61-443: The Dorset Ooser ( / ˈ oʊ s ər / ) is a wooden head that featured in the 19th-century folk culture of Melbury Osmond , a village in the southwestern English county of Dorset . The head was hollow, thus perhaps serving as a mask , and included a humanoid face with horns, a beard, and a hinged jaw which allowed the mouth to open and close. Although sometimes used to scare people during practical jokes, its main recorded purpose
122-473: A mummer . Hutton instead proposed that Osser possibly derived from Wooset , a term used in the dialect around Wiltshire to refer to a pole upon which a horse's skull with deer's horns was affixed. This Wooset was recorded as having been paraded by youths in the Marlborough district until the 1830s, where it was used to mock neighbours whose partners were suspected of marital infidelity, the horns being
183-451: A Grade I listed building, remains in use for worship. The renowned jockey Sir Gordon Richards is buried in the new cemetery on Marlborough Common, the second of two such cemeteries to be opened after the two old churchyards stopped being used for burials. Local TV services are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country , via the Mendip transmitter and a local relay. Radio stations for
244-527: A case of a group of Christmas Wassailers at Kingscote , Gloucestershire , a man was "dressed in a sack, his head in a real bull's face, head and horns complete". Another case highlighted by Dewar was taken from an account provided by G. W. Greening of Dorchester, in which a member of the Bradstock Mummers was dressed as Beelzebub . Given these similarities, Dewar ultimately suggested that the Ooser
305-505: A local post office to be constructed in its place. In Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries , Charles Herbert Mayo noted that "no recollection of its ever being made use of is retained", although thought that "it may plausibly be conjectured" that the Ooser was used in "village revels, and at similar times of rustic entertainment". The following year, the curator of the Dorset County Museum , Henry Joseph Moule , published
366-714: A long way back". The Gardnerian Wiccan Melissa Seims suggested that the iconography of the Ooser was an influence on the design of the Head of Atho, a statue of the Wiccan Horned God created by Raymond Howard in mid-20th century England. Wiccans in the Minnesota area of the United States make use of a head with stag antlers that they term the Minnesota Ooser. Representing the religion's Horned God, it
427-539: A note in the same journal relating that their childhood nurse, who was from the village of Cerne Abbas , had talked about the head, and had referred to it as the "Wurser". Moule added that it was "surely" used in Mummers' plays performed at Christmas time. Dewar, after subsequent research, reported the recollections of K. G. Knight—a member of the Melbury Estate staff—that inhabitants of Melbury Osmond associated
488-552: A parish council known as the Marlborough Town Council, which has 16 councillors. For elections to Wiltshire Council, the civil parish is covered by two electoral divisions, again named Marlborough East and Marlborough West, which each elect one member. They include large areas outside the town, the West division extending beyond Avebury . Prior to 2009, Marlborough was administered by Wiltshire County Council at
549-498: A surviving pre-Christian fertility religion—claiming that the mask was a cult item that reflected continuing worship of the cult's Horned God . Murray's hypothesis is now discredited. The historians Jeffrey B. Russell and Brooks Alexander have stated that "today, scholars are agreed that Murray was more than just wrong [regarding the existence of the witch-cult] – she was completely and embarrassingly wrong on nearly all of her basic premises". The Ooser's pre-Christian origin theory
610-517: A traditional sign of cuckoldry . Similar traditions have been recorded in Wiltshire and Somerset, where they can be traced back to at least the early 17th century. The first public mention of the Dorset Ooser was in an 1891 edition of Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries , where it was the subject of an article by the journal's editor, Charles Herbert Mayo . The head was, at the time, in
671-745: Is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road , the old main road from London to Bath . The town is on the River Kennet , 24 miles (39 km) north of Salisbury and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Swindon . The earliest sign of human habitation is the Marlborough Mound , a 62-foot-high (19 m) prehistoric tumulus in the grounds of Marlborough College . Recent radiocarbon dating has found it to date from about 2400 BC. It
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#1732790415116732-465: Is at the heart of the Church of England Marlborough deanery in the diocese of Salisbury in the province of Canterbury . The rural dean has responsibility for the benefices of Marlborough , Ridgeway , Upper Kennet and Whitton which in total comprise 16 parishes. Of the town's two Church of England parish churches , St Peter's has been made redundant and converted into an arts centre. St Mary's ,
