THE windows around Coleford were rattled by a fusillade of 17th Century musket fire on Saturday as the Sealed Knot Society re-enacted the civil war battle for the town.

Sealed Knot organiser Ian Blyth said: “We had a very good turnout for this our ninth annual parade through the town.

“We had 15 musketeers, four pikemen, six regimental colours and two drummers.

“The musketeers all fired in unison in the town centre and gave the windows a good rattling.

“We also had a number of members from the town council taking part as well as a delegation from Coleford’s twin town Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez in the Vendee region of France."

The re-enactment marked the 375th anniversary of The Battle of Coleford, on February 20 1643, when a tiny band of local militia stood fast against a 2,000-strong Royalist army on its way to attack Gloucester.

After three hours, in which a number of Royalists were killed, the King’s forces over-ran the town but found that the small band of Parliamentarians had melted away into the surrounding forest.

Although only a minor skirmish, the Royalist leadership was so badly depleted that it turned the tide in favour of the defending Parliamentarians at the Siege of Gloucester.