Those of us old enough to remember Christmasses, singing, while gathered around the piano in the best room of the house, and a fire in the hearth, will understand that this was the tradition going back many years when music was not recorded and had to be performed live.
Looking back to the 19th century public performances were limited, but this encouraged groups of amateur actors, (usually men), to travel the countryside at key dates of the year performing wherever they could.
They were called the Mummers, the name being derived from Ancient Greek Momus, (the personification of satire and mockery; and in Old English relating to mime, masking and frolicking), a tradition that goes back many centuries.
A Mumming, as the performance was called, was a traditional play acted out in pubs, homes or in the street in return for money, food and drink.
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The play included swordplay and mock fighting to cause the ‘death’ of a character who was revived by the end of the play.
These performances were common in the villages in and around Basingstoke and the North Hampshire area especially in Overton where a very popular Mummer group was centred, who were very popular and travelled far and wide.
The roots of Mumming are believed to stem from England and Ireland but the traditions soon spread throughout Europe, particularly in Newfoundland where there is evidence of groups as far back as 1819.
Due to the mix of disguise and drink, violence often ensued and in Newfoundland in 1860 this came to a head with the murder of Isaac Mercer who became a victim of the drunken actors and was attacked with his own hatchet and died later that evening.
Although this murder was believed to have religious undertones the practice of Mumming was banned.
Costumes were extreme in design with no particular theme or uniformity.
It could be as simple as a sash or as elaborate as the wearer's imagination would allow.
Coats could be covered with layers of cloth cut into strips, or wallpaper used instead when the material was not to hand.
Hats could be just as bizarre covered with flowers or rosettes or with strips of material fixed so that the performer's face was covered, or the performer could alternatively apply face colouring made from lard, sheep dye, whitewash, brick dust or soot.
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Presumably, this would trigger nightmares in the children who witnessed the spectacle.
Women were played by men dressed in women’s clothing to match the character; dowdy and drab clothing for the ‘old woman’ and attractive clothing for the ‘young lady’.
Other country customs such as maypole dancing, Morris dancing and feast day observance, some of which date back to Pagan rituals, were also popular throughout the area, but by 1912 the Mummers started to disappear In Basingstoke, Overton and Whitchurch.
Mentioned in The Illustrated History of Basingstoke by Arthur Attwood, the father of Fred Randall of East Oakley wrote in 1912: ‘Most of our old South country customs such as the observance of feasts, maypole dances, backwoodsmanship, Mummers and other quaint diversions have more or less disappeared from Hampshire village life. …… You may still find a few small bands of so-called Mummers, who gabble a few rhymes and smite each other with wooden swords. The merry dare devil Mummers of 35 years ago, which I can still remember, are no more to be seen.’
As with many traditions that have their time and disappear, Mummers have been consigned to history, but there are groups accessible online who fight to keep the tradition alive.
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