Thunderstorms halt combat for castle’s knights of steel

Richmond Castle, a stone fortress which stands on top of a rocky spur overlooking the River Swale, which was built by one of William the Conqueror’s trusted lieutenants around 1071, saw 1,500 visitors for its “Knight’s Tournament of Foote”, featuring medieval music, archery and a “school for fools” with English Heritage’s National Jester Peterkin The Fool.

A repeat of Saturday’s tournament, including combat in full plate armour, had to be cancelled following torrential thunderstorms yesterday afternoon, while the jester, storyteller and musicians
moved into the 12th century keep.

Site manager Gayle Rafferty said: “People have enjoyed it tremendously and we’ve had really good feedback. The glorious sunshine was a big surprise – but this afternoon we’ve had a really heavy thunderstorm and the bits we could move into the keep went into the keep.”

One of the oldest stone castles in England, in more recent times it served as a barracks and a prison for conscientious objectors during the First World War.