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May Day Celebrations

Date

The Maypole Day Celebrations will be held on
Monday 26th of May 2008

The History of the Wellow Maypole

The existence of the Wellow Maypole can be traced as far back as 1856 and on the 9th of May 1860, a new pole had to be erected as the old one had been sawn down during a drunken spree a few weeks earlier. To commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887, a new pole was given by Sir John Savile, which had three cross pieces near its summit, painted spiral decoration and a seat around the base. In 1923, Lord Savile replaced the Jubilee Maypole. This pole lasted until 1937 when it was deemed to be unsafe and was cut down from 60ft to 20ft. In 1949, this pole was finally chopped down for safety reasons and in 1950 a new pole was bought from Rufford Estates. At this time a Maypole Committee was formed to carry on the tradition and organise the annual event.

The 1950 pole lasted until 1966 when it was damaged by a storm, and was taken down and sold for firewood.

Another pole of larch was obtained from Thoresby Estate but on finding it had not been seasoned properly, it was declared unsafe and in 1976 was chopped down to half size. That year the dancing took place around the reduced pole. Later in 1976 the remainder of the pole was taken down, and in 1977 with the help of a heritage grant, a three section tubular steel pole was purchased from Abacus Engineering of Sutton in Ashfield. The present pole is decorated with three cross pieces with metal crown shapes at each end, and surmounting the pole is a weathervane made by a local engineer

The actual dancing celebrations at Wellow have not been continuous during the last century. Festivities stopped during World War 1 and again during the Second World War.

A principal part of the proceedings is the crowning of the May Queen, who is chosen by a secret ballot of villagers held earlier in the year; the girls have to be between 12 and 17 years of age. During the festivities the new Queen is crowned by the retiring Queen and then takes her place on the May Throne to watch the Maypole Dancing. Her Maids of Honour and a retinue that includes the Herald, Bugle Blower, Posy Bearers, Train Bearers and a Crown Bearer accompany her.

As well as being a much loved event by local people, Wellow's Maypole Celebrations attract many visitors.
mayman

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ROLL OF HONOUR**WELLOW MAY QUEENS

1935 Joyce Revitt	1968 Sheila Hunt	1990 Joanne Crofts
1936 Dororthy Parker	1969 Barbara Portsmouth	1991 Elizabeth Maunder
****	1970 Yvonne Ragsdale	1992 Rosie Jackson
****	1971 Margaret Crooks	1993 Amy Jackson
1950 Sonia Walker	1972 Sylvia Spray	1994 Rebecca Kinsey
1951 Gay Bartle	1973 Christine Bartle	1995 Holly Axworthy
1952 Annette Milner	1974 Valerie Hayes	1996 Jacqui Baurgh
1953 Muriel Bolton	1975 Jane Warrilow	1997 Sarah Keenan
1954 Brenda Atkinson	1976 Elaine Dunne	1998 Amy Baugh
1955 Patricia Billing	1977 Dianne Wright	1999 Sarah Rhodes
1956 Jean Rowland	1978 Julie Hunt	2000 Sian Preston
1957 Betty Hatcher	1979 Diane Buck	2001 Lucy Rhodes
1958 Margaret Ragsdale	1980 Jaqueline Crofts	2002 Nathalie Reed
1959 Margaret Coleman	1981 Jane Parkin	2003 Laura Carr
1960 Jean Hunt	1982 Helen Atkinson	2004 Georgina Lloyd
1961 Joan Bolton	1983 Sarah Jane Riley	2005 Saskia Dunlop
1962 Sandra Smart	1984 Caroline Hatcher	2006 Laura Belcher
1963 Pauline Rumley	1985 Lisa Cuddy	2007 Emily Paris
1964 Glenys Watts	1986 Jane Crofts
1965 Diana Johnson	1987 Helen Ragsdale
1966 Jenny Parker	1988 Rachel Ives
1967 Margaret Lawrence	1989 Natalie Tall

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Wellow Maypole Celebration Raffle

Winners List 2007

	Winning ticket	Prize	Name
1.	5153	Thoresby Hall Spa day with lunch	J. Lucas
2.	5186	Rufford Golf Course; 2 Course passes	M. Ware
3.	421	Trent Valley Kart Club; £50.00 cash	Carl &Michelle
4.	4767	Magna; 1 Family pass	J. Telford
5.	7439	White Post Farm; 2 child passes	Trisha Weir
6.	7206	Sea Crest; Fish, chips, peas for 2	Sarah Knight
7.	223	Sea Crest; Fish, chips, peas for 2	Mr. White
8.	4938	Tyre Shop; Rugby ball goody bag	Mary Adams
9.	5682	Tyre Shop; Rugby ball goody bag	C. Parker
10.	673	Football & goodies	Wendy
11.	1310	Norwell Nurseries; plant	Simone Wells
12.	78	World Wide Travel; £20voucher	Jamie Birch
13.	415	Walesby Garden Centre; £5 voucher	Carl & Michelle
14.	5905	Walesby Garden Centre; £5 voucher	McCool
15.	6752	Tesco; £10 voucher	Kay Severn
16.	1480	Woodhead B/Cons. £5 Tesco voucher	Fiona Knowles
17.	5248	Wheels & Things; car care products	Mark Bowring
18.	6489	Cut Above Salon; £10 voucher	Mrs. Johnson
19.	166	Hair & Beauty Shop; £5 voucher	D. Tusca
20.	5780	Barber Shoppe; £9.50 voucher	J. Couling
21.	7388	S. Allwood & Son, Butcher £5 voucher	D. Barson
22.	6697	Heath‘s Store; Pot-Pourri	Mrs. Goodall
23.	4684	Streamline Fishing Tackle; reel	B. Cornwell
24.	1516	Terry Allsop; torch	M. Mellors
25	683	Girls at Scrooges; Lavender Gift Set	C. Young
26.	7087	Girls at Heron Foods; chocolates	Mrs. Chick
27.	154	Co-op; wine	Stevenson
28.	4883	W. Boole Ltd.; Box of Roses	Mrs. P. Jennings
29.	511	W. Boole Ltd; Box of Milk Tray	Williams
30.	54	W. Boole Ltd.; Box of Chox	Matt and Carly
31.	133	Chatterbox; wind-up radio	Lydia Derby
32.	4896	Electrix; electric can opener	Mrs. P. Jennings
33.	7430	G. Davies (Chem); bags/accessories	Brenda Evans
34.	1362	Ollerton Pet Store; pet carrier	Jaqui Law
35.	1556	Palace Theatre; 2 tickets-Cinderella	Mr. Selby
36.	4596	Durham Ox; meal voucher	Jennie Stamp
37.	7045	Red Lion; wine	Stephen Clark
38.	6339	Milano‘s Pizza; meal deal	Margaret
39.	5372	Ezra Sugden Motors; Renault S/wear	A. Collier