Enjoy spectacle of freedom parade in Winchester
Local people and visitors are invited to enjoy the spectacle of a ‘freedom parade’ by the Adjutant General’s Corps in Winchester on Saturday 24 October.
Around 150 troops and the Band and Bugles of the Rifles will march through the heart of the city in a great free show of ceremony and colour.
The event is being arranged jointly by the Corps, Winchester City Council and Winchester Cathedral.
The right of ‘Freedom of Entry’ to the city is an ancient privilege and allows a Regiment to parade through Winchester with ‘bayonets fixed, drums beating and colours flying’. It comes from a period in history when only trusted units would be allowed to carry arms within city boundaries.
The City Council awarded Freedom of Entry to the former Royal Army Pay Corps on 27 October 1970. The Pay Corps was amalgamated when the Adjutant General’s Corps was formed and the City Council formally transferred the honour to the new Corps on 11 April 1996.
The event is in the morning with the troops and band ‘stepping off’ from Peninsula Barracks, marching down the High Street, forming up in the Broadway, moving off around the King Alfred statue, marching to the Cathedral for a service and finally returning to the Guildhall for a civic reception.
The parade will be inspected outside the Guildhall by the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Angela Clear, and the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson.
Approximate timings are:
10.00 Parade forms-up at Peninsula Barracks
10.15 Parade steps off and turns right into Romsey Road, continues into Upper High Street, down the pedestrianised area
10.25 Parade arrives in The Broadway and forms up for inspection
10.45 The Parade moves off, marches around the King Alfred Statue and back past the Guildhall, turns left into Market Street and marches to the Cathedral for a service starting at 11.15
12.15 Civic reception for invited guests at the Guildhall
There will be some temporary road closures during the day. Short closures will be necessary at crossing points while the parade passes by. The Broadway will be closed to traffic in the morning.
Parking bays will be suspended in the Broadway to allow the parade to take place and public parking will not be available in the Guildhall Yard until the afternoon. Visitors are encouraged to use the city’s park-and-ride sites or alternative parking at the Chesil Street and Tower Street multi-storey car parks.
The city’s Saturday street market remains open for business. It will move to Middle Brook Street to allow spectators room to view the parade as it passes through the pedestrian area.