Contrary Life

Contrary Life is a website covering quirky events across the UK.

  • Home
  • About
  • Events by region
    • North East
    • North West
    • Yorkshire
    • East Midlands
    • West Midlands
    • East
    • London
    • South East
    • South West
    • Scotland
    • Northern Ireland
    • Wales
Home > Heritage > The traditional Saddleworth Rushcart ceremony

The traditional Saddleworth Rushcart ceremony

By Caroline King - August 11, 2016Posted in : Dance, Heritage

Saddleworth Rushcart 2014 - Saddleworth Morris

The Rushcart is brought out.

When: 20th & 21st August 2016

Where: Saddleworth, Greater Manchester

£: Free

What is it?

This year’s Saddleworth Rushcart will take place over the weekend of Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August.

The ceremony is thought to date back to around the 1800s, although most Rushcart ceremonies in the North West died out by the early 20th century.

The Saddleworth Rushcart also died out for a while, but it was revived in 1975 by the Saddleworth Morris Men and is now a popular annual event.

Saddleworth Rushcart 2014 - Saddleworth Morris

The Rushcart Dance is performed.

Saddleworth Rushcart is a type of rushbearing ceremony.  These were common in times before churches had proper seating for its parishioners.  The floors of churches were covered with rushes in order to make them more comfortable.

Once a year the worn out rushes would be replaced with new ones and this annual chore was turned into a celebratory event, creating a traditional custom which people have followed year after year.

Rushbearing ceremonies vary from place to place, but they usually involve dressing up, parading through the streets, and enjoying plenty of entertainment and merriment.  The Saddleworth Rushcart is no exception.

Since its revival, the Saddleworth Rushcart has been constructed next to the Commercial Inn.  The cart is made from locally cut rushes and built into a tall structure.  On the Friday night there is usually music and merriment in the local pubs.

Saddleworth Rushcart 2014 - Saddleworth Morris

The Jockey sits on top of the Rushcart as it is paraded around Saddleworth.

Then on Saturday the completed Rushcart is pulled around the villages of Saddleworth, with morris dance performances taking place throughout the day.

Every year a new banner is attached to the Rushcart, designed by that year’s ‘jockey’.  The jockey is the lucky person who gets to sit on top of the Rushcart as it is paraded through the streets.

On the Sunday the Rushcart is pulled up the hill to St. Chad’s Church in Uppermill for the Rushcart Service.  Here the rushes are spread out on the church floor as they would have been when the ceremony first took place.  The rest of the Sunday is usually filled with traditional entertainment including dancing, and fun competitions such as gurning, wrestling and clog stepping.

The Saddleworth Rushcart is one of the few traditional ceremonies that is still celebrated today.  There are a few other ceremonies, such as the Ambleside Rushbearing Ceremony in Cumbria, which still take place annually.

More info: www.morrismen.saddleworth.org.uk, www.facebook.com/events, themorrisring.org and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rushcart

Related Posts

  • Morris dancing and merriment at Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing
  • Two Scarecrow festivals pop up in Yorkshire this month

Tagged With: Free events, Manchester events, North West, Saddleworth Rushcart

Comments

  1. By Kev murtagh on August 20, 2016

    Bet it was wet

Curiosity of the Week

Woodhenge, Stonehenge’s lesser-known neighbour
Woodhenge - ©English Heritage, Historic England Photo Library

You have heard of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, but have you heard of its lesser known neighbour, Woodhenge? Find out more in our latest Curiosity of the Week…

Top Story

Make some noise for Whitby’s Krampus Run
Whitby Krampus Run 2018 - photo by Cassandra Sutton

As Father Christmas makes his annual visit to towns across the UK this weekend, there’s another, much darker character making his way to Whitby in North Yorkshire…

What are you looking for today?

  • Alternative Sport
  • Art
  • Cabaret and Circus
  • Cinema
  • Classes, Workshops & Talks
  • Club Night
  • Comedy
  • Dance
  • Exhibitions and Installations
  • Fairs and Markets
  • Festival
  • Food & Drink
  • Heritage and History
  • Interview
  • Literature
  • Museum
  • Music
  • Nature and Outdoors
  • Review
  • Science and Technology
  • Theatre
  • Walks and Tours

Sign up to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2023 · Contrary Life