New Museum Battle Room

The pre-pandemic plan in Tewkesbury was to spend 2021 celebrating a big anniversary of the Abbey and commemorating a big anniversary of the Battle. As things happened, May 4th, the battle anniversary, passed by without a fanfare, beaten by the virus.

In 1971, the last big anniversary, the Museum unveiled a new battle room display. The centre piece was a magnificent diorama of a key moment in the battle, made of thousands of Airfix model soldiers fixed onto a landscape carefully constructed of chicken wire, paper, sand and shredded nylon pot-scourers. The models were individually adjusted and painted in livery colours. Altogether, a striking and surprisingly dramatic display, most of which has survived fifty years in good condition.

The Battlefield Society wanted to do something for the anniversary and a refurbishment of the battle display seemed appropriate. It was agreed with the Museum that they would make a major financial contribution to the cost of the project, and the search started for a volunteer to carry it out.

Neither the Battlefield Society nor the Museum anticipated what they had started. Cameron Lawrence volunteered to take the project on, and proposed a dramatically different vision to the ‘things in cases’ approach which is normal in museums. His ideas were agreed and he set to work. Then Covid happened. Access to the building was severely restricted and delay was inevitable.

Cameron soldiered on off site, making or acquiring the various components for his vision, with a lot of help from cabinet maker Jenny Burt. The end of lock-down saw more delay with the museum closed again; this time for essential roof repairs. The Watson Hall kindly provided space to store the growing pile of boxes and timber frames. All that frustration is in the past, though. As soon as it was possible to work in the Museum, installation started and the vision is there for all to see.

The display is dazzling, and shows Cameron’s skills in theatrical set design and construction to perfection. The story of the battle is told, step by step, from both the Lancastrian and Yorkist viewpoints, with dramatic backdrops, accentuated by fully costumed models of King Edward and Queen Margaret. Between them stands the historic diorama of the battle.

Now that the Museum is open again, visitor reaction has been very positive indeed. People spend much, much, longer in the room than they used to and say very complimentary things afterwards.

The display has arrived much later than planned for, but that was unavoidable. It has certainly been worth waiting for. It’s a wonderful follow-up to the fairground room, unveiled just before the pandemic, and makes a visit to the museum even more interesting and educational.