The Walthamstow Pageant 1934
Pageant type
Performances
Place: The Palace Theatre (Walthamstow) (Walthamstow, Essex, England)
Year: 1934
Indoors/outdoors: Indoors
Number of performances: 6
Notes
19–24 March 1934
Name of pageant master and other named staff
- Director [Pageant Master]: Taylor, W.E.
- Business Arrangements: Mr Woolf
Names of executive committee or equivalent
n/a
Names of script-writer(s) and other credited author(s)
- Roebuck, G.E.
Names of composers
n/a
Numbers of performers
600All children
Financial information
Object of any funds raised
n/a
Linked occasion
Centenary of the birth of William MorrisAudience information
- Grandstand: No
- Grandstand capacity: n/a
- Total audience: Approx. 18000
Notes
It seems likely that (since it was a near sell-out), approximately 18000 people saw the pageant.
‘Four of the afternoon’s performances were attended by 7000 children with those of Thursday and Saturday reserved for the public.’1
Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest
3s. 6d. and less
Associated events
Included in the local celebrations was an arts and crafts exhibition at the Baths Hall, visited by over 14000 people, and public meetings addressed by world-renowned speakers, including the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and the poet and dramatist Mr John Drinkwater. A special exhibition in July at Vestry House Museum commemorating Morris also took place.Pageant outline
Episode I. The Passing of Waltheof, 1076 AD
The scene is a guest house, somewhere north of Wilcumestou. Several maids gossip in the dining-hall about the arrival of a party that was heading south to Wilcumestou. Several dream of possible gifts from the visitors, or even offers of marriage. The host enters and chivvies them along. A pilgrimage of Saxons enters, led by Warren. They sit down to a bustling meal. They talk about the legend of a ‘Great Woolfe’ in the nearby forest that carries off maidens. They continue drinking, jovially teasing lesser members of the pilgrimage. The more important Saxons, led by Warren, talk to the host about William the Conqueror and the defeat of Harold. The host informs them of the death of Waltheof—last of the great Saxons—and the party discuss his prowess as a warrior. Haldan, another Saxon, tells the men about how Waltheof was held responsible for a planned uprising, being betrayed by the original proposer, the Earl of Norfolk, Guader. William consequently had him beheaded. They discuss what will happen to Waltheof’s manor lands at Wilcumestou; the host informs them that Waltheof’s widow, Judith, will return to the court. The Saxons leave, and the lights dim—before rising again to show one greedy Saxon finishing all the beer.
Episode II. The Coming of Toni, c. 1080
The scene is the village green at Wilcumestou. Local men and women gather around the village cross, and talk jovially about the return of Lady Alice to live in the manor again. The Bailiff enters and confirms that the Saxon Lady Alice will be returning with her Norman Lord—Ralph de Toni—and instructs them to prepare in haste. De Toni’s herald enters and announces their arrival. The crowd begins to cheer but are silenced by the herald, who announces that de Toni has come to ‘take seizen of this demesne and all that rightly belongs thereto.’ De Toni enters, and then Lady Alice with her maids. The herald of Peter de Valognes enters and greets de Toni, and declares Valognes’ loyalty and friendship as the neighbouring Lord. De Toni confirms to the excited crowd that their customs, rights, privileges, and traditions shall remain unchanged. The Crowd cheers. De Toni instructs the Bailiff’s scribes to record the current details of the Manor for King William. The scribes and Bailiff then list the particulars of the Manor. When Orderick notices there is no church listed, de Toni resolves to build one. As de Toni and Lady Alice leave, the common folk chatter about her beauty. All move off, apart from the Bailiff, who addresses the empty stage and declares ‘God grant we please all in Heaven and all them as is this side of it.’
Episode III. John Ball and the Peasants, c. 1380
Scene I. The Stillroom of the Manor House
Two maids chat in the stillroom, arguing about whether or not John Ball is a virtuous man. The Lady of the Manor enters and scolds them for being slow, and for their idle chatter. She ends by telling them that Brentwood has beaten and stoned the King’s men out of town and in Waltham men had burned the documents; she predicts ‘woe will surely follow when man riseth against his lord.’
