They usually call walled-up doors in churches Devil door's. That's 19th century nonsense. Down in the south of
Hookland we call them Wake or Rushlight doors, remember them in rushbearing rotations. Well, we don't remember them, but the ghosts walking through them with rushes do. – Jo Cope
Hookland we call them Wake or Rushlight doors, remember them in rushbearing rotations. Well, we don't remember them, but the ghosts walking through them with rushes do. – Jo Cope
August 14, 2026 at 5:40 PM
They usually call walled-up doors in churches Devil door's. That's 19th century nonsense. Down in the south of
Hookland we call them Wake or Rushlight doors, remember them in rushbearing rotations. Well, we don't remember them, but the ghosts walking through them with rushes do. – Jo Cope
Hookland we call them Wake or Rushlight doors, remember them in rushbearing rotations. Well, we don't remember them, but the ghosts walking through them with rushes do. – Jo Cope
The Grasmere Rushbearing, by Frank Bramley, 1857-1915 (National Trust, The Lake District). #NorthernArt
January 15, 2025 at 8:04 AM
The Grasmere Rushbearing, by Frank Bramley, 1857-1915 (National Trust, The Lake District). #NorthernArt
The 2025 Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival
September 7, 2025 at 9:18 PM
The 2025 Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival
In 1617, James I stayed at Hoghton Tower and was shown a traditional 'rushbearing'. Told by local gentry that some Lancashire JPs were trying to clamp down on such festivities, the king decided to issue a 'Declaration of Sports' for the county, which eventually became the 1633 'Book of Sports'.
📅#OTD 1643, Hoghton Tower in #Lancashire surrenders to the Parliamentarians.
As the victors pour in, an explosion of gunpowder kills 100 of them.
It's claimed either the soldiers were drunk & sparked it with lighted match or pipes, or that it was a devious royalist trap
As the victors pour in, an explosion of gunpowder kills 100 of them.
It's claimed either the soldiers were drunk & sparked it with lighted match or pipes, or that it was a devious royalist trap
February 14, 2025 at 9:43 AM
In 1617, James I stayed at Hoghton Tower and was shown a traditional 'rushbearing'. Told by local gentry that some Lancashire JPs were trying to clamp down on such festivities, the king decided to issue a 'Declaration of Sports' for the county, which eventually became the 1633 'Book of Sports'.
This is actually the quickest and most reliable mode of public transport in the north of England nowdays
September 6, 2026 at 1:10 PM
This is actually the quickest and most reliable mode of public transport in the north of England nowdays
From my Morris dancing days.
December 5, 2025 at 9:41 AM
From my Morris dancing days.
religious feasts transformed into secular community festivals featuring rush-bearing, sports, and fairs. The Industrial Revolution reshaped the tradition. Textile mill owners adopted wakes as scheduled, unpaid maintenance closures. Entire industrial towns shut down at once,
July 19, 2026 at 5:45 AM
religious feasts transformed into secular community festivals featuring rush-bearing, sports, and fairs. The Industrial Revolution reshaped the tradition. Textile mill owners adopted wakes as scheduled, unpaid maintenance closures. Entire industrial towns shut down at once,
August 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
🌿 !Church Folk! 🌿
While visiting Ambleside earlier, I took a gander in St. Mary’s Parish and found this mural, painted in 1944, depicting the centuries old annual village rush-bearing ceremony which continues to take place on first Saturday of July...
While visiting Ambleside earlier, I took a gander in St. Mary’s Parish and found this mural, painted in 1944, depicting the centuries old annual village rush-bearing ceremony which continues to take place on first Saturday of July...
September 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
🌿 !Church Folk! 🌿
While visiting Ambleside earlier, I took a gander in St. Mary’s Parish and found this mural, painted in 1944, depicting the centuries old annual village rush-bearing ceremony which continues to take place on first Saturday of July...
While visiting Ambleside earlier, I took a gander in St. Mary’s Parish and found this mural, painted in 1944, depicting the centuries old annual village rush-bearing ceremony which continues to take place on first Saturday of July...
