ONE of the more surprising things about the formation of North Nibley Historic Group was the fact the village did not already have a history society. The village is, explained group member and life-long North Nibley resident John Eley, steeped in history. The village played host to reputedly the last private battle fought on English soil - just one of North Nibley's claims for a place in the history books. Feature writer KIRSTY RAMSDEN met Mr Eley to find out about the launch of the group...and its aims.

NORTH NIBLEY Historic Group promises to be anything but a stuffy club with members pouring over dusty tomes.

In fact one of the group's first events planned for the new year is a medieval banquet.

An expert is to recreate medieval food, explained group member Diana Eley.

There will be a jester and dancing to a medieval-style wind band.

Mrs Eley said: "It will be fun and we want to make history fun."

The banquet will be held on March 20 - the 534th anniversary of the Battle of Nibley Green.

Meanwhile next month the group is hosting a concert by the Emerald Ensemble in the parish church.

And, during the late summer, it organised two walks recreating the route soldiers are believed to have taken to the Battle of Nibley Green.

It was the Battle of Nibley Green which lead to the launch of the historic group.

Group member John Eley explained a television show and two new books had brought the battle to the forefront of villagers' imaginations.

Mr Eley's interest in the battle was further whetted when he met the then president of the Battlefields Trust, who had come to the village to research a talk he was due to give on the Battle of Nibley Green.

Mr Eley and the historian stayed up into the small hours debating the logistics of the battle.

The village was inspired to launch a history group initially with the idea of bringing the Battle of Nibley Green to the fore.

Enthusiastic amateur historian David Tandy joined the group as he had become aware of the battle while researching a parish history of Alkington.

His experience and contacts have been a boon to the group, explained Mr Eley.

It was Mr Tandy suggested the history group organise a walk recreating the route taken by the soldiers going to battle.

A first small walk for schools was attended by about 60 children and 10 adults.

And then, during late summer, he led a longer walk which attracted about 80 people.

Mr Tandy added colour and atmosphere with snippets of historical information about the battle and the lead up to it.

Mr Eley said: "People came from all over and there have been inquiries since about when the next walk will be."

The launch of North Nibley Historic Group was a joy for Mr Eley who had long been interested in the past of his home village.

He said: "There is so much history around. I always thought we should have a get together and get people to talk about anything they knew of the history of the village."

As well as the Battle of Nibley Green, the Tyndale monument provides another historic focal point for the village.

The formation of Katherine Lady Berkeley School also boosts connections to North Nibley.

Mr Eley added more people seemed aware of the history around them than 50 years ago.

He explained that in years gone by it was only the school master and the vicar who had access to records whereas today information was much more accessible for research purposes.

It would be useful, he added, for villagers to research the history of their own homes.

Many village homes, he explained, had previous lives as inns or mills or even schools.

"However," he said, "even under modern housing developments there are interesting stories.

"And people know the history of their houses but don't write it down so it could be lost forever.

"There is history all the way round."

Mr Eley became increasingly aware of local history in the mid 1960s while trawling the sale rooms for larger pieces of furniture.

He uncovered historical books which combined his love of books and his burgeoning interest in local history.

He said: "I soon got hooked."

The fledgling North Nibley Historic Group has 12 members but would like more to enable it to carry out more research.

And, as well as the more adventurous events, the group plans to organise historic visits and talks.