Legends of Windlesham

Pageant type

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Performances

Place: Woodside (Windlesham) (Windlesham, Surrey, England)

Year: 1938

Indoors/outdoors: Outdoors

Number of performances: 1

Notes

6 July 1938

Name of pageant master and other named staff

  • Producer [Pageant Master]: Bosman, Barbara
  • Scenery Designer: John Eastaugh
  • Assistant Scenery Designer: Mr Bishop
  • Costumes: Miss Rudd, Miss Adams, Mrs Cole, Mrs Pittman
  • Wireless and Radio-gram provided by: Mr Pack

Names of executive committee or equivalent

n/a

Names of script-writer(s) and other credited author(s)

  • Hutton, Lilian

Names of composers

n/a

Numbers of performers

n/a

Financial information

n/a

Object of any funds raised

In aid of the Windlesham and Valley End Cottage Hospital, and Windlesham Church Vestry Fund

Linked occasion

n/a

Audience information

Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest

Free

[The Pageant welcomed donations]

Associated events

  • Gala Dance at the Institute
  • Teas and Raffle

Pageant outline

Prologue: Ballet of Water Nymphs, water reeds, gorse and heather.

Act 1. 14th and 15th Century

Scene 1: Death of John, Earl of Kent who leaves his sister Joan, the ‘Fair Maid of Kent’ as heiress to the Manors of Windlesham and Bagshot.

Scene 2: Marriage of Lady Joan to Edward, Black Prince

Act 2. 17th Century

Scene 1: The Drawing up of the Petition sent to Charles II, asking for removal of Red Deer from their land.

Scene 2: The Fire which destroyed the old church of St. John the Baptist, Windlesham.

Act 3. 18th Century.

The arrival of Miss Lowther from Town, followed by her suitors Lord Talbot and Wilkes. A duel is fought on Bagshot Heath. Whilst the duel took place, the reason for it is pure conjecture.

Key historical figures mentioned

  • Edward [Edward of Woodstock; known as the Black Prince] prince of Wales and of Aquitaine (1330–1376) heir to the English throne and military commander
  • Joan, suo jure countess of Kent, and princess of Wales and of Aquitaine [called the Fair Maid of Kent] (c.1328–1385)
  • Wilkes, John (1725–1797) politician

Musical production

n/a

Newspaper coverage of pageant

n/a

Book of words

None noted

Other primary published materials

  • Legends of Windlesham. Np. 1938.

References in secondary literature

n/a

Archival holdings connected to pageant

  • Copy of Programme in Surrey History Centre, Woking, Reference 393/1

Sources used in preparation of pageant

n/a

Summary

This is an example of a village pageant from the later 1930s (many were held in Surrey especially). It was evidently a small-scale affair, and only performed once—with no charge for entry. Its content did not offer a coherent chronological history of the locale, but rather a series of (largely unconnected) vignettes. It seems likely that many other village pageants took a similar form.

The scenery designer, John Eastaugh, was killed in an accident whilst serving with the RAF in the Middle East in April 1943.1

Footnotes

1. ^  Surrey Advertiser, 3 April 1943, 5.

How to cite this entry

Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘Legends of Windlesham’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/1475/