Sowerby Bridge #rushbearing with the Rushcart, Brass Band, #morrisdancers and mummers #calderdale #Culturedale
September 6, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Sowerby Bridge #rushbearing with the Rushcart, Brass Band, #morrisdancers and mummers #calderdale #Culturedale
I met Richard Hardisty, whose great-uncle, Johnnie Hodgson, played the fiddle in several of the Grasmere Dialect Plays. Here's Richard holding a photo (which he hadn't seen before) of his great-uncle (far left) - in the rushbearing scene from "On Second Thoughts" (1924)
August 14, 2025 at 10:45 AM
I met Richard Hardisty, whose great-uncle, Johnnie Hodgson, played the fiddle in several of the Grasmere Dialect Plays. Here's Richard holding a photo (which he hadn't seen before) of his great-uncle (far left) - in the rushbearing scene from "On Second Thoughts" (1924)
Today is International (6)
Victorian Cricket
Victorian Mine Accidents
Victorian Automation machines
Victorian Rushbearing
Victorian Fairs
Victorian Picnics
Victorian Heatwaves
Victorian Chalk in bread
Victorian animal hoaxes
Victorian Moustache shaped guards
Victorian Cricket
Victorian Mine Accidents
Victorian Automation machines
Victorian Rushbearing
Victorian Fairs
Victorian Picnics
Victorian Heatwaves
Victorian Chalk in bread
Victorian animal hoaxes
Victorian Moustache shaped guards
August 11, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Today is International (6)
Victorian Cricket
Victorian Mine Accidents
Victorian Automation machines
Victorian Rushbearing
Victorian Fairs
Victorian Picnics
Victorian Heatwaves
Victorian Chalk in bread
Victorian animal hoaxes
Victorian Moustache shaped guards
Victorian Cricket
Victorian Mine Accidents
Victorian Automation machines
Victorian Rushbearing
Victorian Fairs
Victorian Picnics
Victorian Heatwaves
Victorian Chalk in bread
Victorian animal hoaxes
Victorian Moustache shaped guards
If you are here over the weekend of the and the 8th, Sowerby Bridge has their Rushbearing festival.
rushbearing.com
rushbearing.com
Home | Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing
rushbearing.com
February 17, 2025 at 9:30 PM
If you are here over the weekend of the and the 8th, Sowerby Bridge has their Rushbearing festival.
rushbearing.com
rushbearing.com
Exciting news: I've got a 3-page article on the Grasmere Dialect Plays in the Oct 2025 issue of 'Cumbria Life' magazine! Really hoping this will bring them to a wider audience @drpennybradshaw.bsky.social @countrystride.bsky.social
For more on the Plays, head over to @grasdialectplays.bsky.social
For more on the Plays, head over to @grasdialectplays.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Exciting news: I've got a 3-page article on the Grasmere Dialect Plays in the Oct 2025 issue of 'Cumbria Life' magazine! Really hoping this will bring them to a wider audience @drpennybradshaw.bsky.social @countrystride.bsky.social
For more on the Plays, head over to @grasdialectplays.bsky.social
For more on the Plays, head over to @grasdialectplays.bsky.social
It's not every day you're given decorated bearings, hand-made with rushes from Wet Sleddale. Thank you so much, Jean Scott-Smith, President of the Lakeland Dialect Society
The flower-decked sheafs are traditional in the Grasmere rushbearing, which features in the Grasmere Dialect Plays #LakeDistrict
The flower-decked sheafs are traditional in the Grasmere rushbearing, which features in the Grasmere Dialect Plays #LakeDistrict
August 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
It's not every day you're given decorated bearings, hand-made with rushes from Wet Sleddale. Thank you so much, Jean Scott-Smith, President of the Lakeland Dialect Society
The flower-decked sheafs are traditional in the Grasmere rushbearing, which features in the Grasmere Dialect Plays #LakeDistrict
The flower-decked sheafs are traditional in the Grasmere rushbearing, which features in the Grasmere Dialect Plays #LakeDistrict
Exciting news: I've got a 3-page article on the Grasmere Dialect Plays in the October 2025 issue of 'Cumbria Life' magazine! Really hoping this will bring them to a wider audience ... @drpennybradshaw.bsky.social @countrystride.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Exciting news: I've got a 3-page article on the Grasmere Dialect Plays in the October 2025 issue of 'Cumbria Life' magazine! Really hoping this will bring them to a wider audience ... @drpennybradshaw.bsky.social @countrystride.bsky.social
Heard of rushbearing?
It's an ancient tradition of laying rushes on the floor of St Osmund's Church, Grasmere. Goes a long way back. Covering clay floor with rushes is nothing new since before the Dark Ages, but I never knew one could turn it into a festival! Loved it!
#folkfestivals #Grasmere
It's an ancient tradition of laying rushes on the floor of St Osmund's Church, Grasmere. Goes a long way back. Covering clay floor with rushes is nothing new since before the Dark Ages, but I never knew one could turn it into a festival! Loved it!
#folkfestivals #Grasmere
July 12, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Heard of rushbearing?
It's an ancient tradition of laying rushes on the floor of St Osmund's Church, Grasmere. Goes a long way back. Covering clay floor with rushes is nothing new since before the Dark Ages, but I never knew one could turn it into a festival! Loved it!
#folkfestivals #Grasmere
It's an ancient tradition of laying rushes on the floor of St Osmund's Church, Grasmere. Goes a long way back. Covering clay floor with rushes is nothing new since before the Dark Ages, but I never knew one could turn it into a festival! Loved it!
