| Where: | Barlaston Green, Staffordshire - Village Walk starting at Barlaston Green Carpark on Longton Road |
| When: | 31st December |
| Time: | From 9.30 to midnight |
Barlaston Wassail is a unique recent custom, and one which celebrates our heritage; it was founded in 2004 by Tim Cockin as a charity fundraiser and also because many local settlements have Anglo Saxon origins. Now there’s a mummers’ play featuring Father of the Village, Beornwulf, with St Chad and King Wulfhere, sometimes performed on a couple of dates prior to the Wassail as well as on New Year’s Eve.
The night itself begins with the walk starting at Barlaston Village Green Carpark at 9 pm for 9.30. The walkers carry twelve Saxon-themed banners, one for each month of the year. Verses to the Anglo Saxons depicted are read at intervals. When the walkers reach the Upper House (an hour later), the mummers play is performed. Then – at the Duke of York, Longton Rd – more mumming, the raffle and a fire finale, now with a burning longboat! Then the event becomes a sort of procession to the tree on the village Green for midnight. Everybody gathers round it to dance and sing Auld Lang Syne.
Helpful Hints
Check the Facebook link below for full schedule with approximate times, and for any changes.
2024 details are yet to be announced but likely to follow a similar pattern to previous years.The 2023 schedule for Sunday, 31st December was: WALK – 9.30pm (the Village Green carpark, Longton Road, Barlaston, Staffordshire, ST12 9AA). PLAY 1 – 10.40pm The Upper House grounds Play 2 & FIRE FINALE – 11.20pm outside the Duke of York AULD LANG SYNE – 11.55pm Tree-on-the-Green Barlaston’s own folk custom in its 19th year. Come and join us for the night WALK, then the impromtu PLAY, featuring volunteers, telling the tale of how the village got its name, woven into the story of the murdered Anglo-Saxon princes of Stone, culminating with a FIRE FINALE roasting on a funeral pyre outside the Duke of York. A procession down to the Village Green follows joined by lots more people in a ring round the tree outside the old school, singing AULD LANG SYNE at midnight.
From 2017 the walk returned to the countryside, as pre-2013, and is approx. 2 miles. Bring appropriate boots/ torch etc as it can be muddy underfoot. Late-comers and non-walkers may wait along Upper House drive. There is no entrance fee but raffle tickets will be on sale for fundraising (12 prizes, plus the winner’s name ‘inscribed’ on our collection of 12 Famous themed Tankards). As well as the Duke of York, there is another inn, Plume of Feathers, 1m away, for after-midnight drinking.
Click here for the event Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5589088387835680/
https://www.facebook.com/BarlastonWassail?fref=ts
4 photos by Tim Cockin, others by me.
View this location on the map.
Hopefully am trying to supply a photo of this year’s Wassail. I can supply photos if able to upload them somehow? Please advise?
Tim
Hi Tim!
Hope this years Wassail went well! It would be great to have some photos – if you send them as an email attachment to the email address on the About the Author page on Calendar Customs, I can add them to the article on the site (with you listed as photographer, of course!). Any problems, just let me know.
Kind Regards,
Averil
Tim, do we need tickets for NYE 2019? Look forward to hearing. Best regards Guy
Hello Guy,
No tickets required for NYE at Barlaston – just turn up.
If you need to contact Tim direct, the event’s Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/BarlastonWassail/
and that’ll be the best place to look for any last-minute updates.
If you haven’t been before, we can highly recommend it – we had an absolute blast a couple of years ago!
Enjoy!
Averil
We would love to be joined by a folk musician on the night – an accordianist, fiddle, further details from timcockin@yahoo.com; we can cover some expenses.
How about some Border Morris dancers and/or musicians – Domesday Morris based in Penkhull – contact me on above e-mail address Mel
Hi Mel,
Thanks! I’ve passed your details on to Tim Cockin who organises the event.
Best Wishes,
Averil
🙂
This is Britain’s Unique Wassail. The 2013 event will take place round the streets of the village of Barlaston, not over the nearby Downs Banks, making it accessible to more people in the community. It’ll be a door to door drinking residents’ health. It still starts on the village green at 9.30pm and will finish with the traditional dancing round the village tree at midnight.
Many thanks, Tim, the organiser.
Thanks for the update, Tim!
I’ve tweaked the description so please give it a quick check to make sure it’s all corect!
