Whitsuntide Walks

Who remembers getting a whole new outfit for Whitsuntide?

Whitsuntide or Pentecost is a Christian festival 50 days after Easter. Traditionally churches in the area had a walk of witness, when they would have a procession around the parish, to show their love for the church. They usually joined up with other churches in the area, to form a long procession through the centre of town. Crowds used to line the streets to watch the walkers, with some dashing out to give their loved ones pennies.

People wore their best clothes, bought new for the occasion, with many girls wearing white dresses. The children would be refreshed with buns and milk when they returned to the church. The tradition of whit walks is still carried out albeit in a smaller affair nowadays, but even less so this year. There will be no processions or even The Whit Friday Brass Band contest, which has also been postponed due to the Covid Pandemic.

The first Whit walks began at the beginning of the nineteenth century after the development of the Sunday school movement. Large embroidered banners were made to identify each church and had to be carried by the strongest young men. Other items of faith also carried were bibles, statues of Christ or The Madonna, as well as displays of flowers. Usually a brass band would lead the procession for each church; this could also be a Boys Brigade band.

All the churches would meet up in a large area where a short service with hymn singing & prayers was held. The processions carried on regardless of the weather, a gust of wind could make carrying the banner rather precarious. In the 1950’s some Sunday schools required the children to have sufficient attendance to be allowed to walk in the procession. The children were sometimes dressed in the same colours, chosen by the Sunday school teachers. The rose queen and her attendants would also be dressed in these colours.

Mary Whitehead’s book ‘What Happened in and What Happened to Sunday Schools. Ashton-Under-Lyne 1800-2000’ can now be bought at the Local Studies & Archive Centre for the reduced price of £2.50. The Archive Centre on Oldham Road, Ashton is now open on Tues, Weds & Thurs 10-5 & Sat 10-1.