Another evening is now on offer on 19th April and we expect to sell that out just as quickly. Of course I am delighted, until I look at myself in the mirror in costume and a stranger stares back – with darkness in her eyes. Even I was frightened and it was me!

Opening season not so far away.

Best wishes to you all – keep warm

Lesley Smith
CURATOR.

After almost a decade of research at Tutbury Castle, including a 4 year dig, the British Museum and Birmingham University have now published the results of their research.

Specialists across a spectrum of disciplines have examined and reported within a substantial publication that proves Tutbury Castle was one of the most important castles in British History.

Some of the evidence uncovered both in the dig and a new study of the castle’s history reveals Tutbury’s involvement in some extraordinary events, as well as the presence of important visitors such as Henry VIII who came to Tutbury not long after he became king. It was already well established that Mary Queen of Scots was held at the castle four times but the new research explores the nature of her imprisonment and this throws a light both on the instructions from Queen Elizabeth 1st about her cousin’s keep and how her gaolers responded to those orders at Tutbury Castle.

A large number of kings, queens and other royalty and their relationship with Tutbury Castle over almost 1,000 years are discussed in the report including, surprisingly, the great Welsh medieval prince Rhys Ap Gruffydd, who besieged the castle on behalf of his ‘right loving friend’, Henry II when Tutbury was caught up in a rebellion against the king.

Said Dr. Gareth Williams of The British Museum who headed the project “ This has been a very exciting project to work on. Like most people, I hadn’t realised how important Tutbury Castle was when the project began, but once you start looking for Tutbury Castle in the historical record, it crops up over and over again. It’s as if the history of the castle is one big jigsaw, and we have had to search through lots of different boxes to find the pieces. We are still missing some of the pieces, but the picture is clearer than ever before. Some of our discoveries are quite important, while others are more colourful. I particularly enjoyed the discovery that the Earl of Shrewsbury posted guards under Mary Queen of Scots’ toilet to stop her escaping through the hole – not quite the romantic image people often have of her captivity.”

Lesley Smith, Curator of Tutbury Castle said “ This publication is a milestone in not only Midlands history but also English history as a whole. The report shows how the castle sits politically with other properties, and played a key role in the control of central England in one conflict after another. It also shows the high status of the castle and lordship of Tutbury, and can be linked with some of the greatest names in English history. The castle reached its heyday under Queen Margaret of Anjou, who received the castle as a wedding present when she married Henry VI. Margaret spent a fortune on the castle building two luxurious tower houses, parts of which still survive, and even briefly moved the royal court to Tutbury during the Wars of the Roses.”

The report plots the castle’s history from the Stone Age through to the destruction of much of the castle following the Civil War in the 1640s.

It is still a royal castle with an extraordinary past and this publication gives every reader a chance to understand not only the building and the site but the lives over centuries within the mighty walls. This project could not have been completed without the generosity of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the support of the British Museum and Dr. Gareth Williams.

For further information or to purchase a copy of the publication please visit Tutbury Castle Online Shop.

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR…

All those opportunities for resolutions to change your life for the better. Lose weight, cut down on alcohol, get fit and be kind,
patient and polite to our fellow human beings. For about 4 days .

Here at the castle we ended the year with almost double the previous number of wedding bookings which we are delighted about and proves that our policy of better quality at best value price is working. Like some other companies, instead of cutting down in this economic climate we are offering more choice at better value, It works. People are worried about money so want the best that their budget will allow and understanding what people want and we are doing the best we can to provide it – with a smile! We can’t please absolutely everyone all the time but are prepared to give it a go.

So, if you are proposing ladies – 2012 is a Leap Year remember, you can call the castle and invite your partner to come to the castle on the basis of just a visit on 29th.February and propose in our Great Hall – free of charge. How romantic is that thought!! This is our way to keep an historic tradition alive. Do book though – so we can light the fire and make sure you have a warm welcome. Complete privacy for the moment on one knee is guaranteed…

For anyone getting married this year – do call the castle on 01283 812129 or see further details on this website and make your partner’s dream come true.

The terrifying Witchfinder General is coming to the castle for a first performance with the Manningtree Witch on 16th March. This presentation follows a hot buffet served in our Great Hall and afterwards there is a brief ghost walk around the grounds. The evening’s presentation is based on real trial events that happened in England in the 17th. Century and if you are interested in coming, be prepared for some scenes of violence and intimidation, not to mention the odd curse. This presentation bridges the gap between ghosthunters and folks interested in history as there is something for both.

