The Wassail Tradition at Curry Rivel

Abstract

Amongst the scores of songs that were subsequently collected in that vicinity were many examples of wassail songs. Indeed, the wassail song from the adjoining village of Drayton is the second entry in Sharp's notable collection.' Also listed as September 1903 is the song from nearby Barrington. Other versions obtained in the locality included: Stocklynch (26 December 1903), Hambridge (6 and 8 January 1904), Cannington (24 January 1907), Othery (6 April 1908), Langport (30 December 1908 and 5 January 1909) and Curry Rivel (6 January 1909). In all some two dozen or so wassail songs were collected from various parts of the county. The ancient midwinter custom of wassail singing, evidently widespread but waning at the turn of the century, traditionally involved the apple-tree wassail and/or the visiting or house-to-house wassail. The custom is generally held to be Saxon in origin-'wassail' from the Anglo-Saxon wes (be) hld (whole), hence the salutation or toast 'be of good health'-and was normally observed in Somerset on 5 January (visiting) and 17 January (appletree). The separate dates appear mutually exclusive and whether or not the tradition in any one location originally comprised both is not at all clear. The enforced calendar change of 1752-5 January as the Eve of Christmas (Old Style) which is coincident with the Eve of Epiphany or Twelfth Night (New Style): 17 January which is the Eve of Epiphany or Twelfth Night (Old Style)-doubtless added to the confusion. Although the songs for the villages in the Hambridge area relate solely to the visiting tradition, Sharp published examples of both, e.g. apple-tree (Bratton, Minehead) and visiting (Drayton and Curry Rivel), with accompanying notes of some of the ritual involved.2 The apple-tree wassail at Bratton has gone but the ceremony is still observed at Carhampton and the Taunton Cider Company sponsors