The Axbridge Pageant is the last historical pageant in Britain, and it has grown to be an event of unparalleled splendour. The commitment associated with the pageant involves massive community volunteering and significant financial costs. We need to pay for costumes, staging, seating, specialist sound equipment, insurance, stewarding, security and much more. Ticket sales can only cover a proportion of our this and hence we have launched this Appeal to help fund the Pageant 2022. In 1963 the Railway, often called The Strawberry Line, was closed after almost a century of use. A few years later the line above the town was turned into the bypass ending the traffic jams that had dogged the town for years. To celebrate, a pageant was proposed to chart the towns history in the square soon after. It was a huge success prompting further pageants every 10 years. Each time the Square was turned into a vast arena and stage. And so, we gather once again in August 2022 to maintain this tradition that in its own way has also become part of the towns history. The 2 hour drama, with a cast of over 300 people, reveals the community's history in moving scenes representing many of the towns key moments in time. From the era of the Roman Empire to the 20th century, the charters, fairs and personalities, the Axbridge Pageant epitomises the Story of England but is also a story of today, brought to life by 100s of people from all sections of our community in the many aspects of the event.