Medieval musicians at St John's Church

The Minstrels’ Court

Saturday 25 June 2011, 11am – 4pm

St John’s Church, by the Amphitheatre, Chester

Free Entry

Each year the minstrels of Cheshire would have to come to St John’s Church to be given their licenses to perform.  See the re-creation of this ceremony with music, story-telling, dancing and a host of medieval characters for you to meet around the site.

Look for Grosvenor Museum at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/visiting

Music of a House

Sunday 26 June 2011, 12noon – 3pm

Led by Richard York

At the Old Medicine House, Blackden, Cheshire

A musical afternoon exploring the music of the past with special references to the history of the site.  A light lunch is included in the fee.

Fees:  £20

To book contact 01477 571445 or contact@theblackdentrust.org.uk

Blackden Trust, Blackden, Cheshire, CW4 8BY, www.theblackdentrust.org.uk

Medieval Cheshire

Saturday 30 July 2011, 10am – 4pm

Tutors: Jane Laughton, Sue Hughes, Tom Hughes

At the Old Medicine House, Blackden, Cheshire

Discover the history of Cheshire in the Middle Ages by examining documents, images and artefacts.

Fees:  Adults £45, Students £35

To book contact 01477 571445 or contact@theblackdentrust.org.uk

Blackden Trust, Blackden, Cheshire, CW4 8BY, www.theblackdentrust.org.uk

Medieval pilgrims at St John's

Heritage Open Days, Medieval Chester

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September 2011, 10am – 4pm

The Water Tower, Chester City Walls

Free Entry

Discover the atmospheric Water Tower and meet some characters from medieval Chester.

Look for Grosvenor Museum at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/visiting

Medieval Christmas

Sunday 27 November 2011, 12 noon – 4pm

Norton Priory Museum, Cheshire

The pilgrims arrive at Norton Priory to create a festive scene in the medieval Undercroft.

Norton Priory Museum and Garden, Tudor Road, Runcorn, Cheshire, www.nortonpriory.org

We’re currently working with the Grosvenor Museum Chester, and other partners in Chester itself, to look at ways in which we could share our project research with the local community and visitors to the city. We’re hoping to apply for funding to make this possible and have several meetings coming up to discuss ideas. Watch this space for news as our plans take shape!

On a separate note, we’ve just found out that the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ project will be featuring in an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) report for government and other stakeholders entitled ‘Changing the World: the impact of the arts and humanities’. We’re really pleased to be included in a report which shows the value that this kind of research can have both within and beyond academia. Who knows – perhaps Peter Mandelson will soon be reading about Lucian and Henry Bradshaw over his morning cup of coffee…

Fancy a taste of medieval festive fun? Then Chester Cathedral is definitely the place to be on Saturday, 5 December.

The Cathedral’s Chapter House will offer a choice of Christmas fayre, herbs and spices, that figured on menus of the Middle Ages against the background of carols. Musical accompaniment will be played on instruments of the period like the gemshorn, rauschpfeife and timbrell. Visitors will also have the chance to revel in the Yuletide atmosphere of past centuries by joining in the dancing, Mummers’ Plays and story-telling. There will also be a chance make beeswax candles – once brought as offerings to the shrine of  St Werburgh, or examine the false religious relics being offered by the  Pardoner - a medieval figure purporting to sell papal pardons or indulgences.

A Medieval Christmas – an opportunity to meet and discover some of the contemporary characters and traditions of the period from 10.30am to 4pm.

Admission is free. The event has been organised jointly by Chester Cathedral and the Cheshire West Museums Service.

One topic which came up repeatedly in our discussion was the idea that Chester needs to do more to celebrate and promote its medieval heritage – in comparison with the huge emphasis it currently places on its Roman history.  As various members of our project team have commented in the past: every time we’re in Chester we bump into a Roman centurion! It would be great if the wonderful, rich medieval heritage of the city had more of a visible presence in the city’s culture and tourism programmes. It was certainly very encouraging to hear the enthusiasm of those present at the lecture for all things medieval Chester!

