| Where: | In & around the village of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire |
| When: | The Monday following the first Sunday after 4th September |
| Time: | All day starting 7am at St Nicholas' Church |
This is an ancient custom dating back hundreds of years -nobody knows exactly how long but it’s reputedly one of the oldest traditions in Europe. It starts with a simple church service from 7am at St Nicholas Church (somewhat sparsely attended!). Afterwards the Deermen collect their horns from storage in the church and are dancing outside by around 8 o’clock. There are 6 Deermen carrying antlers in Tudor-style costume, a Hobby Horse and a Boy with Bow & Arrow who perform a unique dance together in two lines facing each other, accompanied by Maid Marian (a man in a dress), the Jester and musicians including a boy with a triangle. An assortment of tunes are played on the accordion (with a few surprising ones like The Isle of Capri). The dance is organised by 2 local families but anyone is welcome to watch and follow the action in and around the village. By around 10.15 they are in Yeatsall, by 11 at Admaston over the reservoir and by 12 at Blithfield Hall (members of the public can watch from below the ha-ha in front of the house – only invited guests are allowed up on the lawn with the dancers). By 2.15 they are back at the Rugely junction just outside the village and make their way back to the Village Green with many stops along the way to dance and to imbibe much needed refreshment at the pubs along the route.Generally later in the day the stops to dance are shorter and further between. At 8.15 the horns are returned to the church and there is a Sevice of Compline. This is the event that set me off on my quest to see more – it’s a great day out with a very friendly atmosphere. I’ll be back!
Helpful Hints
In 2025 it should be on Monday September 8th.
Be careful about the date – the formula for working it out has been fixed for some time but because it shifts from year to year, there are always people who turn up on the wrong day. 2011 was a bad year for this as many were misled by incorrect info on a website (not this one, I hasten to add!) and arrived a week too soon.
Pick up the free Abbots Bromley map if you can which also has approximate timings and history of the village etc – we got ours from the Church.There’s plenty of parking in the Village if you arrive early and if you want to drive to the outlying venues just follow the convoy – you’ll squeeze in.There are hard surfaces to walk on most of the way round. Refreshments are available all day at Church house which also has a toilet (upstairs) and of course the pubs are open. Take time to view the excellent stalls on the Village Green and try the Abbots Bromley Wakes Cakes (if they haven’t already sold out).
If you’re real lucky you may be able to volunteer to join in a dance – I did in 2011 and it was great! I was absolutely hopeless and clashed horns at one point with my opposite number- I’m telling myself it’s more fun for the spectators when the amateurs make a mess of it!!
Click here for the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AbbotsBromleyHornDance
Click here for the village website : www.abbotsbromley.com
What fun! Great to see website author enjoying the event that started the ball rolling!
Thanks Elaine! Will tell you all about it asap!
hi would you be interested in joining grain carnival on july 19th
Hi,
Here at Calendarcustoms we have no connection with the organisation of the Horn Dance. If you visit this page http://www.thehorndanceofabbotsbromley.co.uk/contact.htm you can get in touch with them direct. Best of luck!
Averil
I wasn’t quite sure what time the dance started and rang the church. there is a communion open to everyone at 7 a.m and a blessing again open to everyone at 7.45. the deermen gather their antlers and assemble outside the church. at 8 am they go to the village green and begin the dance.
a leaflet is available from the church giving the route and approximate times of arrival at the various dancing places.
the dance was quite well attended and to my delight all the traffic ground to a halt as the deermen progressed up the street.
sadly i couldn’t stay too long as i had commitments in the afternoon. but i stayed long enough to take lots of photos, buy a bacon butty from the church house, have a good look at the little market that was set up by the buttercross and back to the church to have a look at that. one of the staff took time to show me some deep grooves cut into some stones in the church wall which were made from soldiers sharpening their swords.
parking was easy, the village has lots of unusual buildings and some nice shops. i would say it is a suitable event for all ages and i would love to go again. just now as i write this they must be heading back to abbots bromley……
Hi Annie,
I absolutely love this event (in fact it’s the one that started my enthusiasm for annual customs) so I’m pleased you enjoyed it too!Hoping I’ll be there again next year 🙂
Averil
thanks Averil,
I am still humming “Isle of Capri” and singing the rude words to “cock of the North” so clearly the dance makes a deeper impression than first thought.
i would love to go again. meanwhile i’m planning my next calendar custom which will probably be matlock illuminations. cheers from annie
Fell in Love in 2017 at The Horn Dance… Two old uns in our 70,s…. Going back again this year 2018 to Celebrate our Anniversary and Dance of Course. A Great Day can be had sharing this Ancient Tradition .,
That’s lovely Chris! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate your anniversary. It has a special place in my heart too, as it’s the place where I fell in love with customs and traditions…it was a great way to begin and has led me on lots of journeys and adventures. Hope you have a lovely time!
Lovely to meet you at St.Peter’s Edgmond today. Hope you had a good journey home. Blessings Anne
Thank you Anne,
I really enjoyed the service and was made to feel very welcome! I just got home at 9.30 as there was a huge tailback on the M6 near Stafford after an accident- luckily I wasn’t involved in that but did get stuck for well over an hour. So I shall be having nice soak in the bath before bed and will sort out my photos tomorrow after work!
Thanks again
Averil