King's College London

This article looks at the tradition of historical pageants in Britain. Once a widespread and popular form of engagement with the past, this phenomenon has declined, but not wholly died out. We explain the history of pageants, and the ways in which professional historians responded to them, and draw attention to surviving examples of historical pageants today. The article is based on an Arts and Humanities Research Council project, “The Redress of the Past: Historical Pageants in Britain”.