Old Customs
A few decades ago, the Whitsuntide walk was the big local event and people from all of the local churches and chapels (nominally) used to join in. The procession went all the way from Penistone to Millhouse Green. It was a great occasion for kids to dress up for and its preparations went on for months in advance. Of course, more people went to Sunday School, church and chapel in those days but, even so, it was an occasion that was popular with churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike. Just about everyone who could walk would turn out to support the occasion. Here are a couple of 1933 pictures of the crowd in Thurlstone waiting for the Whitsuntide Parade. There are more on the old pictures page.
Penistone Feast Weekend
This would have started as some kind of gala in the old days but it has carried on in modern times as a funfair. It was Marshall's travelling funfair for many years, then Tuby's travelling funfair came along to fill the gap after Marshall's stopped. Even that has gone from twice a year to just September in recent times. The original Feast would have been a different kind of event in the nineteenth century. A recent book based on nearby Denby gives some insight into the feasts and fairs of those days. See 'Denby and District IV' by Chris Heath. Available in Hallmark Cards, Penistone, for £13.
Feasts were very popular occasions as a diversion from working and drinking. Ours might well have had: fortune tellers, freak shows, entertainers, jugglers, illusionists, fire-eaters, Punch & Judy and a variety of food and drink. Mechanised funfairs were not common in those days and would have been simpler affairs than today, perhaps with a carousel, roll-a-penny, shooting gallery and a bit of boxing. You can imagine some of the big farm labourers volunteering taking on the fair's boxer. It is still sometimes called 'Penistone Feast Weekend' but less so these days.
Penistone Sing
This has been gone now for maybe two decades but it could still make a come-back. It used to last for about an hour and most of it was hymns. I have a vague recollection that it was done in the open air near the Bowling Club but that might be a false memory. It went into decline as it was always badly advertised and then fewer people came along to support it. Towards the end, poor weather conditions put the boot in and caused cancellations. Then they finally called it a day. There are rumours every so often that it might return.
It would not take much organising, with all of the MVCs, brass bands and choirs in the area. In fact most people enjoy a good old sing-along and would join in if it was properly organised. The new Market Barn would be a natural place to hold such an event. On the other hand, Parade Weekend's 'Proms in the Park' does a similar job or better (see below).
Yorkshire Day
It has to be said that this has never been a big event on Penistone's calendar. We are lucky if local shops take any trouble to dress up their windows for the great day. It was a different story in 2006 when Penistone was chosen to host the event for the whole of Yorkshire. It certainly put us on the map - but not for long. Everyone put a great effort into the day and the nobs came from all over Yorkshire in their finery and gold chains. Just about every mayor and council dignitary was in the procession and Penistone Church. Unfortunately the weather was not kind and, being on a working day, it was poorly supported on the streets. On the other hand, the church was completely packed out and some people had to watch from the vestibule.
Easter Flour Give-away
One old tradition continues to this day on Good Friday, as bags of flour are handed out in Penistone Church gardens (graveyard) to the 'poor of Penistone'. It was originally 'one quarter of rye'. The picture above shows Penistone's Mayor, Cllr Carol Bradbury handing out the flour in April 2011 as the Bishop of Wakefield, Rt Rev Stephen Platten, watched on. The next picture is of an open service taking place half an hour later in the new Market Barn on a bright, sunny day. This was possibly the first time that the barn had been used for a public event.
The West Riding Directory of 1837 has some relevant details (click the third thumbnail above and read the penultimate paragraph):
'Three Yearly Doles belong to the poor of the parish, viz., one quarter of rye, left by Wm. Turton, in 1559, out of a farm in Hoxley Gate, in Denby; 26s. 8d. left by Edward Booth, out of lands at Dean Head, near Hunshelf; and 20s. left by Wm. Rich, in 1673, out of lands at Hornthwaite.'
It continues:
'The poor of Penistone township have the rents of three cottages, purchased with £25 left by Fras. Burdett, Wm. Sotwell, and Joanna Swift. They have also two yearly rent charges , viz., 20s. left by Sir Thurston Bycliff and Alderman Micklethwaite, out of a farm at Silkstone; and 3s. left by John Wordsworth, out of Water Hall estate'.
But we can see that the poor of Penistone are missing out on another freebie. Again from the Directory:
'The trustees of Shrewsbury Hospital, in Sheffield, are proprietors of the Great Tithes of Penistone, subject to the following yearly payments, viz., 6s 8d. for the reparation of the church windows; 6s. 8d. for the poor; and 3s. 4d. for bread and ale for the poor, on the Thursday before Easter.'
Mr Turton's rye was changed to flour in 1905, according to the 23rd April entry of the 1907 Penistone Almanac. Until around 2008, large bags of flour were given out on the Town Hall steps by the council clerk. Following improvements to the lower end of the graveyard to make it a 'Sensory Garden' it moved there and also became a mayoral duty. Children no longer had to cross the busy Shrewsbury Road to the Town Hall.
'Spaw Sunday'
Gunthwaite Spa lies about 2 Miles morth of Penistone (OS: SE 2431 0614). Its waters are supposed to have miraculous healing powers, if taken in the morning. The history of this annual event is lost in the mists of time but it continues to this day, regardless. There are old reports of it being a meeting of 'gentry and peasantry' in the middle ages. It was common for a band to turn up and people would sit around on the bank enjoying the grimaces of others. It was on occasions so boisterous that the event was actually banned for a while.
