Out of the History Books and onto the Battlefield: Barnet Medieval Festival

Medieval battles from the war of the Roses are bought to life in North London during Barnet Medieval festival, as people live and fight like they did more than 500 years ago. This is a lesson of history, as told outside of the classroom and on the battlefield. Barnet Medieval Festival in London is the only medieval festival of its kind and is dedicated to engaging people in the history of the Battle of Barnet. Fought on 14th April 1471, the Battle of Barnet saw Edward IV lead his Yorkist army to victory against the Lancastrian forces led by the Earl of Warwick. 

This year’s re-enactment will be held at Barnet Elizabethans RFC, Byng Road, Chipping Barnet on the weekend of 11^th and 12^th September 2021. However, this nearly wasn’t the case, and they nearly couldn’t go ahead. Reliant on donations and easing of restrictions, it was touch and go for a while for the organisers, who were keen to get it going as they already had to cancel the event in 2020 due to Covid. Luckily, they have continued to receive great support and public events are now allowed to take place. We were put in contact with the festival organisers to see where we could help.