This week is Whit Week, and we’re looking back at how Cumbrians have spent the traditional May break.
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples.
Whitsuntide, the week following Whitsunday, was one of three holiday weeks in medieval times and marked a pause in the agricultural year. Whit Monday, the day after Whitsun, remained a holiday in Britain until 1972, when it was replaced with a spring bank holiday on the last Monday in May.
Whit had been the occasion for many forms of celebration, and was of significant cultural importance. It was a custom for children to receive a new set of clothes, a tradition which continued into the 20th century.
In the North-West, church and chapel parades called Whit Walks still take place. Typically, the parades include brass bands and choirs and girls are dressed in white.Whit fairs were held and other customs, such as Morris dancing, were associated with Whitsun, though most have been transferred to the spring bank holiday.
The last break before summer, Whit Week is filled with activities for children and our main picture shows Christian Muirhead, right, who won a competition to draw a fox held by Keswick Library in 2015.
Above, classic bikes from Furness British Motorcycle Club draw the crowds at Broughton Whit Fair in 2001.
Another image from that year’s event shows James Pendleton getting a soaking from Robert Pendleton and Phil Edmondson.
At Broughton Whit Fair in 1998, Claire Braithwaite, six, of Swarthmoor enjoys the Punch & Judy Show.
A fascinating image from the 1920s shows A Salvation Army Whit Walks float in Dalton and another from 1925 shows Emmerson’s Horses at Ulverston Hiring Whit Fair. In the background is Taylor’s steam switchback and Hoadley’s horses.
Another oldie, from 1961, depicts a St Paul’s Youth Club Whit Monday day out to Drigg beach for a barbecue.
Scouts from Western Lakes Scout District are shown on an action packed adventure at Boreatton Park, Shropshire, during Whit Week in 2006 and crowds are captured waiting to join the train at Silloth on Whit Monday in 1964.
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