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Welcome to Fascinating Facts and Educational Trivia

A Hartson Dowd Column

May 8, 2008

Fascinating Facts and Tantelizing Trivia:

Furry Day -  May 8th;

The internationally famous festival of the Furry, or Flora Dance. This is held every year on May 8th unless that day falls on a Sunday or Monday, when it is held on the preceding Saturday.

The individual festivities begin at the following times. Each dance starts from the Corn Exchange and processes through the streets, houses, shops and gardens of the town.

6-30 A.M. `Ringing in of the day` by St. Michael`s Church Bells

7 A.M. An Adult party of dancers.

8 A.M. The `Hal-an-Tow` pageant

9-45 A.M. A party of approximately 1000 Children.

12 NOON An Adult party - gentlemen in morning dress, ladies in traditional full length dresses.

5 P.M. An Adult party of dancers.

Although there are several theories no one really knows where the celebrations all began!

THE LEGEND

A "Fiery Dragon" (possibly a large meteorite) is reputed to have appeared over Helston many centuries ago and dropped a large stone on what is now known as the "Angel Yard". More than a century ago, this great stone was split up to be used for building; a portion was built into the outside wall of the Angel Hotel in Coinagehall Street. The inhabitants of Helston, after fully expecting the town to be destroyed, celebrated their deliverance by dancing through each others houses.

A MORE MODERN THEORY

The late Mr. Henry Jenner, an antiquary of national reput, contributed the following to the Western Morning News, May 11th 1931 - "It is quite probable that the Helston `Furry` observances are a survival of a pre-Christian Celtic custom transferred, or fixed on, to the patronal feast".

St. Michael, to whom the parish church is dedicated, is Helston`s patron saint and May 8th (Furry Day) appears in the Church Calender as the anniversary of the Apparition of St. Michael. It is therefore, quite feasible that the pre-Christian "Furry" was acquired by the early Celtic church and celebrated annually on May 8th.

It is significant that the Furry Day at Helston is heralded by an early morning ringing of the parish church bells. In several Continental and Eastern Mediterranean counties "labyrinthian" dances are celebrated. The "in and out of the houses" feature of Helston`s Furry Dance is claimed by some authorities to be of this type of dance.

Beyond doubt, the "Furry" has been danced at Helston for centuries by all. Although it is an occasion of great joy and fun, it is ever decorous, refined and elegant.

Furry Day is celebrated on 8th May every year in the West Cornish town of Helston in England, United Kingdom.  It should really be called Helston Flora Day (or sometimes Helston Floral Day), but because the Furry Dance is a major part of the celebrations, it has come to be called Furry Day.

There are actually two dances (really more like processions) on Furry Day, both led by the town band, who play the Floral Dance.  Readers of a certain age will probably find it hard not to remember Terry Wogan's rendition of this tune, which seemed to take over the airwaves some years back. The first dance is called the Children's Dance and includes over a thousand children dressed in white, and the Furry Dance proper is for adults, the men wearing top hat and tails and the women in full length gowns.  The dancers weave in and out of the shops, houses and gardens behind the Helston Band playing the famous Flora Dance tune.

Helston is known as the gateway of the Lizard.  It is a small town, an ancient port used by the 19th century tin and copper trade, and still retains much of its quaint traditional charm.  It is ideally based for wildlife enthusiasts, with many wild flowers and rare birds in the area.  Other attractions include the Penrose Estate, a National Trust property, the nearby fishing village of Porthleven and the Helston Folk Museum.  Finally, sporting activities such as windsurfing are catered for in the area.

On Furry Day, the whole town is decorated with Spring flowers and greenery to celebrate the end of Winter and the arrival of Spring.  The origins of the celebration are thought to date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane,  and are connected with ancient spring festivals all over Europe. Nowadays its ancient intention of ushering in prosperous harvests goes hand in hand with the splash of colour all over the town, the joyous music and high spirits of all involved.

Helston's formative years have been lost in the mists of the Dark Ages. However, it was certainly in existence in the sixth century when it was inhabited by Saxons. Its, name derives from hen lis - the Cornish word for "old court", to which was added ton, denoting that it was a Saxon manor.

In the Domesday Book, the town is, referred to as Henliston and King John granted its charter in 1201. Helston thus became a free borough town having certain privileges, the right to its own court being the most important. In these years Helston had a castle once the residence of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall - which was sited at the bottom of Coinagehall Street.

The town stands on the east bank of the River Cober which was once tidal, before it was cut off from the sea by Loe Bar in the 13th century. According to some sources, Helston, with a population then of about 200, was a small port which exported tin and copper.

Helston has always been closely associated with mining - indeed the river was once a very rich tin stream. The town became a coinage town during thr reign of Edward I and more than 100 tin and copper mines, have been worked in the district over a long period of time. The word coinage comes front the French coin, meaning corner; the quality and value of tin was assessed by cutting off a corner from a block for testing. It was theni stamped, taxed and eventually sold. Local miners would assemble to have their tin tested and weighed in the 'coinage hall', hence the name of Helston's main thorough fare, Coinagehall Street.

Hartson S. Dowd                                                                                                                                                                                                           hsdowd@telus.net