Best wishes,
Averil
Correction. It starts at Orchard Place (a row of shops in the lower village), Barlaston at 9.30pm. The entrance for the walk is £3 (incl one raffle ticket). Many thanks Tim Cockin.
Thanks for the updates Tim – all added to the site as of tonight. Hope it goes well!
Averil
We’re going a head for tonight. First off is the ‘arising of Beornwulf’ at 5.30pm, canal bridge between Londis shop and the Plume of Feathers Inn, in lower Barlaston. 9.30pm Orchard Place, which is nearby. Hope to see the Border Morris dancers there – many thanks to them.
Excellent – hope you have a great night!
You will definitely see Domesday Border Morris dancers & musicians later Tim… but you may not recognise us of course! 😉 We’re really looking forward to it. Hope it stays dry!
Many thanks to everyone who can support us tonight – very much appreciated. Thanks Tim.
What a superb evening – over 80, and we were so lucky the weather stayed dry, and our new village route worked very well. Thank you to all those who came. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to the Border Morris Dancers – they were absolutely superb and made the evening!! Thank you Tim (Beornwulf!).
For Dec 31 2014 we have in addition to the Walk (9.30pm, Orchard Place, £3 per adult) at 5.30pm by the ‘tree’ on the village green – the Children’s Wassail – which consists of the crowning of a Wassail Queen, and the arising from the dead from his coffin of Beornwulf, ‘father of the village’. Made possible this year (2014) by a grant from the Staffordshire Local Community Fund from Staffordshire County Council, and our local county councillor Ian Parry.
That’s good news – nice to have something to appeal to young families as they’re often a bit left out at New Year. Sounds like your Wassail is going from strength to strength!
Best wishes,
Averil
Sorry, just some corrections to be clear:-
Children’s Wassail (5.30pm) is now in the village hall, round the corner from The Green. It’s free and there’s a free raffle for a children’s prize.
The main village Walk (9.30pm) starts Orchard Place. £3 entrance, £1 children (incl refreshment). £1 per raffle ticket. There’s 6 prizes incl. the ‘famous’ tankard.
You can catch up with us at 10pm by when we hope to have reached The Green, making for Upper House Hotel. 10.30pm we’ll be in the village hall for refreshments with morris dancing by Mercia Morris of Stone. 11.30pm the parade outside the Duke of York. Many thanks Tim (could these amendments go at the top).
Thanks for this years update Tim – amendments made to the page as requested. Hope you have a great time and All the best for 2015!
Best Wishes,
Averil
SORRY for any previous missunderstanding. This resolves confusion over the two separate raffle prize draws.
CHILDREN’S WASSAIL (5.30pm – Village Hall)
Is Free. It includes a free raffle ticket to the Children’s Raffle (which is separate from the later evening raffle). There about 2 or 3 prizes for the children.
THE MAIN WALK (9.30pm – Orchard Place)
Is £3 per adult. £1 per child. Evening raffle for the ‘famous’ tankard & 6 other prizes. Is £1 per ticket. Drawn 11.30pm approx outside Duke of York Inn.
Tim
Please can we have details for December maga asap – ring me
Paul
Hi Paul,
I’ve forwarded your message to Tim by email – it came through to calendarcustoms, which isn’t connected to the organisation of the event!
Best wishes,
Averil
Hi Averil,
The blurb is fine for 2015 – only we’re at the Village Hall (ST12 9AA) for the Children’s Wassail at 4.30pm (it will last about half an hour). Many thanks for your support. Kind regards Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the update – have amended the Children’s wassail venue so should be all OK! Looking forward to coming myself one year (this year we’re up at Comrie for the Flambeaux but maybe next time!!)
Hope it all goes well and that you have a good time,
Averil
We are going ahead with the 2021 programme… check our Facebook page for details… 9.30pm the walk Barlaston Green carpark… 10.30pm the play, Upper House, Barlaston – it’s a free for all and the general public will be reading from scripts (so in sense we’re the only impromptu mumming play in the UK? as well as being a unique wassail/ not strictly a wassail in the conventional sense!)… 11.15pm… the fire finale outside the Duke of York, Barlaston…
Hello, is there a Wassailing on for 2022-3? Same time/place?
Yes it’s on -31 December 2022-all the details are under the Helpful Hints heading 😀