THE ENGLISH civil war came to life on Sunday with a re-enactment in the heart of Winchester.

Members of the Sealed Knot came together outside the Westgate with displays of musket and pike drills every half hour.

Families were invited to attend to learn more about the life of a soldier during the English Civil War and see for themselves how musketeers, pikemen and camp followers would have mustered at the old gateway into the city.

The day saw the opening of the Westgate Museum for the new season, after its winter closure.

This year makes the 370th anniversary of the Battle of Cheriton and next month (March 29-30) the Battle of Cheriton Project in partnership with the Hampshire Royal British Legion have arranged for re-enactors in period costume to take a 26 mile-long march from Basing House, near Basingstoke, to the battle memorial near Bishop’s Sutton.