Widecombe Fair (song)
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"Widecombe Fair", also called "Tom Pearce", is a Devon folk song about a man called Tom Pearce, whose horse dies after someone borrows it to travel to the fair in Widecombe with his friends. Its choru
A painted wooden sculpture depicting the horse and its riders, displayed in Widecombe in the Moor's St Pancras church
Hobby horse
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In folklore, a hobby horse is a costumed character that features in some traditional seasonal customs, processions and similar observances around the world. In England, they are particularly associate
Widecombe Fair (song)
…Tree the title is spelt "Widdicombe Fair". The ghostly 'Grey Mare' of the song may in fact refer to a lost folk custom similar to the Mari Lwyd or Hobby Horse of Welsh and Cornish tradition. Local historians have tried to identify the characters in the song. Tony Beard, a member of a local history group that…
Painting of a hobby horse with Morris dancers beside the River Thames at Richmond, London; detail of Thames at Richmond, with the Old Royal Palace, c. 1620 (Fitzwilliam Museum, unknown artist)
The Old 'Oss capturing a young woman during the May Day festival at Padstow, Cornwall
Minehead Hobby Horse
Some modern dance sides have reinterpreted the hobby horse: this hooden horse is a zebra