The 1996 Crewe and Nantwich Festival, and weekend at John and Barbara's, proved to be a popular success for Woodside, and when invited along the following year the opportunity was grabbed with both hands. Sadly, in 1997, the Saturday of the Festival coincided with the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales, and as a mark of respect, the more overt daytime events were cancelled, and this had a major effect on the festival's future, with a change of format and management taking place in 1998.

So when John put it to the team that there was no invite to the festival the following year, but would they like to take part in the recently revived Wybunbury Fig Pie Wakes, the team were very interested, even if it was only to find out what a Fig Pie Wake was when it was at home!

The Leaning Tower

If Wybunbury is famous for just one thing, then it is the leaning tower, which is all that remains of the village's church, dedicated to St Chad. The tower, along with its originally attached edifice, was built in the 15th Century and has reportedly outlived no less than five associated places of worship, which have either collapsed or been demolished; the most recent of these was condemned following Christmas services in 1972, and demolished in 1977, with the tower itself being declared unsafe and scheduled for later destruction, due to the fact that it was leaning around 4ft from vertical.

However, in 1982, when notice was given that the bells of St Chad’s were to be lowered in preparation for the now famous leaning tower of South Cheshire’s demolition, a group of enthusiasts and supporters (not literally) of the structure put forward a proposal to the Bishop of Chester to preserve and even correct the tower.

Such an idea wasn’t entirely without hope: in 1832 a previous project was carried out to straighten the tower, and was so successful that the technique was used again, more recently, in the Italian town of Pisa, where, as you may know, they have a somewhat similar issue with one of their own towers. With this in mind, the Wybunbury Tower Preservation Trust was formed and a massive fund raising campaign established, which provided the money needed to realise the magnificent goal of resetting the tower, with a slight tilt to preserve the fame gained by its previous leanings. The big lift took place in 1989 and has lead to the reopening of the tower to visitors and its continued use by the campanologists of Wybunbury.

But even with the tower back in working order, there was and still is work to be done to maintain it and keep it in shape. Following the big lift, the 17th Century ring of bells has undergone a £40,000 restoration in Loughborough that practically exhausted the Trusts funds.  And this is where the Fig Pie Wakes rear their head.

The Fig Pie Wakes

The need to provide funds for the regular costs of maintaining the tower lead to the creation of a visitors’ centre, and the revival of an old Wybunbury custom as a fun and meaningful event for the village that would help preserve the edifice that has become so wrapped up in its identity, whilst further broadening its reputation.

The ancient custom in question was, of course, the Fig Pie Wakes:  the village’s own festival, in keeping with the old village ales such as the one continued now at Kirtlington, is believed to have been around for around for over two centuries. The centre piece was the Fig Pie Race, in which pies were rolled down the hill below the tower towards Walgherton, though none ever made it all the way, with the pie hurled the furthest claiming a prize.

The event, like many festivities involving merriment and strong ale, was not without its problems though, and in the 1920s, it was brought to an end, due to a creeping unruliness that had become part of the proceedings, culminating in the death of a merrymaker following a brawl.

So what better thing to do than revive this old custom and raise money for the tower that would have overlooked the Wakes since their earliest days. But without the grisly bits of course.

Woodside at the Wakes

John Colbert as a member of the Tower Trust, and organiser of the revived Wakes, invited Woodside along to expand the traditional aspect of the event, with the side being put up, fed and entertained in return for their services, which also included some stewarding duties; this proved a splendid arrangement.

Woodside attended the Fig Pie Wakes from 1998 to 2005, taking part in the entertainment and the festivities. In fact, on the team’s first appearance, Woodside’s Wayne Lang even rolled the winning pie, and in 2000, we performed our Mummers Play, rewritten to include references to the Village and the Wakes. On every occasion Woodside visited John and Barbara, a fantastic family weekend was had, with our hosts ensuring an entertaining programme whether it was part of the Wakes festival, or just for the teams own entertainment.

The galleries linked on this page show pictures from a number of Woodside’s visits, with images from the Wakes as well as other activities which Woodside took part in over the weekends.

Wybunbury Tower Trust
Mummers Play 2000 (Wybunbury)