Introduction. This article describes what the Guild does as its events, how we do it, and what our requirements are for a successful event. It is intended for managers of heritage properties but other visitors may find some of the content useful in helping them to understand how much effort goes into our events.

The article is divided into a few short sections that can be accessed by clicking on the Prev and Next links at the bottom of each section, or else on the section titles in the Article Index that is displayed in the box at the right.

The Guild stages displays that show some aspects of domestic life in a modest gentry household of early 17th century Britain. Our events take place within appropriate heritage properties throughout the United Kingdom. We differ from other 17th century history interpretation groups by having no military element, which makes us particularly suitable for events at smaller properties, or where disturbance to neighbours is an issue. We restrict the number of events we do each year to just three or four. Our event promoters have included the National Trust, English Heritage, private trusts and the museum, or educational departments, of town and county councils.

At the heart of our activities is the preparation and consumption of a typical mid-day meal in a small but moderately well-off gentry household. This central activity keeps the kitchen staff and servants fully occupied throughout the day, in food preparation, serving and clearing up afterwards. These activities provide plenty of opportunity for engaging the visitors in conversations about 17th century food, and the life of a servant at the time.

It can sometimes appear that our events are solely about food, but this is very far from the truth. In practice the ladies and gentlemen are only given forty minutes to consume their lavish dinner and during this time visitors are encouraged to interrupt their repast with more questions about the food and 17th century table etiquette, so it really is no picnic!

Before and after the meal, the ladies and gentlemen are in their separate rooms, where the ladies engage themselves in appropriate domestic pursuits, such as embroidery, lace making or music, while the gentlemen discuss business matters. The master of the house is usually cast in the role of one of the minor gentry of the county, and is a local Justice of the Peace. Justices, who were unpaid, were required to meet regularly in pairs, often in their own homes, to hear cases presented by the local constables, and to dispense immediate justice in trivial cases, or to refer more serious cases to formal court sessions. So our master of the house usually has a visiting JP as his guest.

Although all of the Guild members do have a proper role within the household, it is not our practice to perform these roles in any theatrical sense. True, our cooks really can cook, and do produce the dishes that are used, our ladies really can play musical instruments, make lace and embroider or weave, the Justices of the Peace are knowledgeable about early 17th century law, and can issue a correctly-worded license to an alehouse keeper if required to do so, but our real task is to share our knowledge about 17th century life by answering visitors' questions.

It is quite easy to stage a bit of amateur drama, and most history re-enactment groups adopt this approach because it requires little depth of historical knowledge. An audience may enjoy a brief moment of entertainment from such carefully constructed scenes, but they gain very little information. Our Guild members are not history re-enactors in this sense. A more accurate description would be that we are history interpreters. We do not perform drama. Instead we talk directly to visitors about anything they wish to ask about our clothing, the artifacts we use and the trades, crafts and social structures of early 17th century life.

We have specialists such as a surgeon, a physician, a brewer, a scrivener, all of whom are very knowledgeable about their trade or profession. The surgeon will not perform an embarrassingly fake amputation in front of an audience, but he can make you feel genuinely queasy by showing you the instruments and explaining primitive surgical techniques in great detail, if you care to ask.

Working in houses full of precious objects necessarily restricts what we can do to portray domestic life in early 17th century Britain. We are rarely able to cook a meal over an open fire (although it has been done), or use the antique furniture as it should be used, or to let the servants clean and polish the valuable wood, metal, glass and ceramic objects that are part of the property collection on display. Instead we bring large quantities of our own replica artifacts, a much lesser quantity of small items of replica furniture, and enough pre-cooked food to feed a grand household over several days.

Furniture. Replica Stuart period furniture is seriously expensive, but it is transport of such items that really limits what we can provide. We are restricted to small items such as boxes, chests, stools and a few chairs. Fortunately, many heritage properties also have a few replica stools and benches that they use during educational visits by school parties. We also bring a few folding tables that can be pressed into service when covered with linen table-cloths and turkey work covers. Most properties are willing to allow sturdy antique tables to be used as well, once they have been suitably protected with covering.