It has been gruelling emotionally for me to research this presentation and I will be seen as never before whilst the historian who plays Mathew Hopkins alongside me, was once described by a Scottish national newspaper as “oozing malice” when he played Shakespeare’s Richard III. Tickets are selling well but there will be other dates offered and parties of 30 and over can book this event privately. It is horrid but also fascinating to watch, I am told.

Stand by for outside early Sunday evening events with picnics in 2012 “See a tale of Two Queens” on our website.

Best wishes to all

Lesley Smith

Dear Friends,

CHRISTMAS . How lovely that word sounds. For many of us, including here at the castle it is about a lovely, real Christmas tree twinkling with decorations and smelling of pine forests. Our fireplace newly opened up with a blazing Yule log and the sight of our guests arriving excitedly to have lunch or dinner with us.

Many of our guests have now become friends as they arrive year in and year out to meet friends and family. We have become a tradition in our own right with some groups. This year for the first time we have a talented keyboard player working with us to provide fantastic musical entertainment. The sound of Gershwin, so romantic and proving popular here at the castle. For the lovers of all Victorian our Dicken’s choir, in costume with lanterns, will be here to join our groups for Christmas carols. They look so lovely coming into the great hall like the happiest of ghosts that some guests are quite tearful, with pleasure I may add.

Our staff in the kitchen are always so happy, even under pressure and there is a great atmosphere.

For guests or supporters of the castle from distant places or close to home we are delighted to send out gifts for you.We are now offering tickets as gift vouchers to see me as Queen Elizabeth 1^st. or one of her many other characters plus lunch, afternoon tea or dinner at prices starting as low as £12.50 per person. Ghost hunt tickets are also available as gifts so there is some fun and adventure in store for some on Christmas morning.

In  March 2012 I am launching my latest character “The Witch of Mistley”. This performance is carefully researched over a long period and shows events based on fact during the appalling dark reign of Mathew Hopkins, known in England as “The Witchfinder General”. Mathew Hopkins will be with me and you will see the nature of interrogation and religious beliefs in the witch hysteria of the mid 17th. Century.

Some people may find the content distressing but I hope that most will be fascinated to discover this part of English history that is not so far back in time. There is a twist to the tale of The Witch of Mistley, which is why I picked her character.  The first of these performances can be found in full detail on our website and offered with a hot buffet and a ghost walk around the castle grounds afterwards. There is no need to be bored after Christmas, sometimes dark,  misty nights can provide an unforgettable stage. For ghost and history hunters this would be a wonderful Christmas present – and makes a change from bath oil.

May I wish a very, very happy Christmas to guests and supporters and an equally loving one to my kind and loyal staff.

Lesley Smith

Dear Friends,

That was some fireworks weekend! We managed to have great crowds on all three nights and the Vikings were as fierce and impressive as ever. Dr. Gareth Williams from the British Museum is our Director of history here at Tutbury Castle and he is world authority on Vikings and Anglo Saxon England. The Vikings were not his Vikings (as it were) but he was pleased with the level of authenticity of clothing and weaponry they had on show for the public.

Always seeking to improve and talking of “on show” we intend to investigate the possibility of staging next year so the fight scenes can be seen by many more people in the crowd. We are going to put on two extra food and drink tents too so queues can be kept down and service faster, I know some of you are enquiring about buying tickets for next year already and they will be on sale through our on-line shop in January.

Could I ask local people if you want tickets do please buy them at least a month in advance as we do sell out and expect to for all three nights next year too.

As the cold mists start to roll in we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our new handmade, specially designed fire-guard for our massive fireplace in the Great Hall. We lit the fire last year after a big project clearing the chimney, for the first time in living memory – at least forty years and it has been a huge success and so comforting. It feels like the heart beat has been put back in the castle. A local company called Bentleyfab are soon to deliver the guard – the sooner the better. Lots of chirstmas parties are booked for lunches and dinners and I know our guests love to see the fire in our traditionally decorated Great Hall.

We are still taking bookings for Christmas events here at the castle and also for our glamorous (and warm) marquee in the grounds.

Best wishes

Lesley Smith

By popular demand the Vikings are back!

Tutbury Castle is pleased to announce for the first time, three nights of Vikings and Fireworks on the 4th 5th and 6th November and expect to attract visitors from all over the county.

Already voted as one of the best firework displays in the UK, Tutbury Castle is going bigger and better this year. You can expect to see a magnificent colourful display with a fantastic moonlit battle and ‘Viking’ funeral.

We are also increasing the number of food stations as well as more stalls.

Tickets are available on our website, or can be purchased each Sunday 11am-4pm, directly from the castle ticket office.