Farmer reopens historic Yorkshire castle this weekend with a battle

The tranquil scene that greets those passing through the quiet village today belies the castle’s significance during the Mediaeval period, an era when it hosted the infamous Henry VIII and was occupied by the Parliamentarians, or Roundheads as they were known, as they battled the Royalist troops of Charles I during the English Civil War.

However, when the castle opens its doors to the public for a charity fundraising event over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend, its rich heritage will, once again, be brought to life through a series of living history re-enactments organised by Sir Thomas Lunsford’s Regiment of the English Civil War Society. Thomas Zugic, a retired teacher who lives in Wressle, is a member of the Regiment and has been involved in living history re-enactments for more than 40 years.

“In the 1970s, I did a second degree on 17th century drama and history, and a friend of mine, who was in charge of the Roundhead Association, invited me to an event at Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire. I had a lot of prior knowledge that they were able to use and that’s how I became involved, I’ve been doing it ever since – for 45 years,” he explains.

The event at Wressle will have two different elements, all of which are based on a fictional scenario set in July 1644, shortly after the Battle of Marston Moor has been fought and lost and the city of York has surrendered to the Parliamentarians.

“We will be representing a mixture of refugees, of all classes; craftsmen; and soldiers attempting to make their way back to the Royalist stronghold of Newark. Meanwhile, we are being harassed by Scottish and Parliamentarian troops, who have become aware of our presence,” says Thomas.

“We’ll have a blacksmith and forge, and we’ll have someone cooking – both for the gentry and for the plebs. There will be a surgery with a physician, and a couple of scribes - if you were illiterate they’d write a letter for you in those days. There are lots of little details that give people an idea of the etiquettes of the time.” The second element of the event will be a series of skirmishes between opposing sides, which will involve muskets –firing black powder, for dramatic effect – and pikes, which are long, thrusting spears that would have been used in battle. Up to 150 participants from different regiments of the King’s Army and Roundhead Association, both of which are part of the English Civil War Society, will travel to Wressle to take part in the event. Through his extensive research, Thomas was surprised to discover that, in 1643, a group of Parliamentarian refugees had ended up at Wressle Castle following the Battle of Selby so, although the re-enactment is fictional, Wressle may well have been the setting for a similar scenario during an earlier stage of the English Civil War. He revealed that, despite being relatively small, the Battle of Selby triggered a sequence of events that ultimately changed the course of the war because the Parliamentarians enjoyed a victory there that later led to the Siege of York. This, in turn, led to the Battle of Marston Moor, which resulted in Charles I losing the North of England to the Parliamentarians.

As the only mediaeval castle in East Yorkshire, the Grade I-listed ruin at Wressle is also unusual in that it is privately owned by the Falkinghams, a farming family, who purchased it with their farm back in the 1950s. Robert Falkingham, who grew up in its shadows, said: “As a child, I took the castle for granted, as my children do now; it was just there. I would love to go back to the 15th century to see how the castle looked in its heyday; it must have been magnificent.” Having long sought funding to preserve the castle, Robert was successful in securing grants around seven years ago, which led to an extensive programme of work being carried out. “At that time, it was overgrown and the stonework was crumbling so badly I feared that some sections were going to break away. It’s wonderful to know that the work we’ve done ensures that it will remain standing for at least another hundred years.”

Having secured the castle’s future, Robert and his family then began to open it to the public one weekend each year to give local people the chance to see it up close and learn more about its history.

Having hosted Sir Thomas Lunsford’s Regiment of the English Civil War Society once before, Robert is very much looking forward to the Platinum Jubilee weekend open days, adding: “We held a similar event four years ago and it was brilliant; they set up a forge and several stalls, as well as a large canon and mock battle, or skirmish.”

The open day takes place today from 10am to 4pm. Admission and car parking are free but guests are invited to make donations, to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a charity supporting Ukrainian refugees.