Photo opportunity: At 9.30am on Thursday 6 May, the Mayor of St Edmundsbury, Cllr David Lockwood, will be presenting children at Hardwick Middle School, Mayfield Road, Bury St Edmunds, with a Magna Carta education pack and reproduction of the Magna Carta.
Middle schools across the borough are set to receive a wealth of information about Magna Carta and its links to St Edmundsbury, thanks to a comprehensive resource pack put together by St Edmundsbury Borough Council.
The Magna Carta Teachers’ Resource Pack is being distributed to all middle schools in the borough over the next few weeks and will help children to learn more about what the Magna Carta is, its connection with Bury St Edmunds and the reasons why we are celebrating it. Schools will also receive a Magna Carta scroll and the opportunity to have a full copy of the Magna Carta document.
A host of Magna Carta events based around a freedom and democracy theme will take place between Saturday 12 and Sunday 20 June. The centrepiece of the celebrations is a civic parade around the town to the Cathedral, where a special service will be held to commemorate the granting of Magna Carta and its effects on freedom and democracy. Guests of the borough include the Master of the rolls and representatives of the other four Charter Towns. Participants in the parade include Veterans of the Normandy campaign in 1944 and the United States Third Air Force, who will be exercising the Freedom granted to them by the Borough in 2000. The Royal Air Force Regiment, based at RAF Honington, which also has the Freedom of the Borough, will be taking part as well.
There will also be especially themed events and displays, such as a carnival parade, Nowton Park Country Fair and displays of items and pictures relating to D-Day and Magna Carta at Moyse’s HallMuseum. St Edmundsbury Borough Council will also be celebrating its 30th anniversary and members of the public will be invited to come along to an open day at the Borough Offices.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Full list of events for the Magna Carta celebrations are as follows:
Tuesday 1 June
Freedom - display on D-Day and Magna Carta at Moyse’s Hall Museum
Wednesday 9 June
2pm - ‘Heraldry and Magna Carta’ lecuture by Mr G. de. Roeper of Suffolk Heraldry Society at Moyse’s Hall Museum
Saturday 12 June - Sunday 20 June
Magna Carta floral decoration of St Edmunds Church, Westgate Street
Saturday 12 June
Noon - carnival from Leisure Centre to Angel Hill
12-4pm - opening of Norman Tower
2.30pm - children’s event in the Abbey Gardens
Sunday 13 June
11am - Veteran Magna Carta tree trail at Ickworth Park
2.15pm - Freedom of the borough given to Bury St Edmunds branch of the Normandy Veterans Association followed by Freedom Parade from the Abbey Gardens to the Cathedral through Angel Hill and flypast
3.30pm - cathedral service
5pm - Freedom Parade through town centre by Normandy Veterans and United States Air Force
5.15pm - Military Excellence on Angel Hill including USAF Honour Guard Drill display
7.30pm - ‘Magna Carta’-the Bury St Edmunds connection’ lecture by Professor Nicholas Vincent, Professor of Medieval history at the University of East Anglia, at the Athenaeum
Monday 14 June
11am/2pm - guided tour of Cathedral
7.30pm - question time on democracy
Tuesday 15 June
11am/2pm - Magna Carta guided tour of Cathedral
2.30pm - Magna Carta walk through town centre
8pm-Magna Carta - the acoustic folk/rock group at the Corn Exchange
Wednesday 16 June
11am/2pm - Magna Carta guided tour of Cathedral
7.30pm -‘Bury St Edmunds and Beyond in the Era of Magna Carta’ lecture by Clive Paine at the Athenaeum
Thursday 17 June
10am-4pm - St Edmundsbury Borough Council 30th anniversary open day at Angel Hill offices
11am/2pm - Magna Carta guided tour of Cathedral
2.30pm - Magna Carta guided walk through town centre
Friday 18 June
11am/2pm - Magna Carta guided tour of Cathedral
Saturday 19 June
2.30pm - Magna Carta guided walk through town centre
Sunday 20 June
11am-5pm - 15th annual Nowton Park Country Fair with medieval jousting
All day - hidden garden in Bury St Edmunds
Please contact the following Group Leaders for comment:
Cllr John Griffiths - 01359 268881
Cllr Sheila Wormleighton – 01284 761907
Cllr Mike Ames -01284 701238
Cllr Allan Jones – 01284 756415
ISSUED BY MARIA ETHRIDGE, COMMUNICATIONS UNIT, ST EDMUNDSBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL. Tel 01284 757033 Fax 01284 757032 maria.ethridge@stedsbc.gov.uk
