Sir Nicholas Worthington’s Company-of-Foote!
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Once again, the bug in wordpress’ save function forced us to publish…
at The Renaissance Pleasure Faire (North)
at Black Point Forest, Novato in Marin County, California
“Why then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.”
-Pistol (“The Merry Wives of Windsor” Act 2, scene ii by William Shakespeare)
This Blog is about the magical Northern Renaissance Pleasure Faire at Black Point Forest, Novato, in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco, in the early to late 1980’s, produced by The Living History Centre (LHC) and the College of Renaissance Delights).
We have written about the Renaissance Faire before. You can read the previous Blogs “Phyllis Patterson RIP She Changed My Life” and “Return to the Paramount Ranch”, (and see pictures of) the old Southern Faire Site in Agoura.
In 1582, journeyman monger Eric Bacon left his home in Chipping-under-Oakwood and joined Nicholas Worthington’s Company-of-Foote mercenary soldiers. He went to Flanders to fight the Spanish and on his return to the Shire he faithfully served her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth for two more years (1583-84) as a Royal Guard and Chair Bearer during the Queen’s Progress through the annual Harvest Faire. “G-d Save The Queen!”
Eric Bacon left Worthington’s Company-of-Foote honorably after the 1584 Harvest Faire. He joined The Fool’s Guild, became a follower of St. Stupid, and also “served” as the Lord Mayor’s Fool. For several years he was often seen walking the streets and wandering throughout the Shire after dark looking for trouble. He mysteriously vanished into the Woods of Holly in 1588, never to be seen again.
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In Spring of 1980 we were introduced to the fun of working at the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California by an older high school friend. In late summer of 1981, we began “carpool” commuting each weekend from Los Angeles to Marin County to visit and work at the Northern Renaissance Pleasure Faire at Black Point, Novato in Summer (and still working at the Southern Faire in Spring) as a street actor.
In 1982, we were first hired as an hourly CREW employee by the Costume Department for a promotional fashion show at the Old Globe Theatre in West Hollywood. We worked for the CREW Costume Department and continued to perform as a street actor first with the Mongers, and then with the Company-of-Foote, at the Northern Faire until 1985 when we began working for the Security Department as well as Costumes.
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When we moved to Santa Cruz for college we commuted to both the Northern and Southern Faire (and also the Dickens’ Christmas Fair at the Fox Theatre in Oakland and Pier 45 in San Francisco) and we continued working for Living History Centre Security and Costume Departments until we graduated. We moved to Novato after college and worked the Northern Faire one more season in 1988, before moving back to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood. We continued to work Security at the Southern Renaissance Faire until 1994. We worked as a Walking Guard, Night Security, a Walking Lieutenant, Mobile Security (during the week on the Northern Lot in 1987), and then as Night Security and as the Front Gate Lieutenant after the Southern Faire moved from the Paramount Ranch in Agoura to Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore (San Bernadino), California in 1990.
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AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
Living History! Live Interactive Street Theatre! Hundreds of Costumed Performers!
The centerpiece of the the Northern Renaissance Faire was the daily parade, the “Queen’s Progress Through The Shire” to the Ben Johnson Stage for “The Queen Show” at 3pm each afternoon. Beginning at the Red Barn in the “Front of Faire”, Queen Elizabeth and her retainers would be joined by the Town Criers, the ER Band, the Nobles from the Royal Court, the Scots, the Irish, the Germans and the Guild of St. Cuthbert’s. Queen Elizabeth would be carried in “the Tudor Sedan” and guarded by the Company-of-Foote through the dense crowd to the stage. After the stage show, the Queen would continue with the parade to another destination within the Faire and/or return to the Red Barn staging area. On a few rare occasions we carried the Queen all the way through the Fairesite to “The End of The World” Alestand and back.
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AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
This was written for the original fb photo album a few years ago:
“RPFN early 80s – I’m not sure how it happened but I blame Pugsly. I’m marching in the parking lot at Blackpoint dressed in blue and carrying a pike wheeling to the left and right. It’s hot. It’s dusty. How did this happen to me at the Faire? So I marched with the company ’82-’84? I was a rear wheel on the Tudor Sedan for the hottest summer in history (actually two years). Rory and I both agreed that there’s no better workout at the Faire than carrying the Queen from the Red Barn to the End of The World and back in 100 degree heat! For my time with the Company-of-Foote, I must admit it was a great time with great people and lots of great fun (from what I can remember). So for those who were there, THANK YOU! For those who came later or missed the party, here are some pics I collected from others. And for those who are no longer with us, you are missed and remembered by your friend and comrades in arms.” – JoshWillTravel
THE QUEEN SHOW!
(“Our Shire Welcomes The Queen” on the Ben Johnson Stage at Three O’the Clock!)
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AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
CLICK ON ANY SMALL PIC TO SEE A LARGER PIC AND VIEW THE GALLERY
AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
CLICK ON ANY SMALL PIC TO SEE A LARGER PIC AND VIEW THE GALLERY
AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
CLICK ON ANY SMALL PIC TO SEE A LARGER PIC AND VIEW THE GALLERY
AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
Gone Too Soon! Our COF Friends who have gone on to “Sky-Faire” before us:
Auntie, Gleb Perfiloff, Charles Sanders, Thomas Willey, Robin Wadsworth RIP
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AND THEN CLICK AGAIN TO VIEW THE PIC AT FULL SIZE!
Many more of our dear Friends from the Renaissance Pleasure Faire have gone on to “Sky-Faire” too soon! We remember them all and there are too many to list here!
The “Neenster” wouldn’t be happy if we did a Blog about Northern Faire and didn’t include this amazing picture. It was taken at Monday Brunch on the lot while we were waiting for steak & eggs (as Reggie and Michael look on).
And here’s a group pic of the Security CREW from “way back” (1985):
Black Point is another place that is on the list of “Things That Aren’t There Anymore”, the land was sold and developed, and now there is another fine golf course and private community of multi-million dollar homes on the old Northern Faire Site.
NOTE: FULL DISCLOSURE! None of the pictures in this Blog post are mine! (Well, okay there are a couple…) They were ripped from the interweb over the years to remind us of the past and now have been used to illustrate our story. Not all of the pics are from the 1983-84 period, again they are used with “artistic license” to visually tell the tale. They are included for educational purposes only and not for commercial gain. BIG THANKS to all the photographers, if you want credit pm me. Also, as a member of the Costume CREW, these pictures are a part of my professional resumé as well as my personal history.
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Updated May 21, 2020: (thank you Jason)
Company of Foote was an old pike unit that had cashed in its pikes for muskets,
and gone tear-assing around the low country looking for the shit.
They’ve given Spanish a few surprises in their time here.
What they were mopping up now hadn’t even happened an hour ago.
-“Never get out of the Tudor Sedan.”
JoshWillTravel 
Thanks for the memories, were we really that young? Jack
“Once upon a time….”
“We were soldiers once, and young”