Marketing drive helps swell crowds for age-old ceremony
IT IS a tradition said to date back to the 12th century which is seeing a new lease of life more than 800 years on.
Almost 200 people lined the upper harbour in Whitby yesterday to witness the ancient custom of the planting of the Penny Hedge. Organisers claimed a marketing drive had helped attract bigger crowds who witnessed Lol Hodgson, the bailiff of the manor of Fyling, and hornblower Tim Osborne wind the sticks together before the traditional sounding of the horn.
One of the organisers, David Owen, said: “We’ve counted around 180 people here, which is a big improvement on last year. It should be one of those things that gets bigger every year now.”
An education pack is due to be produced next year and organisers will visit schools to educate pupils about the custom. Future plans also include organising a concert the night before the ceremony and introducing a community opera for the event.
Records indicate the ceremony has taken place since 1159, with the story behind it concerning three noblemen who were hunting a wild boar, when it reputedly sought refuge with a hermit in Eskdaleside. The three men attacked the hermit and killed him, and the building of a hedge cut with a penny knife was undertaken as a punishment.