THE murder and mayhem of the English Civil War came to life once more at Worcester's Commandery during a warts and all reenactment of the city's bloodiest battle.

This weekend visitors were transported to the year 1651 when the building in Sidbury became the headquarters of Royalist forces ahead of the Battle of Worcester, the last of the English Civil War.

The free, full-costume "living camp" of Battle HQ 1651 had everything from grim and grisly-looking battle surgeons to challenges set to weed out spies.

There was a brief appearance by beleaguered Charles Stewart before he fled for his life into exile from the advancing Cromwellian forces, swearing to return in happier times as the "rightful King of England".

Events co-ordinator Sarah Bourne said: "I don't think it has ever been done quite like this before. Charles was trying to make his way to London but Cromwell was shadowing him all the way and knew exactly where he was."

Christopher Kingsley adopted a thick Scottish accent to play Christopher Wilson, a hungry, demoralised and battle-weary conscript from north of the border fighting for the king and now billeted upon the Commandery, then believed to be the home of the Wylde family.

He told visitors he was among 15,000 men who had to dump all their armour and weapons to make haste as they were harried by the Parliamentarian enemy which outnumbered them three to one.

Perhaps the most interesting and emotive part went to Rob Leetham who played William, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, Commander in chief and friend of the king who was wounded by a musket ball to the leg and took six agonising days to die.

There was barely a dry eye in the great hall when he was stretchered off the field of battle and, dying, read aloud his last letter to his wife which began "Dear heart".

After the battle the duke was buried under the floorboards of the Commandery (the Hamilton Room) before he was laid to rest in Worcester Cathedral. Cromwell had refused to allow his body to be repatriated to Scotland.

From the straw laid out on the floor of the hall which dates to 1480 to the opportunity for visitors to sample authentic Civil War cuisine including steak and oyster pie and chicken, bacon and parsley raised pie every effort was made to make the experience as immersive as possible for visitors.

Alex Bear, aged 21, of Worcester showed youngsters how to attack using a pike and did not spare the grisly details of the battle when he told visitors the soldiers would have been able to hear the crackle of musket fire getting ever closer and 'taste the blood' as the pikemen made their attack.

He said: "It is an incredibly romanticised period of English history but the reality would have been incredibly brutal. This is hand-to-hand fighting. There would have have been blood and screaming and guts spilling onto the floor. It is a very horrific way of fighting."

The audience had to cover their ears as re-enactors fired their flintlock pistols and matchlock muskets, fortunately loaded with wadding rather than shot.

They also showed how the guns were designed to be used as clubs to bludgeon their enemies at close range.

The event is repeated today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) between 10am and 5pm.