Devon’s not the only county where
Sir Walter is being remembered this year. At Sherborne, in the neighbouring county
of Dorset, Raleigh built his New Castle in the early 1590s. It was a country
retreat from the troubles that he’d experienced at Queen Elizabeth I’s court.
To lose his Sherborne estate when
he fell out of favour with her successor James I must have been a bitter
experience.
He was deeply attached to his new
home, and Raleigh enthusiasts in the Sherborne area are keen to show their appreciation
of this remarkable Renaissance man and great British hero.
On Saturday 6 October the organisers of the Ralegh 400
Festival at Sherborne have planned a fantastic Tudor banquet in the town’s
Memorial Hall. Guests include Edward and
Maria Wingfield Digby, owners of Sherborne Castle which is staging its own exhibition
in honour of Sir Walter this year.
There will be a large table of guests from the Eastbury
Hotel, the elegant Georgian building recently acquired by entrepreneur Peter de
Savary. The hotel is sponsoring the event by providing its chef and kitchen
team. Guests in costume are welcome.
Sherborne enthusiasts involved in the Ralegh 400 Festival
include Bob Walden, Chairman of the town’s Twinning Association, and Blue Badge
guide Cindy Chant. They are pictured above, shortly after their interview with
Sherborne Abbey’s 104FM Radio, conducted by presenter Jenny Devitt.
The interview was followed, inevitably, by Bob
Newhart’s comedy turn ‘Nutty Walt’ and then a phone interview with Budleigh
playwright Steve Andrews as a prelude to Steve’s recently produced play ‘From
Exe to Axe’.
Sadly, bad weather prevented the play’s
performance in Sherborne, but the Sherborne Festival feast on 6 October should
go ahead without any such difficulty.
Tickets for the Banquet are £30, obtainable from
Sherborne’s Tourist Information Centre and WinstoneBooks, Sherborne,. with
profits being donated to the charity The British Lung Foundation and Sherborne’s
Yeatman Hospital.
On 26 October Raleigh biographer Anna Beer will give a talk at a meeting of the town’s
Historical Society http://www.sherbornehistoricalsociety.co.uk/local-events
Find out more about Raleigh’s Sherborne Castle at http://www.sherbornecastle.com/
The Eastbury Hotel website is at https://theeastburyhotel.co.uk/
FOR THE RALEIGH 400 CALENDAR OF
FOR THE RALEIGH 400 CALENDAR OF
EVENTS WORLDWIDE
IN 2018 CLICK ON
