Earlier in July the Medieval Bruce Heritage Trust, in partnership with The People’s Project Dumfries, The Imaginarium and The Gallovidian Way, alongside local community groups and businesses celebrated the 750th Anniversary of the Birth of Robert the Bruce. The programme of events showcased Dumfries & Galloway’s significant role in his life and Scottish Medieval History, with a huge wave of local community support, and visitors travelling from as far as Brazil, Switzerland, Essex and Manchester to join in the celebrations despite the dreicht traditional Scottish weather, there was a tremendous turn out.
On Saturday 13th July, the celebrations took over Dumfries High Street from Greyfriars Church to Dumfries Fountain, with a host of medieval traders, historic displays, traditional crafts, medieval themed food/drink, Gallovidian inspired wares and entertainment that went down a treat with visitors as they were teleported back in time, experiencing time travelling sights, sounds, tastes and smells.
Amongst the 34 stalls in attendance, were Summerhill Community Centre’s Youth Group who in preparation for the event had been on a learning exchange with Duncarron Medieval Village, have been creating authentic costumes and learning traditional crafts with Wordsmithcrafts so they could host their own medieval trading stall ‘Crafts for the King’ at the Market.
Tom Hughes of Dumfries Museum offered his Medieval Meanders Walking Tour from Greyfriars Church, with the largest group he’s ever had, bringing to life what Dumfries would have been like in the times of the Bruce and the remnants of that history still visible today.
Audience members got to meet the Bruce Family & Friends in the Court De Brus at Plainstanes, and enjoyed live entertainment with tributes to the King being led by Clanadonia, who had the High Street bouncing with the sound of their uplifting and exuberant Scottish Tribal Music, leading the delighted audience members to get in on the action, dancing on the high street despite the rain, and joining in en masse with the drumming / percussion on many of the tunes.
Dumfries Community Choir also performed an engaging set as they performed as the modern day equivalent to the troubadours in Medieval times who brought the stories of the time to the people. They sang traditional Robert Burns ballads and modern songs which have important messages for society.
Scots Scriever Susi Briggs and Author Alan McClure performed ‘The Flytin o Bruce and the Red Comyn’ a specially created collaborative poem that explored the dynamics between the two contenders for the Scottish Crown. ‘Flytin’ was an ancient performance poetry style, similar to Modern Day rap battles. The audience was left in raptures with this captivating, insightful and expertly crafted performance.
Sarah Crome, author of ‘Scotland’s First War of Independence’ left audience members elated and engaged in enthusiastic debate after she delivered a fascinating and illuminating talk providing an insight into the history of the times of The Bruce in her talk at Greyfriars Church, described by one audience member as a ‘Masterclass’.
As well as the events on the High Street, the team behind the project and the Court De Brus were invited to the home of Queen of the South FC at Palmerston Park to walk the players onto the pitch as part of the celebrations, which included a pitch side performance from Clanadonia prior to the start of the game – fans from both sides welcomed the Court de Brus with a roaring rendition of Flower of Scotland, and lots of requests for selfies from the sidelines.
The team behind the celebrations were delighted to see that many participants and visitors took up their invite to get into the spirit of things and turned out in Medieval dress-up to help increase their immersive experience of the event.
On Sunday 14th at Castledykes Park, there was a Living History, Storytelling and Re-enactment day delivered by the Medieval Bruce Heritage Trust and Galloway Longfhada Vikings on the site of the Old Dumfries Castle, where visitors discovered Bruce’s links to the infamous site and despite worsening weather, they received a great turn out on the day with lots of enthralled engagement in the activities on offer.
Activities included a fully immersive Gallovidian Living History encampment with Galloway Longfhada Vikings, a re-enactment group based in Dumfries whose aim is to educate and entertain the public about early medieval times. They meet regularly to rain in combat, craft and plan events. They provided an immersive encampment with traditional crafts and combat displays that had audience members fully engaged in learning about the world of our local ancestors.
The Robert the Bruce 750 programme of events have been an incredible catalyst for bringing about community connection and change across the town with its volunteer army stepping up to do their part to ensure the town was at its best and supporting logistics across the weekend of activities. None of this would have been possible without the people power behind this project, much of which was voluntary to create a phenomenal weekend of events to celebrate the history of the region.
Liz West, Chair of the Medieval Bruce Heritage Trust stated: “It was a joy to see this weekend come together, we cannot thank everyone enough for their support and we’re even getting calls for this to become an annual event for the town! It was exciting to see our heritage come to life in this way and we even had a direct descendant of Robert Bruce, a direct descendant of William Wallace, a direct descendant of the Maxwells of Drumcoltran Tower in attendance.”
DJ McDowall of The Imaginarium and The Gallovidian Way stated:
“The overwhelmingly appreciative and supportive feedback we have received for last weekend’s events have highlighted the immense local appetite for this type of heritage engagement, the power of community collaboration, and the potential it holds for future development. Last weekend’s events have not only united diverse local groups, fostering a sense of connectivity, pride and belonging across our communities, but also significantly boosted our visitor economy, increasing profits for market traders and shop holders alike, exemplified the potential for this type of community-led tourism.
We did it The Gallovidian Way style, by the people for the people, showcasing the strength of harnessing our local heritage, community collaborations, blending local needs and visitor interests to create inclusive, meaningful experiences. Our grassroots efforts have demonstrated the extraordinary impacts we can unleash when we activate the power that lies in our local communities, proving that with our shared skills, resources, insight, unity, hope and a positive outlook, we can achieve remarkable outcomes for our local communities, our local economy, and have a great time doing it!”
Mark Jardine of The People’s Project Dumfries stated: “People from all over the world descended on Dumfries for this historic celebration and they were enthralled by a magnificent programme with something for everyone.”
The team are incredibly grateful to the main sponsors and funders of the programme for their generous support: Jardine Funerals, Historic Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, Dumfries & Galloway Council and The Globe Inn.
Special thanks are also given to the project’s key collaborators: Dumfries Devorgilla Rotary Club, Mostly Ghostly Tours, Dumfries Museum, D&G Heritage Service, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Wordsmithcrafts, HM Prison Dumfries, Guid Nychburris Association, Dumfries Family History Society, Galloway Longfhada Vikings, Dumfries Lions Club, Visit Scotland and The Barony of Buittle without who’s unwavering enthusiasm and support the Bruce 750 celebrations would not have been possible.
