Given I love history, it was a pleasure to write about the Road to Agincourt project, including the bringing to life via a play of Sir Bevis of Hampton, the legend associated with Southampton.
This post brings news of a new woodland trail, a medieval weekend festival, and interactive wearable map which tie in with the Agincourt project.
I have two favourite periods of history – The Wars of the Roses (especially the Richard III controversy) and Elizabethan England but it was fascinating to discover more about Agincourt as a result of my earlier posts, including the link Bishop’s Waltham has with the battle.
I also love the way history can look at different things so it isn’t just about the life of a renowned person (in the case of Agincourt, Henry V) but can look at how life was lived by “ordinary” people and how, to name one example, ships were built.
The Road to Agincourt project was formed to celebrate the 600th anniversary year of the battle (2015) but with commemorations spread over two years. The project is to show Hampshire’s links with what is a pivotal battle in our history, which has also given rise to one of the great “urban myths” – the origin of the V sign.
It wasn’t the sign used by our archers at Agincourt to show the French they still had their bow firing fingers. The problem is the bow needed three fingers for draw back, not two. It’s a good story though!
Tescos’ Bags of Help and the Road to Agincourt Project
Firstly, the Road to Agincourt project have announced there has been a £8K grant from Tescos’ Bags of Help initiative which will be used to create a guided walkway through Manor Farm Country Park.
The walkway will have a digital soundtrack so people can discover the facts around King Henry V’s flagship, The Grace Dieu, as they follow the walk to the wreck of the ship in the River Hamble.
The idea is to bring to life Hampshire’s connections to its medieval past, especially around the Hamble area, which, of course, is relatively close to us here in Chandler’s Ford.
There is going to be a special free Medieval weekend with activities and workshops held over the two days. The trail (The King’s Great Ships Trail) will be launched at this event.
The woodland trail will tell the story of The Grace Dieu and the accompanying sound track will contain medieval music, facts and tales of how what was the “biggest ship in the world” was made at Southampton Docks and how the wreckage ended up at the bottom of the River Hamble.
Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said:
“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant.”
I must admit I didn’t have a problem with the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags and I was even happier when it was confirmed money raised this way would go to charity. In Tescos’s case, their money raised went to environmental and greenspace projects. Nominations are open all year round with the second lot of applications open from April 2016. Customers vote for projects in store.
To have something like this help a local historical project to me seems a good idea. And I like the sound of the trail.
The Medieval Weekend at Manor Farm Country Park will be held on the weekend of 30th and 31st July. There will be historical re-enactments, a medieval village complete with leather workers, pole turners, felters and authentic cooking and singing demonstrations from the period.
People will also be able to meet archaeologists working on The Grace Dieu wreck. There will be the opportunity to take part in medieval sports (archery is bound to be one of them!) and dancing and to watch tales from the past being brought to life.
See www.roadtoagincourt.co.uk for the latest updates.
Hamble Festival of Food – 23rd April 2016
The new interactive map called Harry’s Hampshire will be launched by the Road to Agincourt project during the Hamble Festival of Food on 23rd April 2016.
The map was designed by Eastleigh Tec Hub members, Marcus Pullen of Blue Donut Studios and David Overton of Splashmaps. The two companies were brought together by the Road to Agincourt project which is run by Eastleigh Borough Council’s Culture Unit.
The wish was to create something unique for the Agincourt commemorations and enable people to get more involved with history in a new way.
The map is designed so it can be worn as a scarf. Thanks to technology, history can be brought to life with a click of a button on a smartphone.
I don’t know whether this is the first ever interactive scarf (!) but it sounds intriguing.
A click of the button from a smartphone brings the scarf map to life with historical points being transformed into animations complete with tales from the past. There will also be key information about the role the region played in the lead up to Agincourt.
The official launch of the scarf map will be at the Hamble Festival of Food at Hamble Quay on 23rd April.
David Overton, Splashmap’s managing director, said “Originally we had the idea to create a map on fabric as this makes a great, desirable and long lasting memento… The addition of technology to key the digital content of the map came out of our original proposal but we later changed our approach as Blue Donut Studios came on board with the needed professionalism around digital story telling”.
The map is based on the John Speed map of Hampshire and is printed on fabric which is to be all-weather and durable.
Marcus Pullen of Blue Donut Studios said, “It looks great and it’s useful due to its wearability. … It gives historical context… and it is a fun way to explore how Hampshire plays a part in the history of the lead up to the Battle of Agincourt.”
The Festival of Food will also showcase local produce and the event on 23rd April lasts from 10 am to 4 pm. All are welcome.
I like the sound of the woodland trail and the medieval weekend. The scarf map intrigues me as I’d like to know more about how it works and just how durable is it given our infamous weather but I love the creativity behind this.
History is about bringing our past to life and it is great there are different ways of doing this. It’s not just about reading text books (important though they are, and they should never be dull incidentally. Given UK history is so momentous, it should be an exciting read. Historical fiction can play a huge role here too).
So what are your favourite periods of history and why? What are your favourite ways of bringing history to life? Books? Films? Visiting historical sites?
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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What a beautiful write up, Allison. Lovely story and useful links.
I love the V sign anecdote, which I didn’t know about.
This V sign in photos is widespread especially in Asia.
Many thanks, Janet. Like the sound of the trail and the scarf map. (latter sounds like something out of Doctor Who to me!).