pageant1

	Wrington Historical PAGEANT every 5 years from 1987
	ARCHIVE

The headline in the South Avon Mercury of 14th May, 1992

Village pageant steps back in time
THREE OF THE BEST- Wrington trio, Chris Clark, Ken Collins and Horace Ashman - evoke the village's farming past. It was all part of Wrington May Fair Pageant on Saturday.

Villagers of all ages and walks of life took part, and enacted scenes depicting 500 years of Wrington's history, from hoeing the fields to an Edwardian wedding, drunken revellery from members of the Men's Friendly Society and the antics of a dancing bear.

Special costumes and authentic carriages all contributed to a memorable spectacle which brought to an end Wrington's week long May Fair celebrations.

Five times in recent years, at 5 year intervals, the history of Wrington from medieval times to the start of the 21C, has been told by a pageant, written and produced by Echo Irving.

The images on these pages are drawn from the first 2 occasions - the subsequent performances are listed on an archive page.

In 1332 the village received a charter to
hold an annual fair in October - an occasion
for a holiday, when the revelry tended to displease the Franklin, the local squire

Broad Street is closed to traffic for an hour during the afternoon and again in early evening for the two performances.

The Rector in those days was one John de Obigis, who leased the Church House (in
front of the present lych gate) to the
village for 1 penny per year.

He held titles such as Doctor of Decretals, Auditor of Causes to the Holy Apostolic
Palace, and Nuncio and Collector for the Apostolic See in the Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland.

His present day counterpart,
the Rev Noël Hector

Much barter was carried on at the fair,
and a mysterious pedlar would bring news from the surrounding area - as well
as sell ribbons to the girls

There would likely be a poor old shambling bear made to dance .......

..... and suffer - for the crowd's amusement

When the revelry was over, there were sore heads to be nursed - much to the
annoyance of the toffs

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