Civil War Siege- Again

On a gloriously hot August Bank Holiday weekend in 2001 thousands of visitors and thousands of re-enactors joined together to commemorate the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, when a king was defeated by the citizens of Gloucester.

It was the main event of the Civil War Summer in the City and a weekend which all enjoyed. From the first mass-drumming of the Sealed Knot drummers, who marched into town beating military marches to the crash of gunfire and the thunder of artillery, it was a weekend of noise, smells and above all, spectacle.
Throughout the weekend visitors enjoyed exploring a huge living history encampment filled with authentic craftsmen and period specialists, such as surgeons, a wheelwright, armourers, merchants and camp-followers. During the three afternoons there were displays of drill, artillery and cavalry skills, followed by a battle with as many as 3,000 participants who gave an exciting impression of the ebb and flow of 17th-century warfare.
With the new bypass crossing the site it is likely to be the last major event of the size that the city will see on the banks of the River Severn at Castlemeads. It is perhaps fitting that it should have been remembering the time when Gloucester changed national history.