Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
Tar Barrels
Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
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Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
|
Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
|
Tar Barrels
Tar Barrels, 5 November 2005 The town typically stages annual events around Guy Fawkes Night when, in a tradition dating from the 17th century, barrels soaked in tar are set alight and carried aloft through parts of the town by residents.
The festivities begin in the early evening with children's, youths' and women's events, culminating in the men's event when a total of seventeen barrels they used to be lit outside each of the public houses in the town. (Originally there were 12 public houses in the town). The barrels, increasing in size up to 30 kg, are carried through the town centre, often packed with onlookers, in an exhilarating and risky spectacle. Only those born in the town, or who have lived there for most of their lives, may carry a barrel. Generations of the same family have been known to compete across the years and it is thought that the event may have originated as a means of warding off evil spirits, similar to other British fire festivals, around the time of Halloween. In recent years the event has been jeopardised by the need for increasing public liability insurance coverage. Nevertheless the event continues and the town's population increases at the event to well over 10,000. During the event all roads in and out of Ottery St Mary are closed for safety reasons with diversions in place Taken from Wikipidia |
Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
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Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
|
Photo courtesy of Lisa Allen
|
Website created on 17th August 2015
by Marlene Budd |