Not a Bard day out as Leeds marks St George and Shakespeare

The annual St George’s Day parade in Morley drew huge crowds earlier tody (Sunday).

And the stage for the patriotic party weekend was set at Temple Newsam House on Saturday, where the stories of tragic lovers Romeo and Juliet and tortured King Macbeth were brought to life as part of a day of Shakespearean and Elizabethan-themed activities to mark 400 years since the death of the Bard.

Built in the 1500s, Temple Newsam was home to some of the country’s most prominent aristocratic families during Shakespeare’s time, including Lord Darnley, the ill-fated husband of Mary Queen of Scots.

Alongside the performances by Stories Alive, the event also featured Elizabethan dancing workshops and storytelling as well as the chance for younger visitors to have a go by dressing up or recreating their own plays with a puppet theatre.

Stories Alive’s Eden Ballantyne said of the playwright: “He may have been dead 400 years, but his words live on throughout Britain and the world.”

Morley’s two-day celebrations have become so well-known that the town has been labelled the most patriotic in the country.

On Saturday, there was plenty of family friendly fun, with stalls, Punch and Judy shows, a fun fair and other attractions.

Then, on Sunday, a parade was held in the town, led by St George himself on horseback and a ‘dragon’.

Elsewhere in Leeds, visitors to Lotherton Hall were given the chance to follow in the footsteps of St George himself and join the hunt for dragons.

Intrepid youngsters had the chance to follow clues around the Edwardian house and gardens as they searched for the mythical beast hiding somewhere in the grounds.

On Saturday, the George Cross was also flying at Leeds Civic Hall.