The Wellington Folk and Custom society are set to host their annual folk custom event on Saturday February 4. 'Blaize 'n' Bridget Night' will be held at 7.30pm at the Cottage Inn, Wellington. 

The first recorded instance of Wellington’s Blaize night dates to 1889.  The Wellington wool-combers would elect a man from the local wool industry to act as the patron saint of the wool-combers, known as the Bishop Blaize. 

The appointment of the Bishop Blaize would be accompanied by ceremony and celebration, and until recent times would take pace on February 3 every year. Today the event is put on at the nearest Saturday to the historic date. 

On February 1 there would be an annual celebration of Saint Bridget. In pre-Christian times Saint Bridget was known as Brigit the bringer of light who brought about the spring – in addition to being the Goddess of Poetry, Smithcraft, healing and animal care.  

The 2023 new Blaize 'n' Bridget will be sworn in by Wellingtons only Freeman, Richard Fox.Also present will be Master of Ceremony, also Mr Double Danger the 2nd, and Mordred the Dragon. 

The organisers of the event say they are of a mixture of faiths and none. They come together to engage the community in celebrating the symbolic meaning of the changing of the seasons. 

This year’s ceremony will be followed by music and dance. Local folk singers and the Bootstrap Border Morris team are set to attend the occasion. 

The Wellington Folk and Custom invite you to join them at the Cottage Inn for an evening of unique folk custom, dancing and merriment.