Hocktide is the period covering the Monday and Tuesday after Easter and was once the first major festival day after Lent. It was a time for sports and games as well as a day for the collection and payment of rent and dues. Nowadays it passes almost unnoticed.
Except in Hungerford.
Hocktide day in Hungerford is called Tutti-Day (pronounced with a ‘tut’ and not 'toot’) and confined to the second Tuesday after Easter.
Back in the Fourteenth Century, John of Gaunt gave Hungerford special hunting and fishing rights and the festival is the commemoration and continuation of this by the townsfolk – around 100 properties still have commoners rights and their owners are the Commoners of the Court.
On Hocktide Day the festivities begin with the appearance of the Bellman on the Town Hall balcony at 8am, summoning the Commoners to Court, and then going about the town. The special court is held upstairs at the Town Hall in the morning chaired by the Constable. Meanwhile, two uniformed 'Tutti-Men' (who could be male or female) carrying flower-decorated poles with an orange on top visit the commoners’ houses. They are accompanied by the Orangeman and 'Tutti Wenches' who give out oranges and ask for donations or kisses en route throughout the day.
A Commoners Lunch takes place during the afternoon at the Corn Exchange where you can expect expect speeches, toasts and the tasty but lethal Plantagenet Punch. The meal is followed by Shoeing the Colts, during which first-time visitors have a horseshoe nailed to their heel by the blacksmith until they call 'Punch!' The residents particularly enjoy watching Colts being wrestled to the ground for their shoeing, but they’re gentler with ladies who get to sit on a chair.
After the fun and frolics, anchovies on toast are served at the Three Swans pub after 5pm then further serious drinking takes place with the return of the Tutti-Men from their rounds around 9pm. The local band also play free of charge during the evening at the Corn Exchange.
It's quite a day.
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