Folklore fans are rallying behind a campaign to preserve an extraordinary archive that chronicles the quirky and captivating traditions of Britain.
This remarkable collection, comprising more than 20,000 books, 4,000 tape cassettes, and 3,500 hours of reel-to-reel audio, is the life’s work of 79-year-old folklorist David “Doc” Rowe, who has traversed the UK and Ireland since the 1960s.
His journeys have led him to observe a wide array of calendar customs, from the whimsical Straw Bear Festival to the eerie Krampus Run and the enigmatic Hunting of the Earl of Rone.
In an ambitious bid to immortalise the vast archive, a passionate team of filmmakers and preservationists is embarking on a crowdfunding mission.
British film directors Rob Curry and Tim Plester began a film project about Doc Rowe during lockdown, primarily driven by the urgency of preserving this priceless archive for posterity. Their aim is to create a permanent digital archive of all the materials related to folk traditions, currently residing on old video formats.
The campaign has garnered support from notable figures like musician Eliza Carthy, and authors Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.
The film follows Doc as he tries to find a permanent home for it all, and cement not only his legacy but that of the customs he has dedicated his life to documenting.
Doc’s vast collection is currently stored in Whitby, North Yorkshire, with the archive viewed as a time-traveling treasure trove. Many of the events recorded by Doc are delightfully eccentric.
The filmmakers said: “We want to feature as much of Doc’s incredible footage as we can in the film, but, in the spirit of ‘being the change we want to see’, we want to play a role in permanently securing Doc’s legacy. Rather than just digitise the bits we need, we are therefore launching this crowdfund to create a permanent digital archive of all the material related to folk traditions that is currently languishing on film stock and old video formats in Doc’s hallowed archive in Whitby.”
Once digitised, the archive will be safely housed in The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, the archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London.
The documentary captures Doc’s journey over the course of a year, during which he faced not only health issues but also a crossroads in life. The film celebrates the steadfast working-class communities preserving these traditions.
These traditions, rooted in history, embody an authentic community spirit, making their preservation of utmost importance in the face of modern challenges like gentrification and shifting community dynamics.
Learn more about the crowdfund here. Learn more about Doc Rowe here.
UNUSUAL EVENTS
• The Straw Bear Festival, held in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, features a costumed “Straw Bear” figure that parades through the town, accompanied by music and dancing, as part of a centuries-old custom believed to bring good luck.
• The Krampus Run in Whitby, North Yorkshire, each December sees participants dress as the demonic Krampus, a companion of Saint Nicholas. Krampus festivals are popular in Europe.
• Hunting of the Earl of Rone in Combe Martin, Devon, sees locals chasing an effigy of an earl, a ritual that is puzzling in its origins.
• The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance features six “deer men” carrying reindeer antlers performing a dance that is believed to date back over a thousand years.
•Other folk traditions documented by Doc include Cheese Rolling, Morris Dancing, Bonfire Night, Maypole Dancing and Penny for the Guy.
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