Pageants and the People: Bury St Edmunds and Magna Carta

In 1907, 1959 and 1970 the people of Bury St Edmunds staged three large historical pageants. Local people and visitors flocked to the abbey gardens to see the theatrical re-enactment of the town's past. Hundreds took part as performers, and many more worked behind the scenes. In 2015, as the world marked the eighth century of Magna Carta, our exhibition at Moyse's Hall told the story of these three pageants - two of which had much to say about the town's association with that historical document. In our blog we have pictures from the physical exhibition, along with stories from the pageant, and other features. (You can also find pictures related to the Bury St. Edmunds pageants in our image collection, here and here.) Even though the exhibition has finished, this material will stay online. Check out our oral histories with pageanteers from 1959 especially!


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