Marshfield (ST7773), Gloucestershire

Country Life (1965)

[Anon.] (Auth.)
TOWN AND COUNTRY: WHERE MUMMERS STILL SURVIVE [Guisers from Underwood, Notts. and Mummers from Symondsbury, Marshfield, South Verney and Sussex]
Country Life, 16th Dec.1965, Vol.CXXXVIII, No.3589, p.1683a

Article reads;

"'I am a Doctor',
'What is thy fee?'
'Five, pounds, but seeing as I know thee,
I'll charge thee ten.'

These words, heard from within a village barn, serve as a timely reminder that Christmas is near and the mummers are rehearsing in at least one or two villages in England. A century ago there must have been as many versions of this ancient play as there were villages. Few of the ploughboys who performed them realised that their drama of St. George and the Turkish Knight, and the Doctor with his sacred 'opplis poplis drops' probably formed a legacy from the Elizabethan chap-book versions, which may well have been derived from primitive rituals.

The Underwood Guisers, in the Nottinghamshire coalfield, whom the BBC recorded in 1949, seem to have lost the habit of annual performances a year or two later. The Folk Dance and Song Society, in 1951, made a colour film of the Symondsbury (Dorset) Mummers, whose players learned their lines, like the Underwood Guisers, 'from them as did it last year,' or by 'oral transmission,' to quote the official jargon. The Marshfield Mummers, in Gloucestershire, were revived in 1932 by the village schoolmaster, Mr. F.C. Thomas. A year or two ago the choirboys of South Verney, in the same county, also revived it; and a group of mummers in the Ouse valley near Lewes, Sussex, have performed each Christmas Eve since 1950."

[South Verney appears to be a misprint for South Cerney.]

J.Simpson (1981)

Jaqueline Simpson (Auth.)
BRITISH FOLKLORE
London: The Post Office, 1981

This is a series of seven work cards produced by the Post Office for use in schools. They accompany the commemorative stamps issued on 6th Feb.1981. One is headed; "Entertainments: Mumming and Hobby Horses". It features two photos of Marshfield, Glos., Mummers, and one of Antrobus, Ches., play. There is also a description of the Antrobus horse, and a general account of folk plays. Another card, headed "The Calendar: Hallowe'en and Mayday" includes one photo of the Antrobus, Ches. play team. "Folklore on the Farm" details a Plough Monday custom practised by the Young Farmers' Club at Exeter Cathedral. The other work cards are:- "The Lore of the Landscape", "Superstitions: Luck and Charms", Supernatural: Fairies, Witches and Dragons", and "Teacher's Notes: Guidelines".