Village to dance round maypole to the clang of heavy metal
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Village to dance round maypole to the clang of heavy metal
From the Barwicker No.102
June 2011
The above is the headline in an article in The Guardian of 4 May 1992.
We have always been used to a wooden maypole in Barwick and before every raising ceremony the maypole has to come down at Easter for it to be examined, re-furbished where necessary and generally looked after. If it was damaged in any way and couldn't be repaired it would be replaced by a new pole. Imagine what it would be like if the pole itself was made of steel!
This is what happened in 1992 in the village of Sinnington, North Yorkshire.
Fungus had made the maypole in Sinnington unstable so the Yorkshire village decided to replace it with Britain's first maypole made from steel which was actually a 45ft adapted street lamp. They hooked a metal collar around the new pole so that ribbons could be attached. According to their Maypole Committee at that time the wooden poles were only replaced over 25 to 30 years. However the last wooden pole in the village only survived for six years when it was considered unsafe so was thus exchanged for a steel pole.
Sinnington was very proud of the fact that it has had a maypole for hundreds of years. During the Commonwealth period the villagers chased a group of Puritans who tried to stop the celebrations.
There is a short article in The Barwicker No. 69 (March 2003) which gives more information about the customs of the maypole at Sinnington. In the past the usual custom was to erect the maypole in the middle of the village green, but Barwick does not have a village green. So the question is was there ever a village green in Barwick-in-Elmet. Anyone care to find out?
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