In the old days, the water used to come from a spring and emerged by a little stream and rough undergrowth bordering the road. That was later improved with an iron pipe sticking out of a rubble wall, with a metal cup hanging on a chain. Below the pipe was a pool that the visitor had to stand in to gain a taste of the spa water. With time the pipe became rusty and the cup battered and worn. It was improved again in more recent times and is now in a tidy setting, set apart from the road. Here is a quote from an old book, kindly passed on to me by Carol Bradbury:
'From time immemorial the first Sunday of May was called Spa Sunday, when people came from far and near to drink the water at Gunthwaite Spa. Stalls were set up to feed the people, and it must have been a gay and lively sight to see them singing and dancing by the water's edge. Little is known of its origin, but people in the district had wonderful faith in the spring water, and looked upon it as a "cure all." Other days the spring was just "water" but the first Sunday in May it assumed miraculous properties. Pilgrims brought bottles or cups, and "supped" the water, supposed to come from a nearby silver mine. An old work records that the Spa was good for "scurvy," inflammations, liver complaints and other disorders.'
A newspaper report in the 1980s said that a grandmother with arthritis and a spinal disease had made a great improvement after taking the Spa water over a two-week period. Within three years she was 'Fit as a fiddle'.
Actually the water is very clear and pure. It is usually described as having a hint of 'rotten eggs' in its flavour, with a mildly sulphurous smell. I would agree, but it is quite drinkable and not a strong flavour. As a communal event it was certainly well supported in 2011 with perhaps fifty people there and the ever faithful Thurlstone Brass Band. It was also the perfect excuse for a pleasant walk from Penistone in sunny weather. It took me about 45 minutes and that is after I wandered off the track, to be re-directed by a fellow walker.
Penistone Show
Not so much a custom as a phenomenon. This has a long history and its location has moved around a bit. It used to be held on fields where Church View Road is now but its proper home is now 'The Showground', a recreational area which was donated to the people of Penistone many years ago by a local farmer. Barnsley Council's seized ownership of it through the 'Local Government Reorganisation' of 1974. The Show has had a few near-misses of being cancelled for reasons such as: Foot & Mouth Disease, BSE and even a gun siege.
It never fails to impress in spite of a new Tesco and an expanded bowling club on the edge of the Showground. Parking is more of a problem and the 'Town Centre' car park (Tesco's really) is limited to only two hours. That is not enough either for Penistone town centre or for Penistone Show but the show sensibly arranges for its own parking on the field. See the link below.
Penistone Parade Weekend
This is a weekend of festivities and entertainment every June and it never fails. There are effectively two separate events, a programme of music on Parade Saturday and Penistone Mayor's Parade on Sunday, with a Gala for the afternoon on the Showground. The Parade goes back a long time in Penistone's history. It has variously passed through the council estate of Victoria St., Ward St, and Green Road or for a while down Shrewsbury Road. Now in these mollycoddled times the route is far shorter and fewer paraders are on foot. The usual route now is from Talbot Road, along High Street and up Clarel Street. Around Bluebell and Park Avenue and back down the High St. It ends up near the Tesco for judging. It used to be organised by Penistone council but these days it is the Round Table. Penistone has always had parades for one thing or another, such as VE day and various Royal milestones. There was even a Cycle Parade around 1913 but that is long forgotten now.
Parade Saturday is a relatively new happening, introduced in the 1990s. It follows a similar format each year. It has a lively brass band and choral performance in the afternoon and a rock band in the evening. It all helps the sense of occasion for Parade Weekend. All of the music performances are in a Showground marquee and there is a bar and toilets. Cheapskates can listen for a while from a convenient bench seat on the Trans-Pennine Trail. It's a hard bench and they won't stay long. See the link below.
Penistone's Folk Festival
This made its debut in Penistone's new Market Barn in June 2011, which is licenced for public performances. The Festival had a long list of performers and it was a great success, partly helped by good weather. Seating was a bit limited but there was a healthy crowd who seemed quite settled, along with some passing trade from the supermarket. Highlights of the day were compiled into an excellent programme on Penistone FM. It now looks as though it will continue as an annual event as another one is planned for 2012.
An earlier attempt at an annual Penistone Arts Festival in association with PDCP came to nothing after its debut in 2008. The Market Barn structure was intended from the start to be more than just a marketplace but also a centre of public occasions. It was effectively 'Christened' by an open air service on Good Friday (see above).
Remembrance Day
This
procession and public assembly continues to be well supported and does not show signs of diminishing. The procession always includes plenty of uniforms and banners and includes Penistone Scouts & Cubs, British Legion dignitaries and town councillors. It also includes serving members of the armed forces when they are available. The procession starts from Back Lane by the Bowling Club (not the other Back Lane by the Market Barn). It proceeds along Park Avenue and along Market Street, on to Shrewsbury Road and assembles at the War Memorial outside Penistone Church.
The names of the fallen are commemorated and a few words of Remembrance are uttered. Then the clock chimes eleven o'clock. Two minutes of contemplative silence follows to be concluded by a bugled 'Last Post'. The procession and public continues inside Penistone Church for the Remembrance Service. After the service, the procession re-convenes and heads down St Mary's Street towards the Royal British Legion, for restorative beers.
Events Sections on this Website
If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.