Special Costumes: Abbots Bromley, Castleton Garland, Jack in the Green
Special Costumes
Abbots Bromley – Staffordshire
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is an iconic English folk tradition. The dancers perform carrying reindeer horns which are mounted on wooden heads and attached to a pole. The antlers/horns are very ancient and date back to the 11th century. They have been painted over the years red and white, blue and white and now brown and off white. In the past the dancers wore their ordinary clothes with pink and white rosettes added to them, but in the 1880s special costumes were designed by Mrs Lowe the local vicar’s wife. This style of costume has now become traditional and when the costumes are updated they are made in a very old style so that they look as though they have been around since the 1600s.
Jack in the Green – Nationwide
A Jack in the Green is a person covered in a large frame which is cone shaped. ‘Jacks’ can now be seen at May day festivals across England where they are often the key figure in a procession, often involving music and dance. The frame sits upon the wearer’s shoulders normally with a cut out area around the face. The frame is normally densely covered with hundreds of leaves. Modern costumes are based on descriptions of Jacks from the 1700s and 1800s. The Jack appears to have been created by chimney sweeps as one of a number of characters (including a lord and lady) who would process through London on the first of May as a cadging activity. Towns throughout England now have their own Jack. The most famous is the Hastings Jack in the Green.
Castleton Garland Ceremony – Derbyshire
The Castleton Garland Ceremony from Derbyshire is performed annually on Oak Apple Day (May 29). Garlands are flowers attached to a wicker framework – a cross between basket making and flower display. The creation and processing of garlands, was a common mayday activity. The Castleton Garland Ceremony involves the hoisting of a large flowered garland which totally covers the face and torso of the wearer to the top of the church tower. The wearer of the garland is called the King he processes through the town with the Queen. They are both dressed in fancy historical clothes and process through the streets on large shire horses before the garland is placed on the shoulders of the King. The costume of the King and Queen have changed over time, originally the Queen was played by a man, he had a shawl and a special bonnet but also trousers (see The Fool). The King used to wear a shirt covered in rosettes and ribbons, with a servants livery, or smart uniform coat which had belonged to a coachman. Like the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance the costumes appear to have been re-designed to look historical in the late 19th century.
Key words
Bonnet, cadging, iconic, reindeer horns, ribbons, rosettes, uniform, oak apple