Category: July

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St Lewina

St Lewina was a young British virgin who was martyred by Saxons on 24 July 687AD (whilst Theodore was 7th Archbishop of Canterbury). Following her death she was buried at Seaford, near Lewes in East Sussex.

Ebernoe Horn Fair

25 July – The horn fair is a centuries old that was revived in Ebernoe in 1864. The current festivities aurround a cricket match between the Ebernoe team and that of a nearby village.  The highest scoring batsman receives a pair of horns taken from a sheep that the villages had been roasting throughout the day.

Horn Fair Song

Whalton Baal Festival

4 July – Whalton Baal Festival is a traditional Midsummer fire festival, probably deriving from Celtic times. Baal derives from an old word for light.

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St Swithin’s day

15 July – The Bishop of Winchester or St Swithin died in AD 862. In legend the monks could not remove his body for 40 days and 40 nights because of torrential rain. It has now become folklore that if it rains on St Swithins day, it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Tynwald Ceremony

5 July – An open air meeting on Tynwald Hill, said to have been built from a portion of the soil from each region of the island.

Common Riding, Langholm

Every last Friday in July is the Common Riding in Langholm. The festival dates back to the 1700s when rights to common lands were awarded to the burgh of Langholm – although it takes place on the date of an earlier fair. These lands were marked out by ditches cairns and beacons, which originally fell to the responsibility of one man.