More actors than ever at Chalke History Festival

While Somerset hosts Glastonbury, next door in Wiltshire there is another well-known festival at the same time – the Chalke History Festival.

It has been running for more than a decade and attracts around 20,000 people each year with living history displays and talks from historians and celebrities.

The festival is always a big draw for anyone with an interest in the past, but this year, more acts than ever have been invited and a change in branding has taken place in hopes of broadening its appeal.

The week-long event, which began on Monday, featured performances from the Iron Age to the Second Word War – in a year that marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Trustee Trevor Dolby said he hoped the changes and revamped festival would encourage more families to attend.

“Our goal is to give people a great week, educate and make sure they come away excited about the idea of ​​history,” Dolby said.

For the past three years, the festival site – which is in Wiltshire’s Chalke Valley – has had an Iron Age roundhouse for people to look around.

Caroline Nicolay is from Pario Gallico, a business that offers living history workshops and exhibitions, and sleeps in the structure when she’s at the festival, using her bed and tools for everyone to see.

She explained that there is a misconception that prehistory is bleak.

“We see it as very gray, just a time of survival, but the objects we find are absolutely stunning, from a highly socialized and specialized society,” she said.

A section of the festival is dedicated to historical food, with exhibitions including the history of the pie.

Jane’s Historical Kitchen – run by Tracey Grand – made Tudor recipes this year for people to see and taste.

The kitchen includes a fully functional fire, cauldron, as well as numerous replica pots, knives and tools, all of which have been used.

Ms. Grand explained that wealthy people of that time would not eat many vegetables, seeing those that came out of the ground as “dirty,” but would instead consume a lot of bread and meat.

However, the poorest in society would be happy to eat vegetables.

“I like the veggie nibble,” she said.

“By the end of the day, it looks really gross, it turns a kind of gray color, but it has so much flavor.

“He wouldn’t tip what was left, he’d just add to it every day.”

By inviting more actors to the festival, Dolby said he hopes they have created a wider appeal for people, creating an environment where people can immerse themselves in the different historical eras.

“Part of it is creating an environment where people can walk around with their kids and see their blacksmith friend over there hammering out a piece of iron,” he said.

Mr Dolby explained that profits from the festival will go to the Chalke Valley History Trust, which provides grants to support people interested in history to access higher education.