11:50am Monday 8th February 2010
By Diarmuid MacDonagh
MUSKET fire rang out across Weymouth to herald a weekend of historical drama.
Re-enactors, clad in period costume, turned the clock back to the great siege and Battle of Weymouth which took place during the English Civil War.
Soldiers took to the streets to recreate parts of the bloody clash on Saturday and Sunday.
Events got off to a rousing start on Saturday when the refurbished Old Town Hall was the focus of the celebrations. There was a living history exhibition and various re-enactments and interpretations about life at the time based at the hall, followed my spectacles on the harbourside and at the Nothe.
There was musket fire on the hour, pike drills for children and a talk on how the battle unfolded, its conclusion and consequences.
The event was staged following a hugely-successful commemorative event last year.
Yesterday there was a rally at Sandsfoot Castle and a volley of musket fire before a march down Old Castle Road, Belle Vue Road, Bincleaves, across to the Nothe and through Franchise Street to Chapelhay and the Old Town Hall.
There was more musket fire and a march to the Old Rooms, which stands on the spot where hundreds of Irish mercenaries lost their lives. A wreath was laid there.
About 20 soldiers from the Portland Garrison took part in the re-enactments.
The guardians of the old town hall and Pike and Shot Tour Events were the main organisers of the weekend.
Jo Harman, from Dorchester, took her children along. She said: “It was really colourful and exciting for the kids.
“I didn’t know anything about the Civil War in Weymouth and I think that it would be great if it could become an annual event.”
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