The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days

Pageant type

Notes

The Lancashire village of Halton is situated three miles east of Lancaster and should not be confused with the area of Merseyside of the same name.

Jump to Summary

Performances

Place: Grounds of St Wilfred's House (Halton) (Halton, Lancashire, England)

Year: 1912

Indoors/outdoors: Outdoors

Number of performances: 3

Notes

3–6 August 1912

Saturday 3, Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 August 1912 at 3.30pm.

St Wilfred's House had once been the rectory for the local parish church. It is still standing and gives the appearance of a large country manor with substantial grounds. It is now used as a nursing home.

Name of pageant master and other named staff

  • Pageant Master: Hastings, Harold
  • Dance master: Mr A. Willis
  • Musical Director: Mr Beeley
  • Costume Materials Supplier: Mr Gorrill2

Notes

The pageant master was the vicar of the local Anglican parish church of St Wilfred's.3

Names of executive committee or equivalent

Notes

Information about the organising committee has not been recovered; it may be assumed that this would have included the pageant master, the scriptwriter and other local residents.

Names of script-writer(s) and other credited author(s)

  • Mason, Veronica

Notes

The scriptwriter was a local woman.4 The programme includes her portrait on the frontispiece.

Names of composers

n/a

Numbers of performers

200

The performers all came from the village of Halton and included men, women and children.There were four performers in speaking roles. These included the rector and pageant master, Rev. J. Harold Hastings—he may have been responsible for voiceover narration of tableaux pieces—and three parishioners: Miss E. Mount, Mrs R. Walling and Mr W. Bateson.

Financial information

Object of any funds raised

No information about the finances of the pageant has been recovered.

Linked occasion

n/a

Audience information

  • Grandstand: Not Known
  • Grandstand capacity: n/a
  • Total audience: n/a

Notes

Information about the audiences has not been recovered.

Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest

Information about the cost of admission to the pageant has not been recovered.

Associated events

n/a

Pageant outline

Prologue

Two 'present day' people—a studious youth called Dick and a young girl called Mary-Ann—are seen in a hayfield. Dick announces to Mary-Ann that he wishes to tell her about 'the olden times of which he reads so much'.7 As he is about to do so, Dick spots a four-leaf clover, and at this the 'Lancashire Witch enters. She proceeds to cast an enchantment over the pair, and they begin to see folk from the past within the 'Magic Wood'.

Part I. Scene I

Two Celts appears 'seeking for wolves and viewing the countryside'.

Part I. Scene II

Marching around the arena in this scene are two Roman soldiers. The programme suggests they may have been 'on their way, via Lancaster, to the Great Wall'.

Part I. Scene III

In this tableau, 'wild Scots raiders' attack Saxon women and children, who are rescued by Saxon men after a 'desperate fight'.

Part I. Scene IV, 11th Century

The tableau presented 'Earl Tosti', described as 'the last Saxon Lord of Halton', receiving his taxes from a local Lord and watched by villagers.

Part I. Scene V

This scene is described in the programme as merely depicting 'a religious episode'. It shows a group of monks and friars from the 'ancient grange of Beaumont and the friary and hospitals at Lancaster'.8

Part I. Scene VI, 1066

The first Norman Lord of Halton, Roger de Poitou, arrives to bestow the Manor of Halton to 'Adam de Gernet' described as 'Chief Forester of the Country' in return for his services. A group of villagers looks on.

Part I. Scene VII, Circa 1363

This scene features John of Gaunt and Maud of Lancaster together with a group of men-at-arms and archers being welcomed by villagers. A ceremony is enacted in which John of Gaunt is granted the Duchy of Lancaster through his marriage to Maud.

Part I. Scene VIII, 14th Century

A festival held at Midsummer's Eve was enacted; it included a pedlar, a minstrel and Morris dancing. A 'Midsummer fire was lit' and a friar blessed this. At the end of the tableau, witches came on the scene and led Dick and Mary-Ann 'into the Magic Wood'.

Interval

Interlude

Dick's father and Mary-Ann's mother have been searching for their son and daughter. In the interlude they are seen encountering Hugh, a hermit of the Crook of the Lune. He informs them that the two have gone to the Holy Well of St Wilfred, and the mother and father then depart for there. After their departure, the witches escort Dick and Mary-Ann back from the Magic Wood.

Part II. Scene I, 1513

This scene includes narration. In it, the villagers await the return of Lord Thomas Dacre from the Battle of Flodden. He arrives on horseback wearing armour, and, after greeting his family and friends, relates to the listening crowd all that had happened at the battle.

