The Simon de Montfort Society holds an
annual commemoration of the death of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of
Evesham. On the Saturday morning nearest to the anniversary - August
4th - there is a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial stone erected in
Abbey park in 1965. These days the wreath laying is followed by
refreshments and a guided walk of the battlefield. On the Sunday
evening there is a memorial service on the battlefield itself.
This year's commemoration was on July
31st/August 1st and was reported in the Evesham Journal of Thursday, August
5th, with whose permission the following is reproduced.
"Namesake lays
wreath to mark 739th anniversary of Simon de Montfort's death"
A de Montfort laid the wreath at
the Simon de Montfort memorial in Abbey Park, Evesham, as part of the
commemoration of the death of Simon in the Battle of Evesham on August 4th
2004.
Lowry de Montfort travelled from
London especially for the 739th anniversary ceremony, led by the Vicar of
Evesham, the Rev Richard Armitage and attended by the mayor and mayoress of
Evesham, councillor Andy Dyke and his wife, Wendy, and the chairman of
Wychavon District Council, Councillor David Noyes.
Iris Pinkstone, of the Simon de
Montfort Society, said: "Mr de Montfort is a member of our society and we
thought that it would be nice if he was asked to lay the wreath. As
far as he is aware, he is not a direct descendant of Simon de Montfort but
he has a son named Simon and a brother Henry".
Mr de Montfort, a member of the
society, said that he was impressed with the commemoration and added that he
would certainly come again.
The wreath-laying last Saturday was
followed by refreshments in Church House and a battlefield walk.
The mayor and mayoress and
councillor Noyes were also at the service at Battlewell, Greenhill, Sunday
evening when the service was conducted by lay reader John Lynch. "We
are very pleased with the turnout there as well", Miss Pinkstone said.