793-779: Is kept on an altar and brought out for use in Sabbat rituals. The Ooser has been used in modern anti-urbanisation demonstrations as a symbolic guardian of the countryside. Folk culture Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 253273258 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:40:15 GMT Marlborough, Wiltshire Marlborough ( / ˈ m ɔː l b ər ə / MAWL -bər-ə , / ˈ m ɑːr l -/ MARL - )
854-465: Is of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the town. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin and that the name of the town comes from Merlin's Barrow . More plausibly, the town's name possibly derives from the medieval term for chalky ground "marl"—thus, "town on chalk". However more recent research, from geographer John Everett-Heath , identifies
915-486: Is open to the public for guided tours on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from April to October. The house was built following the Great Fire of 1653. It was the property of a silk merchant and, rarely for a house of this type in a town centre, retains its original room pattern. Notable are the wall paintings recently uncovered, which are undergoing conservation. One room painted in a striped pattern, copying silk hangings,
976-534: Is perhaps unique in Great Britain. Marlborough is within the county of Wiltshire , and the administrative district of the same name. For local government purposes, it is administered by the Wiltshire Council unitary authority. Since the local boundary review of 2020, the parish has two wards – Marlborough East and Marlborough West. Marlborough and Manton collectively form a civil parish with
1037-532: Is unclear if the head itself was the Ooser, or whether it instead was designed as a depiction of an entity called the Ooser. Dewar suggested the possibility that it might have been connected to the term Wurse , used for the Devil in Layamon 's Brut , or to the 17th-century Italian term Oser , again used for the Devil. Alternately, he suggested that it might be a derivative of Guisard or Guiser , two old terms for
1098-469: Is used by the Wessex Morris Men as part of their seasonal festivities. In 2005, a journalist from The Guardian reported on a dawn ceremony performed by the troupe on May Day atop Giant Hill near Cerne Abbas. The ceremony involved one member carrying the Dorset Ooser replica atop his head, with other Morris men dancing around him; after the rite they proceeded, still dancing, to a local pub,
1159-573: Is well connected by road with the A4 from Hungerford to Calne , A346 from Tidworth to Swindon and A345 from Salisbury meeting there. The long-distance National Trail, the Wessex Ridgeway , runs from Marlborough to Lyme Regis in Dorset . Marlborough is twinned with: Marlborough has an oceanic climate somewhat influenced by its inland position and at 407 feet (124 m) elevation
1220-527: The Horned God in the modern Pagan religion of Wicca in both the United Kingdom and United States. A wooden head, the Dorset Ooser had been cut from a single block of timber, with the exception of the lower jaw, which was movable and connected to the rest of the mask by leather hinges. The lower jaw could be moved by pulling on a string which passed through a hole in the upper jaw to connect to
1281-568: The Statute of Marlborough was passed (this gave rights and privileges to small land owners and limited the right of the King to take possession of land). This law states that no-one shall seize his neighbour's goods for alleged wrong without permission of the Court. Apart from Charters, it is the oldest statute in English law which has not yet been repealed. A Jewish community lived in the town from
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#17327904151161342-622: The "big mop" and "little mop" fairs. In 2014 these were set for 3–4 and 17–18 October. From 1986 a music festival was held in the town for a number of days in June or July. In 1997 this became the Marlborough International Jazz Festival, which ceased after 2016. The parish church of St Mary is Grade I listed building . St George's church in Preshute, adjoining Manton dates from the 12th century and
1403-531: The 1230s, near Silver Street (now Silverless Street) and established a synagogue. In January 1275, Eleanor of Provence expelled Jews from all of the towns within her dower lands, and the Jews of Marlborough relocated to Devizes . The castle fell into disrepair by the end of the 14th century but remained Crown property. Edward VI then passed it to the Seymour family , his mother's relatives. In 1498 Thomas Wolsey
1464-583: The 2009–10 South West Division Dorset & Wilts 1 North league, winning all 22 games to secure promotion to the Southern Counties South league. In 2018, the first XV has competed in South West 1 East and in 2023, they were Regional 2 South East champions, winning promotion to tier 5 for the first time. The club has a second XV senior team as well as many junior players. Marlborough Town F.C. play their home games at Elcot Lane, to
1525-688: The Conqueror assumed control of the Marlborough area and set about building a wooden motte-and-bailey castle , sited on the prehistoric mound. This was completed in around 1100. Stone was used to strengthen the castle in around 1175. The first written record of Marlborough dates from the Domesday Book in 1086. William also established a mint in Marlborough, which coined the William I and the early William II silver pennies. The coins display
