Prescot Elizabethan Fayre returns this year to celebrate the town’s Elizabethan heritage and its renaissance, all with a contemporary twist. Download the programme to get all the timings.
The FREE fayre is a popular date in Knowsley’s events calendar and there will be plenty for everyone to enjoy. It will be a fun-filled day packed with theatre and dance performances, circus skills, craft workshops, music, heritage walks, artisan stalls and more.
Visitors can also experience a piece of Tudor history, with candle making, musical minstrels, archery and soldier school. There might even be an appearance from Queen Elizabeth I herself!
Prescot’s history is quite remarkable – in Elizabethan times it was the only place in the whole of the country, aside from London, to have a free-standing purpose-built theatre. Today it is home to Shakespeare North Playhouse, a new theatre and cultural venue in the heart of the town inspired by William Shakespeare and his love of storytelling.
The Prescot Elizabethan Fayre is programmed by Orchard Creative on behalf of Knowsley Borough of Culture in association with Prescot Cultural Consortium. It has been made possible this year with funding via Historic England as part of Prescot Heritage Action Zone.
You can get involved at the fayre…
Help make the Prescot Bird with Arts Groupie. We want you to help us create a new unique animal, THE PRESCOT BIRD. This creatures feathers will be composed literally of your memories, photographs and stories about the local area. (Exhibition area, Shakespeare North Playhouse.)
Get Sketchy with Illustrator Gill Smith and have your portrait drawn as an Elizabethan!
Willow Weaving from TwigTwisters – try your hand at this heritage craft and make a dragonfly or crown.
Join the Prescot Community Curators and Prescotian Rosemary to do some clay making and see how weaving is done. (Church St)
Free Face Painting
Jesters from Fools Rush In will treat us to a circus act show and lead some have-a-go fun!
Will you be able to spot our Eliza-BEE-than guests as The Waggle Bees buzz around Prescot?
Or perhaps you’d like to join a Guided Heritage Walking Tour with Simone to learn more about Prescot’s history.
Bring the Fire join us to help open the Fayre and show us their spin on an Elizabethan fire act!
Altered Scale Theatre will be performing Captain Parrot and His Ship of Stories, a wonderful family show with interaction and games.
Petite Ullaloom also join us with the Dead Average Poet’s Society and Arts Groupie with their Elizabethan Actors Corner. They will lead people on little walking tours of the area, showing off the heritage treasures of the back streets and encouraging storytelling, fable creation and fun!
Shakespeare North Playhouse also have the Rubbish Shakespeare Company visiting with their version of Midsummer Nights Dream– to buy tickets for their show visit their site.
Prescot’s very own Imaginarium Theatre have been busy planning the Fools and Fairies parade which will go down Eccleston St at 1.30pm and finish outside Deanes House. They are also treating us to a preview from their upcoming performance of Taming of the Shrew.
The Parish Church St Mary’s will offer Children’s Treasure hunts, heritage tour and performances from Liverpool Chamber Choir in addition to being a space for quiet, relection or prayer.
Don’t forget in addition to the Artisan Market Prescot has a fabulous array of shops, bars and eateries that can be found on Eccleston St, and the off-shooting streets such as Leyland St, Market Place and Aspinal St.
Artisan Market stallholders include:
- Ian Chantler Photography images of landscapes, nature and more
- Ma Joyce’s Bakehouse – a selection of savoury good
- The Taylor’d Candle Co stylish, small batch, handmade candles, wax melts, reed diffusers and car diffusers
- Project Divine designed and created pyjamas, cups, bags and caps
- Johnsons Jewellery vintage jewellery and crystals
- Bayt Al Tamr “House Of Dates” creates delicious handcrafted Middle Eastern delicacies Steven Walsh Illustrations creates original prints with a mission of raising awareness of mental health including pieces exclusively designed for the Prescot Elizabethan Fayre
- The Wood Wax Company hand poured 100% soy wax melts alongside a selection of other handmade fragrance products
- Windsor’s Fruit Liqueurs award-winning, hand-crafted liqueurs using a traditional infusion method
- Mushypeadesign range of hand etched acrylic jewellery and greetings cards
- Laura-Kate Draws illustrator and print-maker obsessed with colour and pattern
- Janice’s Craft Store personalised keepsakes, cards, keyrings, sweet cones.
- Prescot Music and Arts Festival
- Prescot Town Council
- Friends of Eaton Street Park
- Prescot Mission Christmas Group
Planning your journey to Prescot
We’re encouraging visitors to walk or cycle where possible.
If you’re travelling to Prescot on the train or bus, please visit the Merseytravel and Stagecoach websites for up-to-date information.
Parking in Prescot
A number of public car parks are available in Prescot town centre (click here to view map). Can you link to the attached map.
You can also download an ‘Easy Read’ Guide to the Day’s events.
Folk Dance Remixed