Walking day
Encyclopedia
A walking day is a type of church parade
. Walking days are most common in the North West region of England
, where they are an annual event for many towns and villages. In some rural communities in the North West they are known as Field Day
s, Gala Days or Club Days
.
There may be several churches involved in a local walking day, however, most 'church' walking days are held individually for each church. The churches hire bands to provide music: for instance brass band
s, pipe band
s and marching band
s. The police provide an escort and control the road traffic, but some police forces are now refusing to provide escorts out of public funds, and this may threaten many of these traditional events.
Children play a big part through their churches, schools, the Boys' Brigade
, the Scouts
and the Girl Guides
.
Non-church processions are often led by a young lady, who has been crowned the "Rose Queen" for the year. The Queen may be particular to a church but can represent the whole village too. Indeed, some Rose Queens and May Queens have festivals of their own. For example, there is the "Lymm
May Queen", "Knutsford
May Queen" and the "Thelwall
Rose Queen"
Walking days are particularly common in the Warrington
, St Helens
and Wigan
areas. They are held annually in most districts, including:
Some walking days, including those held in Warrington, Orford, Padgate and Stockton Heath, are followed by a fair.
Warrington Walking Day itself dates back to 1834, and is perhaps the largest in terms of attendance and participation. Churches now walk in ecumenical groups from each area. Most businesses in the town used to close for the day, but as Warrington has expanded, many firms have national and international business that demands attention. A detailed history of Warrington Walking Day can be found in the University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
. Walking days are most common in the North West region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where they are an annual event for many towns and villages. In some rural communities in the North West they are known as Field Day
Field Day
Field Day is an annual amateur radio exercise, widely sponsored by IARU regions and member organizations, encouraging emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators...
s, Gala Days or Club Days
Club Days
Also known as a Gala Day or Field Day. An annual community celebration, common in rural communities in North West England, during which clubs, churches and other organizations process and gather for various activities such as competitions for fancy dress, arts and crafts, cooking and produce.Many...
.
There may be several churches involved in a local walking day, however, most 'church' walking days are held individually for each church. The churches hire bands to provide music: for instance brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
s, pipe band
Pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....
s and marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
s. The police provide an escort and control the road traffic, but some police forces are now refusing to provide escorts out of public funds, and this may threaten many of these traditional events.
Children play a big part through their churches, schools, the Boys' Brigade
Boys' Brigade
For the 80s New Wave band from Canada, see Boys Brigade .The Boys' Brigade is an interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values...
, the Scouts
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
and the Girl Guides
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
.
Non-church processions are often led by a young lady, who has been crowned the "Rose Queen" for the year. The Queen may be particular to a church but can represent the whole village too. Indeed, some Rose Queens and May Queens have festivals of their own. For example, there is the "Lymm
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
May Queen", "Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
May Queen" and the "Thelwall
Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in Warrington, North Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6.-Geography:Thelwall nowadays borders the villages of Lymm and Grappenhall, and , Latchford. It is also one of the two principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
Rose Queen"
Walking days are particularly common in the Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
and Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
areas. They are held annually in most districts, including:
- GrappenhallGrappenhallGrappenhall is a suburban village in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is situated along the Bridgewater Canal, and forms one of the principal settlements of Grappenhall and Thelwall civil parish...
- OrfordOrford, WarringtonOrford is a suburb of Warrington, England. The "hamlet of Orford" was originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, centred on Orford Green. Orford now describes a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating other small communities, such as Longford...
- PadgatePadgatePadgate was a village on the edge of Warrington, England, and today it is a large residential part of the town. During World War II it had a small RAF Station. RAF Padgate will be well-remembered by thousands of young men who were selected for RAF national service and on this site received their...
- PenkethPenkethPenketh is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is about west of Warrington town centre. It has a population of 8,699.The emblem/badge of Penketh is three kingfishers.-History:...
- Stockton HeathStockton HeathStockton Heath is a civil parish and suburban area of the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Latchford and north Warrington...
- StrettonStretton, CheshireStretton is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England not far from Warrington. The parish includes the village of Lower Stretton. It is at the very southern tip of Warrington, about seven miles south of the town centre. It has a large hotel and is the site of Warrington's private hospital,...
- WarringtonWarringtonWarrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
- WinwickWinwick, CheshireWinwick is a village and civil parish in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, until 1 April 1974, Winwick was administered as part of Lancashire with the rest of north Warrington. It is situated about three miles north of Warrington town centre, near...
- RainfordRainfordRainford is a village and civil parish within Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It is around north of St Helens. At the 2001 Census the population of the civil parish was 8,344....
- Ashton-in-MakerfieldAshton-in-MakerfieldAshton-in-Makerfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. It is situated south of Wigan, north-northwest of Warrington and west of the city of Manchester. In 2001 it had a population of 28,505....
- HaydockHaydockHaydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
- Newton le Willows
Some walking days, including those held in Warrington, Orford, Padgate and Stockton Heath, are followed by a fair.
Warrington Walking Day itself dates back to 1834, and is perhaps the largest in terms of attendance and participation. Churches now walk in ecumenical groups from each area. Most businesses in the town used to close for the day, but as Warrington has expanded, many firms have national and international business that demands attention. A detailed history of Warrington Walking Day can be found in the University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive