A quiet Suffolk country park became the setting for a rampaging battle at the weekend to mark the 200th anniversary year of a major British military success.

Ickworth Park was home to around 250 soldiers re-enacting the Battle of Waterloo. It was watched by more than 4,000 people over the two days.

Liz Thomas, events coordinator from the Park, said the spectacle, drew some of the biggest crowds the attraction was likely to see that year.

“It’s been absolutely brilliant to see in the park and hugely relevant because Earl-Bishop, from the time the Georgian palace was built here from 1795, was in Italy at the time trying to find works of art for the palace when he had them confiscated during the Napoleonic Wars.”

As well as two ferocious battles held at 2pm each day, the soldiers pitched two large camps, took part in drills and a memorial service on the Sunday morning.

Part of the camps included a surgeons’ tent where people could visit and find out more about medical standards in the 19th Century.

The Battle of Waterloo took place on June 18, 1815 between the French and the British-led allies which included Prussian and Dutch troops.