Warwick Pageant

The tradition & historical record

The Warwick Pageant was a huge drama festival, organised by Louis N. Parker, which took place in the grounds of Warwick Castle, England, in July 1906 and was later described as “the biggest thing which ever happened to Warwick”. ¹

The pageant was performed in the grounds of Warwick Castle, England, during the week of 2 to 7 July 1906 and was a major undertaking. In 1905 the Warwick town authorities had approached Louis N. Parker (see below) and asked him to “add another triumph” to that which he had achieved with the Sherborne Pageant in Dorset, even though that one only used 820 performers. The excuse for the Warwick Pageant was that it should celebrate “the Commemoration of the Thousandth Anniversary of the Conquest of Mercia by Queen Ethelfleda”. ¹

It was a leading principle that, as far as possible, everything used in the pageant should be designed and made in Warwick. There were two thousand performers, and three hundred ladies made 1,400 of the costumes. Forty amateur artists painted copies of mediaeval banners for Churches and Guilds, in addition to producing elaborate designs on materials for costumes. Most of this work was done in a property in Jury Street, Warwick that became known as Pageant House, by which name it is still known today. From the start it was to be “clearly understood that those participating in the Pageant as performers would do so anonymously”. A wooden grandstand was constructed which could hold an audience of 4,800 people. It was designed to be “in one gentle slope at an angle that collects the sound waves and delivers them distinctly to the very back of the stand, which is 280 feet long”. ¹

The pageant secured almost universally ecstatic press reviews. Louis N. Parker explained what inspired him: ¹

In arranging the Warwick Pageant I have clung as closely as the exigencies of time and space would allow to history and tradition. My chief authorities have been The Countess of Warwick’s “Warwick Castle” and Mr Thomas Kemp’s “A History of Warwick and its People”, but I have used “The Black Book of Warwick” and “The Book of John Fisher” very freely. I have also taken hints from “The Rowl of Master John Rows of Warrewyk” and I am acquainted with Dugdale, Field, Smith, Rivington, Burgess and a number of minor pamphlets. I think I may say I have some sort of authority for every action represented, if not for every word spoken. I have been specially favoured in my Collaborators. My old and tried friend Mr James Rhoades has dignified the whole Pageant with his verse; Mr Edward Hicks, not content with helping me in all sorts of ways with extraordinary patience and enthusiasm, has also contributed the greater part of the First Episode; The Rev W. T. Keeling, Headmaster of Warwick School, has written a Latin Carmen which I expect the school will be singing centuries hence; Miss Ahrons has exercised her graceful muse in the service of the High School for Girls; and I wish to express my very particular thanks to the authors of Episodes VI and VII – Kit Marlowe and William Shakespeare. ¹

As explained above, the programme did not contain the names of the players, and their identities are only revealed in press reviews: The Players: The following ladies and gentlemen played the leading parts: Kymbeline: Mr Holte Caradoc: Mr Sutton Ethelfleda: Miss Dickens Piers Gaveston: Mr Rybot Lancaster: Mr Robb Warwick: Mr H. Brown Roger de Newburgh: Mr C. Brown Gundrada: Miss Browne Shakespeare: A boy from Stratford Queen Elizabeth: Mrs H. Batchelor Leicester: Earl of Yarmouth Thomas Fisher: Mr Sam Browne Mrs Tomas Fisher: Mrs Sam Browne Recorder: Mr Kemp (Mayor of Warwick) There also took part in various episodes Lord and Lady Willoughby de Broke, Lady Heath, Lady Victoria de Trafford and the Rev Ralph Goodenough. ¹

With the exception of the Carmen, sang while the boys of Warwick School were performing (which piece forms the school song to this day), all the music of the Pageant was composed by Allen K. Blackall, the music master at the King's County School in The Butts, organist of St Mary’s, later music master at Warwick School (1906–27) and Principal of the Birmingham School of Music from 1934 to 1945. Warwick School possesses the autograph orchestral parts for the Pageant March, which is presumably the “Solemn March” which opened the proceedings each night, performed in 1906 by a “hidden orchestra” and also the Band of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. ¹

Two reels of a film of the pageant survive, and were copied into a 16mm format in 1957. The contents of the film are given in the National Film Archive Catalogue: A record of the pageant held in the grounds of Warwick Castle in 1906, depicting incidents in Warwick history from AD40 to 1572. Reel 1. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Warwick Pageant”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Warwick Pageant is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²