Scene II. Before the Cross
One of the maids has slipped away to tell others about Brentwood and Waltham; the men discuss whether to also rebel. John Ball now enters with the men of Kent, dressed in armour. John Ball greets the men, and acknowledges that they are oppressed by their masters. He whips the crowd up, declaring ‘By what right are your lords greater than ye if we all come of the same father and mother [Adam and Eve]?’ He declares they must go to London to confront the King. They march off, before the Lord and Lady enter. They watch the crowd; the Lord states that they will be stopped easily, but the Lady predicts: ‘Nay, my lord, ye may crush these men, but what of that? They rise again. Though the priest be mad, to common men he bringeth hope. What If that hope should triumph?’
Episode IV. Richard de Beauchamp, the Great Earl of Warwick, and Lord of the Manor of Walthamstow
Scene I. An Apartment in the Royal Palace of France
Henry and Warwick talk, the King’s nervousness about his impending wedding contrasting with Warwick’s suavity and discreet amusement. Warwick tries to calm the King, as a choir sings French songs. A dance is performed: the French Pavane.
Scene II. The High Altar in the Cathedral
Katharine enters with the King and Queen of France, and stands beside Henry, as the wedding takes place.
Episode V. Monoux, the Good Neighbour, 1540
The scene is the large withdrawing room of the mansion called ‘Moones’ at Chapel End, where Monoux lived. Monoux, following a large dinner, watches his factor, Vaughan, counting up little bags of money. They talk about Monoux’s busy life and his choice to settle in the area. Monoux expresses his love for the pretty spot so close to London. Master Withypoll enters to discuss Monoux’s unwillingness to help Tom Gresham in building his new Bourse in Lombard Street. Monoux is impatient, and will not budge—wanting to keep the house for himself. Three young gentlemen—Banastre, Gaines and Allworthy—now enter, in high spirits. Monoux settles a wager between the gentlemen, using his extensive knowledge of history. Monoux then graciously invites in the local old folks from the almshouses, showing him to be a friend of the common people. Songs are sung, and toasts to the King made. Withypoll retires, before other men and ladies arrive. There is more singing and goodwill. Eventually the guests leave, and Vaughan re-enters—bringing clerks from the Common Council, who have come to inform Monoux that it has been requested he takes the position of Lord Mayor of London. He demurs, having already served twice. Eventually Monoux, tired and weary, is left alone. His household priest enters and reads some of Monoux’s favourite passages about the Lord’s equal treatment of rich and poor. Monoux drifts to sleep; eventually he awakes, and tells a maid of his vision: Walthamstow in the future, built up and bustling, alive with people, and a vibrant school where he was remembered. He moves off to bed, happy at what he dreamed.
Episode VI. May Day Revels
The revels feature a fool, a hobby-horse, a dragon, the crowning of the May Queen, dancing, and general frivolity.
Episode VII. George Gascoigne, Poet, Soldier and Courtier
Scene I. Stateroom, Greenwich Palace, New Year’s Day, 1576
Elizabeth is enthroned, surrounded by her courtiers, including Raleigh, Leicester, Bedford, Gilbert, and Frobisher. Raleigh is waxing lyrical to the Queen about the beauty of the Earth. Elizabeth is pleased, and compliments him. She asks Raleigh if he has heard of George Gascoigne, the poet of Walthamstowe—‘a fair village with loyal citizens and goodly pastures’. Gascogine enters, and addresses the Queen–presenting her with a book—‘Tale of Hemetes the Heremyte’. The Queen graciously accepts, before bidding Gascoigne farewell. All then exit in stately procession.
Scene II. Gascoigne, Writing in ‘His Pore House at Walthamstowe’
Gascoigne composes poems, before being interrupted by his stepson, Nicholas Breton, who is singing ‘In the merry month of May’. They chat about Gascoigne’s writing and his fighting for the realm in the Lowlands. Raleigh, Gilbert, and Frobisher now enter and embrace Gascoigne. They praise Gascoigne, before giving a toast to his health and family.
