Description:Episode V of the pageant concerned itself with the Restoration, the removal of Cromwell’s protectorate and the ideals of Puritanism in favour of the reestablishment of monarchy in the form of Charles II
Tension between the parliamentary Roundheads and the townspeople of Birmingham had been brewing for some time. The commonwealth Parliament, in its puritan zeal had banned many of the peoples’ favourite entertainments, seen by it as wicked. It closed all the Theatres as it did many Inns and hostelries. Dancing around maypoles was also prohibited and Christmas day was replaced by a day of strictly enforced abstemious fasting.
On May 30th 1660, in front of the Town Hall, Charles II was proclaimed in Birmingham, as the new King of England to crowds of cheering onlookers.