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16 November 2009
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Moonraking: The Folklore
• Maypoles
Morris dancers

Maypoles were once a common sight in Wiltshire's villages - now there are hardly any.

They haven't always been popular - following an Act of Parliament in 1644, many were removed, since their association with pagan fertility rights was deemed by the Puritans as amoral and somewhat heathen.

One of the largest poles was a feature in the village of Ansty, in south Wiltshire.

Ansty maypole

Over the generations, hundreds of children danced around the 70-foot pole on May Day but following the storms of 1993, the pole came crashing to the ground.

The replacement poll is no match for the height of the original Ansty Pole, after the original was deemed to be too high to be safe!

Multimedia

GALLERY:
Click here for The Moonraking Gallery

Add Your View

Name:

Comment:

Heather Bass
Wow! A seventy foot maypole...must have been a man that put that one up...or a wishful lady. Thankyou so much for sharing.

Linda Durno
Does anyone know where you can buy maypoles?

charlotte prescott
have you got anyting on maypoles in salzburg

 

 

   

FOLKLORE

Beltane
Spring Equinox
Winter Solstice
Community History
The Celtic Wheel
Black Dogs
Moonraking
Name-calling
Oak Apple Day
Flying monk
Devilish Wiltshire
The ghostly fair
Maypoles

SEE ALSO

The Landscape

Spooky Stuff

The Folklore

What does it all mean?

The Gallery

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Strange Britain

Wiltshire Myths and Legends

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CONTACT

BBC Wiltshire
Broadcasting House
56-58 Prospect Place
Swindon
Wilts
SN1 3RW
Telephone: 01793 513626
E-mail: wiltshire@bbc.co.uk

 


BBC Wiltshire, Broadcasting House, 56-58 Prospect Place, Swindon, Wilts, SN1 3RW
Telephone: 01793 513626 | E-mail: wiltshire@bbc.co.uk


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