A History Lesson

I’ve been commissioned to write a poem about an aspect of Warwickshire, by Vanessa Oakes, (while she was still in her role as Warwick District Council’s Arts Development Officer).

I racked my little brain for a while! It’s difficult to know what to choose when you’re not a local lass but then I spotted that Kenilworth Castle had a Living Medieval Village for a week, I thought I’d go and recce that (market research, I love it – always a good excuse to go out somewhere nice for the day, eh?!).

We went last Sunday, 3rd June and despite the awful predictions from Michael Fish and co, it was actually a boiling hot, lovely day! The ‘living village’ part was really good, with a rat catcher, a cordwainer (making ropes), a baker, blacksmith and even an alchemist and, to give them their due, all the ‘actors’ were pretty grubby-looking, just as they would have been, I suppose, in the time of Henry V.

I haven’t been to Kenilworth Castle for a couple of years but they’ve really improved it lately for visitors. There are rooms set up in 1930’s style (which is the last time the Castle was used as a home – see, I was paying attention!) and a great exhibition about Elizabeth I and her lover Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. I must admit, looking at the pictures of the chap, he was no oil painting (those goatie beards never really do it for me), BUT Lizzie clearly had a real thing for him. She gave him Kenilworth Castle as a gift and during one of her visits there in 1575 (I think) there were days and days of partying and celebrations.

It was all quite sad that they couldn’t marry, but there were two problems there – one, all her courtiers advised her that it wouldn’t ‘do’ to marry one a commoner and secondly, slightly more problematic – he was already married! (Well, he was for a while, but then his wife died under suspicious circumstances! She was found at the bottom of the stairs – DEAD!) As one dear old lady standing near me, put it: "See, they even had it in those days! Scandal!”

I am thinking I might write my poem about Elizabeth and Leicester! But then again, the rat-catcher was quite an interesting character! The ideas are currently fermenting… I will be back when I have ‘created’ something!