This weekend sees the annual Rushcart festival taking place across Saddleworth, a traditional event that dates back over hundreds of years.
The origins of the Rushcart are unknown, but it became the practice for many villages and hamlets in Saddleworth to build a cart of rushes and take them to the local church where the rushes would be spread on the floor.
The rushes would often be mixed with fragrant herbs, as insulation against the cold of winter. It was a very competitive event, with each village trying to outdo the other, Morris Dance sides being a regular feature.
The Rushcart has been revived in recent decades by the Saddleworth Morris Men. Nowadays the Rushcart is constructed throughout the year and is used by the Morris men for the weekend festival. The Cart is trimmed with heather and dressed with a banner made by the Morris Man who sits astride the Cart over the weekend, the “Jockey”.
The cart is then pulled around the Saddleworth villages by over 150 Morris Men from all over the UK and sometimes from abroad. On Sunday the Rushcart is taken to St Chad’s Church above Uppermill where the top is dismantled and in line with tradition the rushes are mixed with fragrant herbs and flowers and then symbolically spread in the aisles.
The Rushcart 2015 takes place on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August.
Starting at approximately 10.15am Saturday at Uppermill Square taking place at various Saddleworth locations until 6pm
Sunday 10am uppermill Square until 12 noon.
