Express & Star

Shop's a boon for historical re-enactment enthusiasts

At work she is Susie Phillips, owner of a quirky new shop in Shifnal selling medieval clobber to historical re-enactment enthusiasts.

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At work she is Susie Phillips, owner of a quirky new shop in Shifnal selling medieval clobber to historical re-enactment enthusiasts.

But at weekends she turns into Geoffrey, a swashbuckling swordsman, who dresses in chain mail and helmet. The pint-sized 29-year-old is the only woman in the fighting line-up of local re-enactment group Les Miles Des Marches.

She shuns the more domestic roles taken on by fellow female members, saying: "I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword." Susie also makes outfits in 21st century chain mail, including funky tops and short skirts.

The former RAF Cosford receptionist opened Lone Knight, supplying costumes, armour, jewellery, leather goods and other historical accessories, in October.

She knows of only one similar shop, in Conwy, Wales.

She says her interest in the period started with her "obsession" with the film Lord Of The Rings, and was reinforced by her mother Angie on trips to medieval craft fairs around the region.

The 40-strong Les Miles Des Marches re-enacts events from 1066 to 1403, the date allowing them to sneak in the nearby Battle of Shrewsbury, waged between Henry IV's troops and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy.

The group meets for combat training on Tuesday nights, with members progressing through four levels, from lowly peasant to knight, along the way learning how to fight with axes, swords and 9ft spears.

Standing at just 5ft 4in, Susie has just passed her third-level exam to reach man-at-arms status. She says: "You need to know what you're doing for the live fights at shows. I love the battles. No-one wants to die — everyone's competing to be the last to get killed.

"We do get injured sometimes but it's mainly fingers, where you're holding the sword."

She says of her Geoffrey alter- ego: "I wanted to be an Osbourne or a Baldwin, something more manly and menacing, but Geoffrey stuck."

The shop in Church Street sells items from the Roman to medieval periods. Most of her stock is made by local craftspeople, including dragonhead necklaces from Bridgnorth and papier mache earrings from Ironbridge.

Susie, of Haughton Road, Shifnal, made her own soldier's outfit after learning how to create chain mail using a pair of pliers in each hand. It takes around 130 hours to make a shirt and headpiece, which together sell for between £160 and £190. As a result, most of the metal outfits are bought in.

However the modern chain mail designs are her own and slightly more expensive. A multi-coloured bib in the window is priced at £220.

Susie says: "It's hard to part with some outfits because I know how much work went into making them. But wearing chain mail in a nightclub definitely attracts a crowd. People just want to touch it."

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