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'Regia Anglorum' (Latin for ''Kingdoms of the English'') is a medieval reenactment organisation dedicated to the recreation of the life and times of the peoples who lived in and around the Islands of Britain from the time of Alfred the Great to Richard the Lionheart. It was founded in 1986 and has a membership of around six hundred people. The group is one of the largest Early Middle Ages re‐enactment groups in England, and as such are a very high-profile group, playing a major role in many of the country's largest shows and displays, such as the re-creation of the Battle of Hastings that occurs every year. The group was formed in England, and has expanded to the point where it now has around forty active groups, but now also has a significant presence in Canada and the United States.
Regia Anglorum is an Associate Sponsor of the British Museum, and is a founder member of the National Association of Re-enactment Societies and The Battlefields Trust.

Contents

Activities

The Wychurst Project

Publications

External links

Activities

Whilst Regia have long since grown away from the hack-and-bash image once associated with re-enactment, military portrayals are still an important facet of their re-creations. They also erect living history encampments at events both major and minor and these two common threads of activity—military and civilian—are the mainstay of their work.
Regia Anglorum also takes part in nautical re-creations, and has owned and operated period ship replicas since 1991, currently owning five vessels. The biggest are three similar hulls measuring 47' by 9' in the beam. Drawing about 3', they are suitable for use on inland waters and at sea in coastal waters. A 35' wooden replica is currently undergoing repairs in Scotland and a 20' replica of the Gokstad Faering is in constant use at events throughout the UK in the course of a year. These full scale ship replicas are used extensively at events and for media work.
Regia also has a self-funded husband-and-wife Riding Team trained in the use of horse at re-enactments that supports several public events in a year. Their depiction of equine skills of the period takes both civilian and military forms. The husband, Martin Latham, is most often seen at shows depicting a typical mounted Norman lord and knight from the 11th-13th centuries, taking part in military displays such as jousting at quintains and dispatching cabbages, apples, and a mannequin called Cedric with various arms. His wife also rides at displays, showing the public and other Regia members the style of riding used by noble ladies of the period, most notably the side-saddle technique.
The Society funds its activities primarily through membership and events fees, and most weekends from April to October will find their membership re‐creating history.

The Wychurst Project

On two acres of freeheld land in Kent, Regia Anglorum are building a permanent longhouse. It is a full-scale replica of a defended manorial burgh and the flooded ring ditch and bank surmounted by 220 metres of palisade encloses an acre. Gatehouses are under construction, two small cottages are already in use and the 60 foot long, 30 feet high and wide Longhall will be in use by the end of 2006. Whilst it will certainly be used for educational purposes and public visits, there is no financial imperative that the site should make money. This difference separates it from all other reconstructed sites as the primary purpose of the settlement is to enable Regia's members to experience the lifestyle of the period in a more complete way than ever before. The site, known as the "The Wychurst Project", is situated around 60 miles from Central London near Canterbury in Kent.

Publications

There are two main publications that members receive: "Chronicle", the society's house journal; and "Clamavi", an occasional newsletter.

External links

★ Official Society Webpage

★ The Wychurst Project