Christmas Eve, Devil's Bells and Ashen Faggots

Many things are going on today - quite apart from it being Christmas Eve.

In the parish church of Dewsbury, Yorkshire, a team of bell ringers will be Tolling the Devil's Knell. That means ringing the tenor bell known as ‘Black Tom of Soothill’. Starting at around 10.30 pm, the bell-ringers toll the bell once for every year since Christ was born – it takes a while to get through but it is meticulously counted and the final stroke is timed for midnight. Legend has it the practice began in the 13th century when Thomas de Soothill, a local baron, killed a servant boy. As penance he gave a bell to All Saint’s Church and ordered it rung every Christmas to remind him of his crime. After midnight Black Tom is rung once more to remind the Devil of his defeat by the birth of Christ and to protect the town from evil for the coming year.

You can watch all 2015 peals rung in 2015 by clicking here if you're so inclined but here's a shorter video:.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Yorkshire, The Poor Old Hoss of Richmond will be on its rounds. T’Owd ‘Oss (as he is locally known) is a hobby horse with a real horse-skull on a pole. He is accompanied by a group of mummers in huntsmen costumes who sing his special song and bring him back to life with a blast on a hunting horn when he 'dies'. The day begins with a morning get-together of the participants at a local pub and most of the action takes place around the Market Place area, in and out of the pubs and the bank. There is a special session at the Town Hall aimed at children which will hopefully keep the custom alive and kicking for future generations. The custom is believed to have pagan origins, with known records dating back to the Seventeenth Century. In the lead up to Christmas, the group also tour local villages. 

Further south in the West Country we find the Dunster & Axmouth Ashen Faggot. The Ashen Faggot is a large log bound with withies (a flexible willow stem used in basket making and other things) which is burned indoors in the hearth. A sip of alcohol - I highly recommend a warmed home-made sloe gin - is taken as each withy breaks in the flames. The practice still survives in country pubs notably the Lutrell Arms in Dunster, Somerset,  and the Harbour Inn at Axmouth in Devon and in both these cases, the burning normally takes place on Christmas Eve (in some other locations it takes place on January 5th or 17th which are Old Christmas Eve and Old Twelfth Night respectively, if you adhere to the pre-Gregorian calendar). At Dunster their faggot consists of twelve thick sticks bound in a bundle using ash withies and the Dunster Carol is sung while it burns in the vast fireplace. It’s a revived custom dating back to the 1930s but with much older roots. At Axmouth a six-foot-long faggot is constructed in a bundle of hazel twigs. As the faggot burns carol singing and recitations take place. 

And here's the wonderful Shirley Collins singing the Ashen Faggot Wassail:

Happy Christmas Eve!