Social Programme

Thursday evening
Social evening at Baddesley Clinton, a local moated manor house in the care of the National Trust.

Coaches leave Coombe Abbey at 6 pm. Dress for the evening is casual, but warm clothes may be needed depending on the weather. Tours of the house will be included with access to the grounds, gardens and shop. A meal will be served in the restaurant with local actors providing some entertainment. Coaches will leave to return to Coombe Abbey at 10.00pm.

A moated farmstead was built at Baddesley Clinton in the 13th century when large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared. The manor house as seen today dates from 1438 when the estate was bought by John Brome, Under Treasurer of England. The property then passed by marriage to the Ferrers family where it remained for the following 500 years until 1940. Today the house still retains its medieval atmosphere. The ancient park is set in a remnant of the Forest of Arden and has extensive formal gardens, ponds and a lake walk.

Friday evening
This evening we go to the Abbeygate building at Coombe Abbey for the Medieval Banquet, a disco after the meal will finish the day ending at 12.30am.

The year is 1539, and the quiet and calm of Coombe Abbey is about to be shattered forever. The Abbot and his Provost have thrown open the doors of the Abbey and have invited the local peasants to come for a meal – ‘A feast fit for a king!’ Enter the King’s Commissioners – and before the horrified eyes of the peasants they ransack the Abbey of it’s treasures and banish the Monks.
The scene then changes. We move forward in time to 1595. The de Clapper family are in residence at Coombe Abbey. Sir Robin, the Courte Chamberlain, invites his ‘noble’ guests to a great feast. As the feast progresses, the guests are entertained throughout. After the final course, they are joined by the Ladyes of the Courte for a fine programme of songs, aires and melodies.
Dress code : Smart dress or Medieval Costume (No jeans or trainers)