FOR generations, large feasts involving a plethora of people have been symbolic of community get-togethers.

From the 16th century courts of Henry VIII, where the great and the good gathered to dig into delicacies while being entertained, to the recent street parties held to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, communities of every kind have come together to enjoy the company they keep and the places in which they live.

However, there’s been a tradition of a community ‘feast’ in one Ryedale village that goes back generations and, even though it died out for a time during the last century, it is being revived for three days of celebration later this month.

Terrington Feast is, without doubt, one of the key events taking place in the village this year and, though these days it is a ‘feast’ in name only, its roots go far back into the annals of the village’s history.

Its heyday was during the Victorian times, and, according to records dating from that era, every summer there was the village feast, the annual dinner of the Oddfellows, a mutual friendly society which offered help to those who needed it.

“The whole village looked forward to Terrington Feast, starting on Low Sunday, a week after Easter,” wrote Gerry Bradshaw in his 1998 booklet, Terrington Now and Then – Sketches of a Yorkshire Village, produced on behalf of Terrington Arts’ Tiefrung project.

“It continued on the Monday with horse racing on Freers Moor (in later years on Vesters Pasture in Mowthorpe until about 1880, when racing stopped) and then with a horse show and cricket match on Tuesday. Sometimes there were also evening concerts. Eventually, the feast moved to the summer and reduced in scale.”

It is thought that Terrington Feast continued in some form until the 1930s, but died out after that time. Even so, the community still took part in many other events, including village coach outings organised by the Hope family, who owned the village bus company in the mid-20th century, teas and dances, concerts and sporting tournaments, much of which centred around a village hall.

According to Gerry’s booklet, Terrington has had a village hall since 1926, the first of which was the old school and the second was Cliff House, famous for its village dances.

A third, modern village hall was much-needed to serve the village’s contemporary community, though, and so in June 1994, Terrington Feast was ‘resurrected’ to help raise funds to build the current village hall – the event being billed as ‘re-introducing a traditional event which last occurred more than 60 years ago’.

This was an afternoon of entertainment for all the family, including open gardens, a hot air balloon, Morris dancers, classic motorcycles, steam engines and boat displays, village stocks, jugglers and street shows, craft and village stalls and an afternoon concert.

Ian Hughes, the current chairman of the village hall and owner of Terrington Stores, came up with the brainwave of reviving the Terrington Feast this year, to not only bring the community together, but to raise funds for improvements to the hall, well-used by the community it serves.

“The hall needs to move on another level, so it seemed like having another Terrington Feast was the natural thing to do as a fundraiser,” said Ian.

“It’s also a focus for the community, enabling community groups to work together – there are so many of them that meet in the village hall. There are also large shows hosted there.”

This year’s event will be more ambitious than the one held in 1994, running over three days from Friday, June 17, to Sunday, June 19.

The event starts on Friday at 8pm with a concert, a ‘Musical Feast’ featuring Amore, at Terrington Village Hall. This is followed by a village sports day on Saturday, when there will also be a children’s disco in the village hall and a barbecue.

“We’re keeping Saturday as a total village day, and Sunday is the big event,” said Ian.

This ‘day of fun and entertainment’ is for the whole family and, says Ian, they are expecting around 1,000 people to attend.

Sunday kicks off with a guided history walk hosted by John Goodhill in the morning followed by a children’s fancy dress parade at lunchtime before the main event kicks off at 1pm, featuring an array of things to do. There’s a bouncy castle, face painting, brass band, Morris dancers, classic tractors, terrier racing, classic bikes and cars, a market, craft tent, hog roast, darts, coconut shy, stocks and sponges, children’s roundabout, inflatable assault course, refreshments and more.

Meanwhile, Terrington Art Group will be holding an exhibition at the Backotheshop art café and All Saints’ Church will be open all day with flower displays on show. To wrap up the three-day event, there will be songs of praise at 5.30pm in the church, featuring the brass band and Terrington Village Choir.

“My girls are in their 20s and they adored growing up here and love to come home for events in the village, like the Terrington Feast,” said Ian.

“One of the ideas behind the feast is that it will bring families together, almost like a reunion. Again, it’s all part of that community thing; it gives people a sense of belonging and putting on events like these helps that.

“If it works, maybe this time we will keep it going as an annual or bi-annual event,” he added.

“The Terrington Feast has taken a lot of planning, since spring last year, and I think it’ll really be worth it.”

* There are still places for those wishing to display their vintage tractors and a few stalls available to hire for Terrington Feast. If you are interested, email Ian Hughes at ian@backotheshop.co.uk or phone 01653 648530.