Episode VIII. Samuel Pepys, Prince of Diarists, a Courtly Visitor
Samuel Pepys visits Mrs Brown in Walthamstow, apologising for his lateness. He presents her with a gift for Mrs Brown’s child—Mrs Shipman commenting that the child is safe by having godfather Pepys as well as Admiral Sir William Penn. Penn then discusses, with Shipman and Pepys, the wayward squandering of money by Royal courtiers in the running of the navy. Pepys then brings up the plague, before being stopped by Mrs Brown—who declares it is no conversation for a merry feast. Pepys presents some rhymes to the ladies’ pleasure, before declaring he will play his flageolet.
Episode IX. Benjamin Disraeli, Young England
Tableau I. The Courtyard of Essex Hall, Walthamstow
A narrator stands on the stage, and declares that he will tell the tale of Youth, and of one with ideas ‘so rare and spirit so strong as to destine their possessor to uplift men in a common tie of brotherhood and reverence for their land.’ He introduces the first tableau, the entrance of the new pupil Disraeli with his father. Disraeli is exceptionally well-dressed, impressing the other boys.
Tableau II. The Courtyard of Essex Hall, Walthamstow
The narrator explains how Disraeli the pupil is already showing glimpses of his future power as a leader of men, as well as a new world of romance through his verses and poems. On the stage, Disraeli is first admired by the boys, who then leave as he romantically sits and contemplates.
Tableau III. The Courtyard of Essex Hall, Walthamstow
Ten years later, as the narrator relates, Disraeli returns to Essex Hall to see the friends of his youth. Disraeli appears and kneels; the narrator describes that ‘as he prays for the suffering millions of his land, Young England is born before his eyes, like a beautiful dream.’ The lights brighten as the Narrator declares: ‘For a generation yet unborn, there shall be a land of hope, all glorious in its splendour, and peopled by a nation, prosperous and happy.’ All the characters stand bareheaded while Elgar’s ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ is sung.
Episode X. William Morris, Dreamer of Dreams
The chorus introduces how, a hundred years previously, William Morris was born at Elm House. They describe his upbringing in Walthamstow, and his life at Woodford Hall, and then Water House. They describe his schooling, and lofty ideals, and his eventual move to Oxford to study, where he developed his poetry and depth of interest in history and romanticism, the eventual triumph of which was the epic ‘Sigurd the Volsung’.
The Gift of Odin—Extract from ‘Sigurd the Volsung’
William Morris—the Craftsman
The Chorus relates how William Morris reformed English taste in colour and design, and how he began a school inspired by his protest against commercialism. They introduce his concentration on the arts of weaving, dyeing and printing, and his production of beautiful manuscripts.
The Achievement of the Quest of the Holy Grail
A tableau of one of the tapestries woven at the Merton Abbey Tapestry Works.
The Earthly Paradise
The chorus relates how this poem’s theme is the simple desire of man to escape death, and the thought of mortality. The Choir speaks the verse.
The Life and Death of Jason
A scene from Jason and Medea is presented.
William Morris—the Idealist
The chorus relates Morris’s criticisms of society, his solution through art and socialism, and his belief that harmony is a high-minded and contented people glorying in joyous labour and common humanity. The scene ends with the Chronicler laying a wreath, and uttering: ‘to the memory of the courageous, chivalrous and great-souled William Morris, apostle of honourable ideals and the joy of work.’
Episode XI. The Building of the Coat of Arms
Tableau I
The principal characters from the previous episodes gather on the stage. De Toni addresses the audience and declares his family to be honourable in warfare, first in courageous adventure, and above all builders of the church and champions of religion. John Ball espouses justice and the equal worth of men. Sir George Monoux espouses civic pride. Roger Ascham highlights gentle teaching. George Gascoigne proposes self-betterment and poetry. Henry Maynard stands for Christ and his flock, while Eliezer Cogan emphasizes education. The Chronicler ends by speaking for William Morris, declaring him to be a ‘Dreamer of dreams, born out of his due time. Yet throughout the centuries this he knew to be true, and this, as artist, craftsman, poet, he taught: the best survives. It is the meaner part that dies. In this true progress lies.’
