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News

Cotswold Festival AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Cotswold Festival will be held on Thursday 1st December 2011 at 7:30pm at Stow's Royal British Legion.

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Civil War Helmets disappear from St Edwards Hall

Two English Civil War helmets displayed in St Edwards Hall in the centre of Stow on the Wold have disappeared from a locked glass display case in the lobby. The helmets are part of the Christie Crawfurd bequest to the town. The loss was noticed shortly after the Cotswold Festival on 17th & 18th September 2011.

If you have any information that can help recover the missing helmets please contact Stow Police by telephoning 101.

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The Cotswold Festival is now on Facebook

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8th August 2011
The Cotswold Festival receives Heritage Lottery Fund support

The Cotswold Festival at Stow on the Wold has been awarded £5,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting event celebrating the life, crafts and history of this ancient market town. The event will take place on Saturday September 17th and Sunday 18th September. Led by a committee of volunteers from the local community, and supported by local organisations and businesses the Festival will highlight the last Battle of the English Civil War fought at Stow in 1646. A large contingent of the Sealed Knot and Colonel John Pickering’s Regiment of Foote will be present throughout the weekend drilling in the Square, setting up a Living History encampment and staging a re-enactment of the battle each day.

Most of the attractions will be set in the medieval Square of this ancient market town, with a wide variety of old buildings and St Edward’s Church which is over 900 years old. Members of the Stow Civic Society will be showing pictures of Old Stow and the Battlefield Society will be present with information about the original site of the Battle. Many of the local residents will be in period dress and the artefacts from the Civil War that belong to the town will be on display.

The local schools will be demonstrating country dancing, participating in a painting competition and will have talks on the Battle and the costume of the period. The Civil War period will be the focus of a month long study topic at school and following the event an essay competition will be organised by the Civic Society.

Throughout the weekend local musicians and bands will be playing, and craft demonstrations together with concerts and other attractions will be staged in the Church,. This building played an important part in Civil War events as captives were imprisoned in the Church after the battle.

Commenting on the award, Sue Jones, Secretary to the Festival Committee, said: We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable us to stage the event and to enable the children, residents and visitors to learn more of the history of our town and to step back in time to see authentic re-enactments and enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Explaining the importance of the grant award, the head of HLF in the South West, Nerys Watts, said: Since the earliest times Stow has been an important centre for transport and trade, with its location on the Fosse Way, and its busy medieval markets. This project will help bring to life the decisive role played by the town in the last days of the first English Civil War, helping local people and visitors alike to understand not only the battlefield events, but also what it was like to live and work in 17th century Gloucestershire .