Opening Times

Fancy dress parties are becoming more and more popular as people try to escape the trials of modern day life, for a short period of time and go back to times when life was less complex. Fancy dress for men other than a fictional super hero character would be one of the many soldiers to be found throughout history for example a medieval knight or a Roman centurion.

The medieval knight was like a modern day tank, with the layers of metal armour they were required to wear. The distinctive armour, shield and weapons were expensive to purchase so knights tended to be the wealthiest men or the sons of noblemen. Knights also had to abide by a code of Chivalry even though they were in fact the equivalent of the mercenaries of the time.

It is important to select the right fancy dress armour for the era, the earliest armour was a chain mail suit, as time passed they changed to plates of metal that were worn over vital parts of the body such as chest, back, legs, arms and a helmet for the head and a visor to cover the face. The next step would be to select the fancy dress weapons to go with the armour. To be an authentic knight you should carry a fancy dress sword, dagger and a mace.

A Roman Centurion is slightly simpler as they wore a toga with a short cape and carried a sword and shield. Some outfits can be hired as a complete costume from a good fancy dress hire store or online or it can be put together from individual items.