Tableau II
A number of children, each bearing a letter, arrange themselves to represent the words ‘Fellowship is Life’. Each then speaks:
Friends, we have played our little part,
Enough we’ve shown to prove that from the start,
Life hereabouts its message has for those
Living here now, and that the message shows,
O’er every line of our brief narrative,
What good may come if our own lives we live.
Sure of ourselves, full of a rightful pride,
High in our local sentiment, whate’er betide;
Interested more as we learn how we grew,
Proud of our past—determined much to do.
Insistent that good government and care
Shall leave their impress everywhere.
Let us then mingle, as indeed we must,
In fearless quest of truth, in common trust,
Facing our grave responsibility,
Eager to merit a great destiny.
The chronicler then declares to the audience: ‘Go back again, now you have seen us, and your outward eyes have learned that there is yet a time in store for the world, when mastery has turned into fellowship—but not before. Go back and be happier for having seen us. Go on striving, with whatsoever pain and labour needs must be, to build up, little by little, the new day of fellowship, and rest, and happiness.’
Key historical figures mentioned
- Ball, John (d. 1381) chaplain and leader of the peasants' revolt
- Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382–1439) magnate
- Henry V (1386–1422) king of England and lord of Ireland, and duke of Aquitaine
- Monoux, George (b. in or before 1465, d. 1544) merchant and local politician
- Gascoigne, George (1534/5?–1577) author and soldier
- Penn, Sir William (bap. 1621, d. 1670) naval officer
- Batten, Sir William (1600/01–1667) naval officer
- Pepys, Samuel (1633–1703) naval official and diarist
- Pepys [née de St Michel], Elizabeth (1640–1669) wife of Samuel Pepys
- D'Israeli, Isaac (1766–1848) writer
- Disraeli, Benjamin, earl of Beaconsfield (1804–1881) prime minister and novelist
- Maynard, Sir Henry (b. after 1547, d. 1610) administrator
- Morris, William (1834–1896) designer, author, and visionary socialist
Musical production
- ‘Frere Jacques’ (Episode IV).
- ‘Sur le Pont D’Avignon’ (Episode IV).
- ‘Staines Morris’. Sixteenth-century traditional air, arranged by Percy Fletcher (Episode VI).
- ‘In the Merry Month of May’ (Episode VII).
- The ‘Pageant Overture’ at the beginning and the ‘Civic March’ at the end were composed by Mr H.R. Weatherdon, the March having been specially written for and played at the Charter Day Celebrations.
Newspaper coverage of pageant
The Times
Eastern Mercury and Post
Book of words
- The Book of the Walthamstow Pageant 1934. Walthamstow, 1934.
Copy in British Library.
Other primary published materials
n/a
References in secondary literature
- Nisbet, Sue. Walthamstow School Pageants. Walthamstow, 2002.
