On Sunday 29 & Bank Holiday Monday 30 August, visitors are invited to watch as Stokesay Castle’s knights, visiting from the 15th century, strap on around five stones of mail and plate armour, and engage in foot combat with sword and poleaxe, in a fantastic display of medieval might!

Combat displays will take place throughout the day, with spectators invited to watch as the knights don their protective kit before the battle, and remove it afterwards – no mean feat in itself with all the buckles required to keep the knight secure behind the metal panels!

“With so much padding and weight of armour on their shoulders, medieval knights had to be incredibly fit to be able to sustain combat for any length of time – wielding the heavy sword itself takes some effort,” explains regional events manager for English Heritage, Tom Course. “This type of combat requires both skill and brute force – a much heavier soldier would literally try to beat his opponent into submission, whilst a smaller, lighter knight would be more able to dodge the blows, using strategy to find his opponent’s weaknesses to land blows.”

Visiting children will be invited to learn some of the skills of a 15th century swordsman themselves, as the knights and their armourer lead a ‘sword school’. Older children will learn using wooden ‘waisters’ – exactly as their ancestors 600 years ago would have been trained – whilst younger visitors can use inflatable swords to hone their skills!

The event runs each day from 11am to 5pm with Stokesay Castle itself open daily from 10am. Admission prices are £6.80 for adults, £5.70 for concessions and £3.80 for children or £17.40 for a family ticket, and free for English Heritage members.

For more information, please call Stokesay Castle on 01588 672544 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/stokesaycastle