Wiltshire Folk Arts
Contact Us :
Wiltshire Folk Arts
19 Whistley Road, Potterne, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 5QY
email: mail@wiltshirefolkarts .org.uk
Office: 01380 726597
Bob : 07714 550990
Mumming
Due to severe restrictions caused by the new Licensing Act, this Christmas the Potterne Mummers
can only perform in 5 venues instead of the original 23.
Do come and support us if you can.
Wed 20th Dec 06 |
The Crown Inn, Everleigh 9.45 pm |
Thu 21st Dec 06 |
The New Inn, Coate 9.05 pm |
Sat 23rd Dec 06 |
White Bear, Devizes 9.15 pm |
Sun 24th Dec 06 |
The Stage Post ,West Lavington 8.30 pm |
We will be putting up a full report with things you can do to help keep this in people's minds shortly after Christmas.
“ In Comes I ”
In Wiltshire there are several old Mumming plays - Inglesham Christmas Play - 1840 to 1850, Christmas Boys or Mummers, Potterne, 1876-1890 and Mummers’ Play from Alton Barnes (Wiltshire) 1930.
Since the turn of the last Century (1900) several more have been revived or written. Amongst them are Swindon, Ragged Heroes from Chippenham, Salisbury and lately we've heard of another one just starting in Chippenham.
English folk play texts are mostly performed in rhyme and sometime contain snatches of song, usually written specifically for that part in the play.
The main aim these days is to collect money for charity but in days afore the charity was usually the performers themselves. Hence the common line "Give us your money, or give us some Beer and we'll no more come nigh you until the next year"
“ The Christmas Boys are here! ”
A short resume of a typical mummers play, by Nigel Owen - the Valiant Soldier in the Potterne Mummers :
The bell sounds bright and the pub waits. The Mummers are announced, and in comes Father Christmas, in his long white night-shirt and scruffy top hat, leaning on his stick, with a hump on his back. He speaks of beef and beer, and calls in King George, the hero.
A tall, bold man, in a long rag tatter coat and a gold crown, carrying a sword and shield. King George silences the crowd, and calls in old Turkey Snipe.
With a rage of an entrance and a blur of moving tatters, clutching the biggest curved sword you ever saw, he challenges King George. They fight, blow by heavy blow, narrowly missing the pub regulars, till George finds his mark and Turkey Snipe lies dead on the scrubbed floor boards, just in front of the fire.
The Spanish Doctor comes in, a mystery all in black, and carrying a small case, from which he produces a bottle to cure all ills. He shoves the bottle down the throat of the Turkey Snipe, who miraculously jumps up, and leads them all in a song to revive the spirits. The crowd hesitates, unsure if this is the end, but suddenly the Doctor calls in Old Almanack, and faces turn again to the door.
Beneath a heap of ragged tatters, an old man struggles into the room, walking with an old gnarled stick. He boasts of his big head and little wit, but with him still being "the best man amongst ye all", showing his knuckles to the Doctor, who pushes him away, and calls in the next champion.
Enter the Valiant Soldier, who boasts of his heroic fights, until he sees Father Christmas. He instantly launches into the old man, and runs him through with his sword, leaving King George to call for a Doctor again. But before the Spanish Doctor can come to his aid, the Soldier exclaiming "I am a doctor" ! He hits Father Christmas three times across the back with the flat of his sword, and the old man is revived again, and joins the company in song.
Then the soldier turns to the door, and calls in Little Man Jack. Poor, cold, and bowed, he staggers in, carrying his family on his back. His tale of loss is the saddest of all, yet when he challenges the company, the soldier takes offence and joins to fight him. Father Christmas quickly separates them, and reminds all that it is the time of good cheer, and suggests a rousing song will get the locals to part with money or beer, so they sing: "We're seven jolly boys, come here to do our play, and when as we have done our bit, we'll all us go away".
The Christmas boys then parade round in a circle, singing proudly, until they head to the door, with a final "Merry Christmas". Father Christmas goes round with the hat, and, this being a happy ending, the landlord pours a fine glass of foaming ale for each of the mummers.
“ Out Goes I ”
Key characters in the plays include the heroes, who vary somewhat, and are usually King or St.George and father Christmas. The adversaries include Valiant Soldier, Turkey Snipe (Turkish Knight) and there are usually several others that drop in that include Little Man Jack, Little Man John and old Almanac and there is always a Quack Doctor, who carries the reviving elixir brought in to revive the loser of the sword fight between a hero and an adversary.
The Potterne play was revived in 1953 by a local schoolteacher, Bernard Baker, and has been kept going by Mick Hiscock, The Moonraker Morris, and others since. They usually go out on four or five nights in the week before Christmas, visiting between two and four local pubs each night, either in Devizes, or the surrounding villages. We always finish on Christmas Eve, at around 9pm, in the George and Dragon, currently the only pub in the village of Potterne. (The Bell closed soon after our appearance there in 2000 !)
The Inglesham Play collected by Alfred Williams and performed 1840 to 1850 had the following characters in it:
Tanner / Arthur O'Bran / Arthur
a Brand / Arthur a Bland
Robin Hood
Little John
Doctor / Mr. Cleverlegs
Jack Vinney / Mr. Vinney / John
The cast in Alton Barnes in 1930, collected by Douglas Kennedy, had this unlikely lot in it:
Father Christmas / No.1
King William / No.2 / King William King / William the King.
Turkey Snipe / No.3
Doctor / No.4 / Spanish Doctor
Valiant Soldier / No.5 / Whip Him and Slash Him
Saucy Jack / No.6
Little Twing Twang / No.7
As you can see, even in one county alone there is much variation and with each year there are, of course, the usual extras thrown in to fit with local history and humour. However the original story is in there somewhere, albeit somewhat disguised.
A really good link to more about the Potterne Mummers and other folk/mumming plays around the world is here : http://www.folkplay.info/
Moonraker Morris can be found at :
http://uk.geocities.com/mmorris01uk/
And Peter Millington's website is at :
http://freespace.virgin.net/ peter.millington1/
Mumming
There are the following specific plays in Wiltshire :
Potterne
Inglesham
White Horse
Quidhampton
Ragged Heroes
Swindon
Alton Barnes
In Comes I
Brief history of plays in Wiltshire ...
Christmas Boys !
Description of a performance...
Out Goes I
Background and Links ...