I (shamelessly) used my lecture as another opportunity to urge people to take photos of medieval locations in Chester today for our website. It’s very easy – you can find full details below in the post ‘Mapping Medieval Chester needs you!’. If you have a look at our maps, they’ll give you an idea of some of the sites you could photograph (including St Werburgh’s, St John’s, the walls and gates, the Rows etc etc) and we’re very keen to have several different perspectives on each location. After all, our project seeks to explore how different people represent the urban space around them differently.

Thank you to the Chester Archaeological Society for the invitation to speak, and to everyone who came along on Wednesday.

The medieval city tour in progress

I’m now back in Swansea after a fantastic weekend in Chester for the Mapping Medieval Chester Festival, organised in partnership with the Grosvenor Museum, Chester. It was a wonderful event, with activities across the city, all inspired by our project research. Our project team enjoyed taking part in various aspects of the day, and meeting local people from Chester and the surrounding area, many of whom had their own particular knowledge of the city and its history to share with us.

Saturday’s Festival included a wide variety of activities and events: displays and special interactive exhibitions at the Grosvenor Museum, Living History at St John’s Church, medieval tours of the cathedral and special access to the medieval Water Tower, a literary tour of the city based on medieval texts, calligraphy workshops for adults and children, a presentation on the project website and opportunities to look at local history resources in the library. We’re hugely grateful to the Grosvenor Museum (and Sue Hughes especially) for organising the whole day, and to St John’s Church, Chester Cathedral, Chester Library and the Chester Archives for hosting and contributing to events. Please read on for a report on the day and some photos…

Mark reads some Lucian in the medieval marketplace

For the Mapping Medieval Chester project team, our day began with the ‘Literary Tour’ of Chester. We led a group of over 20 people through the centre of the city, stopping to read excerpts from the medieval texts edited as part of our research project. It was great to experience the texts in the locations which they described: for example, Lucian’s account of the marketplace at the centre of the city, Bradshaw’s story of Werburgh’s intervention against attackers at the Northgate, and (outside a local pub), a slightly less flattering Welsh perspective on Chester beer… Helen very bravely read Lewys Glyn Cothi’s ‘Satire on the Men of Chester’ – a rather defamatory and pretty colourful piece – but I’m pleased to say there was no retaliation from the locals! My favourite moment of the tours was up on the wall above the Northgate, when, in response to a request, Mark read a section of the Lucian in the original language. Several other walkers passed our group – all looking very impressed. We must have looked like the most learned tour group in Chester – hearing all about the city in medieval Latin…! It was such a pleasure to talk to the visitors in our tour group, who contributed to some very lively discussion about the textual sources and our knowledge of the medieval city.

Helen bravely reads the 'Satire on the Men of Chester'

 After the literary tours, we headed to St John’s Church to see meet the ‘medieval pilgrims’ who were busy talking to visitors there. Rev David Chesters had made a super model of the medieval reliquary which supposedly housed part of the true cross (an important feature in the Welsh poems), which was in pride of place on the altar. As we left, a couple of visitors were trying their best to get a noise out of Tom’s medieval bagpipes…

Helen, Mark and Catherine meet medieval pilgrims at St John's

Back at the Grosvenor Museum, all of us (Helen, Mark, Keith and Catherine, introduced by Liz Royles, the Keeper of Early History) joined together to give a presentation in the lecture theatre on the project digital resources and the research which led to them. We had a great audience of nearly fifty people, and our talk was followed by a really interesting question and answer session. Again, many people present clearly had a lot of expertise of their own, as well as those who were discovering medieval Chester for the first time. Several people remarked on how under-represented and under-sold the medieval heritage of Chester is, in comparison with all the emphasis on its Roman history. We definitely agree, and hope that we’ll be able to do more in the future to promote the amazingly rich medieval heritage of the city.

Presentation at the Grosvenor Museum: Mark, Helen, Keith and Catherine

 Before leaving for an end-of-project meeting, our team stopped by the museum galleries, where there was a great ‘hands on’ exhibition of medieval artefacts, as well as some wonderful documents loaned by the Chester Archives (with experts on hand to explain them). The gallery was really bustling and everyone, like us, was clearly enjoying the opportunity to handle original medieval objects.

Project displays at the Grosvenor Museum

Today, looking at our Mapping Medieval Chester group on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/1204980@N21/) I can see that some of Saturday’s visitors have already uploaded their photos of medieval sites in Chester today. They’re fantastic and just what we hoped for. Our project focuses on subjective ‘mappings’ – and these photos show really well how every perspective on the city is different and reflects our own interests and experiences. Please do add your own!

