Annual Events 2024
The Snowdrops are in full bloom and that of course means that it’s that time of the year when I begin the task of updating the list of annual events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green and The Green Man throughout the UK.
The full list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. Confirmations of events are beginning to come in thick and fast. You will find links to each events own website or Facebook page on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
My thanks to Hugh Lawrence for permission to use his wonderful picture of last years Bristol Jack in the Green above.
Annual Events 2023 – UPDATE
It’s May Day and all the wonderful annual events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green and The Green Man have begun throughout the UK.
The updated list of all of this years events can be found HERE You will find links to each event’s own website or Facebook page so that you can check details on times and locations.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
I’m only one person and sadly can’t visit and photograph every Jack in the Green each year and so I rely upon our members and followers to send me pictures of the Jacks that they spot each year – Please do send me your pictures via our Twitter account or directly via the contact page on this website HERE
Here’s to a fantastic Jack in the Green season!
Annual Events 2023 – UPDATE
It’s less than a week now until the wonderful annual events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green and The Green Man begin throughout the UK.
The updated list of all of this years events can be found HERE and there are just a couple of event confirmations left. You will find links to each event’s own website or Facebook page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
And a reminder that it is the Hastings Jack in the Green’s 40th Anniversary this year and all existing Jacks in the Green are formally invited to join the Hastings Jack in the Green for the celebrations.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
I’m only one person and sadly can’t visit and photograph every Jack in the Green each year and so I rely upon our members and followers to send me pictures of the Jacks that they spot each year – Please do send me your pictures via our Twitter account or directly via the contact page on this website HERE
Here’s to a fantastic Jack in the Green season!
Annual Events 2023
The Snowdrops are just beginning to peek through and so it’s finally that time of the year when I begin the task of updating the list of annual events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green and The Green Man throughout the UK.
The list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. Confirmations of events are beginning to come in thick and fast. You will find links to each events own website or Facebook page on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
And a reminder that it is the Hastings Jack in the Green’s 40th Anniversary this year and all existing Jacks in the Green are formally invited to join the Hastings Jack in the Green for the celebrations.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
Annual Events 2022 Update 30/04/22
It’s nearly here and I am very pleased to say that the list of confirmed events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green or The Green Man throughout the UK is looking extremely full!
The list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. You will find links to each events own websites or Facebook pages on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Confirmed events so far are:
April 29th -May 1st
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green – Friday 29th April – Monday 2nd May
Highworth May Market and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Guildford Summerpole and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Bovey Tracey Green Man Festival and Jack in the Green Saturday 30th April
Ilfracombe Jack in the Green – Sunday May 1st
Hammersmith Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Bluebell Hill (Rochester Sweeps) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May (and at the sweeps festival)
Fowler’s Troop (Deptford) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Oxford Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Boss Morris Morris Jacky-in-the-Green – Sunday 1st May (will be seeing dawn in at Butser Ancient Farm)
Winchcombe Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Evercreech Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Oak House Museum Green Man Day – Sunday 1st May
Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare Morris) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
May 2nd Monday
Whitstable Jack in the Green – Monday 2nd May
Clun Green Man Festival – Monday 2nd May
May 7th Saturday
Bristol Jack in the Green – Saturday 7th May
Knutsford May Day – Saturday 7th May
May 14th Saturday
Bradford on Avon Jack in the Green – The Green Man festival is now back on! – Saturday 14th May
Yaxley Jack-in-the-Green – Saturday 14th May
May 30th Monday
Castleton Garland Day – Monday 30th May
July
Pilton Green Man Festival – Saturday 16th July
The Islington Milk Maid’s Garland will not be out on May Day this year but will be attending Hastings JITG
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
A brand new knee limits my travel plans this year so please, please do send me photographs of as many Jacks as possible.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
Annual Events 2022 Update 23/04/22
I am very pleased to say that the list of confirmed events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green or The Green Man throughout the UK this late April and all of May is looking extremely full!
