Calder Valley Pace Egging (Hebden Bridge & Midgley)

Where: Hepstonstall, Weavers Square
When: Good Friday
Time: At intervals from 11am

 

Pace Egging Plays are traditional mumming plays with their own unique character and are performed during Eastertide, mainly in the north-western corner of England. They are typically hero-combat plays with fight scenes and the revival of one protagonist by a doctor but also have some unique songs and characters like Tosspot who don’t appear anywhere else. The name comes from the players or their attendants in past years begging for eggs for the Easter season. One of the best known teams comes from the Calder Valley High School at Midgley, who have unique Pace Egging hats and perform every Good Friday in the village, and also at nearby Heptonstall in the afternoon (usually at 3pm). Heptonstall has its own team of players and they can also be seen at Weavers Square at intervals through the day from 11 onwards so you can seen two forms of the play in one go!

Helpful Hints

Good Friday falls on April 18th in 2025. The schedule (below) is for 2024 (and gives a good indication of likely locations and times for future years too). 

Check https://www.facebook.com/hebdenbridgelocalhistory/?hc_ref=ARR5XRHe-RWx4s9Epd_U5A1eq-Q5qbPSW1E-CPx0WCbB6pXXZOcC2BSI-wbziiq_Bk4 for updates about the Midgley Play and full schedule.

Click here for the Midgley Facebook supporters page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/929708153814225/

The streets around Weavers Square are narrow and steep – we found temporary signs for carparking useful when we visited so watch out for them.

Click here to find out more : https://heptonstall.org/pace-egg-2/

and here for up-to-date info and annual full schedules : http://www.mastermummers.org/groupslist.php then select Hebden Bridge Players and/or Midgley from the drop-down list of Groups to get the annual listing.

Mummers are notoriously slow in passing on their current schedule of upcoming performances but they usually stick to the same timings and places in this case so checking out their past performances will give you a good idea of what to expect.




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