Part II. Scene II, Lammas Day, 1583

This scene is set during Lammas Day and depicts Lord and Lady Arundel handing over the Manor of Halton to Master Christopher Carus, after which they present the new Lord to the people who are looking on. The villagers then process to the church carrying their harvest offerings.

Part II. Scene III, 29 July 1588

Set when a beacon had been lit at Lancaster Castle to warn people of the coming of the Spanish Armada, this scene depicts villagers being roused. The drama includes Thomas Carus' mustering his men with drum and bugle'. Carus and five men then march off to join forces with the army.

Grande Finale

Children enter and perform a 'symbolic dance' on the theme of 'the Wars of the Roses'; following this, the entire cast reassembles to 'sing a song of roses in a great circle'. Following the dance, all leave the arena. Dick and Mary-Ann then reappear 'looking regretful that the dream was over’.

Key historical figures mentioned

  • Tostig, earl of Northumbria (c.1029–1066) magnate
  • Roger the Poitevin (b. c.1065, d. before 1140) magnate
  • John [John of Gaunt], duke of Aquitaine and duke of Lancaster, styled king of Castile and León (1340–1399) prince and steward of England
  • Blanche of Lancaster (1346?–1368) noblewoman
  • Dacre, Thomas, second Baron Dacre of Gilsland (1467–1525), magnate and soldier
  • Howard, Philip [St Philip Howard], thirteenth earl of Arundel (1557–1595) magnate and alleged traitor
  • Howard [née Dacre], Anne, countess of Arundel (1557–1630) noblewoman and priest harbourer

Musical production

n/a

Newspaper coverage of pageant

Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer

Book of words

n/a

A book of words was not produced.

Other primary published materials

  • The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days. Programme. 1912.

References in secondary literature

n/a

Archival holdings connected to pageant

  • Lancaster Central Library: Two copies of the pageant programme. LT52/RE.

Sources used in preparation of pageant

n/a

Summary

This small-scale performance demonstrates that the dramatic format of historical pageantry had not developed in such a way that it became the province only of larger centres of population. The small village of Halton in Lancashire evidently thought it a suitable entertainment for its population of under 1000 people.9 A newspaper report also commented that it had 'educational value' as it explained much of the early history of the village.10 It also had strong and inclusive community involvement and was said to have included villagers from 'hall and cottage alike'.11 The pageant focused on locally significant history with a concentration on the figures who had ruled over this part of Lancashire; yet it still managed to incorporate nationally well-known events such as the Battle of Flodden in 1513 and the threat posed by the Spanish Armada in 1588. Generalised examples of English history that had local associations were also highlighted; for example, in the finale 'pretty groupings and dances' were used to symbolically represent the Wars of the Roses.12

The narrative device used in this pageant was that of time travel with two young people subject to an enchantment delivered by the 'Witch of Lancaster' so that in their dreamlike state they saw pictures from the past. This contrivance suggests a pageant that was perhaps designed mostly, although not exclusively, to appeal to a young audience. The two—Dick and Mary-Ann—were described as being in a hayfield when the performance opened.13 A newspaper report further described them as engaged in 'absent-minded and slumberous love-making'.14 However, it may be assumed that the reporter inferred this slightly racy interpretation because of the setting used for the scene rather than anything more risqué in the enactment! The pageant was performed in two parts with an interval; the first of these was the longer, having eight 'scenes' and took the story of Halton from earliest times through to the fourteenth century. The description of 'scenes' given in the pageant programme, rather than episodes, suggests that most of the drama consisted of tableaux pieces, although there was almost certainly voiceover narration as well as small amounts of dialogue in some scenes.

Keeping with tradition, the pageant opened with ancient Britons and Romans in the first two episodes. It is likely that both of these were merely tableau pieces, although there may have been some voiceover narration. The scenes then moved on to show the Saxon roots of the settlement when it had been an important administrative centre, before being overtaken in this role by nearby Lancaster. In scene III, the different peoples who co-existed in the north were represented by 'wild Scots raiders' repulsed by Saxon men acting in defence of their womenfolk.15 The end of this era was shown in scene IV when the last Saxon overlord was depicted collecting taxes from the locals. Scene V dealt with the arrival of Christianity in the usual manner—dramatising figures from local religious institutions. The local church was named for St Wilfred, so it is notable that there was no attempt to depict him, but given his slightly controversial reputation as a supporter of the Roman church's authority, perhaps this is explicable in an Anglican parish. The Normans arrived in scene VI with the character of Roger de Poitou, the great overlord of the north. In this scene, Roger was seen granting authority over Halton to a member of the de Gernet family, and this served to highlight the district's historical significance as a centre for forestry in the Norman period.

