Patrons Meeting
March 22, 2015 in News by Karen Everett
The next Naseby Battlefield Project Patrons meeting will be on Friday 27th March. This meeting will be held at Althorp by kind permission of Earl Spencer.
Hon Hugh Fairfax appointed as Patron
March 22, 2015 in News by Karen Everett
On 1 March, the Hon Hugh Fairfax was appointed a patron of the Naseby Battlefield Project.
Hugh Fairfax is descendant of Sir Thomas Fairfax, later 3rd Lord Fairfax, the commander in chief of the New Model Army in the English Civil War and the victor of Naseby. The brother of Nicholas, 14th Lord Fairfax, Hugh is a keen amateur historian and is the author of a soon to be published history of the Fairfax family in America.
Hugh is an artist by profession and exhibits widely in the UK, France and America. He is married to Victoria and has three children, Alexander, Laura and Marina.
The Oldest Cannon Ball in England
February 13, 2015 in News by Karen Everett
Our Chair, Lord Arthur Hazelrigg speaking about Northamptonshire’s rich history and the importance of Naseby at last night’s press conference to announce the discovery of the oldest cannonball found in England on the site of the 1460 Battle of Northampton, organised by the Northampton Battlefields Society. You can read more about the discovery here The History Blog
370th Anniversary of the Battle of Naseby
February 13, 2015 in News by Karen Everett
Programme of Events
Saturday 13th June 2015 – Mill Hill
| Noon | The Battlefield and Living History Camps will open to the public. (There will be two living history camps – one representing the Parliament Baggage Trayne, and the other demonstrating seventeenth century life). There will also be exhibitions and displays from the Naseby Battlefield Project, and other charities and heritage organisations. |
| 1.30pm | Pre-battle display 1 – Sulby Hedge (Reenacting the very start of the battle when Colonel Okey’s Parliamentary Dragoons fired into the flanks of the Royalist Cavalry forcing them to start their charge into the Parliamentary cavalry). |
| 2.15pm | Pre-battle display 2 – Parliament Baggage Trayne (The Royalist Cavalry charge the length of the field and engage the camp which is defended by the Artillery Guard of Firelocks under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Desborough). |
| 2.45pm | The Field Armies arrive at Mill Hill and prepare the large formations that are typical of the seventeenth century battlefield. |
| 3 pm | The Battle of Naseby 1645 – over 1,000 Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry troops will recreate the battle of the 14th June 1645 |
| 4.30pm | The Parliament victory is complete, and both armies reform into Brigade / Tertio formations to march off in large blocks of troops with each brigade / tertio presenting massed drums and colours for the march back to camp. |
| 5.30pm | The Battlefield and Living History Camps close. |
Sunday 14th June 2015 – Mill Hill
| Noon | The Battlefield and Living History Camps will open to the public. (There will be two living history camps – one representing the Parliament Baggage Trayne, and the other demonstrating seventeenth century life). There will also be exhibitions and displays from the Naseby Battlefield Project, and other charities and heritage organisations. |
| 1.30pm | Pre-battle display 1 – Sulby Hedge (Reenacting the very start of the battle when Colonel Okey’s Parliamentary Dragoons fired into the flanks of the Royalist Cavalry forcing them to start their charge into the Parliamentary cavalry). |
| 2.15pm | Pre-battle display 2 – Parliament Baggage Trayne (The Royalist Cavalry charge the length of the field and engage the camp which is defended by the Artillery Guard of Firelocks under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Desborough). |
| 2.45pm | The Field Armies arrive at Mill Hill and prepare the large formations that are typical of the seventeenth century battlefield. |
| 3 pm | The Battle of Naseby 1645 – over 1,000 Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry troops will recreate the battle of the 14th June 1645 |
| 4.30pm | The Parliament victory is complete, and both armies reform into Brigade / Tertio formations to march off in large blocks of troops with each brigade / tertio presenting massed drums and colours for the march back to camp. |
| 5.30pm | The Battlefield and Living History Camps close. |
Naseby Battlefield Project 2014
January 2, 2015 in News by Karen Everett
Over the last twelve months we have gone from strength to strength. The HLF grant application for our project to build a Naseby Battlefield Visitor Centre in Naseby Church is progressing well. We hope to have the feasibility study completed by February 2015 and the full application in by August 2015. We propose to conduct a visitor experience survey for the project on the NBP website and Facebook. We would much appreciate you completing the survey. The purpose of the survey is to understand what the public would gain from coming to a visitor centre, and also how the residents of Naseby would benefit from a Church with better facilities, which would include a new and improved heating system, loos and a kitchen. A much more versatile space would be created that would lend itself to concerts, plays and talks while still be a place to worship.