1586-469: The County Armoury, and 244 houses to the ground. This event attracted more than local attention; the parish register of Wotton-under-Edge , in the west of Gloucestershire , records on 9 August 1653 that 18 pounds 17 shillings and six and a half pence had been collected in the parish for the relief of the distressed inhabitants of Marlborough. During the rebuilding of the town after the Great Fire,
1647-568: The Ooser was a depiction of the Devil , an idea supported by Dewar, who believed that, as the Devil, its imagery was "intended to inspire terror in the minds of the foolish and the wicked". Conversely, others have suggested that it is a depiction of a pre-Christian god. In her 1931 book The God of the Witches , Margaret Murray connected the Ooser to her version of the witch-cult hypothesis —the idea that those tried as alleged witches were adherents of
1708-492: The Ooser went missing around 1897. Since then, various folklorists and historians have debated the origins of the head, which has possible connections to the horned costumes sometimes worn by participants in English Mummers plays . The folklorists Frederick Thomas Elworthy and H. S. L. Dewar believed that the head was a representation of the Devil and thus was designed to intimidate people into behaving according to
1769-588: The Red Lion. In summer 2006, the Wessex Morris Men took the replica to Melbury Osmond for the first time, where they performed a dance in a local street. Murray's interpretation of the Ooser was embraced by Doreen Valiente , an earlier practitioner of the modern Pagan religion of Wicca , who stated that the mask "is certainly connected with the Old Religion [i.e. the witch-cult], and that from
1830-604: The area are BBC Radio Wiltshire on 104.9 FM and Heart West on 96.5 FM. The local newspaper for the area is the Gazette and Herald . Although once served by two railway lines (the Great Western Railway and the Midland and South Western Junction Railway ) the town no longer has any direct rail access. The nearest stations are Pewsey (6.7 miles), Bedwyn (6.9 miles), and Swindon (12.7 miles). Marlborough
1891-579: The celebrations were a street play by the Marlborough Players titled Wheels of Time, and a visit from the Prince of Wales . The Marlborough mop fair was originally a market where local goods could be sold or bartered. It later developed into a hiring fair for agricultural workers seeking employment, but now has become a travelling funfair . It takes place over two weekends in October, as
Dorset Ooser - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-407: The coachman for Cave's replacement, a doctor by the name of Webber. Lawrence said that Cave left the head in his house in the village, where it was hung up in a loft and began to fall apart; Lawrence recalled wearing it to frighten people during a parade around 1900, at which time the hair was falling out. He said that the house was later pulled down, with the head probably still inside it, in order for
2013-593: The county level and the Kennet District Council. Marlborough was part of the Devizes constituency until 2024, when it was placed in the new East Wiltshire constituency ; it has been represented in the House of Commons since 2019 by Danny Kruger , a Conservative . Its representative has been a Conservative since 1924. Marlborough College , an independent boarding school, is on the west side of
2074-781: The discovery in St Margaret's Mead of the Marlborough Bucket, an Iron Age burial bucket made of fir wood with three iron hoops, a top bar and two handles; it also sports bronze bands decorated with human heads and mythical animals, and is now on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes . Roman remains and the large Mildenhall Hoard of coins have been found two miles to the east of Marlborough, at Mildenhall (Cunetio). A later Saxon settlement grew up around The Green and two early river crossings were made at Isbury Lane and Stonebridge Lane. In 1067 William
2135-659: The east of the town, and are members of the Wiltshire League . There is a youth football club, Marlborough Youth FC, with over 350 players that play in the North Wiltshire Youth Football League. There is a cricket team whose 1st X1 compete in the WEPL Wiltshire Premier Division. Marlborough Hockey Club play at Marlborough College. A parkrun takes place on Marlborough Common every Saturday. The town
2196-399: The head with a folk custom known as "Skimity Riding" or "Rough Music". In this custom, someone accused of "husband-beating, scolding, sexual unfaithfulness or irregularity, and cuckoldry" was made to ride on a donkey or horse, facing the direction of the animal's tail, while the assembled crowd made much noise by beating frying pans, kettles, bulls' horns, and bones. In Melbury Osmond, the Ooser
2257-489: The head, he was informed that it had been "disposed of", with some suggestion that it had found its way to the United States. In 1935, a folklore collector named S. A. Ramsden undertook enquiries into the fate of the head at the prompting of the Egyptologist and folklorist Margaret Murray . His enquiries led him to meet with Cave's coachman, Lawrence, who – after Cave left Crewkerne – had subsequently served as
