Saturday 11th January 2025
Venue: Chawton House
***This event has now sold out***
5-7pm
Back by popular demand, join us for this centuries’ old Twelfth Night apple-growing celebration to encourage a bountiful harvest in 2025.
What is a Wassail?
Wassailing involves a procession through an orchard, the banging of pots and pans, and singing to ward off bad spirits whilst pleasing the spirits of the fruit trees. This is done to help ensure a good crop of fruit for the upcoming year.
Chawton House Wassail
For this year’s event, you can enjoy a warming serving of soup and a mulled cider/hot drink in the Old Kitchen Courtyard before forming the procession, led by our Wassail Queen. You’ll head to the Orchard in the Walled Garden to ward off bad spirits by making as much noise as possible, and welcome good ones by blessing the apple tree. Don’t forget to bring along an instrument or anything that will help make a noise to add to the festivities! We will also be joined by special guests, the Kings Pond Shantymen, for some lively traditional songs.
After the Wassail has finished, head back to the Courtyard where we will be selling hot drinks and cider for you all to enjoy.
Tickets: Adult £15 | Child (6-16) £10
The Kings Pond Shantymen
We will be joined again this year by the Kings Pond Shantymen, who formed in 2001 and perform across Hampshire and Surrey. With their authentic shanty style – unaccompanied male voices singing together in a lively fashion with harmonies thrown in rather than pre-planned, they’ll help secure us a bumper harvest in 2025!
