Colganology2: Scenes from an Imaginary Folk Festival #3

Another character has been added to the crowd - the Mock Mayor (and his 'horse'). Here's the sketch.

The Mock Mayor, or Sham Mayor, was once a popular comedy performer at May Fairs all over the UK. He (or she) was usually elected by a popular vote and then proceeded to act as a kind of ‘Lord of Misrule’ character, parodying the official office of mayor and doing things that the real incumbent can’t. This usually involved wearing something approximating a mayor’s outfit, singing, carousing, telling jokes and generally acting the fool. Some folklorists believe that the tradition harks back to the Roman festival of Saturnalia but it’s far from certain. At Saturnalia, a slave was often elevated to the rank of Mock Emperor for one day and treated with all due deference until the end of their short reign. They were then sacrificed to the gods, presumably to fool them into thinking that a person of real worth had been killed as an act of devotion. It doesn’t say much for the gods if they were so easily tricked.

In my home county of Cornwall, a Mock Mayor is stillelected at Mylor, Polperro, St Germans and other places. In Penzance, during Mazey Day, he/she is known as Mayor of the Quay. In my home time of Helston there's a Mock Mayor that takes part in the traditional Hal an Tow every May 8th.

The Mock Mayor by Robert William Buss (Brampton Museum)

The Mayor sometimes has a hobby horse too. The Mock Mayor of Helston looks like this and he has a hobby horse donkey.

Hobby Horses - or ‘Obby ‘Osses – are another common addition to May celebrations. The term ‘Hobby Horse’ comes from the common name for a small or middle-sized horse or pony. There are three general types. The first is the Tourney Horse, which looks like a person riding a small horse. An oval frame is suspended around the waist with a skirt or caparison draped over it. These horses often have a carved wooden head with snapping jaws. The Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss is a very stylised form of Tourney, as is the 'oss that attends the Hunting of the Earl of Rone in Combe Martin, Devon.

The second type is a Sieve Horse, which is a simpler version of the Tourney and only really known from Lincolnshire. They are made from a farm sieve frame, with head and tail attached, suspended from the performer's shoulders.

The third type is the Mast Horse which has a head on a pole. This can be a carved head or a real horse skull. The jaw is usually hinged and the person carrying the mast wears a costume to disguise them. Hobby horses like these appear commonly in Welsh and Cornish festivals (e.g. the Mari Lwyd of Wales and the 'osses Pen Hood and Penglaz that appear in the Penzance Montol and Golowan festivals).

I began this figure as always with an armature of wire and tin foil covered in clay. I also carved out a basic flat horse head shape and gave these a first bake. Then I started to add the detail.

I knew this figure would be the most challenging yet as it would involve sculting a face (the previous characters were all masked) ... and I'm not a sculptor. However, I think I got some character in there. I then had to figure out how to make a tricorn hat - basically it's like a large round wide-brimmed sun hat folded upwards in three places.

I gave him a neckktie, a coat, some terrible boots (I REALLY need to work on sculpting feet). Then I gave the horse some eyes, a mane, ears and harness and did a second bake.

Lastly, I added epaulettes, badges, a chain of office, and few patches - a Mock Mayor's finery should always be a liuttle shabby. One more bake and it was on to the painting.