< Recreating the past for live events

Recreating the past for live events, TV and film

Living history and historical entertainments

at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire 

Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3AZ. Telephone: 01909 476592 or 544917 (info line).

Two weekends of entertainments evoking Clumber Park's history, staged on behalf of the National Trust

Free admission (free parking for National Trust members, £4.80p per car non-members).

If you enjoy 1940s events, don't miss On the Home Front 1930-45 at Rufford Abbey Country Park on 16-17 August!

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June, 11am to 4.30pm

Wartime Clumber

All allied and civilian 1940s re-enactors, vehicle owners and enthusiasts warmly invited

A modest scale but extremely enjoyable event evoking the home front during WWII. Clumber Park was a huge munitions centre and with Winston Churchill present, in 1941 hosted the testing of an impressively large (but following the recent Blitzkreig warfare, clearly obsolete) trench cutting machine. A perfect place then for a midsummer weekend of 1940s nostalgia with living history, entertainments, music and song.

View and order photos of the event taken by Red Zebra Photo (click on Album).

With horrible weather on Saturday but blue skies on Sunday, it was a typical British summer event, and one much enjoyed by large crowds.  Visitors could check out the exhibition room about Clumber's role in WWII, meet "Winston Churchill", explore the living history exhibits, take part in an interactive display about the Battle of Britain, laugh at Mr Punch versus Adolf Hitler, see wartime fire pumps in action and have a go with a stirrup pump!, try Home Guard drill and military training and join in with favourite songs (and the dancing!). Some wonderful period vehicles were on show, too.

Visitors were invited to join in with the spirit of the event by coming in period dress (completely optional, of course!). Lots did!

Performers and participants included Ancient Wisdom, Civilians at War Society, Combined Operations,  Discover History, Family On Rations, Forever Forties, Histeria, The Moonlight Serenaders, 82nd Airborne Battle Group, National Fire Service Display Group, Nostalgia Unlimited, Martha's War Home Front Re-enactment, Robert Burns, Starcraft All Services, John & Claire Priestley, UK Home Front and others.

All Allied and civilian 1940s re-enactors, vehicle owners and enthusiasts were warmly invited (including Germans/Italians as POWS, as they both worked on the Clumber estate after 1943).

Groups or individuals wishing to participate in a future 1940s event here (yet to be confirmed) are invited to register with us, so we can forward full details, and to click the link for our Standard terms and conditions for participation. Please note, As Clumber was a British base, we’d prefer not to have too many American impressions, and as a Home Front event, no axis impressions except for Italian and (non-SS) German POWs (who worked there) please. POWs must be unarmed and wear soft hats, no helmets, and be suitably subdued (but being friendly is okay too). Ideally they should carry a spade or similar tool to show they are working on the estate.  If you would like to portray one of the 150 or so estate staff/workers, how about the following: Air raid wardens, the Clumber Park Auxiliary Wartime Fire Service, first aiders, special constable, patrolmen, drivers, agricultural workers, drivers, builders, housewives, children, visitors including civil servants.  Military personnel stationed on site included the Ordnance Corps, Royal Engineers, Cheshire Yeomanry, ATS, Women's Land Army with Home Guard nearby. Entertainments were put on by ENSA. However, all allied civilian and military impressions will welcome. Please revisit for news on future 1940s events.

Timetable of displays and activities

 

Time

Activity

Performers

11.00

Living history commences

Home Guard drill

All

Discover History

11.30

Mr Punch versus Adolf Hitler

Meet US paratroops

Ancient Wisdom

82nd Airborne Battle Group

Noon

Home Guard lecture

Training the Fire Guard

Discover History

 

NFS Display Group

12.30

Battle of Britain interactive display

Baby boot camp – children can have a go at soldiers’ drill and capturing prisoners!

Ancient Wisdom

 
Foreign Fields

1

40s song

Home Guard drill

The Moonlight Serenaders

Discover History

1.30

Blitz fire fighting display

Meet US paratroops

NFS Display Group

82nd Airborne Battle Group

2

Home Guard lecture

A talk about wartime gardening and food growing

Discover History

Cliff Plowes

2.30

Training the Fire Guard

Mr Punch versus Adolf Hitler

NFS Display Group

 

Ancient Wisdom

3

40s song

Home Guard drill

The Moonlight Serenaders

Discover History

3.30

Blitz fire fighting display

Baby boot camp – children can have a go at soldiers’ drill and capturing prisoners!