The list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. You will find links to each events own websites or Facebook pages on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Confirmed events so far are:
April 29th -May 1st
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green – Friday 29th April – Monday 2nd May
Highworth May Market and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Guildford Summerpole and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Bovey Tracey Green Man Festival and Jack in the Green Saturday 30th April
Ilfracombe Jack in the Green – Sunday May 1st
Hammersmith Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Bluebell Hill (Rochester Sweeps) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May (and at the sweeps festival)
Fowler’s Troop (Deptford) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Oxford Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Winchcombe Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Evercreech Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Oak House Museum Green Man Day – Sunday 1st May
May 2nd Monday
Whitstable Jack in the Green – Monday 2nd May
Clun Green Man Festival – Monday 2nd May
May 7th Saturday
Bristol Jack in the Green – Saturday 7th May
Knutsford May Day – Saturday 7th May
May 14th Saturday
Bradford on Avon Jack in the Green – Green Man festival cancelled but Jack will be out – Saturday 14th May
Yaxley Jack-in-the-Green – Saturday 14th May
May 30th Monday
Castleton Garland Day – Monday 30th May
July
Pilton Green Man Festival – Saturday 16th July
The Islington Milk Maid’s Garland will not be out on May Day this year but will be attending Hastings JITG
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
A brand new knee limits my travel plans this year so please, please do send me photographs of as many Jacks as possible.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
Annual Events 2022 Update – Jack’s Back!
The list of confirmed events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green or The Green Man throughout the UK this late April and all of May and beyond is growing day by day!
The list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. Confirmations of events are beginning to come in thick and fast and it looks like things will get back to something like normal after the events of the last two years. You will find links to each events own websites or Facebook pages on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Confirmed events so far are:
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green – Friday 29th April – Monday 2nd May
Bluebell Hill (Rochester Sweeps) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May (and at the sweeps festival)
Fowler’s Troop (Deptford) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Oxford Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Bristol Jack in the Green – Saturday 7th May
Winchcombe Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Knutsford May Day – Saturday 7th May
Evercreech Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Highworth May Market and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Whitstable Jack in the Green – Monday 2nd May
Ilfracombe Jack in the Green – Sunday May 1st
Clun Green Man Festival – Monday 2nd May
Bradford on Avon Jack in the Green – Green Man festival cancelled but Jack will be out – Saturday 14th May
Guildford Summerpole and Jack in the Green – Saturday 30th April
Yaxley Jack-in-the-Green – Saturday 14th May
Castleton Garland Day – Monday 30th May
Pilton Green Man Festival – Saturday 16th July
Oak House Museum Green Man Day – Sunday 1st May
Bovey Tracey Green Man Festival and Jack in the Green Saturday 30th April
Hammersmith Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May (Technically still TBC but pretty likely unless Daleks invade or Ragnarok occurs)
The Islington Milk Maid’s Garland will not be out on May Day this year but will be attending Hastings JITG
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
A brand new knee limits my travel plans this year so please, please do send me photographs of as many Jacks as possible.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
Annual Events 2022 – Jack’s Back!
It’s finally that time of the year when I begin the task of updating the list of annual events that feature The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green or The Green Man throughout the UK.
The list is HERE and I will be updating it regularly. Confirmations of events are beginning to come in thick and fast and I really hope that things will get back to something like normal after the events of the last two years. You will find links to each events own websites or Facebook pages on our annual events page so that you can check details on times and locations.
Confirmed events so far are:
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green – Friday 29th April – Monday 2nd May
Fowler’s Troop (Deptford) Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Bristol Jack in the Green – Saturday 7th May
Winchcombe Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Knutsford May Day – Saturday 7th May
Evercreech Jack in the Green – Sunday 1st May
Whitstable Jack in the Green – Monday 2nd May
Clun Green Man Festival – Monday 2nd May
Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival – Saturday 14th May
Yaxley Jack-in-the-Green – Saturday 14th May
Castleton Garland Day – Monday 30th May
Pilton Green Man Festival – Saturday 16th July
Oak House Museum Green Man Day – Sunday 1st May
Please do get in touch if you are an organiser or follower of a particular event and can confirm that it is going ahead and I will ensure that I promote your event within these pages.
If you are new to these pages and are wondering just what on earth a Jack in the Green is then your whistle stop tour of the history of the Traditional Jack in the Green can be found right HERE.
And everything that you need to know about the modern revived Jacks can be found HERE
Happy New Year
I would like to wish all members and followers of The Company of the Green Man a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2022.
I would also like to thank everyone for their continued support and best wishes whilst The Company of the Green Man continues in a temporary semi-dormant state whilst I concentrate on starting my own business and becoming one of the great self-employed. I was made redundant just prior to the start of the pandemic at the end of 2019. not a great time to start your own business but things are going well and I love what I do.
Whilst I don’t have the time to update the gazetteer, Flickr archive or produce the e-newsletters I am still trying my best to keep my finger on the pulse of the Green Man and the Traditional Jack-in-the-Green and hope to be attending as many events as possible (fingers crossed) this year. I will also do my best to keep this blog as fresh as possible and try to provide the most up-to date information on this years events as well as Green Man sightings. I have updated our events page ready to start providing dates for this years events HERE
My thanks to Charlie Waters for posting the above picture of the 2021 Carshalton Straw Jack and allowing it to be shared, what a great record of the event.
