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Celebrating a rich medieval past
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| Children dress up to mark the medieval event |
Knights, princesses and peasants descended on a field in Bushey yesterday, as a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the area's rich medieval history.
A medieval and Easter themed morning brought hundreds of children and adults to The Moatfield, near Bournehall Lane, many of them dressing up and taking part in games including jousting and giant chess.
Despite currently being lined with football pitches, the grounds were formerly home to Bourn Hall, a 240 acre manor house first mentioned in 1231.
Using a £24,000 lottery heritage grant, the Friends of The Moatfield, Hertsmere Borough Council and the Countryside Management Service (CMS) have undertaken major conservation work on the site and its historic moat and funded activities and the information plaque.
Fiona Leadley, Landscape Design Officer for the council, praised the fantastic turnout and the work done by the friends group to maintain the site.
She said: "They've done some really good work in maintaining the green space and the moat. Hopefully we should be able to do more events in the future and bring people here."
Jez Perkins of the CMS, who helped plant hedges in the site during the event, said the conservation work had been a great success.
He said: "The moat didn't hold water and now it holds water and you can see dragon flies, damselflies, foxes, all kinds of wildlife."
A five year management plan has been launched to maintain and improve the site.
Alongside the informational plaque, unveiled by Mayor of Hertsmere, Martin Saunders, visitors will have access to a newly printed leaflet about The Moatfield.
The leaflet includes detailed accounts of the history of the site, the conservation work and the plant life in the area.
Bryen Wood, Director of Bushey Museum, who helped put together the leaflet, said: "It's a great facility that was twice under threat from housing developers. The Friends of The Moatfield campaigned vigorously and managed to save it.
"It's great providing sufficient funds are there to maintain the field and the plaque. All credit has to be given to the friends as they have done a wonderful job here."
7:57am Thursday 27th March 2008
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