The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Wassail Wear and Whimple
Wassail queens assemble at Taunton Castle before returning to their respective orchards.
From the collection of:
Overview
Here we come a-wassailing or a-fashionista-ring! Wassail queens assemble at Taunton Castle and model the new old style costumes combining medieval chic with 1970s style topped off by embroidered designs inspired by nature. A traditional wassail in Whimple is held on old Twelfth Night of 17 January with the incantation Here's to thee, old apple tree, That blossoms well, bears well. Hats full, caps full, Three bushel bags full, An' all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah!
Wassailing ceremonies are thought to have pagan origins and sing in the spring season. Celebrated on Twelfth Night, the ritual involves dressing up, nominating a king and a queen, processing to music and chanting to the apple trees in the orchard before the wassail queen is lifted to place bread soaked in the previous season’s cider atop the tree trunk. This appeases the tree spirits (think of the Ents in Lord of the Rings). Shots may be fired skywood and revellers then share in hot spiced cider with sops of bread from a communal wassail bowl. In Shakepeare’s time mead created by fermenting honey with water with roasted crab apples would have been the wassail of choice. So forget dry January, become a wassailer!
Related
Watch for free
Rien ne va plus at El Matador Rien ne va plus at El Matador
Current affairs 1962 4 mins Location: Taunton
Everything is going very well at El Matador Club where gambling forms part of a growing leisure activity.
Watch for free
Taunton College of Art Fashion Show Taunton College of Art Fashion Show
Current affairs 1975 2 mins Silent Location: Taunton
Students at the College of Art in Taunton hold an end of year fashion show with eye-catching futuristic designs.
Watch for free
One Per Cent of Us - One in a Hundred One Per Cent of Us - One in a Hundred
Current affairs 1986 52 mins Location: Plymouth
This documentary charts the progress and challenges of disabled people living in the community.
Watch for free
Taunton Jazz Festival Taunton Jazz Festival
Current affairs 1962 12 mins Location: Taunton
Notable interviews are with some of the greatest jazz talent as music lovers gather to celebrate jazz, trad and free.
Watch for free
Da Vinci's Wingman Da Vinci's Wingman
Current affairs 1961 3 mins Silent Location: Taunton
An eccentric Englishman looks to achieve winged flight inspired by Leonardo
Watch for free
Olympic Silver for Fencer Bill Hoskyns Olympic Silver for Fencer Bill Hoskyns
Current affairs 1964 1 mins Silent Location: Taunton
Bill Hoskyns stays en garde for the local press
Watch for free
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Watch for free
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.