The medieval literary tour team on the walls at Northgate

More photos of the Festival will be arriving later this week, from the professional photographer booked by the museum. I’ll post some more images here then. We’re delighted that so many people were involved in the event, and we had a great time. Thanks again to everyone who was involved.

Minstrel’s Court Event

A successful Minstrels’ Court helped celebrate medieval Chester and publicise the Mapping Medieval Chester Festival on 29 August 2009.  ‘Medieval’ Musicians were presented with their licences to play by Reverend Chesters and are now safe from being arrested as vagabonds for another year.

Musician Richard York demonstrated a wide variety of Medieval instruments and allowed the public to have a go.  The 1265 group from the Midlands had volunteered to help with the day and gave a fantastic demonstration of arming a knight, whilst the women demonstrated textile and braid making and there was even a Medieval leper!  Tom Hughes did some Cheshire story-telling about the dragon of Moston and St Werburgh.  There were also displays about pilgrimage, relics and the church.

The Minstrels were joined by local musicians in a Medieval ‘jamming’ session and even the local Morris dancers got wind that there was something going on and joined in as well.

The Minstrels’ Court will be re-created again in June 2010, when we will discover how many of the musicians are granted licences this time!

Minstrels’ Court, 20 June 2009

St John’s Church, Chester (next to the Amphitheatre)

10.30-4.30, Admission Free

In Medieval times all musicians and performers wishing to perform in Cheshire had to attend St John’s Church each Midsummer to get their licences.  This lively event is being recreated in the historic setting of St John’s Church with performances of Medieval music, dancing, mummers’ plays and storytelling.  Meet a collection of Medieval characters and have the chance to join in the show.  Homemade refreshments will be served all day, along with stalls, competitions and raffles. 

Programme

• Performances by Medieval Musician Richard York
• The Arming of a Knight Demonstration
• Storytelling and Mumming Plays
• Morris Dancing and Cheshire Folk Music
• Dancing Bear
• Medieval characters and Minstrels will be on site all day
• Craft, book, bottle, cake and plant stalls
• Face painting
• Refreshments including cakes and strawberries and cream
• Raffle
• Church Fayre Games

Open Competition

Decorate and wear your own ‘fruity’ hat – judging will be at 2pm.

Contact

Sue Hughes on 01244 402012, susan.hughes@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

History

Ranulf Blundeville, Earl Ranulf III (1181-1232) was besieged at Rhuddlan Castle, North Wales, by the Welsh.  He sent a request for help to Roger Lacey, the Constable of Chester Castle.  As it was Midsummer and the Midsummer Fair was in full swing Lacey could not muster an army.  However he rounded up the ‘fiddlers, players, cobblers, debauched persons both men and women’ who all set off towards Wales.  The Welsh saw a cloud of dust approaching and an unbelievable noise and thought that there was a great army on the way.  They turned and fled.

Earl Ranulf was so grateful that he gave Roger Lacey authority over the shoemakers and the minstrels of the City.  Roger then transferred his authority over the fiddlers and other musicians to his Steward Dutton of Dutton.  Dutton maintained the right to licence the minstrels and this remained with his family thereafter.   

On 24 June, the feast of St John the Baptist, during the Midsummer festivities, Dutton rode through Chester to a place near Eastgate.  He was preceded by a banner-bearer, a drummer and trumpeter.  At the appointed place a proclamation was read out.  All the musicians went ahead of Dutton and his entourage playing their instruments down the street from Eastgate to St John’s Church.  Lessons were given and then they processed to where the court was to be held.  Each petitioner for a licence was questioned whether they had committed any treason to the monarch or played on a Sabbath.  After the court Dutton, or his deputy, took his guests to dinner and after dinner the stanchion on which the banner was carried was delivered formally to Dutton.  The last Minstrels’ Court was said to have been discontinued after 1756, before it was revived in 2008.

In the meantime, if you’re local to Chester or visiting the area, please take a look at the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ display, put together by Sue Hughes and her team, in the Grosvenor Museum. We hope this will give you a small taster of the project and the historical period we’re exploring.