Prior to the 20^th century most villages in the old West Riding had annual feast days, all held at specific times in the summer months. Addingham Feast was held in the 1^st week of July, as was Carleton Feast, with Draughton and Kildwick Feasts in the 1^st week of August.

Annual Feast days probably date back to at least the Middle Ages, and prior to 1750 Embsay and Eastby Feasts were held on the first Sunday after St Peter’s Day, 29^th June, or on St Peter’s day if it fell on a Sunday. The Feast usually lasted three days with stalls, games and entertainments along, no doubt, with modest feasting.

The above photograph shows William Inman (in straw hat) playing quoits at Embsay Feast in the early 20^th century. William was killed in France in WW1.

However, an important event that affected the date of the Feast happened in 1750 when the calendar was changed. This probably had a greater impact on the people of Embsay and Eastby than decimalisation did to us 50 years ago in 1971. Up to 1750 England had followed the Julian Calendar which was out of sync with the rest of Europe who followed the Gregorian calendar. Although it’s hard for us to imagine, up to 1750 New Years Day was on 25^th March (also known as Lady Day). Any of you who have done family history research and traced your family back to that time will be aware that Parish Registers would follow the 31^st December 1749 with 1^st January 1749, 1750 not beginning until 25^th March.

When England changed to the Gregorian calendar, the year 1750 ended as usual on 24^th March and was followed by 25^th March 1751. But  1751 was to be a short year as it ended on 31^st December. Also, the use of the Julian calendar meant that England had slowly got out of sync with the solar year and to correct this it had been decided to remove 11 days from September. So, 2^nd September 1751 was followed by 14^th September. The year 1751 had only 271 days.

For at least a century afterwards, dates were often referred to as ‘Old Style’ and ‘New Style’ with many referring to 6^th January as ‘Old Christmas Day’, much as we referred to ‘old pence’ and ‘new pence’. And nowhere was this more apparent than in Embsay and Eastby when in 1751 Embsay Feast was held on the first Sunday after St Peter’s Day (New Style), whilst Eastby Feast stuck with St Peter’s Day (Old Style). This meant that Embsay Feast started on Sunday 30^th June 1751, whilst Eastby Feast was held two weeks later on Sunday 13^th July.

This continued into the late 19^th century as recorded in the diaries of Elizabeth Greenwood of the Mason’s Arms, Eastby who noted the dates of both Embsay and Eastby feasts in the 1870’s. On Thursday 11^th July 1878 she recorded that she and her daughter Sarah were ‘busy baking tarts etc for the Feast’, which she described as ‘an old custom’. She also commented that they had ‘pretty fair company’ for Embsay Feast, but that Eastby Feast was often ‘rather quiet’, revealing that it was already in decline.

In 1873 the Bradford Observer reported that William Haworth, the landlord of the Rampant Lion (now the Cavendish Arms) applied to Skipton Petty Sessions ‘to have his public house kept open until 11:30 on Monday and Tuesday evening next, as it was Embsay Feast. The Bench granted the request.’

However, Embsay Feast Days also seem to have been in decline as reported in the Craven Herald only four years later, on 7^th July 1877:

‘Like many village feasts, that of Embsay is not what it used to be. The amusements provided were not so abundant as on previous years, and the youth of the place do not seem to enjoy the pleasures of feast-time as was the wont of their ancestors.’

A decade later Embsay Feast seems to have had a revival as it was advertised in the four separate editions of the Craven Herald in June 1889 that the committee of the Millholme Mills Brass Band were to organise the ‘Millholme and Embsay Feast’ with ‘Athletic Sports & Galas in the field adjoining the Cavendish Arms’ from Saturday 29^th June to Monday 1^st July. It was to be followed by a ‘Grand Gala’ at 6:30pm ‘at which Selections of Dance Music will be played by the Band’. Admission to the Sports was 6d, and the Gala 3d. The Millholme & Embsay Feast continued into the late 1930’s but as with most village Feast Days it seems to have faded in the aftermath of World War Two.

Author: David Turner, Embsay-with-Eastby Historical Research Group, June 2021