The Wiltshire Mummers’ Play: Mummers plays are an old Christmas tradition in many parts of the country. A group of friends would dress up, and go round the neighbourhood performing a little play. This had a set script. But, thanks to oral transmission, this would have varied from district to district. In return they received money and food, and, no doubt, drink.
They also (a bit like the traditional Punch and Judy shows) would have contained topical references. F. A. Carrington tells us that the version he recorded mentioned Napoleon Bonaparte. But he cut this out.
Today these interesting tradition have seen revival. In Wiltshire, a group called the Potterne Christmas Boys perform the play.
Their Facebook page, from where the above image is taken, says:
Guardians of the traditional Potterne Mummers Play, we tour the pubs round the Devizes area in the week before Christmas, to present our version of the traditional folk play, and collect a few quid for local charities and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
‘Key characters in the plays include the heroes, who vary somewhat, and are usually King or St.George and father Christmas. The adversaries include Valiant Soldier, Turkey Snipe (Turkish Knight) and there are usually several others that drop in that include Little Man Jack, Little Man John and old Almanac and there is always a Quack Doctor, who carries the reviving elixir brought in to revive the loser of the sword fight between a hero and an adversary.
Local schoolteacher, Bernard Baker revived The Potterne Play back in 1953. Mick Hiscock, the Moonraker Morris and others subsequently kept it going.’
Sadly, they are unlikely to take place this year, but maybe, now you have the script shown below you can put your own on?
Screenshot from the YouTube video linked to above
The script
The cast of characters in the Wiltshire drama are:
1. OLD FATHER CHRISTMAS. 2. MINCE PIE. 3. A TURKISH (evidently a Saracen) KNIGHT. 4. ST. GEORGE. 5. An ITALIAN DOCTOR. 6. A character called LITTLE JACK.
The Wiltshire Mummers’ play – from around 1838
(Slightly Adapted from the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Volume 1, 1853).
Enter OLD FATHER CHRISTMAS.
FATHER CHRISTMAS; (Merrily). Oh! Here come I, old Father Christmas, welcome, or welcome not, I hope old Father Christmas will never be forgot. Make room! Room! I say! That I may lead Mince Pie this way. Walk in Mince Pie, and act thy part, And show the gentles thy valiant heart.
Enter Mince Pie MINCE PIE; (Joyful). Room! Room! You gallant souls give me room to rhyme, I’ll show you some festivity this Christmas time.
Enter a TURKISH KNIGHT, with a wooden sword. TURKISH KNIGHT; (Boldly belligerent). I am a valiant Turkish Knight, And dare with any man to fight; Bring me the man that bids me stand, Who says he’ll cut me down with audacious hand, I’ll cut him and hew him as small as a fly, And send him to Satan to make mince pie.
Enter ST. GEORGE with a wooden sword. ST GEORGE; (Belligerently bold). Oh! In come I, St. George, the man of courage bold, With my sword and buckler I’ve won three crowns of gold; I fought the fiery dragon and brought him to the slaughter; I won a beauteous Queen a King of Egypt’s daughter: If thy mind is high, my mind is bold, If thy blood is hot, I will make it cold.
[ST. GEORGE and the TURKISH KNIGHT fight; the latter falls).
TURKISH KNIGHT;(Squealing like a sissy).Oh! St. George spare my life! FATHER CHRISTMAS; (Vaguely concerned). Is no Doctor to be found To cure this man who’s bleeding on the ground?
Enter the DOCTOR.
THE DOCTOR; (Improperly enthusiastic). Yes! An Italian Doctor’s to be found To cure the Knight who’s bleeding on the ground: I cure the sick of every pain, And raise the dead to life again.
FATHER CHRISTMAS; (Glumly). Doctor, what is thy fee? THE DOCTOR; (To business).Ten pounds is my fee, But fifteen I must take of thee Before I set this gallant free.
FATHER CHRISTMAS; (Sighing). Work thy will, Doctor.