2318-666: The high street was widened and is often claimed to be the widest in England though the actual widest is in Stockton-on-Tees . This wide street allows ample space for the local market. Fire swept through the town again in 1679 and 1690. This time, an Act of Parliament was passed "to prohibit the covering of houses and other buildings with thatch in the Town of Marlborough". In 1804 the Marlborough White Horse
2379-534: The imagery of the Devil, and thus of the Ooser, was originally drawn from the pre-Christian gods of "phallic or fertility worship". In 1975 the local Morris dancer John Byfleet made a replica of the original Ooser, which he carved from a log using a penknife. This replica is on display at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester. It is taken from the museum twice a year, on May Day and St. George's Day , when it
2440-537: The inhabitants a chance to prepare defences and to recruit troops. They mustered about seven hundred poorly armed men. At this point, the town issued a reply to Digby: "The King's Majesty, providing he were attended in Royal and not in war like wise, should be as welcome to that town as ever was Prince to People; but as to delivering up the good Town of Marlborough to such a traitor as Lord Digby ... they would sooner die". After some early skirmishes, Royalist troops infiltrated
2501-463: The local community's moral system. Conversely, the folklorist Margaret Murray suggested that it represented a pre-Christian god of fertility whose worship survived in Dorset into the modern period, although more recent scholarship has been highly sceptical of this interpretation. The etymology of Ooser is also disputed, with various possibilities available. In 1975 a replica of the original Ooser
Dorset Ooser - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-410: The lower. The mask also contained locks of hair on either side of its head, a beard on its chin, and a pair of bullock's horns. Between the Ooser's eyes was a rounded boss, the meaning of which is unknown. The Ooser was hollow, allowing someone to place their own head within it, potentially permitting it to be worn as a mask whilst being supported on the shoulders; however, there were no holes allowing for
2623-405: The name of the town as Maerlebi or Maerleber. He also established the neighbouring Savernake Forest as a favourite royal hunting ground and Marlborough castle became a Royal residence. Henry I observed Easter here in 1110. Henry II stayed at Marlborough castle in talks with the King of Scotland . His son, Richard I ("Coeur de Lion") gave the castle to his brother John , in 1186. King John
2684-447: The obstinacy and malice of the inhabitants, in the situation of it very unfit for a garrison... this place the King saw would prove quickly an ill neighbour to him, not only as it was in the heart of a rich County, and so would straighten him, and even infest his quarters." The King sent Lord Digby who left Oxford to take the town at the head of four hundred horse on 24 November 1642. When he arrived, he chose to parley first, thus giving
2745-441: The original Anglo-Saxon place name as Merleberge , with a derivation from either the personal name of Mærle combined with beorg (hill), or meargealla beorg : hill where gentian grows. On John Speed 's map of Wiltshire (1611), the town's name is recorded as Marlinges boroe . The town's motto is Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini ("Where now are the bones of wise Merlin"). Further evidence of human occupation comes from
2806-479: The possession of Thomas Cave of Holt Farm in Melbury Osmond ; the editor noted that it had been owned by Cave's family from "time out of mind". Cave had stated that it had formerly been kept in an "old malt-house" in the village, "where it was an object of terror to children who ventured to intrude upon the premises". Mayo noted that it was "possibly the only example now in existence, or at any rate from one of
2867-472: The town down its small alleyways. The town was captured and looted and many buildings were set ablaze. One hundred and twenty prisoners were marched in chains to Oxford. The town was later abandoned by the King and took no further part in the war. On 28 April 1653 the Great Fire of Marlborough started in a tanner's yard and spread quickly, eventually after four hours burning the Guildhall, St Mary's Church ,
2928-482: The town. The town's local authority secondary school, St John's Academy had been considered an above average school and sixth form college by Ofsted , and in the June 2014 report it was considered outstanding. It was formed when the former Marlborough Grammar School and secondary modern school were amalgamated. There is also a primary school, St Mary's. Marlborough is home to Marlborough Rugby Club , who completed their most successful season in recent history in
2989-551: The very few which may still survive in the County", adding that Cave was "willing to dispose of this mask to a lover of objects of antiquarian interest". At some point before 1897, another member of the family, the doctor Edward Cave, left Holt Farm and moved to Crewkerne in Somerset , taking the Ooser with him. In 1897, he relocated to Bath , leaving the Ooser with his family coachman; when Edward Cave subsequently tried to recover
