Woodborough (SK6347), Nottinghamshire

M.W.Barley Collection (1952, P.M.Underwood - b)

Mrs. Underwood (Inf.)
Notts.: Plough Plays [from Burton Joyce and Woodborough]
*M.W.Barley Collection, [Col. 1952]

Probably notes from a telephone call;

"Burton Joyce play finished as a childrens affair about 1920. Woodborough died out about 1900"

M.W.Barley Collection (1953, A.J.Evans)

Mrs. A. J. Evans (Inf.)
Woodborough: Plough Play
M.W.Barley Collection, Col. Dec. 1953, Ref.Ba P 1/39

Textual fragments as follows;

"In comes I in Doctors clothes
With a great tall hat
And a belly full of fat
And a pancake on my nose

In comes I Big Belly Ben
Eat more meat than four score men
Eat the church and eat the steeple
Eat the parson and all the people."

Nottingham Evening Post (1979 - b))

[Anon.] (Auth.)
Taking the toll [Calverton Plough Play at Woodborough]
Nottingham Evening Post, 8th Jan. 1979, No.31253, p.4e-g

Photograph with the caption: "Members of Calverton Theatre Group taking toll from customers of The Four Bells, Woodborough, on Saturday after giving a traditional 'Plough Play' in aid of the National Children's Home. Players (from the left) are John Calvert, Doctor, Tony Lewis, Ploughman, Michael Cupitt, Sergeant and the Devil, Paul Prior, taking a donation from Angela Copley."

E.Bryson (1984)

Emrys Bryson (Auth.)
It's devil of a lark for Plough Monday! [Play revival at Calverton, Notts.]
*Evening Post [Nottingham], 5th Jan.1984, p.6 a-d

Article with on the Calverton, Notts. Plough Monday play revival side, calling themselves the Calverton Real Ale and Plough Play Preservation Society (CRAPPPS). Their play, based on a Blidworth version, featured the characters; Tom Fool, Recruiting Sergeant, Farmer's Man, Lady Bright and Gay, Dame Jane, Doctor, Ribboner, Threshing Blade, Sankey Benny and Beelzebub. Detailed itineraries are given, covering Calverton, Blidworth, Epperstone, Woodborough, Lambley, Lowdham and Oxton. A photo of the 1979 play shows four characters collecting money from the audience. Background information on Plough Monday mentions Plough-Lights and Plough Trailing by Plough Bullocks. There is a quotation from the Gentleman's Magazine for 1672 relating to malicious ploughing.

R.Wood Collection (1985, F.Foster)

Frank Foster (Perf.)
[Ploughboys' play from Woodborough, Notts.]
R.Wood Collection, Tape-recorded 4th Mar.1985

Taped interview regarding the Ploughboys (Ploughboying) play performed by children in Woodborough, Notts., from about 1912 to 1916. It includes text fragments and the final song, although out of sequence, and there is a list of fellow performers. The characters were; Head Man, Easum Squeezum, Beelzebub/Rub-a-Dub, Big Belly Ben/The Big Man, Soldier, Doctor, and Farmer.

Nottinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes (1989)

Nottinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes (Comp.)
The Nottinghamshire Village Book: Compiled by the Nottinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes from notes and illustrations sent by Institutes in the County [Includes notes on Plough Monday, Bullguysers and other customs]
Newbury: Countryside Books, & Newark, NFWI, 1989, 1-85306-057-7, 191pp.

This book is compilation of short pieces on about 148 Notts., villages giving descriptions, histories and reminiscences. There are numerous mentions of customs, legends and ghosts. The following are of particular interest.

Caunton (p.41) quotes S.R.Hole's (1901) description of the Rang-Tang.

From Kirklington (pp.98-99) we have;

"Plough Monday was always kept on the second Monday in January when the farmworkers of the village went the rounds of the village and acted a play in every house where they were invited. They were given mince pies and ale or money. The exit lines of the play were:

'We are the country plough lads
That go from door to door
Good Master and Good Mistress
As you sit by your fire
Remember us good plough lads
That work through mud and mire
So bring us out a good pork pie
And a jug of your best beer
We wish you all good night
And another Happy Year'"

At Laxton (p.106) it states; "On the first Monday in January, Plough Monday, ancient Mummer plays were enacted, a tradition which has sadly disappeared."

A frontispiece signed D.A.Shaw (p.8) illustrates "Plough Sunday at Tithby", and the text says;

"Despite attuning to the needs of the present day, old customs and rites are not forgotten and are practised. One farmer breeds and works Suffolk Punches, another farmer maintains a herd of Highland cattle, and on Plough Sunday the plough is still brought into Holy Trinity Church to be blessed." (p.163)

There is a good description from Underwood with Bagthorpe (p.167);

"Mummer's plays were a feature of life in the area until the Second World War. Dressed in bizarre costumes and with blackened faces, local youths with a pretended show of force, would gatecrash Christmas gatherings in houses and pubs to re-enact the age-old story of the triumph of life over death in Nature, the origins of which go back beyond pre-Christian times. Over the centuries the performances had become pure knock-about farce. However, there existed an instinctive respect for their antiquity and no door was ever barred against the Bullguysers. Unfortunately, to safeguard the blackout in the war years, the police had to insist that the Mummers should play no more and another age-old custom was lost."

From Woodborough (pp.86-87), several speeches are quoted from a Plough Monday play, seeming to comprise a complete but brief text (18 lines). Characters mentioned are Easom Squeesom, Big Belly Ben, a Soldier and Doctor.

Trader Pictorial [Newark] (2004)

[Anon.] (Auth.)
Reviving ancient tradition
Trader Pictorial [Newark], 7th Jan.2004, No.1189, p.2a-6

Large colour photo of the Muskham Pinkies, who had revived the plough boys' play from North Muskham, Notts., also performing at Norwell and Bathley. The original play had ceased at the start of second world war. The caption lists cast members Simon Simcox, Paul Cotter, David Haslam, Ian Harrison and Jeff Hannabuss. The accompanying article mentions the incident of 1597 when the plough boys ran a furrow across the churchyard.

Performances by the Calverton Real Ale and Plough Play Preservation Society are also listed for Calverton, Farnsfield, Epperstone, Lambley, Lowdham, Hoveringham, and Woodborough.

Newark Advertiser (2004a)

[Anon.] (Auth.)
REVIEWS: Plough play revived [North Muskham, Notts.]
Newark Advertiser, 9th Jan.2004, Vol.155, No.7931, p.Arts.10d-f

Article and two colour photos of the revival by the Muskham Pinkies of the ploughboys' play from North Muskham, Notts, also performed at Norwell and Bathley. The original tradition stopped at the start of the second world war. The captions list the following cast members: David Haslam, Dan Harrison, Simon Simcox, Paul Cotter, Keith Baines, Paul Lane, and Jeff Hannabus.

Performances by the Calverton Real Ale and Plough Play Preservation Society are listed for Farnsfield, Epperstone, Lambley, Lowdham, Hoveringham, Woodborough, and Calverton. Morris dancers performing after a Plough Sunday service at Morton, Notts., are also mentioned.

* indicates data that not yet been validated against the original source and/or has yet to be completely indexed.