©Roy Blewett, Recorder for Madron Old Cornwall Society
Ceremony took place on 27th September 2021. Tonight, a beautiful sunny and calm evening, on the hills above Madron Churchtown in one of the fields of Boswarthen Farm this ancient custom was again enacted by nearly 50 Members and friends of the Society by kind permission of Mr Adrian Nicholls the farmer.
A minutes silence was held for his father, Mr Stewart Nicholls, who sadly had died recently and whom had supported the event over scores of years on his land.
The Society was also joined by an able selection of Penzance Silver Band who started the evening with “Praise the Lord the Heavens Adore him” and other tunes finishing with the Harvest Hymn “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the Land”
Our Chairman Roy Matthews then welcomed everyone and explained the history of the ceremony and its enactment.
Mr John Riley Secretary of St Just Old Cornwall Society then gave the prayer in Cornish followed by the Rev Peter Butterfield giving it in English.
Mr John Pengelly of St Buryan and a member scythed the last of the remaining corn and after gathering the neck, raised it on high and presented it to the four wind quarters crying “a Neck” at each turn and repeated this in Cornish.
Turning to the assembled he shouted, “I ave im, I ave im, I ave im” to which we all replied, “What ave ee, What ave ee, What ave ee”?
“A Neck, a Neck, a Neck” he returned “and three cheers for the Farmer”.
This was again repeated in Cornish taking us all back to ancient times.
In olden times the Neck would be plaited into a Corn Dolly and hung over the hearth for a year in the kitchen of the farmhouse for good fortune for the coming year.
Usually each year we and the band returned either to Madron Chapel or Madron Church taking each in turn for some more singing and a “Cup of Tay, a pasty and/or a saffron bun,” but due to all the restrictions and for safety the OCS arranged for 55 warm pasties to be at the gathering, needless to say none were left at the end.