TWO thrilling re-enactments, live cooking demonstrations and plenty of dancing took place in Malmesbury over the weekend to mark a significant historic occasion. 

Malmesbury Town Council organised a range of events to commemorate the two years, 1644-1646, when Colonel Nicholas Devereux’s Regiment took control of the hilltop town during the height of the English Civil War. 

The Cloister Gardens and Malmesbury Town Hall hosted a military camp, with live demonstrations of food preparation and cooking, scribing, dyeing and making, sword skills, a beer shop and tavern, music and dancing. 

The exciting festivities culminated in two gripping re-enactments of the battle between Royalists and Roundheads, staged by living history group Colonel Nicholas Devereux’s Regiment of Foot, which unfolded in the town centre on Sunday.

Malmesbury town councillor Cllr Campbell Ritchie said the weekend was an amazing success.   

He said: “Malmesbury was absolutely buzzing, and we had well over 2,000 people watching the re-enactments.

"I would really like to thank the re-enactors from Devereux’s Regiment and all the other re-enactment groups who joined them to give us such an engaging and memorable insight into the experience of Malmesbury in the English Civil War. 

“A huge thanks, too, to the volunteers who made it possible; the help we had from 9 Regiment RLC from Hullavington, and Malmesbury School, and all the local businesses who provided practical support and made it happen.”