The Hinckley Bullockers performing their annual plough tour. They paint their faces red and pull a decorated plough.
The Hinckley Bullockers performing their annual plough tour. They paint their faces red and pull a decorated plough through villages in Leicestershire. The picture shows them performing in Sharnford where they play and dance outside two public houses before moving on to other villages. On the first Monday after Twelfth Night - Plough Monday - the plough was prepared for the new season, dressed in gaudy ribbons and taken in procession around the villages. In South West Leicestershire the men pulling the plough, who "raddled" their faces, were known as Plough Bullocks and were aided and abetted by dancers who danced dances peculiar to the Eastern Counties. The Plough Bullocks and the Molly Dancers were last seen in this area at the turn of the century in Sapcote. Traditionally, the Plough Bullockers would stop at public houses, farms and large houses, dance and/or sing and demand recognition in the form of cash donations or drink. If neither was forthcoming the offending landlord's drive was ploughed up - not something we try in these enlightened times!
Size: 5297px × 3531px
Location: Sharnford, Leicestershire, UK
Photo credit: © David Warren / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 12th, bullock, bullockers, custom, customs, dance, dancing, day, dayribbons, face, faced, hinckley, men, morris, plough, ploughed, red, tour, tradition, traditional, twelfth, yearly
