The staff of Bassetlaw Museum and members of Historical Solutions will try to recreate life in 12th century Bassetlaw at an event to be held in Carlton-in-Lindrick Village Hall on Saturday 23rd July. Visitors can meet a knight and his lady with members of their household, and also try on replica medieval armour.

Bassetlaw Museum curator, Sam Glasswell says, “The event centres on the discovery in 2004, near Carlton-in-Lindrick, of a tiny medieval figure of a man on horseback. He is wearing a helmet, carrying a shield and the horse is covered in a ground length draped cloth or caparison. Experts at the British Museum dated the artefact to the 12th century. It was discovered by a metal detectorist and is the only one of its kind in England.

The knight is made of bronze so it was not protected by the Treasure Act. There was a serious danger that it would be sold abroad to the highest bidder, but with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund and the Beecroft Bequest, Bassetlaw Museum, which is owned and operated by the Bassetlaw District Council, was able to buy the knight and keep it for the local people. The figure will be on view on the day.”

Portfolio holder for Environment and Leisure, Cllr Julie Leigh said, “We’re delighted to be part of the national Festival of British Archaeology. The In Search of the Carlton Knight event is part of the Museum’s effort to find out what the Carlton Knight was for and what it can tell us. The staff of the Museum and members of Historical Solutions will try to recreate life in 12th century Bassetlaw.

“There will be displays of interest to adults as well as a talk about the Carlton Knight. Roman and Medieval objects from the Museum’s collection can be handled at various times through the day.”

Sam Glasswell adds, “There’ll be something for all the family. Children are invited to join the Archaeological Detective Agency as they play hands-on sorting and reconstruction game games to solve the mysteries of the past. Games feature piecing together a non-scary skeleton from “fuzzy felt” bones, finding out about people from their rubbish, identifying pottery shards and matching them with pictures of the complete pots.

“There’ll also be a hands-on art session where we’ll try to create historic scenes that might one day feature on a Bassetlaw tapestry in the style of the Bayeux tapestry. So why not come join us. Admission is FREE. Carlton Village Hall is off Long Lane, Carlton-in-Lindrick near Worksop. The event runs from 10:00am to 3:30pm".