Whilst it was another very unusual year there were still a wonderful number of Jacks sighted during 2021, they were:
- The Hammersmith Jack-in-the-Green
- The Hastings Traditional Jack-in-the-Green
- The Boss Morris Jacky-in-the-Green
- The Whitstable Jack-in-the-Green
- The Bradford on Avon Jack-in-the-Green
- The Winchcombe Jack-in-the-Green
- The Carshalton Straw Jack (September)
The Oxford Jack was reproduced in collage form again last year.
The Evercreech Jacks head was decorated by the local community and displayed for all to see.
The Lions Part sadly had to cancel their 2021 October Plenty and 2022 Twelfth Night Celebrations but as always provided some wonderful online content.
There were also many mini Jacks who appeared last year including ones from
- The Deptford Fowler’s Troop Jack-in-the-Green
- The Dead Horse Morris Jack-in-the-Green
- Lots of Hastings based Mini – Jacks
As always if you spot any that I have missed or have any pictures of last years Jacks please do send them in.
Hopefully this year will see many more Jacks come back to life and I very much hope to attend some much missed annual events and meet up with some old friends again.
All the very best
Chris Walton
BOA Jack-in-the-Green
I am extremely pleased to announce that the Bradford-on-Avon Jack-in-the-Green was spotted today and I know this to be true because I ventured out and saw it for myself. “Jack in the Green’s Tour of Bradford on Avon” started from The Lock Inn at 11am this morning and took in the town centre, the Tithe Barn and of course as tradition dictates…a number of Public Houses where liquid refreshments were had and Jack and his covid compliant entourage was able to get out of the hot sun for a bit.
Jack was joined by his Ganderflankers’ musicians and two wonderful beasts. My thanks to everyone for allowing me to get some wonderful pictures.
Twelfth Night Celebrations Sunday 5th January 2020
Happy New Year to all of our members and blog followers.
If you need to escape the post Christmas and New Year blues I would highly recommend the Twelfth Night celebrations on Bankside outside Shakespeare’s Globe starting at 2pm on Sunday 5th January 2020.
Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather.
To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man the Winter guise of the Green Man (and an honorary member of The Company of the Green Man) decked in fantastic green garb and evergreen foliage is piped over the River Thames, with the devil Beelzebub.
With the crowd by Shakespeare’s Globe, led by the Bankside Mummers and the London Beadle, the Holly Man will ‘bring in the green’ and toast or ‘wassail’ the people, the River Thames and the Globe (an old tradition encouraging good growth).
Mummers will then process to the Bankside Jetty, and perform the traditional ‘freestyle’ St. George Folk Combat Play, featuring the Turkey Sniper, Clever Legs, the Old ‘Oss and many others, dressed in spectacular costumes. The play is full of wild verse and boisterous action, a time-honoured part of the season recorded since the Crusades.
Cakes distributed at the end of the play have a bean and a pea hidden in two of them. Those from the crowd who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony.
They then lead the people through the streets to the historic George Inn Southwark, for a fine warming-up with the Fowlers Troop, Storytelling, the Kissing Wishing Tree, Dancing and Mulled Wine.
If you go please do take some pictures and send them to me for the blog and if possible perhaps send me a short piece on your experience for the next e-newsletter
You can find more details via the Lions Part website below:
Yuletide Greetings
Salisbury Cathedral Copyright © The Company of the Green Man
It’s that time of the year when the Santa hatted green man from Salisbury Cathedral puts in his annual appearance on our blog!
Wishing all members and followers of The Company of the Green Man a Very Merry Yule. My thanks to everyone for all the contributions and support during 2019.
The next newsletter is being lovingly crafted and will hopefully be with you some time over the festive period.
Featured Artist – Iris Compiet – Faeries of the Faultlines
I stumbled across Iris Compiet’s wonderful art a while back and was instantly mesmerised by her work and wanted to share it with our members and website visitors.
In Iris’s own words:
“I’m a traditional artist and Illustrator from the Netherlands. At the age of seven I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up… paint and draw fantastical beings. I enjoy working on projects ranging from picture books to gallery art, concept art and even sculpting.
Storytelling is an essential part of my artwork, and as an artist I strive to lure in the spectator, to make them feel a connection to the work and open a gateway to their imagination to ignite it even further. I created a world called Faeries of the Faultlines. A glimpse into that world can be seen in a book with the same title. Drawing inspiration from European folklore, mythology, fairytales, ghost stories and anything from tombstones, Victorian photography to popular movies and music.