Metalware, Glass and Ceramics. During the Guild's many years of existence, its members have acquired large personal collections of museum-quality replica artifacts. Many of these have themselves become irreplaceable objects now. Visitors are encouraged to adopt a hands-on approach to these beautiful items. Sadly, we have not yet been able to assemble a silver-gilt dinner service and must make do with brightly polished pewter, the everyday tableware for many centuries.

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=7|imageid=13|limitstart=0|limitcount=0| namefontsize=8|namenumchar=20|fontcolor=#000000|bgcolor=#CCCCCC|bgcolorhover=#999999|imagebgcolor=#CCCCCC| bordercolor=#000000|bordercolorhover=#000000|detail=0| displayname=0|displaydetail=0|displaydownload=0|float=right}

Food. There are very few heritage properties where live cooking fires are permitted in kitchens or halls, so we have developed a range food from 17th century recipes that work perfectly well when served cold. The appearance and presentation of the food is very important, so the kitchen staff are kept fully occupied with this aspect, whilst explaining 17th century food and cookery to the visitors.

The Guild is a small group of around 20 participants. The nature of the properties we work in may sometimes limit the numbers that can be used on any occasion. However, not all of the group are available for every event, nor are all our specialists appropriate for all venues. Experience has taught us that we can stage very successful events in smaller houses with as few as a dozen members, but attendance by a minimum of 15 allows us to manage the event more comfortably.

To make our events work well we need to have the following spaces:

• A kitchen for the preparation of the meal and to use as a servants' hall.

• A dining hall with a large table for serving the meal.

• A comfortable parlour for the gentlemen.

• A comfortable and well-lit parlour or bedroom for the ladies.

• Rooms to accommodate two or three specialists, such as the surgeon or a physician, and a well-lit area for the scribe.

Visitors usually find the food is a very popular aspect of our displays, and it is advisable to have plenty of space in both kitchen and dining hall. Long galleries can sometimes be appropriate places to house our specialists who represent 17th century trades and professions.

Your valuable collections. Heritage properties are museums and art galleries, and wherever possible we try to work within the constraints imposed by the need to keep the collections on public display. It is, however, often advisable to reposition small items of furniture to make best use of the available space. We are able and willing to provide the manpower to do this under staff supervision, and to return the items to their original positions at the end of events.

Similar consideration needs to be given to displayed items of metal, glass and ceramics. We do not wish to confuse visitors about which items they can handle (our replicas) and which they cannot (genuine antique artifacts belonging your collection). There are several workable solutions for this potential problem, and a different approach may need to be adopted for each room.

Hygiene. Access to conveniently-situated modern washing-up facilities is highly desirable. We do generate an awful lot of dirty dishes, and a modern sink with hot water and a draining board goes a long way towards keeping the hard-working team happy.

Accommodation. Of great importance to the participants in our events, is the provision of a suitable small area to accommodate our motor-homes, caravans and tents for the weekend, with access to toilet facilities and potable water. We do not use camp fires.

Booking us for an event. To enquire about engaging us for an event please contact the honorary secretary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , but please understand that we can not accept bookings at short notice. Many of our members are in senior career positions, or have social responsibilities that necessitate planning their commitments a year in advance. We do need to ensure sufficient attendance by our members to guarantee that your visitors and staff and, of course, ourselves, have an enjoyable experience.

Please remember, we have been staging these events for a long time now, and we have plenty of problem-solving experience that can be put to good use.

The members of the Guild of Gentry and Allied Skills are all volunteers who provide their own clothing and equipment, and travel to events from all over the country at their own expense*.

The fee that we charge covers our annual third party insurance cover, and the logistical costs of each event. Neither of these is outgoings is trivial, but we believe our fees are well below the average charged by most competent groups. Indeed, we have been told by some professional event organisers that we are ridiculously cheap for the quality of product we deliver.

We are always keen to appear at venues that are new to us. To encourage this, we are able, if necessary, to subsidise a first event at a new venue from a small reserve fund that we keep for this purpose. It gives you an opportunity to discover what we can do for your visitors, and it gives us new challenges to keep us fresh and enthusiastic.

___________________________

* During 2008 we have instituted a very modest mileage allowance that members may claim for travel to and from events. This has been made necessary by the current high cost of fuel, but we will absorb this additional cost, and our fees will not be increased because of it.