Local History

What do a 20 foot-high Roman Temple, the English Civil War and the Russian Duma all have in common?

The Pageant took place in Lower Castle Park

The answer: They were all part of the Colchester Pageant of 1909.

For one week in June, 100 years ago, the Pageant brought together 3000 of the town's people for a series of plays and musicals in Lower Castle Park to mark 2000 years of its eventful history.

Each performance lasted three hours, marking six key events in the town's history - starting with The Dedication of the Temple of Claudius and concluding with the Siege of Colchester.

"The idea was to include members of the community, to celebrate and educate people about the town's history," explains Assistant Curator of Community History at Hollytrees Museum, Catherine Newley.

People came from far and wide to see the shows

Song and dance

The brainchild of local councilor Mr Jarman, and two years in the planning, the Pageant was a moment for the townsfolk of Colchester, no matter their background and status, to join together as one.

"There were about 200 speaking parts, the majority of which went to the great and good, the prominent members of the community," Catherine explains.

"But it was by no means just for them. The local schools were involved, the military were involved; there were shopkeepers, apprentices, all sorts."

Most of the scripts were written by the well-known pageant master of the time, Louis Napoleon Parker, but locals got involved in making the props and scenery (all of which were auctioned off afterwards) and promoting the event.

Louis Napoleon Parker directed the pageant

Catherine explains: "The music was written by a local school master, so it really was a contribution of many people to get it off the ground; there were committees for different costumes, props, and such, so there was massive organisation involved."

"The Mayor of Colchester, who also happened to be the editor of the local newspaper, was very heavily involved in generating the publicity for the event," says Cllr Paul Smith, Colchester Borough Council's current portfolio holder for Culture and Diversity.

Special train services from London to Colchester were laid on to get people to the events.

"It was a really well organised thing," Paul adds. "It attracted people nationally and internationally, members of the Royal Family and even the Russian Parliament attended!"

Exhibition

Much of the preparation for the pageant took in a private house adjacent to Castle Park, which became known as 'Pageant House'.

Around 3000 people took part in the events

It's fitting then that the building, which is now home to the Hollytrees Museum, is the venue for a centenary exhibition throughout the summer.

"We have a significant amount of archive material in our collections at the museum, especially lots of black and white photographs which really give a sense of what the pageant looked like," says curator Catherine Newley.

"We've got a costume worn by a woman called Evelyn Gibson, who played Boudica in the Pageant and that was donated by her family a few years ago.

"We're still very interested in getting objects for it because it was such an important event in Colchester's history."

'A Cast of Thousands' can be seen at Hollytrees Museum between 4, July until 27, September.