© Richardyt / The Paganhill Maypole Society

Welcome To The Web Site of The Paganhill Maypole, Gloucestershire, England.

The Paganhill Maypole is maintained wholly from donations from local people and the fund raising activities of the committee of the Paganhill Maypole Society

Mayors

Maypoles and Mayors

During the last two centuries it seems that two annual maypole festivals were held, one on May Day and the other at Whitsuntide which was in the form of a ‘wake. At the this time it was marked as Crown property as ownership was inconclusive.

These events would be supervised by the ‘Mayor of Paganhill’ who would organise the villagers into

setting up archery, morris dancing, may-pole dancing, pig roast and other amusements.

On May Day a maiden, dressed in white and garlanded, would be crowned ‘Flora’ (goddess of flowers and fruit)  ‘Queen of May’.

The election for ‘Mayor’ was held annually in November. Voting took place at one of the local pubs. This was by ballot with the winner being declared by one of the ‘village servants’.

During the early nineteen hundreds a Mr. Isaac Hawkins, a resident and much respected local inhabitant, presided in this office over several years and was well known for dancing a jig round the maypole on suitable occasions. The insignia of this office was a handsome chain necklet composed of medals etc. He would attend almost all village functions dressed in a black jacket and trousers and wearing a black top hat. Attached to the hat would be a dozen or so shoulder length ribbons of red, white and blue dangling

down his left side. A picture of him appeared in the Stroud News of 5th May, 1911.

In more recent times many older village residents will still remember Mr. Edward J. Wheeler who took over the unofficial ‘Mayorship’. Ted was born in Quedgley in 1908 moving to Mill Farm in about 1920 and seems to have become involved with the maypole‘goings on’ as early as 1923. He acquired Park Farm in 1935 and, later, Ruscombe Farm during the later part of World War II.

Over the years he built up a very successful milk round supplying quality grade milk from his own Guernsey dairy herd. Many may still remember the Bedford vans that would hustle their way round the local district and beyond during the early hours and well into the late morning supplying residents, schools and local businesses. This sadly came to and end when the Gloucestershire Education Authority compulsorily purchased much of his land at Farm Park in the 1960’s to build the extensive Archway School.

Mr Isaac Hawkins

Since the war Ted had chaired the Maypole Committee and enthusiastically kept the maypole tradition going. He masterminded many of the fund raising activities and his whist drives, dances and film shows which were well supported.

During his lifetime he amassed a considerable collection of local artefacts and traditional farming implements which he stored at Park Farm. He would hold frequent coffee mornings where he would put his collection of maypole memorabilia on display on the stage at the old village hut.

Whenever a new maypole was errected Ted was inevitably at the centre of things organising work parties and overseeing the technical side of operations. Many will remember him and his famous plum-bob which he used to check the vertical line of the maypole from all angles.

Ted was very well known and much respected and sadly died in 1988.

Inauguration of Ted Wheeler (Left) as Mayor of Paganhill 1950