THE DOCTOR; (prideful). I have a little bottle by my side The fame of which spreads far and wide, I drop a drop on this poor man’s nose.
[THE DOCTOR touches the TURKISH KNIGHT’S nose and he instantly springs on his feet quite recovered.]
Enter LITTLE JACK, a small man, with several dolls strapped at his back.
LITTLE JACK; (Cheekily). Oh! In come I, little saucy Jack With all my family at my back. Christmas comes but once a year And when it comes it brings good cheer: Roast beef, plum pudding, and mince pie, Who likes that any better than I?
FATHER CHRISTMAS; (Loudly and heartfelt). Me! [He gestures to the audience to join in].
MINCE PIE; (Sums up). Christmas ale makes us dance and sing; Money in purse is a very fine thing. Ladies and gentlemen give us what you please ALL; (Cheers). MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!
Carrington, F. A. (1853) On Certain Wiltshire Customs, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Volume 1, 1853. (p. 79-86).
And now for some mincemeat
If you’re wondering what that’s got to do with Mummers the answer is: nothing at all. Except that Rebecca likes to make her own so is sharing her recipe!
As she says: ‘Pretty every much everyone loves mince pies, and some people love making mince pies, me, I make the mincemeat. Shop bought mincemeat consists of pureed apple, palm oil and the odd raisin. I can do better than that!
I was told by a person who makes home preserves for the market that good mincemeat is not cost effective to make for retail. Hence the uninspired products on the market. So by making your own you get the chance to experience truly wonderful mince pies.’
Now in the immortal words of Jimmy Young – Google him:
This is what you do!
Take:
Put lemon and apples though mincer (or finely chop or grate), add to other ingredients in bowl, mix well and jar up. If a little dry, add more water/sherry.
Another Picture – Another Story … the continuing trawl through a press photographer’s archive
I’ve heard it said, more than once, that just about anything you can think of will have some connection somewhere to Swindon. Well, the briefest of trawls through Another Picture – Another Story, demonstrates how true that is. Swindon IS the centre of the universe!
The best way to describe the book itself is to use some of Richard’s own words from the inside cover:
‘As a press photographer, I take pictures of life. And, as an archivist of pictures, I store life’s stories. Stories that quite often a theme. Some are happy and some are sad … Most stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. And with many picture stories the start is a long way from the end – sometimes it’s years. In wading through my archive, I have found links between stories that never existed at the time.’
So the structure of this book then is, as you’d imagine, stacks of great photographs linked together by Richard’s recollections of the events they belong to.
For Dr Who fans it’s something of a wibbly wobbly, timey wimey hop, skip and jump through different times and events in Swindon’s history. And that’s an appropriate analogy given that the book features Dr Who and the Daleks. Obey! Obey! Resistance is futile!
Note though, the contents of the book are not entirely Swindon-centric. There’s world events too. But you need to buy the book to see why.
So what’s in it then?
Well – Lydiard looms large of course. As you’d expect Lydiard House and Park are more than bit players in this production. As too are the Queen and other members of the Royal Family. Indeed as you can see, the front cover features the Princess of Wales herself. All as apposite as it can be given that The Crown is running on Netflix at the moment.
Returning to Lydiard – at the very start of the book we see images of events at Lydiard with The Queen. Hard to conceive though it may be, there was a time when the importance of that house and park was not so well appreciated as it is now. Richard describes how, when scanning in some pictures from the 1980s/early 1990s, he had only one negative. And the legend on this negative was a simple: ‘house in Lydiard Park’. An indication of the lack of that aforementioned lack of appreciation.
Right – I haven’t yet finished the book, I’m about halfway. And so far I’ve encountered snow, stations, shopping and snakes. Also bricks, bears and brass bands. And I know there’s trains, planes and automobiles. You get the idea – everything you can think of and more.
Why buy it?
Well – if you have only the most passing of interests in Swindon you – or someone you know – is sure to get something from this book – if only looking at the pictures! Plus – it’s not ‘history’ as such. If the very mention of that word brings you out in a hive then you need have no fears with this book. You can put the anti-histamines away. It’s chock full of all manner of ‘well I never knew that’ moments. It’s a brilliant gift for that ‘hard-to-buy-for’ friend or family member – or a treat for yourself.