3050-470: The villagers' claims that the Ooser was brought to the door of a tallet in order to scare the local children, and that it was also used to scare adults on some occasions. Knight came across the claim that it was once used to frighten a stable hand, who jumped through a window to escape it, and in doing so "so injured himself that his life was despaired of". Dewar further drew comparisons with the horned masks sometimes worn during Mummers' plays. He noted that in
3111-421: The wearer to see while wearing it in this way. The historian Ronald Hutton described the Ooser as "a terrifying horned mask with human face, staring eyes, beard, and gnashing teeth". Similarly, the folklorist H. S. L. Dewar stated that "the expression of the eyes [conveyed] a really agonized spirit of hatred, terror, and despair". The term "Ooser" was pronounced with a short, quick s by villagers as Osser . It
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#17327904151163172-521: Was "likely enough an off-shoot from the 14th century and later Mummers' plays". The antiquary Frederick Thomas Elworthy expressed the view that the Dorset Ooser was "the probable head" of a hobby horse . The folklorist E. C. Cawte, in his in-depth study of the hobby horse tradition in English folk culture, stated that although both entailed dressing up in an animalistic costume, the Ooser had no clear connection with this tradition. Elworthy suggested that
3233-453: Was as part of a local variant of the charivari custom known as " skimity riding " or "rough music", in which it was used to humiliate those who were deemed to have behaved in an immoral manner. The Dorset Ooser was first brought to public attention in 1891, at which time it was under the ownership of the Cave family of Melbury Osmond's Holt Farm. After travelling with Edward Cave to Somerset ,
3294-489: Was brought out into the crowd at such an occasion. Similar forms of "mob-punishment" were recorded in parts of neighbouring Devon , where the act was termed "Skimmety Riding", "Skimmington", and "Skivetton". As he deemed it too heavy to be carried or worn by an individual, the historian of folklore Peter Robson later suggested that the Ooser might originally have been mounted in a carnival procession. "In my childhood [the Ooser]
3355-492: Was cut on a downland slope southwest of the town, by boys from Mr Greasley's Academy in the High Street. In 1901 and 1934 the boundaries of the borough were extended to include the hamlet of Preshute (which was separated from Preshute civil parish) and the village of Manton , both to the west of the town. Marlborough Town Hall was completed in 1902. In 2004 Marlborough celebrated 800 years of its Town Charter. Among
3416-467: Was doing service – at Christmas mummings, surely it was. Our Cerne Abbas nurse was quite up in all relating to the "Wurser", as I should spell it phonetically. I did not know of the horns, indeed in our embryo Latinity we thought the word an attempt at Ursa, if I remember rightly. What crowds of odd bits I could note if, alas, I did but "remember rightly" all nurse's folk-lore and folk-speeches." — H. J. Moule, Dorchester, 1892. Dewar also recorded
3477-453: Was echoed in the Reader's Digest encyclopaedia of British folklore, Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain , where it was described as "the idol of a former god of fertility". A gold embossed image of the Ooser was included on the front of the black clothbound encyclopaedia. Although not believing that the Ooser was a specific depiction of a surviving pre-Christian deity, Dewar suggested that
3538-688: Was married here and spent time in Marlborough, where he established a Treasury . In 1204 King John granted Charter to the Borough which permitted an annual eight-day fair, commencing on 14 August, the vigil of the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (15 August), in which "all might enjoy the liberties and quittances customary in the fair at Winchester ". He also established that weekly markets may be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. These continue to this day. Henry III held Parliament here, in 1267, when
3599-611: Was ordained priest in (the now redundant) St Peter's church. He later rose to become a cardinal and Lord Chancellor . In 1642 Marlborough's peace was shattered by the English Civil War . The Seymours held the Castle for the King but the town was for Parliament . With his headquarters in nearby Oxford , King Charles had to deal with Marlborough. "A Town the most notoriously disaffected of all that Country, otherwise, saving
3660-529: Was produced by John Byfleet, which has since been on display at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester . This mask retains a place in Dorset folk culture, being removed from the museum for use in local Morris dancing processions held by the Wessex Morris Men on both St. George's Day and May Day . The design of the Ooser has also inspired the production of copies which have been used as representations of
3721-476: Was substantially restored in 1854 by T.H. Wyatt . It is Grade II* listed. The Church of St Peter and St Paul at the west end of the High Street is Grade II* listed. It dates from the 15th century and was partly rebuilt by T.H. Wyatt in 1862–3. Cardinal Wolsey was ordained priest here in 1498. On the north side of the high street is the Merchant's House, which is currently under restoration but part of which
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