Royal document on show as battle story marks two years
A SIGNIFICANT moment in English history continues to attract enthusiasts as the Battle of Edgehill Exhibition in St Peter’s Church Radway celebrated its first two years since opening to the public with a special event last weekend.
Among the materials on display which tell the story of the battle, was a framed document signed by King Charles I, a Battle of Edgehill Medal, and a 1643 Medal celebrating King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria’s visit to the Edgehill Battlefield.
The document is owned by Jon Mann, a coin dealer and a numismatist from Banbury, who bid for the historic item at an auction in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012. It is signed by the King at the top of the document to show the sovereignty of his position in the realm.
The two day open event was free last Saturday and Sunday and coincided with wreath laying at memorials on the Sunday morning on a date closest to the actual battle - Sunday, 23rd October 1642.
David Beaumont, part of the exhibition management team, said the event had been a great success: “We have costumes, videos, interactive screens and history pamphlets to help us tell the Battle of Edgehill story. Both the King’s army and the Parliamentarians clashed at Edgehill near Kineton in an unexpected encounter and the first of the Civil War but neither side gained a decisive advantage and the war was to last another four years,” David said.
Public donations at last weekend’s open event continue to help with the day-to-day running of the exhibition which was originally supported by Lottery funding and The Battlefields Trust.