Let me tell you about Faeries, let me take you away on a journey, an adventure…
The Faultlines is an ancient name given to those places where the veil between This world and the Other is thinnest. It is the place where faeries dwell, creatures creep and magic oozes through the cracks. Recently the Faultlines have been stirring, opening up to all who wish to see and to all who dare to venture… “
Iris published the book Faeries of the Faultlines after getting it successfully funded through Kickstarter. It was so popular that it is now sold out. A new edition of the book will be released in September 2020. The secrets of the faultlines and beyond sketchbook is still available in Iris’s shop as are print sets, sticker sets, postcards and more – including the fantastic Greenman pin badge above – one of my new favourite Green Men! A perfect Yuletide gift for any green man hunter!
You can see more of Iris’s incredible art and visit her online shop at: www.eyeris.eu
Please note that Iris’s shop will be closed from 13th December until 13th January.
The Green Man in Stone
Rob Stephens, artist extraordinaire, new grandad and creator of our fabulous logo dropped me a line to tell me that his stone carver brother Shaun has got the green man bug. Rob sent me these pictures of his incredible workmanship. The paler coloured one is a piece of stone that came out of the restoration work at York Minster. There must be a cathedral out there somewhere who would like their very own new Green Man?
Twelfth Night Celebrations Sunday 6th January 2019
If you need to escape the post Christmas and New Year blues I would highly recommend the Twelfth Night celebrations on Bankside outside Shakespeare’s Globe starting at 2pm on Sunday 6th January 2019.
Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather.
To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man the Winter guise of the Green Man (and an honorary member of The Company of the Green Man) decked in fantastic green garb and evergreen foliage is piped over the River Thames, with the devil Beelzebub.
With the crowd by Shakespeare’s Globe, led by the Bankside Mummers and the London Beadle, the Holly Man will ‘bring in the green’ and toast or ‘wassail’ the people, the River Thames and the Globe (an old tradition encouraging good growth).
Mummers will then process to the Bankside Jetty, and perform the traditional ‘freestyle’ St. George Folk Combat Play, featuring the Turkey Sniper, Clever Legs, the Old ‘Oss and many others, dressed in spectacular costumes. The play is full of wild verse and boisterous action, a time-honoured part of the season recorded since the Crusades.
Cakes distributed at the end of the play have a bean and a pea hidden in two of them. Those from the crowd who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony.
They then lead the people through the streets to the historic George Inn Southwark, for a fine warming-up with the Fowlers Troop, Storytelling, the Kissing Wishing Tree, Dancing and Mulled Wine.
If you go please do take some pictures and send them to me for the blog and if possible perhaps send me a short piece on your experience for the next e-newsletter
You can find more details via the Lions Part website below:
Yuletide Greetings
Salisbury Cathedral Copyright © The Company of the Green Man
Wishing all members and followers of The Company of the Green Man a Very Merry Yule. My thanks to everyone for all the contributions and support during 2018.
Here is a picture of my favourite seasonal Green Men from the roof of Salisbury Cathedral…I’m still convinced he is wearing a Santa hat!
Andrew Findlay – Blacksmith
Blacksmith Andrew Findlay kindly sent me this picture of an incredible Green Man that he crafted. Andrew wrote “One I made using blacksmithing techniques which I thought may be of interest. I became a blacksmith because the process of creating in the forge is spiritual, alchemical and elemental all at the same time. A magical experience. Using the transforming fire we shape a sterile, cold and hard material into beautiful and permanent organic forms.”
You can see more of Andrews work at http://www.andrew-findlay.com
Bibliography
Our updated bibliography of books on The Green Man and The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green is available to view HERE where a downloadable copy is also available.
We welcome information on books that we have yet to source or that do not appear in our bibliography.
Sighting – Crowland Abbey Green Man
Crowland Abbey Green Man © Tina Negus
Tina Negus sent me this wonderful image of the Green Man chancel boss at Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire.
Crowland Abbey was a monastery of the Benedictine Order in Lincolnshire, It was founded in memory of St. Guthlac early in the eighth century by Ethelbald, King of Mercia, but was entirely destroyed and the community slaughtered by the Danes in 866.
Re founded in the reign of King Edred, it was destroyed by fire in 1091, but rebuilt about twenty years later by Abbot Joffrid. In 1170 the greater part of the abbey and church was once more burnt down and once more rebuilt, under Abbot Edward. From this time the history of Crowland was one of growing and almost unbroken prosperity down to the time of the Dissolution. Richly endowed by royal and noble visitors to the shrine of St. Guthlac, it became one of the most opulent of East Anglian abbeys; and owing to its isolated position in the heart of the fen country, its security and peace were comparatively undisturbed during the great civil wars and other national troubles.