During the summer we held a very successful dinner at Althorp by kind invitation of The Earl and Countess Spencer, who generously gave us a delicious dinner and excellent wines. The evening raised over £6000. 120 guests attended all of whom enjoyed hearing Lord Spencer speak about his new book “Killers of the King”, an excellent read that I highly recommend. If you don’t already have a copy please buy one from our website. Lord Spencer has donated £5 to NBP for each copy bought from the site.
Please take a look at our new website (www.naseby.com) and let me know if you have any constructive comments where it can be improved or altered. The audio tour of the battlefield is being entered on the site soon.
This year is the 370th anniversary of the Battle of Naseby. We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to hold a re-enactment of the Battle of Naseby for everyone to enjoy over the weekend. On Sunday 14th June 2015, the Sealed Knot will be staging the battle scene and NBP will be putting on a party in the Village Hall on the Saturday night with live music, food and drink. Please put the date in the diary and come along to support us. Keep looking at the website for an update on this.
Thank you again for all your support and we hope to see you on 14 June, at one of our events or a battlefield tour during 2015.
Arthur Hazlerigg
Chairman of Naseby Battlefield Project
Visitor Guide
October 8, 2014 in News by Karen Everett
Mike Ingram (trustee) is an historian, author and professional battlefield guide. He has a Masters Degree in History from the University of Birmingham. He has written a number of books and articles on military history. He is qualified to teach adult education and runs courses on history, including the English Civil War, as well as giving talks and lectures throughout the UK.
As a Battlefield Guide he takes groups of up to 100 people around English and European battlefields, both for commercial tours and the Armed Forces for up to a week at a time.
He is the Northampton representative for the Battlefields Trust and Chair of the Northampton Battlefields Society and, as such, has been instrumental in successfully fighting off numerous attempts to build on the 1460 battlefield.
Even before Mike joined the Naseby Battlefeield Project as a trustee, he had been giving talks to a wide range of groups for them, including the Rockingham Castle guides and Harborough History Society.
He has also been taking all our battlefield tours for groups for some time now, including 16 Ely tour guides and several private groups, as well as bringing his own students around the battlefield.
Mike Ingram, Trustee of the Naseby Battlefield Project
Contact Mike for full details of walks and talks.
Charity dinner at Althorp raises £6,000 for The Naseby Battlefield Project
September 20, 2014 in News by Karen Everett
Lord Hazlerigg, Patron of the Naseby Battlefield Project, hosted the evening on September 12 that was attended by more than 100 distinguished guests from around the county.
Lord Hazlerigg said: “Thanks to the generosity of Lord and Lady Spencer allowing The Naseby Battlefield Project to invite 120 guests to dinner at
Althorp we have managed to raise over £6,000 for the charity.
“This will help us to continue to raise awareness of the Battle of Naseby as one of the most important battles fought on British soil that formed the constitution of the Parliament we have today.”
Earl Spencer, joint Patron of the Naseby Battlefield Project, who donated the use of Althorp for this particular event, said the Battle of Naseby was “the most important battle fought on English soil in over 900 years.”
He said: “It saw the end of the Royalist army as a fighting force, and helped to bring forward the cause of democracy as we know it today.
“I think it’s a national disgrace that we don’t have a memorial there, at Naseby, to remind people of this great moment in our history.
“In America they have stunning facilities at Gettysburg – the key battle in their civil war – which is visited by 1.8 million people per year. I’m delighted to give Althorp as a venue for the Naseby Battlefield Trust, so they can continue their campaign for an appropriate memorial to be in place – whether that be in Naseby church, or – one day – something altogether more dramatic.”
Charles, ninth Earl Spencer, released his new book, Killers of The King, published by Bloomsbury on September 11. The book tells the stories of the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, a Spencer ancestor.
Battlefield Tour – August 3rd
August 14, 2014 in Uncategorized by Karen Everett
We had a great day exploring the battlefield today, looking at everything
- from why the battle was fought where it was,
- how the battle developed,
- the deployments
- and tactics to the landscape and how it affected the outcome.
If you missed it and want to come we will be doing it all again on 7 Sept.
Book your place early to avoid disappointment!
Lord Arthur Hazlerigg becomes new chairman of NBP
August 12, 2014 in Uncategorized by Karen Everett
Naseby Battlefield Project are delighted to announce that a new chairman has been elected to succeed outgoing chairman Jenny Tarry. Lord Arthur Hazlerigg has offered to step in and take over the helm to direct the project forward. Previously one of our long standing patrons, he has taken a more active role in the last 12 months and has offered his full support in the charities efforts to deliver a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to fund a visitor centre and museum in Naseby Church and help develop the battlefield trail.