The final two scenes of part one of the pageant included the inevitable depiction of John of Gaunt and Maud of Lancaster in scene VII, which symbolised the establishment of the royal house of Lancaster as a result of their marriage. This subject was a staple feature of pageants in this part of the country because of its significance for later turmoil and the contestation over the crown that developed between the houses of Lancaster and York. The final scene was again a perennial favourite—a depiction of a midsummer fair with the predictable appearance of Morris dancers. It may be assumed that all or most of the 200 performers within the pageant were involved with creating this particular spectacle. Dick and Mary-Ann had supposedly witnessed these scenes taking place in a 'Magic Wood'. At the end of scene VIII, witches appeared again and this time led the pair into the wood; this marked the end of part one of the pageant.

Following the interval, a scene called an 'interlude', which linked the two parts of the pageant, showed Mary-Ann's father and Dick's mother searching for their offspring. A local hermit told them that the pair might be found at the Holy Well of St Wilfred. This drama seems to have been a pretext for mentioning an antiquarian site, as well as for restarting the pageant. When the parents went off in the direction of the well, Dick and Mary Ann exited from their hiding place in the wood, and part two of the pageant began. This section had only three scenes and a finale. The first of these featured the local lord, Thomas Dacre, returning from the Battle of Flodden in 1513 dressed in armour, underlining his reputation as a great soldier. Unfortunately, there is no note in the pageant programme of how the news of victory was received by the villagers who listened to Dacre's Flodden story, which may have been of interest given his notorious role in the battle. A ceremonial scene depicting a traditional harvest festival followed this; this was clearly designed to add colour to the otherwise bland historical detail of the purchase of Halton by the Carus family. The final scene brought the pageant into Elizabethan times, although without any manufactured appearance by the Queen; instead, it depicted the village's response to the threat of invasion by the Armada in 1588.

By concluding its history in the sixteenth century, the pageant avoided any retelling of Halton's Jacobite allegiance (the Carus family remained Roman Catholics). Indeed, any kind of local history that might be interpreted as troublesome was avoided in this pageant. The finale was another example of such avoidance. In this, a safely symbolic recollection of the Wars of the Roses, performed through dance, was presented. The end of the pageant was reached with the awakening of Dick and Mary-Ann from their dream state.

This pageant had three performances, all taking place in the afternoon. The setting was the grounds of the local chaplain's house. Rather than being a small rural vicarage, this was a large mansion; it is probable that this grand property had once been part of the manor and granted to clergy who had been appointed by the local lord. Although no figures for attendance have been recovered, it is certain that there would have been space to accommodate a sizeable number of spectators. The grounds were said to be 'sylvan', having a 'thick wood' in the background and with the arena itself described as 'a natural amphitheatre'.16 There was rain during the first performance, which did cause 'some discomfort to performers and audience', yet the pageant was reported as going on with 'a delightful swing' and having 'a spontaneity about many of the scenes that made the deception almost perfect'. Despite the paucity of information available about the other two presentations, it is reasonable to surmise that the pageant was a success. Shortly afterwards, the pageant's director, the Rev. Hastings, was invited to take charge of the much larger Pageant of Lancaster, which was held in summer 1913. It seems that sleepy though Halton may have been at the start of the twentieth century, it was not lacking in dramatic talent.17

Footnotes

  1. ^ ‘St Wilfrid’s Hall Nursing Home’, accessed 8 December 2015, http://www.housingcare.org/housing-care/facility-info-133261-st-wilfrids-hall-nursing-home-halton-on-lune-england.aspx.
  2. ^ The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days, programme (1912), front page.
  3. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  4. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  5. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  6. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  7. ^ Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations in synopses are taken from The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days, programme (1912).
  8. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  9. ^ The 1901 census stated that the population of Halton was 892. This figure is reproduced in W. Farrer and J. Brownbill, eds., 'The Parish of Halton', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (London, 1914), 118–126, accessed 8 December 2015, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp118-126. The same article states that 'modern houses' existed in the village; therefore, by the time of the pageant and the publication of this book, it is possible that the population had risen a little.
  10. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 August 1912, 9.
  11. ^ Ibid.
  12. ^ Ibid.
  13. ^ Summary of the Prologue, The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days, programme (1912), 1.
  14. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', 9.
  15. ^ The Red Rose of Lancaster, 2.
  16. ^ 'A Lancashire Historical Pageant', 9.
  17. ^ The scriptwriter for the Halton pageant, Miss Veronica Mason, wrote another play that was put on in Lancaster in 1914, in which the Rev. Hastings took a lead role alongside many of his fellow Haltonians; see 'Amateurs in a New Play at Lancaster', Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 7 May 1914, 9.

How to cite this entry

Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘The Red Rose of Lancaster: A Dream Pageant of the Olden Days’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/1083/