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Clun Green Man Festival

From Tilcayo Cats, the lean encyclopaedia by Tilcayo Knowledge Systems

The Clun Green Man Festival is an annual spring festival held in the small town of Clun in south-west Shropshire, England. It usually takes place over the early May bank holiday weekend and draws on myths, fairy tales and folklore to mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring.[1] Its best-known event is a staged, costumed battle on Clun Bridge between the Green Man, who stands for spring and summer, and the Frost Queen, who stands for winter.[2][3]

History

The festival grew out of the Clun May Fair, which was first held in 1974.[3] In 2025 the festival's chairman said that, although not always under its present name, there had been "a May Day festival for decades in Clun".[4]

The festival has been called off twice because of the weather. In 2012 it was cancelled because of waterlogged fields and standing water in the town's car park; the organisers said the cancellation cost them up to £5,000, although a street fair on the Sunday still went ahead.[5] The 2024 festival was also cancelled after a very wet winter left the festival field at Clun Castle unfit for use, and ticket holders were offered full refunds.[6]

In July 2025 the organisers warned that the festival might have to end because too few volunteers were coming forward to run it; a committee member said that only two people had attended the previous annual general meeting.[1] After an emergency meeting attended by about a dozen new volunteers, the new chairman, Steve Mapes, said in August 2025 that he was "very, very confident" the festival would be held in 2026.[4]

The festival

The festival lasts three days, with concerts, dancing, fairs, theatre and a parade.[2][3] In 2011, for example, the programme included an evening of world and folk music, a craft fair in the town square on the Sunday, an exhibition by Shropshire artists, and a craft fair on the Clun Castle meadow on the Monday. Stalls were run by heritage and wildlife organisations and by local craftspeople such as blacksmiths, weavers, potters and jewellery makers, and there was entertainment for children.[3]

Battle on the bridge

The main event takes place on the bank holiday Monday. The Green Man, accompanied by the May Queen, leads a procession from St George's Church down to Clun Bridge, while the Frost Queen approaches from Bridge Street with her attendants, costumed children known as the "Little Icicles".[2][3] The two sides then meet on the bridge for a staged battle. According to local legend, a victory for the Frost Queen would mean no summer in the Clun Valley; by tradition the Green Man always wins.[3][7] He then leads a procession decorated with garlands to the grounds of Clun Castle, where he declares the fair open.[7]

The festival's central figure is based on the Green Man, the leafy face found in folklore and carved in many village churches. A festival spokesman described it in 2013 as representing "nature, fertility and the cycle of death and rebirth".[7] The BBC has noted that there are many interpretations of who the Green Man is meant to be, but that such festivals are used to celebrate spring and new life in nature.[2]

Visitors

The festival attracts several thousand visitors. About 4,000 people were expected in 2011,[3] and in 2025 organisers said that it drew more than 3,000 people, and up to 4,000.[1][4] The chairman described it as "a really positive economic boost" for the town, with visitors staying in local holiday accommodation and spending money in local pubs and cafés.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ashford, Clare; Fofana, Aida (30 July 2025). "Plea for volunteers to keep Clun Green Man Festival going". BBC News. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Clun Green Man Festival". BBC Shropshire. BBC. May 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Burn, Chris; Carden, Danny (3 May 2011). "Thousands attend Clun's Green Man Festival". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 King, Chris; Dawkins, Andrew (12 August 2025). "Clun Green Man Festival organisers 'confident' event will go ahead". BBC News. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Weather forces Clun Green Man Festival axe". Shropshire Star. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  6. ↑ Gall, Caroline (7 April 2024). "Clun Green Man Festival cancelled due to wet winter". BBC News. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Hundreds see triumph of Green Man on Clun Bridge". Shropshire Star. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
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