Tom Skelton

I am really pleased to announce that we will be presenting two Tudor Fashions Shows at Muncaster Castle in Cumbria on Friday 23rd August . We will be presenting them as part of the ‘Summer of Fun’ at 1pm and 3pm.   http://www.muncaster.co.uk/special-events/summer-fun

We visited Muncaster Castle  for the first time earlier this week  – it is a beautiful castle in lovely grounds an excellent setting for my period fashions.

The historic haunted castle, still a lived in family home is the jewel in the crown of this majestic setting on the Western Lake District – this idyllic setting is simply awe inspiring.

We saw the Castle in all its glory and heard from the Pennington family who have resided in the Castle since 1208, about Muncaster’s colourful history and residents.

There is a fool (Tom Fooley) aka Tom Skelton, court jester at Muncaster in the 16th Century we heard about his links to Shakespeare and the ghost stories about him causing trouble today!

Muncaster Castle

I visited the most haunted room in the castle recently subject for a paranormal investigation screened on TV! for more information see   http://www.muncaster.co.uk/haunted-castle

Hear about the glass bowl, known as ‘The Luck of Muncaster’, has been preserved by the Pennington family since the 15th Century.

The story starts in 1464 and involves King Henry VI. He was the only son of Henry of Agincourt and Catherine of France and had been crowned King of England at the age of eight.

Muncaster Great Hall

By the time he had reached his early forties he had lost his throne to Edward IV. He’d also been taken prisoner during the Battle of Hexham. He managed to escape, and fled to the hills of the Lake District where he lived rough for about a year.

Sir John Pennington, whose home Muncaster Castle was, gave Henry food and shelter for as long as he requested it. In gratitude, Henry gave Sir John a glass drinking bowl and said it was given to the family with a prayer that they might prosper for as long as the glass remained unbroken. The glass remains unbroken to this day and the family has prospered.

Our fashion show is to be staged in the Magnificent Great Hall.

My exciting show includes a number of superb costumes I have designed worn by four models. They are accompanied by beautiful period music, a brief history of each historical figure and a talk about the design and construction of each costume. Our show includes magnificent costumes for King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Jane Seymour. The show concludes with Mary Queen of Scots taking off her velvet robes to reveal her elegant execution gown.

The Magnificent Great Hall will be a fantastic period setting for my costumes – I can’t wait!!