BATTLE PROM AT HATFIELD HOUSE in JULY.

Quite some time ago Sally was told by a colleague about the 'Battle Prom' that takes place at Hatfield House every year. It sounded good, especially the spitfire flypast and the 200 cannons to be used during the 1812 overture. Then events took over, so we weren't certain whether Sally would be able to go. As the poor weather continued throughout April, May, June and July we 'ummed' and 'aahed' about going. In the end, with the possibility of decent weather, we went along and bought tickets at the gate.

Like so many houses here, Hatfield house has a long history. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I. It has been the home of the Cecil family ever since and is now the home of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury.

The original house was built in 1497 by the Bishop of Ely but was seized by Henry VIII with other church properties and upgraded to the status of palace. Henry VIII's children Edward and Elizabeth spent their youth at Hatfield. His eldest daughter Queen Mary lived there between 1533 and 1536, when she was sent to wait on the then Princess Elizabeth. The palace became the favourite residence of Queen Elizabeth I and it was to here that she returned after her two months of imprisonment by her sister Queen Mary in the Tower of London. The 'Queen Elizabeth Oak' on the grounds of the estate is said to be the location where, following Mary's death, Elizabeth was told she was Queen.

We did not intend to visit the house as, on this occasion, we were without Aisha who was at her guide camp. That would wait for a later date. The rain held off and it was almost a balmy evening. Despite arriving a while after the gates opened we used William's 'sneak to the front' skills and managed to get an excellent spot right up near the front. By the time it started there were around 8,000 people, most with rugs spread out but many with elaborate marquees, tables, chairs, candelabra and wearing a range of formal wear. 

The proms are a fairly well known series of classical concerts. The battle proms combine music with various aspects of historical battles - in this case the 1812 French invasion of Russia and their ultimate defeat. The proms are a very English affair and, these being in July, seemed to pick up on the slowly growing enthusiasm for the then upcoming Olympics.

As well as an enthusiastic crowd there are members of various Napoleonic re-enactment groups who come in replica uniforms and costumes along with weaponry.

The spitfire that flew is the Grace Spitfire which was originally built in early 1944. It served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of WWII,  all in all flying 176 combat operations. After the war it passed through various hands until it ended up as an advanced trainer for the Irish Air Corps until 1960. The plane featured in the film 'Battle of Britain' after which it was sold to the Strathallan Museum. The plane was then acquired by engineer Nick Grace in 1979.

Nick spent five years restoring the Spitfire to flying condition. He exhibited the plane for several years before he was killed in a car accident in 1988. To carry on his work Nick's widow, Carolyn - an expat Australian, learned to fly the Spitfire. It was her at the controls when the plane flew over us at Hatfield. Having seen several Spitfires in museums and of course heard all about their role in WWII it was literally a spine tingling experience to hear this magnificent machine flying so low & almost directly over us. Images of dogfights over the coast of Kent sprang to mind.

As well as the spitfire there was a display by The Blades, a propeller version of the Red Arrows.

After the aerial displays there were various flag waving performances topped by the 1812 overture with 200 cannons. The video does not do justice to the cannons which, despite their size, were very loud.

That was all back in July.

In late August we all went to another aeronautical prom, this time at the Shuttleworth exhibition in Biggleswade just an hour north of London. This prom incorporated a variety original and replica vintage aircraft. It was definitely a balmy evening as this show was during a 'heatwave' weekend with temperatures at 31 degrees.

The crowd was not as flag waving as at Hatfield house but there was music which Mark & Will enjoyed together.

The replica 1910 Avro Triplane.

A replica of the 1910 Bristol boxkite.

Avro Tutor 1931.

1955 Percival Piston Provost

 Having seen these planes in the Shuttleworth museum several months ago as well as similar planes in other museums it was fantastic to see and hear them flying so closely overhead. The two oldest planes - the Avro Triplane and the Bristol box kite were both built to appear in the 1960s movie 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines'.

There was another show we wanted to see that included a fly-past by various WWII planes including a Lancaster bomber. We were away that weekend so will make sure we keep the weekend free when it comes around next year.  We loved the proms!!