Stony Mummers
Stony Stratford Mummers
For more information click here.
Many of you in the town will have seen a band of people wearing rags and white faces at Christmas time and occasionally in the summer. These are the Stony Stratford Mummers and this is their story. We started when a group of dedicated folk performers decided that they would entertain those in the town at Christmas time. A group of friends had met over time to sing Christmas Carols and one year they decided to perform a Mummers Play. It was in this year, 1974, that Stony Stratford Mummers was born. Rod Hall, who now lives in Reeth, in the county of Yorkshire, was one of the protagonists in the formation of the Mummers and he was also instrumental in setting up the now famous Folk on the Green. I remember coming to Stony at this time and sitting in The Plough to witness one of the first performances of Stony Mummers. Although I knew Rod and occasionally came to Stony to visit friends, in this particular year I had just put on my first Mummers play with my students at Buckingham School. I found a Mummers play in an old children’s poetry book, where they were often published pre 1970, and I thought it would be fun to do at Christmas. (I still have the script, although regrettably I did not take down its source!). This play has fourteen characters and opens with the character of Father Christmas so was ideal to involve a whole class in its production. Our plays are more manageable now! Little did I realise I would be involved with Mummers, and still living in the area all these years later! Apart from a one year break in the mid-late 1980’s Stony Mummers have performed every year since its inception.
During the 1980’s several of the players were drawn from the now defunct Stony Stratford Morris, Only Julian (Gt Holm) remains. Old Ted is from Castlethorpe, Don from Hanslope but the rest of us are from The Stratfords and Wolverton.
In the early 1990’s I decided to start keeping records of what we did, albeit in an ad hoc way, and it was about this time that we started collecting with particular charities in mind. We had always passed the hat round, and informally the money went to paying any expenses and giving the rest to Oxfam. It was in 1990 that we decided to split the collection between a local and a national/international charity for the first time and the collection became another reason for our entertainment. Since 1990 we have raised over £4,000 for different causes. ‘Why do you do it?’ you may ask. It’s great fun, it keeps a tradition alive and it raises money for charity.
For those who are involved each year performing with the Mummers has become part of the seasonal cycle of their year. The call goes out at the end of October and we have two meetings before processing into town for the annual Lights Celebration, the start of Christmas in Stony, and our preparation for the pub tour. My front door opens and in walks the first person with ‘In comes I….’ We decide a play and it’s just like putting on an old pair of slippers!
We perform two types of play the Hero/Combat and the Wooing Play, and we explain these traditions when we put on an evening with the Stony Mummers during the Literary Festival in January.
It is one of our own traditions to perform round the pubs in local villages on the Friday evening before Christmas and it is at this time of year we perform the hero/combat play. We hire a mini-bus to take our play round North Bucks, although we have been known to venture over the ‘border’ into Northants! Many traditions and stories have grown in the group over the years related to our experiences. One of these is when we include Thornborough in our tour. This stop has to be scheduled with the arrival of the Chip Van; so performance first and chips and a pint afterwards.
We have often performed in the town on the Saturday before Christmas, starting with Wassail and mince pies at my house before going out into the street. After several street performances, in traditional style The Mummers process to the Sundial House of Roy and Maggie where we perform in their hallway. They then treat us to mulled wine and a warm lunch to help us on our way out into the cold December afternoon. Should they be away? We retire to the Fox and Hounds for some festive cheer!
Stony Mummers have sometimes appeared in the summer and this is when we perform the wooing play. Festival 350, The Waterside Festival at Great Linford and Stony Live, have been such occasions. We’ve played Halloween in Campbell Park and in recent years have joined other members of the Morris Federation at the end of September for their annual celebrations, and then we have performed in Yorkshire and The Lake District with Morris Dancers from around the UK.
Over the years more than fifty people have been involved in the Play. Some have played only once and others have been involved for more than twenty years. There has always been a core of regular players who delight in keeping the plays alive.
Vicki Shakeshaft
The time to perform will soon be with us again. We look forward to seeing you and hope you enjoy our street entertainment. For more information click here.
