Shropshire Star

Knight saddles up for St George . . . in St Georges

The spirit of St George rode back into the town that borrowed his name for a second year of celebrations.

Published
Sophie Kelly from Waters Upton rides into town in full armour as The Dark Knight to celebrate St George’s Day

There were stalls and games at St Georges Methodist Church, in Church Street, on Saturday - but nothing grabbed people's attention like the masked figure riding through the area on horseback.

The event, which drew hundreds from the area, is part of an effort to bring celebrations of the country's patron saint back to St Georges

This year is bigger than last year, and organisers said they were aiming to keep growing the event.

Councillor Richard Overton, chair of St Georges Partnership, said: "The name is there to recognise in St Georges. We wanted to bring an event close to St George's Day.

"When I was a kid growing up in the area, the shops used to do a window dressing competitions, and once the scouts ran an event on the old village green, but since then it seems to have declined.

Sophie Kelly in full armour

"It's a great celebration of our patron saint, we've got a village named after him, we need to put something on for the community. It's about cohesion, bringing everybody together.

"We do rely on funding, and we do try and get money from all angles to make sure we have community events. We want people to really come and enjoy these events when we put them on."

Stephen Handley, treasurer of the St Georges Partnership and organiser of the event, said: "Each year it has gotten bigger and bigger and more people have been involved.

"Asda Donnington have been involved, and so have the Wrekin Housing Trust.

"It's been fantastic."