Meet US paratroops

NFS Display Group

Foreign Fields

 82nd Airborne Battle Group

4

Home Guard lecture

Battle of Britain interactive display

Discover History

 
Ancient Wisdom

4.30

Event closes

All

Ongoing activities: 

v      Estate staff, soldiers and civilians of the Civilians at War Society, Combined Operations, Family On Rations, Festival Swing Dance Society, Forever Forties, Histeria, Nostalgia Unlimited, Martha's War Home Front Re-enactment, Starcraft All Services, UK Home Front, John & Claire Priestly and others.

v      Meet Winston Churchill (portrayed by Robert Burns)

v      Austin, Morris and other vehicles on display.

 

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July, 11am to 4.30pm

Victorian music, song and entertainments

Enjoy a mini event bringing the early Victorian world to life, with music and song, entertainments and characters. Find out about the Victorians who lived at Clumber Park's sumptuous house, plus fashion, science and inventions. Enjoy period Punch & Joan, and join in with a distinctly dodgy (but very funny) election husting! With Ancient Wisdom,  Hautbois musicians , Nostalgia Unlimited, Ruth Moore-Williams and Hands on History.

Visitors are invited to come in period dress (completely optional!).

 Timetable of displays and activities

Time

Activity

Performers

11.00am

Living history commences

All

11.30am

Victorian music and song

Tales of Victorian Clumber

Hautbois
Ruth Moore-Williams

Noon

Mr Punch versus the Czar

Victorian fashion talk

Ancient Wisdom

Hands on History

12.30pm

Victorian music and song

Hautbois

1pm

Walk through the Charge of the Light Brigade!

Tales of Victorian Clumber

Ancient Wisdom

 
Ruth Moore-Williams

1.30pm

Victorian music and song

Hautbois

2pm

Mr Punch versus the Czar

Victorian fashion talk

Ancient Wisdom

Hands on History

2.30pm

Victorian music and song

Tales of Victorian Clumber

Hautbois
 
Ruth Moore-Williams

3pm

Vote for me! Join in with a distinctly dodgy (but very funny) early Victorian election husting!

Ancient Wisdom and friends

3.30pm

Victorian music and song

Victorian fashion talk

Hautbois
Hands on History

4pm

Walk through the Charge of the Light Brigade!

Tales of Victorian Clumber

Ancient Wisdom

Ruth Moore-Williams

4.30pm

Event closes

All

Ongoing activities:

v   Victorian visitors by Nostalgia Unlimited and Joanna Walls

v   Find out about the Victorian railway and home entertainment with Hands on History

 

Trading opportunities

Quality historical traders are invited to take part at these events.  Pitches are limited and as usual preference is given to traders who utilise period tents or otherwise attractively presented stands.

Please click for further details of  trading opportunities at other EventPlan events.

Visiting Clumber Park

Visit the National Trust's web pages about Clumber Park to find out more about this beautiful C18th landscape property, which comprises of over 3,800 acres of peaceful woods, open heath and rolling farmland with a superb serpentine lake at its heart and the longest avenue of trees in Europe. Part of Nottinghamshire's famed "Dukeries", Clumber was formerly home to the Dukes of Newcastle (the house being built in 1770 but demolished in 1938). Many features of the estate remain including an outstanding Gothic Revival chapel and walled kitchen garden with spectacular glass houses growing old varieties of vegetables. The stable yard houses a well stocked National Trust shop, plant sales area, exhibition and refreshments.

How to get there

By road

4½ mile SE of Worksop, 6½ miles SW of Retford, 1mile from the A1/A57and 11mile from the M1 exit 30.

Bus services

Stagecoach in Bassetlaw F1 from Heanor & Hucknall, F2 from Nottingham. First 150/1 from Rotherham. All Sunday only; otherwise Stagecoach 33 Worksop-Nottingham (passing close to Worksop), alight at Carburton, ¾ mile away.

Cycling

National Cycle Route 6 View local cycle routes on the National Cycle Network website

By train

Worksop station is 4½ miles away; Retford 6½ miles.

Ordnance survey reference

120:SK625745 626746

 

A brief history of re-enactment

Interested in how and why re-enactment has become so popular in recent years? Click on the link to read a history of re-enactment.

Other events 2008

Click here for details of many other historical events organised by EventPlan this year.

 

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Updated 10 July 2008