St Leger &The Romans.
MMXIV Colin Joy Every September, since 1776 when the ink on the American Declaration of Independence was still slightly sticky, Doncaster has celebrated what is now the oldest Classic horse race in the world, the St Leger Stakes. This year, from Friday 5th until Sunday 14th September, there are well over 200 things to do during the 10 days of St Leger Festival Week. There are guided walks, exhibitions, special performances and events at Brodsworth Hall and Cusworth Hall and 10 performances of Kes at Cast. We’ve also got the finals of the British Jet Ski Championships at Lakeside. Rather impressively there is live music somewhere in town every single day of the festival: from rock, indie and blues to an evening of Mozart at the Mansion House. We’re even going to look at some of the facts surrounding the Robin Hood legend in a mini-exhibition at Doncaster Museum – and they’re surprisingly local! Sometimes I’m amazed at how little of Doncaster’s long history is known, but it’s what attracted me here in the first place and we should all feel extremely proud of Photography ©Shaun Flannery, 2014
the town we call home. Did you know, for example, that Doncaster was mentioned in Shakespeare? (Henry IV (Part 1), Act V, Scene I if you want to check it out!) Or that Doncaster became the retirement town of choice for a former King of Scotland? (Edward Balliol) And going back even further, right back to the Romans in fact, we’ve still got a lot of history to be proud of. As part of the St Leger Festival Week each year, the Roman Army returns to Doncaster, to the very spot where the original fort of Danum was built nearly 2,000 years ago. Doncaster Minster now occupies this site, but part of the original Roman wall can still be seen in the grounds.
Back in 2010 I made a tentative telephone call to one of the country’s leading Roman re-enactment groups to enquire if they might be available for an event that September. With genuine initial courtesy, although no outright manic enthusiasm, the gentleman on the phone asked me certain questions as to what we were looking for. All that changed when he asked
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