Bearing Rush at Sowerby Bridge

11th September 2023

As soon as I mentioned to creatives who were from North England, or had lived here a long time, that I would be working with rushes in the Rituals for Tomorrow project, they recommended that I must find out about the Sowerby Bridge Rush bearing Festival. I’ve been following their social media for some time, which is very comprehensive and shares the process, community and ideas behind their annual Rush bearing Festival which is held on the first weekend of September.

I visited the 2023 festival last week, and it was an impressive and uplifting community event; the spirit of which was further enhanced by the very warm and sunny weather.

Rush bearing is an old English ecclesiastical ritual ceremony, where the old and worn out rushes were cut back in late September and carried in a procession to be laid on the church floor. It dates back to the Middle Ages when building interiors had renewable floor coverings such as straw and grasses, and rushes were used in this way for their cleanliness and insulation properties. The churches would allocate a day for the rush bearing procession and ceremony, and provide food, drink, and cake for the bearers. By the 18th Century, this had developed to include entertainment such as Morris Dancing and music. In the early 19th Century, church interiors had flagstone floors and the celebration had fallen out of fashion.

During the 1970’s, when there was a resurgence in interest in folk art and practice, some rush bearing festivals were revived, including the Sowerby Bridge Festival in 1977. During this year’s festival, I bought a copy of the original badge from 1977 (below r), with the Morris dancers behind the cart, as well as the 2023 badge which is printed on leather. Rush bearers who pull the cart wear each of these annual badges on their hats (see image below) which is like a kind of uniform.

The rush cart itself is an unusual structure. Although I had seen images online prior to this, I couldn’t quite understand the process of construction.

The cart is built around a wooden frame that sits upon a solid wooden wheel cart base, that is painted brightly with flowers and decoration. Historically, Northwest towns would compete with the number of carts and quality they would make, with Rochdale boasting eight carts in the procession each year. There are a few examples of the wooden painted bases carts at the Folk Museum at Shibden Hall, Halifax.

This year’s rushcart at Sowerby Bridge is built upon a burgundy and yellow painted cart. Using recently, locally cut rushes, the coat of bunches of rushes is built from the base up, building a layer of grasses flowing downwards. Each ‘bunch’ is tied with string and slotted in with a sequence that covers all sides of the internal wooden frame. You can see images of this process on their Instagram here. The cart is also decorated with flowers, a painted banner, a wooden triangle with roses and many metal ale pints. I’m going to try creating some of these tied bunches as a way to build walls and forms in my own work.

The rush cart is ridden by a ‘Cart Maiden’, who climbs the rush cart with help and sits on top of the structure waving at all those who watch it as it passes by in the procession. It’s a really odd and slightly exhilarating thing to watch – you do wonder how safe it is and will she fall off, especially when they take a sharp road turn!

A large group of men and women pull ropes held by poles at the front and rear of the cart to balance and steer it. It is quite a feat of engineering. Again, there is an element of precarity and trust to move it forward and take it safely to its destination. Those pulling and riding the cart are local people who have signed up on  a waiting list for this opportunity, sometimes from being a young child.

The procession is a well organised event with a series of stops in local villages and Sowerby Bridge on the Saturday and Sunday – mostly churches, community centres and pubs. When they stop and park the cart, one or two of the groups perform. I saw the cart at both St Patricks Church, where the Bradshaw Mummers (above centre) performed a play and the Navigation Inn, where there was Morris Dancing. Pictured above left is one of the local Sowerby Bridge Morris Dancers.

Each of the rush bearers and cart maidens pay an annual subscription to support the running costs. Money is also fundraised each year at the festival, which is donated to local charities.  There seemed to be a very strong sense of community within the rushbearing group, the visiting performers, the locals and visitors to the festival. When the procession passed through the streets were lined with visitors watching, chatting and drinking, and when the revelry had passed through the road went back to being a quiet Yorkshire town. The whole festival was clearly organised very well from marketing to safely running the event with partners and locals services.

Although I don’t necessarily want to make a ‘rush cart’, I’m interested in the history of using these materials within a celebratory and community context. It really was a joyous event. I also was interested in how rushes can be used to make a structure that is long lasting, although I have seen on their social media that this cart has already been dismantled which is a shame, but understand that storage and maintenance of such large objects are challenging.

With thanks to Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing for answering my questions regarding the procession.

More information on Sowerby Bridge Festival here