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Balsham to mark 50 years since Plough Monday revival

Balsham Ploughmen Balsham Ploughmen late 1970sBalsham Ploughmen
The Balsham Ploughmen have been raising funds for the south Cambridgeshire village since the 1970s

A village is due to mark 50 years since it revived the ancient rural tradition of Plough Monday.

This was the day farm workers returned to work after an unpaid Christmas holiday and they would tour their village asking for "donations" from better off neighbours like the squire.

The event was revived in Balsham, Cambridgeshire, in 1972.

Ploughman John Robinson, 80, said these days they raised funds for charities that benefit the villagers.

Balsham Ploughmen Balsham Ploughmen 2017Balsham Ploughmen
A top-hatted squire is part of the tradition

The tradition died out in Balsham in the 1950s.

The idea for its revival came in 1971, during a conversation between several villagers over pints in the pub.

As a result, they met on Monday, 10 January 1972, using a refurbished plough pulled by six men acting as its horses, accompanied by others dressed in smocks, a top-hatted "squire" and musicians from the Linton Folk Club.

Money was collected at stops around the village ending - of course - at the village pub.

Mr Robinson was invited to join the Balsham Ploughmen the following year and has taken part ever since.

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Plough Monday

  • It is traditionally held on the first Monday after Epiphany (6 Jan), also known as Twelfth Night
  • Workers would tour the villages with a plough, singing, dancing or sometimes parading a Straw Bear
  • Householders unwilling to donate faced the threat of their gardens being ploughed up
  • Workers disguised themselves in costumes and by blackening their faces with soot to prevent identification
  • It was most commonly held in East Anglia and the east Midlands

Source: Calendar Customs

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Balshsham Ploughmen Balsham Ploughmen 1980sBalshsham Ploughmen
The original 200-year-old village plough was deemed too frail to use in 1972

"In the early days, a lot of people followed it about, including Morris Men. One man came up from Kent every year and even wrote a book on the history of Morris Men and Plough Monday," Mr Robinson said.

"These days members include some whose relatives took part in the 1950s - two or three farm workers and several father and sons."

On Monday they will be touring the village, but instead of knocking on doors they will ask villagers to leave donations in envelopes to minimise contact, in-line with Covid rules.

Balsham Ploughmen Balsham Ploughmen 1998Balsham Ploughmen
Instead they made a new plough which over the past half century has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles

Last year they raised just under £3,900 for causes including Cambridge Aid and the Balsham Good Neighbour Scheme.

Mr Robinson said: "I just love to see the old traditions survive, so many have died out."

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