Royal Melton- 850 years in the Footsteps of Kings
A Project to Celebrate Melton’s Royal Connections.
During the last 850 years, since 1194, 16 Kings and 2 Queen’s have visited Melton Mowbray. This project celebrates these historic visits and the heritage of Melton Mowbray.
The Royal Melton Project
The aim is to have an annual weekend of activities to celebrate Melton’s Royal Connections.
St Mary’s 850 – To celebrate the 850th anniversary of St Mary’s Church.
Royal King Street – To install a series of footprint plaques along King Street with the names and dates of each of the 11 medieval kings who travelled along the street with an explanation of its role as the ‘Great North Road’.
Melton’s Royal Mile – To develope a mile-long circular walk from King Street around the town’s iconic buildings particularly those associated with its royal heritage.
A Royal Fair – To celebrate the more than 1,000 years history of markets in Melton Mowbray with a themed market of food, crafts and other stands and attractions including re-enactors portraying each of our royal visitors.
‘Fit for a King’ – To celebrate Melton’s food heritage including Stilton – the King of Cheeses and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies – The King of Pies. This includes a competition for a menu item “Fit for a King’ for our restaurants and cafes and for foods such as pies and other baked products. The Livestock Market to hold a rare breeds show exhibiting historic animals from Melton’s past. The Museum of Food will portray a replica meal for each period of history.
Schools and Young People – To encourage the participation of young people and schools so they learn about Melton’s heritage and carry this into future generations. Activities to inclulde an exhibition at Melton Carnegie Museum and workshops of historic craft activities as well as work in school on the theme with a display of the work in a prominent location.
Belvoir Castle – Belvoir Castle dates back from 1067 with four castles being built on the site since then. During this period it has had a close relationship with the monarchy including visits by a number of kings and queens. One of the most notable visits was that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1843 for the christening of the son of the then Duke of Rutland.
The suggestion is to have an exhibition marking these royal visits. A re-enactment of Queen Victoria’s visit of 1843 at the Castle would attract considerable visitor interest. Finally Afternoon Tea was first devised at Belvoir Castle at almost the same period and so could also be linked to the re-enactment.
Elsewhere – The project should also link with visitor attractions commemorating the life of Richard III in Leicester and Bosworth. There are other Royal links nearby such as Rockingham Castle, a royal hunting lodge, and the Battle of Naseby site.
Project Legacy – To leave a permanent legacy and infrastructure for the tourism industry to attract visitors to Melton. The theme will also be used for flower displays and planting around the town and will include floral arches as modern interpretations of the 5 floral arches that welcomed the visit of Queen Victoria to Melton Mowbray in 1843.