The Little Totterington Furrey Dance

The Little Totterington Furrey Dance is danced from dawn till dusk in the village of Little Totterington on the first Monday after the autumnal equinox, a date which used to coincide with Suisby Fair, a celebration granted to the Abbots of Totterington by King Henry III in 1226. The dance itself is now considered to have originated much earlier, perhaps in a pagan ritual to ensure the return of spring, fertility, or as a celebration of hunting rights. Radiocarbon dating by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Dearlcastle of some of the staves carried during the dance has proven at least a medieval origin, and modern replicas are now used during the Furrey Dance.

The dancers are traditionally 12 men, one girl and a young boy from the Claughton and Threlfall families. The dancers process around the village on a  route that they decide and change each year.  The starting and finishing points are, however, always St Godolphin's Church.  The animal skins  worn by the dancers, and other items associated with the dance are kept here during the year. The current costumes were designed by the local vicar’s daughters in the 1870s.