The purpose of this website is to celebrate the diversity of British culture and tradition and to encourage others to support events so that they can continue in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy. There are already numerous interesting books and websites detailing the history of our customs, so background info of this nature is kept brief here.
This site is more concerned with aiding visitors to get to the right place at the right time on the right day and to know what to expect when they arrive. When I’ve been planning visits myself I’ve found that a fair bit of research is needed to be sure of getting everything correct and this seems a good way of sharing the information I’ve found with others who may be interested. Widely practised customs are listed without specific times and places as they are too numerous to mention and for the same reason most fairs, fetes, shows, concerts and sporting fixtures have been omitted unless there is a special reason, such as a commemorative aspect or unusual activity. For each of these widespread activities I have tried to include a local event (to me) to give the general flavour of the celebration. I have excluded events which are not open to the general public as I’m only concentrating on participatory customs – the events listed here are, as far as I’m aware, open to all either freely or for a modest charge. I have included a number of lapsed customs because they are commonly reported as current in books and on websites when in fact they no longer take place – they are listed here to help prevent visitors being disappointed.
The site can be used in a number of ways. Events may be searched for by putting the name in the keyword search, or found by clicking their name on the map or by browsing the monthy tables. Each monthly listing consists of a series of tables of the relevant events for the period in chronological order. The first table is events which are fixed to exactly the same date each year, the second for variable dates ( such as the second saturday of the month) and subsequent tables are for fixtures that are linked to moveable feasts which may apppear in that month (for example the dates for Whitsuntide events may be in either May or June depending on when Easter falls ,so the relevant table is listed under both months). In each case, there will be a more detailed page for the event which may be viewed by clicking the article symbol at the right hand side of the table and this page will include dating for the current year.
As it’s impossible to get to all the events in a hurry, the website will continue to develop over the coming years (I have a 10 year plan so far, and that doesn’t cover everything by any means) and will hopefully improve over time into a useful reference for festival visitors around the UK. Any information about events is welcome, particularly those held in Wales and in Scotland as many of my sources focus on England. I’m also aware that as a Geordie I’m hardly an expert in Welsh or Scottish culture, or indeed language, so guidance will be a help! If I’ve made errors with the times/places please let me know so that others aren’t led astray…with over 700 events listed, some of which vary from year to year or are subject to change at short notice, it can be challenging to get all the relevant facts right, so any help in this line will be appreciated and updates will be swiftly made…..and if you can think of an event I should know about maybe you could drop me a line. Though we try to keep the information accurate and current, calendarcustoms is not connected to the organisation of any of the featured events and of course can accept no responsibility for any changes, errors or omissions in the content of this site or those of the events themselves – visitors are urged to make use of the provided links to the individual event websites and Facebook pages for up-to-date information (and when there are new links made available it would be helpful to let me know then I can add them to the site).
I’m hoping that eventually all the photos on the site will be mine, but until then I have used some images with a Creative Commons Licence. If you own any photos I have used, and would like them removed from the site please just get in touch. The attribution for each photograph can be found at the bottom of the article in which it appears (Photo by ….) unless they are my own.
About the Author
My name is Averil Shepherd. I live in Ovington, a small village in Northumberland, and I’m married to John. I graduated with Honours in History from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and work in the book trade. For many years I’ve toured the country in search of historic and architectural curiosities to photograph with a particular interest in pre-1650 sepulchral effigies, regional foods and commemorative monuments (John just goes along for the ride and the food – he likes the events more than old houses and churches!).
Me, firing a Fenny Popper.
My hero is Nikolaus Pevsner who wrote the Buildings of England series (see them here), invaluable to every church-crawler in the land. Other interests include reading, choral singing, Richard III Society and collecting miniatures for my palatial dolls’ house. An overwhelming enthusiasm for customs and traditions was sparked by a visit to Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in 2009 on our annual Man Free Weekend with former Uni flatmate Lisa Lawrence. I now have a ten year plan of things to attend and I’m particularly keen on wild sports, hobby horses and anything involving fire or explosions… Watch this space…
You can contact me here: