Every Wakes Monday, in living history, the sleepy village of Abbots Bromley, in Staffordshire, comes alive. Hundreds of visitors join the local residents in crowding along its ancient streets. They are all waiting for the same thing. It's a folk dance whose origins are lost in the mists of time, though plenty have theories about it. It's a ritual dance, which harks back to Pagan times; or a victory dance, celebrating the gaining of rights long forgotten; or simply a show of strength against the wild hunt. Nobody knows for certain, but the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance goes on. It was performed this year on September 12th, 2011.
What is the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance?
The dancers are traditionally all male. Six carry the eponymous reindeer horns, which have been carbon dated to within eighty years either side of 1065. Another six men have roles to play. There is the Fool, carrying his pig's bladder on a stick, who leads the whole procession. There is 'Maid Marian', alongside a boy with a bow and arrow. They both stylistically attack, and ultimately kill, the Hobby Horse. There is a musician and his boy. In past days, they played the fiddle and the drum. Now it's an accordion and a triangle. They form the troop of twelve required for the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, though today the addition of a melodeon player has made it thirteen.
The ritual begins at 7am, on 'the Monday following the first Sunday after the 4th of September', with a service of Holy Communion, in St Nicholas Church, in the village. This is where the antlers are kept throughout the rest of the year and they are taken from their rack with great ceremony. By 8.15am, the dancers are ready. They are wearing their costumes and holding their props - the antlers, the pig's bladder, the weapons, the instruments - and they leave in procession to the Village Green.
The horn dance is performed for the first time that day. It appears akin to a Morris or barn dance, with the antlered men lining up in two rows facing one another. They approach, then retreat, before weaving in and out. They raise the antlers high, before clutching them to their chests. The lines split into two, wheeling around in circles, then spirals. Yet a closer inspection shows a story playing out here too. The Hobby Horse is chasing the herd of reindeer. Maid Marian and the young archer are sacrificing the horse. The Fool goes where he will; the musicians play a wild tune and the beat goes on.
For the next twelve hours, the horn dancers will trek around Abbots Bromley and further afield, in the surrounding lanes and up into Blithfield Hall, the home of Lady Bagot. They will repeat their dance seventeen times, in the same scheduled locations as they do every year. Until, at 8.15pm, the antlers are returned to the care of the church; and the Compline (Night Prayer) ends the ritual for another year.
How Old is the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance?
In 1976, the tip of an antler broke off during the annual horn dance. The village took the opportunity to send it to the University of Birmingham for carbon dating. The result surprised everyone, as it had been assumed that the horns were Victorian. They weren't. A stag shed those antlers sometime around 1065. The horns, which are still used today, were picked up at around the time that William the Conqueror was eyeing Saxon England for himself.
Of course, that does not necessarily mean that the horn dance dates from the same historical period, though no-one knows for sure. Traditionally, it began at the St Bartholomew Day's Fair, on August 24th, 1226, though that doesn't explain why the antlers were collected over 200 years before. Shakespeare may have referenced the Abbots Bromley horn dance in As You Like It, written in 1599. Sir Simon Degge, a judge born in nearby Uttoxeter, in 1612, wrote about the dance. He said that, in his childhood, he had 'oft seen it' performed.
Unfortunately, there was a definite break in the annual dance in the 17th century. During the Commonwealth period, music and dancing were prohibited in Puritan Britain, thus the antlers stayed on the walls of the church. Given the vandalism of the time, with many Catholic icons smashed in churches throughout the nation, it is a wonder that these horns survived. Perhaps somebody hid them.
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in 2011.
There was a carnival atmosphere in Abbots Bromley, on September 12th, 2011. Enterprising local residents were selling burgers, cakes, pea soup and tea from tables set up outside their homes. All around the Buttercross, traders had their own stalls. Visitors browsed the books, Aloe Vera products, Morris dancing accessories and CDs, horn dancing merchandise, jumble and tombola. Peter Grassby, who plays the melodeon for the horn dance, had someone minding his pitch here too. He repairs instruments.
In front of the timber framed pub, The Goat's Head, Steve Swinnerton had brought two Swedish reindeer to meet the public. There was a constant stream of people exclaiming, "I didn't know that antlers had fur!" Mr Swinnerton took it all in his stride, answering questions about the animals. The reindeer, Tide and Butch, were equally unconcerned, posing for countless photographs. They were probably used to it, as they come from Animal Enterprises, based in nearby Blithbury, which is a company that hires creatures for film and TV appearances, amongst other things. They were all here today to add context to the antlers dancing down the streets; and incidentally to raise money for Acorns Children's Hospice.
The high winds of the approaching Cyclone Katria might have put some visitors off in the morning, but by afternoon, the sun beat down. Regardless of any extremes of weather, the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance goes on.
Sources:
- Abbots Bromley Parish Council, The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. (Malcolm Barnes, 2011.)
- Animal Enterprises.
- Personal visit to Abbots Bromley, during the Horn Dance, on September 12th, 2011.
- ER Shipman, The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. (The Benhill Press Limited, 1982.)
- The Horn Dance of Abbots Bromley.
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
