Calverton group to tour pubs in borough with traditional Plough Play next week

A traditional custom which dates back hundreds of years is being celebrated across pubs in Gedling borough next week.

The Calverton Real Ale and Plough Play Preservation Society (or CRAPPPS for short!) will be touring local pubs from next Thursday to perform the Calverton Plough Play for their 41^st consecutive year.

The play’s script dates back to 1890 and is part of a wider tradition that originated in England hundreds of years ago where a play would be performed on or around Plough Monday – which this year falls on Monday, January 7.

The group perform the play in a bid to boost funds for the Nottinghamshire NSPCC and have now raised £20k for the cause over the past forty years.

Simon Carter is a member of the group and said he was looking forward to entertaining local pub crowds again.

He said: “CRAPPPS has performed a Plough Play each year in the area since 1979.

“The origins of Plough Plays stretch back hundreds of years. Only a fragment now remains of the original Calverton script so the version we currently perform combines text from various other Nottinghamshire scripts, though mainly from the Cropwell version.

He added: “We look forward to seeing you in the ale house soon for a drop of the Doctor’s whiff whaff.”

You can catch the Plough Play being performed at these local pubs on the following dates:

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Waggon & Horses, Bleasby – 7:45 pm

The Reindeer, Southwell – 8:30 pm

The Final Whistle, Southwell – 9:00 pm

Friday, January 11, 2019

Admiral Rodney, Calverton – 7:15 pm

The Green Dragon, Oxton – 7:50 pm

The Plough, Farnsfield – 8:20 pm

The Lion, Farnsfield – 8:40 pm

The Fox and Hounds, Blidworth – 9:15 pm

Nag’s Head, Woodborough – 9:50 pm

Four Bells, Woodborough – 10:10 pm

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Gleaners, Calverton – 7:20 pm

World’s End, Lowdham – 8:00 pm

The Railway, Lowdham – 8:30 pm

The Ship, Lowdham – 8:50 pm

Woodlark, Lambley – 9:25 pm

Cross Keys, Epperstone – 10:00 pm

Admiral Rodney, Calverton – 10:30 pm

What is the Plough Play?

Plough Plays are traditionally performed in villages and towns across the region.

The play traditionally features several different stock characters which include Recruiting Sergeant, Tom Fool, Dame Jane and Threshing Blade.

Tradition has it that ploughboys would take the play from house to house and perform in exchange for money or gifts, with some teams pulling a plough and threatening to plough up people’s front gardens or path if they did not pay up.