Archival holdings connected to pageant
n/a
Sources used in preparation of pageant
n/a
Summary
The Walthamstow Pageant of 1934 was the borough’s second of the decade, after the same-titled event in 1930. In most ways it was the same as the first, barring a few changes to the script. It again took place at the Palace Theatre; the entire cast were again children from the local schools; and it was another minor sell-out success (see entry for 1930 Walthamstow Pageant). The key difference was the stated purpose of the pageant: in 1930 it had been to celebrate the granting of the Borough Charter the previous year, while in 1934 it was to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Walthamstow’s most famous son, William Morris. Also included in the local celebrations in 1934 was an arts and crafts exhibition at the Baths Hall, visited by over 14000 people, and public meetings addressed by world-renowned speakers, including the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and the poet and dramatist John Drinkwater. In addition to this, in July a special exhibition commemorating Morris was put on at the Vestry House Museum.3
Preparations for the centenary had got underway in earnest in 1932, when the Town Council set up a Special Committee chaired by the Mayor, Alderman T. Smith, to consider what would make a fitting celebration of Morris’s life and work. Both the Town Clerk and Borough Librarian made ‘exhaustive inquiries’ and gave recommendations to a meeting of the Special Committee in April 1933. It was decided that the new Mayor, Alderman B. Cole, should be the new Chairman; that F.G. Garner, Town Clerk, should be the Honorary Secretary; and that Mr W.G. Berry, Borough Treasurer, should be Honorary Treasurer. In May 1933 detailed plans were submitted and approved, and it was decided that S.W. Burnell, the Director of Education, should approach the teaching staff and suggest that the children again co-operate in producing a pageant.4
Some changes to the script and episodic narrative were made. The first episode now depicted a raucous Saxon banquet in 1076, full of humour and entertainment. An episode on the de Toni’s remained, but was changed to focus on younger members of the family; an episode on George Monoux was also changed and expanded, to feature more of the wit of his character than his good deeds. An episode on John Ball and the Peasants remained, as did one on Richard de Beauchamp, and another on May Day Revels; also retained were episodes on George Gascoigne (Poet, Soldier and Courtier), Samuel Pepys, and Benjamin Disraeli. The Shakespearean episode, taken from Henry VI Part III, was dropped, however, as was a short humorous Dick Turpin episode. As the pageant was conceptualised as a celebration of William Morris, the 1930 episode that had featured Morris was scrapped and replaced with a much longer one, featuring extracts of his major poems, as well as tributes to his idealism and output.
As with the 1930 pageant, a central aim was to create civically aware and proud citizens. As G.F. Bosworth, Chairman of the Walthamstow Antiquarian Society, wrote in the foreword to the Book of Words:
Every effort has been made that this Pageant may be a beautiful and stirring show. It is a work in which hundreds of our children have been pleasantly engaged for many months, and it will be seen by thousands of delighted spectators, who will realize, as never before, that Walthamstow has a long and varied story, and that its citizens to-day are building up, ‘little by little, the new day of fellowship, and rest, and happiness.5
These ideals were most clear in the final episode of the pageant, which again featured a tableau of children holding letters to spell out a phrase. This time it was Fellowship is Life. Each child spoke:
Friends, we have played our little part,
Enough we’ve shown to prove that from the start,
Life hereabouts its message has for those
Living here now, and that the message shows,
O’er every line of our brief narrative,
What good may come if our own lives we live.
Sure of ourselves, full of a rightful pride,
High in our local sentiment, whate’er betide;
Interested more as we learn how we grew,
Proud of our past—determined much to do.
Insistent that good government and care
Shall leave their impress everywhere.
Let us then mingle, as indeed we must,
In fearless quest of truth, in common trust,
Facing our grave responsibility,
Eager to merit a great destiny.
The chronicler then declared to the audience: ‘Go back again, now you have seen us, and your outward eyes have learned that there is yet a time in store for the world, when mastery has turned into fellowship—but not before. Go back and be happier for having seen us. Go on striving, with whatsoever pain and labour needs must be, to build up, little by little, the new day of fellowship, and rest, and happiness.’6
The pageant was, as in 1930, a minor success. The Eastern Mercury and Post described it as a ‘feast of colour, movement and music’ and the tickets almost sold out.7 The Mayor took to the press to express his pleasure at the ‘team work’ and how ‘all worked wonderfully together.’8 While not major events by any means, the Walthamstow Pageants of 1934 and 1930 provide two neat examples of the ways in which the pageantry format lasted well into the 1930s and was thought of as particularly useful for both the commemoration of a variety of events and the creating of better citizens.
Footnotes
- ^ Sue Nisbet, Walthamstow School Pageants (Walthamstow, 2002), 17.
- ^ Ibid., 16.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ The Book of the Walthamstow Pageant 1934 (Walthamstow, 1934), 5.
- ^ Ibid., 6.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ ‘Walthamstow’s Feast of Colour, Movement and Music’, Eastern Mercury and Post, 14 March 1934, 5.
- ^ ‘Miss May Morris Thanks Walthamstow’, Eastern Mercury and Post, 28 March 1934, 5.
How to cite this entry
Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘The Walthamstow Pageant 1934’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/1233/