Throlkim

And now for something completely different.

The English Civil War brought about the castle’s ruin. Henry Somerset, the first Marquess of Worcester, was a staunch supporter of Charles the First, whom he entertained at the castle on two occasions. In 1646, the King’s fortunes were on the wane and the major towns and castles of England and Wales were in Parliamentarian hands. “Raglan and Pendennis, like winter fruit, hung long on.” The fall of the City of Oxford released Parliamentarian forces to supplement the siege of the castle and, after many months, the staunchly Royalist Marquess was compelled to surrender to General Fairfax on 19 August 1646. A systematic slighting of the castle commenced and the Great Tower was largely destroyed by mining.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raglan_Castle

A Parliamentarian Dragoon at Raglan Castle in South Wales. Raglan Castle is probably my favourite castle that I’ve re-enacted in - it’s remarkably whole, with most walls and towers still standing, though it’s far from in good condition. I’ll be posting another photo or two of the castle itself over the next few days.

A couple of performers at Warwick Castle, owned by Madame Tussauds. These guys aren’t so much re-enactors as stage-fighters, and it’s very entertaining.

I don’t really understand why, but I love Seagulls - they’re hilarious, cheeky, and really quite beautiful to watch when flying.

A 15th Century medieval re-enactor at Cosmeston Medieval Village just outside of Cardiff. I felt that it was time to throw up a few images of the castles and other re-enactors I come across as my group put on shows around the UK.

I’m now a 17th Century English Civil War re-enactor, but I’ve still got a soft-spot for the steel plate armour of the earlier periods - just a shame that it’s really expensive.

My really rather shiny new sword - a 17th Century English Rapier from Armour Class in Scotland. It’s full length and pseudo-sharp, so it’ll be great for dueling and living history. Now I just need to make the scabbard. Dremel? Check.

Second re-enactor’s market I’ve been to this year. This is a very interesting straw hat.