Pageants 42
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The Bury St Edmunds Pageant of Magna Carta
The Bury St Edmunds Magna Carta Pageant of 1959 was a major event, with 12 ticketed performances across 10 days. While it picked up on many of the themes of the 1907 pageant the town had held, most... -
The Axbridge Pageant
The Axbridge Pageant of 1970 was the second performance of the same event staged three years previously, seemingly spurred on by its success. It was timed to coincide with the signing of the town’s... -
The Pageant of Abinger
The Abinger Pageant is probably the most written-about pageant due to the two figures behind its creation, E.M. Forster and Ralph Vaughan Williams. In discussing this pageant, the literature has te... -
The Dover Pageant
Dover’s staging of a historical folk-play in 1908 was a nationally important and spectacular example of an Edwardian town gripped by ‘pageantitis’. Directed by the original master himself, Louis Na... -
Lancaster Historical Pageant
The pageant held in 1930 was the second great civic pageant undertaken by Lancaster under Harold Hastings' direction, the first being in 1913. In the preface to the book of words, the pageant maste... -
The Grand Empire Pageant 1909
The Grand Empire Pageant of 1909 programme was one of several imperial-themed pageants held before 1914, designed to instil patriotism and military values among participants and spectators (see Bat... -
Reading Historical Pageant
Jonathan Rose argues that the Edwardian period did not suffer instantaneous death on Flanders Field but rather lingered on into the post-war period, finally succumbing only in the mid-1920s.3 The R... -
The Pitminster and Corfe Pageant
The Pitminster and Corfe Pageant of 1976 took place in the Church of St Andrew and St Mary, a Grade I listed building constructed around 1300. It was a small event performed only twice, with just 8... -
Sir Walter Scott Centenary Perth Pageant
Described as a 'red letter day in the city' and as 'a striking climax' to a weeklong anniversary celebration, there can be no doubt, that for a city the size of Perth this was an extremely successf... -
The Axbridge Pageant
The Axbridge Pageant of 1967 was a small local event, staged to celebrate the opening of the A371 Axbridge Bypass. Despite a fairly general lack of historical pageantry in the 1960s, it inspired a ... -
Axbridge Pageant 2010
The Axbridge Pageant of 2010 was the sixth outing for the event first staged in 1967 to commemorate the opening of the A371 Axbridge bypass. As had been the case for some time, the Axbridge Pageant... -
Bramshill Park Historical Pageant
This pageant was held in the grounds of Bramshill House in Hampshire, and is an example of the many small pageants held in and around great country estates in the interwar period. Perhaps appropria... -
Kingston Church Pageant
The author of the Kingston Pageant, W.E. St Lawrence Finny, went even further than the great Pageant Master, Louis Napoleon Parker, who famously avoided the Civil War so as not to offend political ... -
Sir Walter Scott Centenary
There were so many events taking place in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Scott that it is not surprising that most passed without much fanfare. However, this part... -
The Wisbech Pageant
The idea for a pageant in Wisbech was first mooted by the town’s Mayor, J.W.A. Ollard, in his inaugural speech in 1928, where he spoke of his ‘dream’ for a ‘monster’ pageant in the town.3 Such an e... -
Rotherhithe Church Pageant
The Rotherhithe Church Pageant, held at St. Mary’s, Rotherhithe, was a highly anticipated event, not only in the community—where ‘humble workers’ in the district made their own costumes under the s... -
Bridport Royal Charter Pageant
The Bridport Pageant, or ‘Bridport Through the Ages’, was a medium-sized event, consisting of eight episodes, 1300 performers and six performances—impressive considering Bridport was only a small t... -
The Conway Pageant: Pageant Plays
The Conway Bridge Centenary Celebration of 1927 was a major week-long civic event, commemorating the 1826 engineering feat of Thomas Telford. Two historical pageants were produced, as well as a his... -
The Axbridge Pageant 2000
The Axbridge Pageant of 2000 was the fifth outing for the event first staged in 1967 to commemorate the opening of the A371 Axbridge bypass. Again the pageant was performed three times, though with... -
Liverpool 700th Anniversary Pageant
In reviewing the Liverpool pageant, one contemporary news piece somewhat churlishly pointed out that Liverpool was 'a grimy city', though it also added that there might be 'romance under its grime'...