#folkfestivals #Grasmere
19/07/1939 Radio Times: Featuring Oscar Rabin and His Romany Dance Band; The Leslie Bridgewater Harp Quintet; Swing Music From America; Cora Goffin in 'Going Up'; 'At The Black Dog'; Burbleton Rushbearing and more
READ: https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/ee02a3846194464488e7d279e54bd712?page=46
READ: https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/ee02a3846194464488e7d279e54bd712?page=46
July 15, 2026 at 10:10 PM
19/07/1939 Radio Times: Featuring Oscar Rabin and His Romany Dance Band; The Leslie Bridgewater Harp Quintet; Swing Music From America; Cora Goffin in 'Going Up'; 'At The Black Dog'; Burbleton Rushbearing and more
READ: https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/ee02a3846194464488e7d279e54bd712?page=46
READ: https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/ee02a3846194464488e7d279e54bd712?page=46
Thinking about last weekend. The clacking of clogs on cobbles, the jangle of morris dancers in a curry house car park. Expressions of tradition in a spirit of community togetherness.
September 14, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Thinking about last weekend. The clacking of clogs on cobbles, the jangle of morris dancers in a curry house car park. Expressions of tradition in a spirit of community togetherness.
Curious about the origins of traditional Cumbrian customs like rushbearing and pace-egging? Want to know why proposing to a sweetheart was such a "teptious" matter? Come along to our Grasmere Dialect Plays event next week & find out!
Wed 11 March, 6.15 in the Studio, @tbtlake.bsky.social
Wed 11 March, 6.15 in the Studio, @tbtlake.bsky.social
March 6, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Curious about the origins of traditional Cumbrian customs like rushbearing and pace-egging? Want to know why proposing to a sweetheart was such a "teptious" matter? Come along to our Grasmere Dialect Plays event next week & find out!
Wed 11 March, 6.15 in the Studio, @tbtlake.bsky.social
Wed 11 March, 6.15 in the Studio, @tbtlake.bsky.social
I have been reliably informed that the Sowerby Bridge rushcart has some golden balls for the 50th event.
They had their first modern Rushbearing in 1977 I think, but there was a year with two rushbearings I've been told.
Hey, I got info dumped on & now it's your turn.
They had their first modern Rushbearing in 1977 I think, but there was a year with two rushbearings I've been told.
Hey, I got info dumped on & now it's your turn.
September 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
I have been reliably informed that the Sowerby Bridge rushcart has some golden balls for the 50th event.
They had their first modern Rushbearing in 1977 I think, but there was a year with two rushbearings I've been told.
Hey, I got info dumped on & now it's your turn.
They had their first modern Rushbearing in 1977 I think, but there was a year with two rushbearings I've been told.
Hey, I got info dumped on & now it's your turn.
Apple TV has an episode of a show about Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing in a series about community events.
I've never been, am unlikely to go any time soon, but I still think it's cool.
I've never been, am unlikely to go any time soon, but I still think it's cool.
September 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Apple TV has an episode of a show about Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing in a series about community events.
I've never been, am unlikely to go any time soon, but I still think it's cool.
I've never been, am unlikely to go any time soon, but I still think it's cool.
Where are we going a-rushbearing this weekend then? Maypole and Peacock? The Nav? Puzzle? Hog’s? Bridge? Cricket clubs plus St Mary’s and St Bart’s?
September 2, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Where are we going a-rushbearing this weekend then? Maypole and Peacock? The Nav? Puzzle? Hog’s? Bridge? Cricket clubs plus St Mary’s and St Bart’s?
In my house Yorkshire Puddings are coaxed into rising by the playing of Yorkshire music.
In honour of Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing next weekend, this time we're listening to an interview with Gary Stringfellow instead.
Maybe one year I'll make it to Rushbearing.
In honour of Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing next weekend, this time we're listening to an interview with Gary Stringfellow instead.
Maybe one year I'll make it to Rushbearing.
August 30, 2026 at 4:59 PM
In my house Yorkshire Puddings are coaxed into rising by the playing of Yorkshire music.
In honour of Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing next weekend, this time we're listening to an interview with Gary Stringfellow instead.
Maybe one year I'll make it to Rushbearing.
In honour of Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing next weekend, this time we're listening to an interview with Gary Stringfellow instead.
Maybe one year I'll make it to Rushbearing.
It's been a couple of years since I was last up in Yorkshire/The North but my partner was back home for Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing last month and said he was served essentially very thick double cream with his scone.
I honestly don't understand anything other than clotted cream or butter with scones
I honestly don't understand anything other than clotted cream or butter with scones
October 19, 2025 at 8:16 AM
It's been a couple of years since I was last up in Yorkshire/The North but my partner was back home for Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing last month and said he was served essentially very thick double cream with his scone.
I honestly don't understand anything other than clotted cream or butter with scones
I honestly don't understand anything other than clotted cream or butter with scones