Here's To The Master An' To His Right Hip

The stroud wassail tradition.

- Candia McKormack

The tradition of wassailing is one that brings the community together in the spirit of goodwill, and to wish health and success for the coming year.

Although it had largely died out 100 or so years ago, local folklorist Gwilym Davies set about reviving the tradition, and now it is as lively and raucous as it’s ever been.

Robin Burton gives us an insight into the revival of the spirit of wassail in and around Stroud…

Looking to the past

On November 19, 1979, the song collector Gwilym Davies met a man in Stroud who described groups going around the top end of the town around 1914 with a decorated wassail bowl in which they collected money. He also sang to Gwilym a snatch of a Wassail song.

A document in the Stroud Museum also gave words for a Stroud Wassail song. The following is an extract: Here’s to are master an to his right leg May God send are master a jolly fat peg A jolly fat peg as we may all see And the wheysailing bowl we’ll drink unto thee. Here’s to the master an’ to his right hip May God send are master a good flock of ship (‘sheep’) A good flock o’ ship as we may all see An’ a wheysailing bowl we’ll drink unto thee.

A group of enthusiasts had also got together in 2014 and secured Heritage Lottery Funding for a project which, at its heart, collected together songs and dance tunes from Gloucestershire onto a central website. This collection included some 17 wassail songs from various parts of Gloucestershire. Clearly there had been a thriving wassail tradition in the county at some time.