And besides all that – Richard will donate £1 from every book sold to the Neuroendocrine Cancer UK – a charity that Richard has good reason thank. Isn’t that a good reason too?
ANGLO SAXON ART IN WILTSHIRE, INTERLACEMENTS AND VINES by Rebecca Davies BSc (Hons).
We call it Celtic. Though it’s also Pictish, Viking, or Anglo Saxon. We call it Interlaced though it can be freeform, zoomorphic, spirals or tessellated. What am I talking about? I’m referring to the genre known as Insular art. (Some of which comes from the Mainland…) (Bain 1977).
But, whatever it is – we know it when we see it.
Man and Monster
I don’t have a speciality subject in archaeology but for many years now I’ve had an interest in Early Medieval Christianity. I’ve travelled all over Britain to see antiquities of that period. Thus, I’m now particularly familiar with the collection on the Isle of Man, doubly interesting as it consists of Viking as well as Celtic examples. (Kermode 1994).
Thowarlds Cross
A Lonan Cross
In which your scribe enters the Early Medieval Scriptorium
Celtic art is ideal for someone like me who is no artist but can do technical drawing. Yet it requires consistency and an awful lot of patience. Some examples are infamously intricate.
Recently I went on a course to further my knowledge of this art form. On the course I learned about parchment and how to cut quill pens. It also covered marking out the geometry using a compass and straight edge, and the traditional pigments. This was as close to texts such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels as anyone is going to get these days.
The course was in Cromarty (a little north of Inverness) so this was a rather long journey – worth it though.
This art form is often associated with the West of Britain and so I wanted to know if there were any examples of it here in Wiltshire. (Wiltshire is only in the West Country if the inhabitants feel like it). Well, as it turns out, there are quite a lot of pieces, all produced in the Anglo-Saxon period (Circa 500-1066 A.D.)
The Anglo-Saxons were skilled in many different media, though not enthusiastic builders in stone. Thus they’d have made most buildings from timber. That said, there are stone churches. We’re so fortunate in Wiltshire to have one of the finest and most unaltered Saxon churches – that of St Lawrence in Bradford upon Avon. And a great many more contain elements of Anglo-Saxon carvings.
Artistic cues for Anglo Saxon Art in Wiltshire
The artists took their cues from both Celtic knotwork and Norse gripping beasts. Athough a favourite design element of their own was the foliate element, and so we see examples of all these concepts in Wiltshire. (Meehan 1995). Countering that are more classical figures and tessellated design elements.
Some examples of Anglo Saxon Art in Wiltshire now follow – Not an exhaustive list!
BRADFORD UPON AVON
St Lawrence’s church is famed for this magnificent pair of angels. (St Lawrence’s church website).
BRITFORD
BROAD CHALKE
Broad Chalk 1 (JC)
CODFORD ST PETER
Much has been made of this fellow’s posture. I reckon it’s a mere ploy to get him into the space in a tidy fashion.
COLERNE
I’m much more sympathetic to the monsters found in churches, rather than the angels – being a monster myself. Here are two Norse dragons.
CRICKLADE
Cricklade church is famous for its tower – visible for miles around. In the north porch are two much older carvings – part of a cross shaft and a grave cover respectively.
EYSEY
Eysey is a deserted village north of the Thames at Cricklade with its church demolished in 1953. Found in the river, these pieces are now in the museum. (Cricklade Museum website).
KNOOK
Knook has this grand example of a knotwork border and a Norse style tympanum.
Knotwork border
Norse style tympanum
RAMSBURY
According to the very helpful website `Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture`, there are no less than nine examples of this art in Ramsbury church. Here are three of them.
A grave cover – Ramsbury 5A (JC)
A cross fragment
Another cross fragement
RODBOURNE CHENEY
St Mary’s church at Rodbourne Cheney church is old and indeed has a couple of carving fragments.
