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Lichfield Bower
{{inline, date=March 2025 The Bower is a festival held each spring on a bank holiday in Lichfield, England. A statute of Henry II of England ordered that all men capable of bearing arms should be inspected by the magistrates. Since there was no standing army, this was a way to find out how many men could fight in a war. The men would then march through the streets and retire at a "Bower House" for roast beef and spirits, ensuring a good turn-out. Today the Bower has many competitions such as tombolas. There are markets that sell local produce with the main attraction being a large funfair. History The Origins of the Bower go back to the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). At that time England had no standing army, as such when the King needed troops to defend the realm he had to raise them by mustering all the able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 throughout the kingdom. To enable him to do this, Henry set up a commission of array A commission of array was a commission gi ...
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Lichfield
Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth, south-west of Burton upon Trent and 14 miles (22.5 km) north of Birmingham. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population was 34,738 and the population of the wider Lichfield District was 106,400. Notable for its three-spired medieval Lichfield Cathedral, cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative ''A Dictionary of the English Language, Dictionary of the English Language''. The city's recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his Diocese of Lichfield, bishopric in 669 AD and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia. In 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon gold and s ...
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England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It shares Anglo-Scottish border, a land border with Scotland to the north and England–Wales border, another land border with Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, the largest city and the Capital city, capital. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles (tribe), Angles, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe who settled du ...
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Henry II Of England
Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ... from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled Kingdom of England, England, substantial parts of Wales in the High Middle Ages, Wales and Lordship of Ireland, Ireland, and much of Kingdom of France, France (including Duchy of Normandy, Normandy, County of Anjou, Anjou, and Duchy of Aquitaine, Aquitaine), an area that altogether was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany. Henry was the eldest son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and Empress Matilda, Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. By the age of fourteen, he became politically and militarily involved in The Anarchy, his mother's efforts ...
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Magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicial and executive powers. In other parts of the world, such as China, magistrate is a word applied to a person responsible for administration over a particular geographic area. Today, in some jurisdictions, a magistrate is a judicial officer who hears cases in a lower court, and typically deals with more minor or preliminary matters. In other jurisdictions (e.g., England and Wales), magistrates are typically trained volunteers appointed to deal with criminal and civil matters in their local areas. Original meaning In ancient Rome, the word ''magistratus'' referred to one of the highest offices of state. Analogous offices in the local authorities, such as ''municipium'', were subordinate only to the legislature of which they generally were ...
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Standing Army
A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or natural disasters, and temporary armies, which are raised from the civilian population only during a war or threat of war, and disbanded once the war or threat is over. Standing armies tend to be better equipped, better trained, and better prepared for emergencies, defensive deterrence, and particularly, wars. Wills, Garry (1999). ''A Necessary Evil, A History of American Distrust of Government'' New York, N.Y.; Simon & Schuster. The term dates from approximately 1600, although the phenomenon it describes is much older. History Ancient history Mesopotamia Sargon of Akkad, the founder of the  Akkadian Empire, is believed to have formed the first standing professional army. Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria (ruled 745–727 BC) cre ...
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Funfair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of goods, products, and services, and often include competitions, exhibitions, and educational activities. Fairs can be thematic, focusing on specific industries or interests. Types Variations of fairs include: * Art fairs, including art exhibitions and arts festivals * Book Fairs in communities and schools provide an opportunity for readers, writers, publishers to come together and celebrate literature. * County fair (US) or county show (UK), a public agricultural show exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. * Festival, an event ordinarily coordinated with a theme e.g. music, art, season, tradition, history, ethnicity, religion, or a national holiday. * Health fair, an even ...
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Commission Of Array
A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military service. The term arrayers is used in some ancient English statutes, for an officer who had a commission of array. History Commissions of array developed from the ancient obligation of all free men to defend their tribal lands. Commissioners were usually experienced soldiers, appointed by the crown to array able bodied men from each shire. By the time of the Wars of the Roses, conscript levies were less important than troops raised by indenture. Medieval examples *A Commission of Array was established in October 1403 by King Henry IV by letters patent to raise an army to resist the Welsh rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, who had recently captured Newport Castle. *In October 1473 there was a commission to oust the rebels who had entered St ...
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