Wassailing

Wassailing and Mummers' Play

The ancient tradition of wassailing was revived in Porlock in 2011. Each year villagers and visitors join in to wassail the village orchards. The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away 'evil spirits' to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the autumn.

Each January a Mummers' Play is held in the museum solar then the wassail procession around the village's orchards starts from
Dovery Manor Museum.

Old apple tree we wassail thee

And hoping thou will bear

For the Lord doth know where we shall be

'Til apples come another year

For to bear well and to bloom well

So merry let us be

Let every man take off his hat

And shout to the old apple tree

Old apple tree we wassail thee

And hoping thou will bear

Hat fulls, cap fulls, three bushel bag fulls

And a little heap under the stairs