Crying the neck 5

‘Crying the Neck’ ceremony is when the last stand of a crop of barley, corn, or whatever it is, is cut by a reaper, held aloft in triumph, and the sheaf or corn dolly is then escorted to the Church or Chapel as a thanksgiving for the harvest. It dates back to pagan times but more or less died out when farming became mechanised. It was revived early in the 20th century and is kept alive today by Old Cornwall Societies.

I have attended one such ceremony with Penzance OCS in the 1980s on some land at Golden Acre in the Gulval - Ludgvan stretch and played a harvest hymn to accompany the assembly during the ceremony. It looks like this was in the same situ. Pzpirate has explained well!

My family were keen OCS members and I ve posted one or two pictures from St Just and Pendeen OCS Crying of the neck.
I have pictures of several more of these ceremonies but don t want to bore anyone by swamping the site with them.

Put as many up as you possibly can, my ansum. Your Mum was a truly lovely lady, and I often think of her.

Nicholas Mathews on the scythe.

The whole point of Picture Penzance is to show what this part of the world is made of, and for that matter to share with each other our individual and mutual experiences; Onen Hag Ol!! The more the better ....

Thank you so much for those words, PzM. I share your opinion of her of course but I m moved to know that others still remember her in that way after all these years.

I have a bottle of perfume on my dressing table which she gave me, after I had commented on very many occasions how lovely her fragrance was.

I find this site unique, we make comments and by virtue of knowing the same people we are linked without knowing until know.