Party like it's 1589

Except it’s not the late sixteenth century, it’s January 30, 2011 and the congregation at St Peter’s Church, Old Town, enjoyed a special Candlemas service and Elizabethan feast.

This is the third year the church has chosen a theme to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation., known as Candlemas, which commemorates the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem on February 2, 40 days after His birth. He was hailed as the light of the world and the candles serve as a reminder of this. In the Middle Ages Candlemas was the day candles were blessed for the rest of the year.

More than 150 people joined in the celebrations with many, including St Peter’s Rev Canon Edward Bryant, suitably dressed for the occasion in Elizabethan costumes.

Following the atmospheric candlelit service, more candles were lit in the Old Town’s appropriately decorated community centre, providing the setting for the Elizabethan Feast, and St Peter’s social committee pulled out all the stops to make the event as authentic as possible.

Churchwarden Judith Platt said: “It was discovered that Queen Elizabeth I provided a goose for everyone at Christmas to celebrate the Armada’s defeat in 1588, so St Peter’s is also celebrating, supposedly in January 1589, and everyone was encouraged to dress accordingly.”

Judith said the food, presented by a number of merry serving wenches, was as authentic as possible.

Mouth-watering offerings included parsnip and apple broth, a range of roasted meats and vegetables, pease pudding and, with potatoes - a scarcity back then - and trencher bread made by Ann Bullen. Desserts of apple and custard tarts were next on the menu, followed by marzipan fruits; around 200 of which were made by the youth fellowship. The only anachronistic feature of the evening was the tea and coffee.

Entertainments, with much merrymaking, was provided by tumblers, jesters, and minstrels, along with Elizabethan music and singing, in the rich tradition of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, with members of the talented St Peter’s choir.

With previous Candlemas celebrations having Victorian and 40s themes, St Peter’s intends that this special event will be a permanent fixture on the church’s social calender.

Rev Canon Bryant thanked everyone for attending, and for all the hard work needed to make the occasion such a success, adding: “What a wonderful celebration we’ve had. I look forward to next year for something equally as imaginative.”