St. George's Day at Wrest Park

We had an incredible time Saturday at the nation's largest St. George's Day celebration at the amazing Wrest Park! St. George is the patron saint of England, but the historical person St. George had absolutely no connection to England. Nevertheless, his day (April 23) is celebrated here.

First we'll talk about the house and grounds, then the St. George festivities. The property was the home of the De Grey family from the 1200s to 1917, and they added many features to the gardens throughout the centuries. The house wasn't completely open, but we did get to go into the Ante Library and the entry hall--both beautiful. The photos we took of the actual house aren't that great because there was scaffolding around most of the house, so if you're interested to see photos of the house itself, follow this link to Wrest Park (it really is impressive). We walked around the extensive grounds and enjoyed many hidden features of the property. The foremost is the many statues, each incredible on its own. We counted over 25 statues just in the immediate garden. Jacob described them as "magnificent," and you can tell he really feels that way. Here he is admiring the intricate details.

The Orangery was beautiful. I don't think an orangery has to be orange in color, but this building really is impressive.

We also really enjoyed the pavillion, built in 1709. Here's a photo of the exterior; the interior was extraordinary, but the video we took was a bit too dark to post.

In the next two photos is the Bowling Green House, built in 1735. You can see part of the bowling green itself just in front of the House. We particularly enjoyed the beautiful green interior with white trim.

There are many more, but we'll just share 2 more features of the grounds. The Chinese Pavillion seemed a bit out of place, but interesting. We also came across a pet cemetary. Apparently very wealthy people can afford really nice gravestones and statues for their pets when they pass away.

The St. George's Day festivities included many interesting tents and displays. As we entered the gate to the festivities, a guy in a crazy hat asked our names and where we're from. We told him our names and that we live in Suffolk County. He trumpeted very loudly, then yelled: "JACOB, A POOR MAN OF SURREY; AND RACHEL, HIS EVEN POORER MISTRESS." He didn't get the county right, but we loved being announced to the crowd! We enjoyed looking at the various displays of armor and weapons, especially the swords. We are also enjoying the fudge we purchased from a very nice man (who said my accent is lovely). They had living history encampments, and an exciting Victorian gymkhana, among other activities.

The falconry display was amazing! The presenters stressed the fact that falconry wasn't so much a sport as it was a means of putting food on the table. This photo shows a young child, plucked from the audience, enticing the falcon to his gloved arm. It was amazing to see these birds, especially the beautiful African spotted eagle owl and the peregrine, which can swoop up to 200 mph! I couldn't help thinking about my dear Mom who has a legendary fear of birds--Mom, the birds were swooping near our heads; you would have hated it.

This photo depicts the battle between St. George and the dragon. No surprises here; St. George won.