Minehead Hobby Horse Parade
Minehead Hobby Horse Parade
On May Day Eve the horse sets out promptly at midnight, ending up at Whitecross (a crossroads to the west of town, the former site of a maypole) on May Day morning. Later in the afternoon the group goes to the nearby village of Dunster and pays its respects to the lord of the local castle. The hobby horse performs again in the square at Dunster that evening.
A similar ceremony is held in Padstow, Cornwall, where "Old 'Obby 'Oss" is a ferocious-looking monster with snapping jaws and sharp teeth. During the dance that represents the culmination of the Padstow ceremony, the horse goes through a ritualistic death and rebirth—an indication, perhaps, of the ceremony's roots in ancient fertility rites driving out winter and welcoming spring.
Minehead Tourist Information Centre
17 Friday St.
Minehead, Somerset TA24 5DJ United Kingdom
44-84-5345-2465; fax: 44-16-4370-7166
Padstow Tourist Information Centre
North Quay
Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8AF United Kingdom
44-18-4153-3449; fax: 44-18-4153-2356
home.freeuk.net
BkHolWrld-1986, May 2
OxYear-1999, p. 188
YrbookEngFest-1954, pp. 48, 51