My conclusion
To begin with I assumed that examples of this art were only found in the Celtic (i.e. western) parts of the country. I was very wrong, as you can see. Which goes to show how important research is. But, I enjoy researching new things very much…
Swindon Equality Coalition Gets the Conversation Going. How? By marking this year’s International Day of Tolerance with a new public engagement programme.
From their website:
‘The United Nations is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples … ‘
Swindon Equality – Let’s Talk
Under the banner ‘Swindon Equality – Let’s Talk‘, the coalition wants to reach into the town’s diverse communities. The aim is to provoke discussion and ideas about equality, inclusion and discrimination.
Everyone is welcome to join the conversation and have their say through one of several channels:
1. Email 2. By post 3. Via Facebook 4. Instagram 5. Twitter and .. 6. … old school telephone call.
‘Swindon is a wonderful, diverse town” says coalition chair Michelle Howard. “We want to hear about the positives in the town and about progress and great examples. It’s important too that we hear about what needs to improve.’
A decade long initiative
The Swindon Equality Coalition, along with the Equality Act, celebrates its 10th birthday this year. The coalition came into being to support that act.
‘The coalition brings together people and voices from across Swindon’s diverse communities’, says Pam Webb, CEO at VAS.
“During these unprecedented times, it’s extra important to celebrate diversity and address inequality. That way, we’ll ensure that everyone in Swindon has an equal voice and access to support.’
“A simple email to equality@vas-swindon.org is enough to become a member or find out more” she added.
Having your say and getting in touch
Get in touch with the coalition or have your say via one of these channels:
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has a grand ambition. And that’s the restoration of the Wilts & Berks canal to link the English northern and southern waterway systems. But a cloud of uncertainty has, for many years, cast a shadow over this dream. The cause of this uncertainty? The obtaining of a crossing across the M4. But rejoice! The cloud is on the verge of lifting. For the canal trust is awarded feasibility funding.
Highways England,the company responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads, has awarded over £42,000 towards the Trust’s feasibility studies. The money comes via its Environment and wellbeing fund. This fund is one of four standalone – or designated – funds which the organisation uses to support certain initiatives. That’s the sort of initiatives that deliver lasting benefits for:
1. Road users 2. The environment and … 3. … communities across England.
Gordon Olson, Chief Executive of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, said: “We’re grateful to Highways England for their generous award. We look forward to working in partnership to deliver this important feasibility study.
“The M4 is the biggest barrier to a full restoration of the canal and linking England’s northern and southern waterways networks. So the results could be the key to unlocking the potential of the entire project.
Hoped for canal crossing over the M4 motorway
Short term result
“In the short term it would allow us to connect the existing stretch in the Wichelstowe housing development to the north of the motorway. That stretch is currently under restoration as far as the M4. With the line towards Royal Wootton Bassett to the south, such restoration would more than double the length of canal in water in Swindon and provide a valuable new amenity for the local community.
Longer term
“In the longer term we hope it would also help to show the benefits of restoration to other towns along the historic route. Such towns as Melksham, Chippenham, Calne, Cricklade and Wantage thus attracting new funding to finally start connecting up all the stretches.
“The Wilts & Berks Canal, with its towpath and blue-green corridor, could at length provide an important new source of local employment, tourism and recreation. What’s more it would establish vital new habitats for local wildlife.”
Highways England Project Manager Ian Cole said: “We’re delighted to support the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust with funding to scope out this exciting waterways project.
“The long-term initiative to restore the canal could further realise a great walking and cycling route and environmental improvements. All of which will attract more visitors to the area, and so help the local economy.
“We’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our road network, as well as the people travelling and working on it, to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Our aim is to address social and environmental issues and add real value to society.”
Championing the canal
It’s so great to hear some positive news like this about the canal. It’s a Swindon feature that I’ve highlighted both inSecret Swindon and in my new publication – Swindon: A Born Again Swindonian’s Guide. And, of course, on this blog:
