Following three other successful themed open days with FREE Admission, the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre at Great Steeping near Spilsby announce their most ambitious event ever!

A costumed re enactment day based on a market of the 15 century, visitors will be mingling with Lords and their ladies, a jester, merchants, a magistrate, craftsmen, men at arms, soothsayer, apothecary, mediaeval farmers, peasants and villagers.

Students from Mencap (Lincolnshire) who use the centre as a training base, very successfully helped to arrange the previous themed events. They will be manning stalls and making many of the wares on sale.

Longbow archers from the Friskney Bowmen will be bringing their popular "Have a go" display.

A Farmers Market is being organised and Boston butcher Stephen Dunmore is bringing his well known "Hog Roast".

Obviously, the event is a fund-raiser to assist with the care of the horses resident at the centre and we hope people will be very generous.

The horses will be taking a major part and begin with a parade led by the Lord of the Manor and his retinue at 11.30 am.

At 1pm horses of various sizes and their riders will be giving a display of Mediaeval riding skills.

This is something totally new to Lincolnshire and involves riding against obstacles with javelin and lance. The horses will be in costume too!

We are grateful for advice given to us for this event by the riders from the Royal Armouries at Leeds.

Because the centre is primarily a sanctuary for big horses with special needs it has been very difficult to make big changes to attract more people to the site. There are no grants and financial assistance from the Lottery or EEC for horses; so the Centre has to cope entirely unaided.

A nucleus of loyal "Friends" give financial support as they can and a small number of families from the north and south of England give their free time and holidays to run the centre, which has no paid staff.

Visitors can expect more than a few surprises on this special day but the normal "unique hands" on "close contact" programme with the horses themselves will not operate on Mediaeval Day.

We can only say come early to avoid disappointment. For example the wagon rides will be limited to four (80 people) as the horses will have already performed in the "tiltyard" beforehand!