| Where: | Formerly at Great Wishford, Wiltshire at St Giles' Church on South Street |
| When: | Formerly Rogation Monday |
| Time: | Formerly at Sunset (around 9pm) |
Great Wishford in Wiltshire was the setting for one of Britain’s unusual annual property auctions, for the summer grazing of two water-meadows. Just before sunset, bidders assembled at the church and the auction began; the churchwarden watched the sun and as soon as it sank below the horizon he hit the church gate using his key as a gavel to end the sale.
Helpful Hints
Sadly this custom has very recently lapsed due to a lack of bidders. However if the situation changes, the Churchwardens are very willing to revive it so watch this space….
Rogation Monday varies in date becasue it is linked to Easter, which is a moveable feast; it usually falls during May.
Photo by Moira Clunie.
View this location on the map.
Made an 8 hour round trip to witness the ceremony, only to find that nobody in the village was aware of the custom. What a disappointment!
Hi Anna,
What a shame! I’ve just emailed the churchwarden who gave me the information about the custom as it’s usually carried out today, to see what happened this year. It was winter 2012 when he told me about it, and I haven’t contacted him since then, when he told me I had the right date, time etc for the 2013 season. I’ll let you know what I find out,
Best Wishes,
Averil
Hello again Anna!
I’ve just had a reply from my inquiry to the Churchwarden at Wishford apologising for not letting me know that the custom has now lapsed as last time, nobody turned up to bid against their postal bidder so no auction could take place. He says he’ll let me know if it gets revived in future but in the meantime it’s sadly a Lapsed Custom rather than a current one.If only they’d kept it going one year longer you could have bid and it might have continued!! Thanks for letting me know about it – sharing info like this is important as you know how disappointing it can be to turn up when nothing happens. Hope your next custom visit is fabulous and well attended!
Very best wishes,
Averil
Dear Averil,
Thank you so much for your information.
All I had was people looking at me blankly when I asked. The rector’s wife mentioned that her husband was abroad but did not say that the custom had been discontinued.
In contrast, the village of Aldermaston makes a lot of its candle auction and in Bourne (Lincs) I attended the meadow running auction, which included an appearance by a local mumming group, providing a lot of fun and colour.
Best wishes,
Anna
Thanks Anna,
Maybe the custom would be able to continue if it was more widely known locally! I’m so pleased you drew this to my attention otherwise other visitors might have been disappointed in future until I found out – I try to contact organisers particularly of more low-key events at intervals to make sure things are happening in the same way , but try not to do it too often in case I become a nuisance. I’ve asked the Churhwardens to let me know if they start it up again – you never know, they might sometime, but I get the feeling that it’s harder to revive something that’s stopped than continue an existing custom. It’s surprising just how many events die out – fortunately there always seems to be a supply of new ones coming up!
Best wishes,
Averil