At the time of the Dissolution the abbot was John Welles, or Bridges, who with his twenty-seven monks subscribed to the Royal Supremacy in 1534, and five years later surrendered his house to the king. The remains of the abbey were fortified by the Royalists in 1643, and besieged and taken by Cromwell in May of that year.
This Green Man is listed in our Gazetteer
Amanda Bates – Green Man & Lady
Amanda Bates is an artist, based in Kingsclere north Hampshire, with a growing interest in the tradition of the Green Man. One of the things to spark that interest was a chance visit to St. Peter’s in Upper Wolhampton, West Berkshire, where she found a delightful pair of Victorian Green Man stone carvings on the exterior of the church that were previously undiscovered.
Amanda didn’t have a camera with her so instead recorded them in pencil (above). Amanda then created the wonderful pictures accompanying this post using Acrylic Ink on rough watercolour paper, entitled Green Man & Green Lady.
Amanda wrote: “The faces are Victorian (the church was rebuilt in 1857) and, with their surroundings of leaves, the gentleman’s leafy moustache and the vegetation emerging from the lady’s mouth, are in the Green Man tradition. I fancy that they might represent the local landowner and his wife.”
My thanks to Amanda for getting in touch and sharing her incredible work with us. You can see more of Amanda’s work on her website: www.amandabatesart.co.uk All pictures copyright © Amanda Bates
Grand Hama Morris Jack in the Green
I’m delighted to announce that a new Jack in the Green went out this year. The Grand Hama Morris Jack-in-the-Green paraded in the city of Isehara in Japan accompanied by the Grand Hama Morris team who are based in Kanagawa, Japan and were established in 2015.
I’m having a little bit of trouble translating information about Grand Hama Morris but would love to know more if any members of Grand Hama Morris read this post and could get in touch with me please.
Sightings – Ashburton Devon
My thanks to Nick Booth for some great pictures from St Andrews in Ashburton, Devon. Readers of our e-newsletter will know that when I visited St Andrews last year workmen were in the process of replacing the floor, so I had trouble getting access to all the Green Men there. Nick managed to find all the elusive Green Men on a visit. Here are the first two Nick discovered on roof bosses. More to follow next week.
Sightings – St Mary’s, Scilly Isles
Sideboard from the wreck of the Thomas W Lawson – copyright © Vanessa Piggott
My thanks to Vanessa Piggott for sending in this picture of a cast iron Green Man on a sideboard she discovered in St Mary’s Museum on the Scilly Isles. The sideboard is from the wreck of the Thomas W. Lawson a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner used to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. She was launched in 1902 and holds the distinction of being the largest schooner and largest sailing vessel without an auxiliary engine ever built. The Thomas W. Lawson was destroyed off the uninhabited island of Annet, in the Isles of Scilly, in a storm on December 14, 1907, killing all but two of her eighteen crew and a harbor pilot already aboard. Her cargo of 58,000 barrels of light paraffin oil caused perhaps the first large marine oil spill in history.
Twelfth Night Celebrations Sunday 8th January
I would like to wish all of our members and blog readers a very Happy New Year and a Healthy and Happy 2017.
If you need to escape the post Christmas and New Year blues I would highly recommend the Twelfth Night celebrations on Bankside outside Shakespeare’s Globe starting at 1:45pm on Sunday 8th January 2016.
Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather.
To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man the Winter guise of the Green Man (and an honorary member of The Company of the Green Man) decked in fantastic green garb and evergreen foliage is piped over the River Thames, with the devil Beelzebub.
With the crowd by Shakespeare’s Globe, led by the Bankside Mummers and the London Beadle, the Holly Man will ‘bring in the green’ and toast or ‘wassail’ the people, the River Thames and the Globe (an old tradition encouraging good growth).
Mummers will then process to the Bankside Jetty, and perform the traditional ‘freestyle’ St. George Folk Combat Play, featuring the Turkey Sniper, Clever Legs, the Old ‘Oss and many others, dressed in spectacular costumes. The play is full of wild verse and boisterous action, a time-honoured part of the season recorded since the Crusades.
Cakes distributed at the end of the play have a bean and a pea hidden in two of them. Those from the crowd who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony.
They then lead the people through the streets to the historic George Inn Southwark, for a fine warming-up with the Fowlers Troop, Storytelling, the Kissing Wishing Tree, Dancing and Mulled Wine.
If you go please do take some pictures and send them to me for the blog and if possible perhaps send me a short piece on your experience for the next e-newsletter
You can find more details via the Lions Part website below:
The Company of the Green Man 