Keep Your Powder Dry

Newark played an important role in the Civil War and has a number of places of interest for the Civil War enthusiast. First off is the  National Civil War Centre , housed in the old Newark museum the buildings have been tastefully renovated. The main gallery is devoted to the Civil Wars, mostly interpretative panels and interactive stuff (and dressing up) for the kids. They have recently acquired 25 pieces of armour which they hope to display in the coming years. This should pad out the collection nicely. The museum has a slowly revolving exhibition upstairs, the current exhibition is '‌The World Turned Upside Down'; previous exhibitions have looked at C17th battlefield medicine, and (at the time when I first wrote this entry) ' Cutting Edge' - which had a number of Sir Thomas Fairfax's military items (complimenting his wheelchair which takes pride of place in the entrance). There are also a number of other military items on display. The followin...

The Commandery in Worcester is a magnificent building rooted in the history of the ancient city of Worcester. For the ECW gamer it becomes particularly relevant as Charles II's headquarters during the Battle of Worcester.  The building has been beautifully renovated, and is approached from the city centre by crossing a bridge which has a balustrade resplendent with pikes, breast plates and helmets. The galleries were revamped last year, and now tell the tale of Worcester in the Civil Wars more appropriately.  The galleries don't just tell the story of the building during the Civil Wars but also it's  role in medieval times.  For the ECW aficionado there are a number of artefacts and interpretive panels, some reproduction uniforms and artillery pieces, as well as some hands on exhibits for the small people. But what really shines out is the beauty of the building itself. Bank holiday weekends often have a re-enactment society event on...