Herstmonceux Castle shelves UK’s biggest medieval festival as it’s ‘disruptive’

A spokesperson for the castle estate confirmed the site won’t host England’s Medieval Festival which is traditionally held over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The festival is organised and run by an external company and attracts thousands of visitors and has ‘without doubt been a significant event in the local area for many years’, the spokesperson said.

They said, “After much thought we have concluded that the scale of the event and significant impact it has on the estate is no longer compatible with the environmentally sustainable approach being taken on the castle’s 330-acre public estate.

“The covid pandemic has allowed the team at the castle to push ahead with initiatives that are now seeing rare and significant ecosystems and habitats being restored and the large and disruptive nature of the event is very much at odds with this critical work.

“We understand that this decision will be disappointing for some and be assured that it has not been taken lightly. We trust though that the local community and the wider festival community will understand and appreciate the reasons behind this difficult decision for the castle.”

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