Sixpenny Handley Waistcoat Festival

Commemorating the Great Fire of Handley in 1892

Join us on Saturday 21st May 2016
for the much awaited 2nd
Sixpenny Handley Waistcoat Festival!

Sixpenny Handley Waistcoat Project

Sixpenny Handley Parish Council were thrilled to receive a Heritage Lottery Grant in 2014 to share the heritage of our village and in particular the story of the great fire of Handley in 1892.

From March to August 2014 many groups within our village have been researching and recording the story of the great fire which began at the wheelwrights at the top of the village. We also held a festival day on Saturday 17th May to commemorate the great fire and showcase the projects.

A record of the various projects can be found here and are mostly presented using short films and photographs. A teacher's toolkit has also been created so that we can share our research with future generations.

The project has been fantastic and we are pretty sure there is now no-one in the village who hasn't heard the remarkable story of the great fire of Handley.

Waistcoat Festival, 17^th May 2014

Just so those memories don't fade here's a little reminder of the first ever Sixpenny Handley Waistcoat Festival....can you spot anyone you know?

Teachers toolkit

A teacher's toolkit has been created to disseminate the research and learning processes used at Sixpenny Handley First School during the project. The toolkit has been produced by Mr. Sam Thomas, a teacher at Sixpenny Handley First School.

Sixpenny Handley First School Animation

All the children of Sixpenny Handley First School worked with animator James Price to produce an animation of the great fire of Handley. The children worked with James to produce drawings for the animation.

Explorers animation

Sixpenny Handley Explorers worked with their leader Andy Turner to produce an animated film using original photographs of the village and puppetry to tell the story of the fire in 1892

Little Pennies Pre School – film and recordings

Little Pennies Pre-School worked with storyteller Michele O'Brien to explore the story of the fire, creating their own story, lots of great fire drawings, making a model of the village and even lighting and putting out a fire!

History Display in pre-school with resources from Priest's house museum

Re-telling the story in her own words on the story telling stool

Making clay water pots like those the men used to take their water to the fields in

Film of Rob Jesse's and Rosalee Adams visit to the First School

Local historians Rob Jesse and Ros Adams visited Sixpenny Handley First School to share their knowledge of the fire, their archives and memories of the village.

Rob Jesse and Ros Adams visit the school to talk about the village history

Rob and Ros spoke to the oldest resident of the village when they made a book and heard how he had lead the horses to safety out of the village

The map Grasshoppers have made of Handley

Wheelwrights Visit to 1^st Woodcutt's Scouts

Master Wheelwright to the Queen, Greg Rowland came to visit the 1^st Woodcutt's Scouts to teach them the process involved in making a wheel. The children got to write their name on the spoke they had put together. Greg returned to the village on the day of the festival and banded the very wheel the children had made.

Wheelwright visits the Scouts

The Wheelwright Banding the Wheel

Starting with the wheel ready for banding

Old Photographs of Sixpenny Handley

Chalke road with view of Old Rectory and horse and cart

Sixpenny Handley High Street with thatch

Created a new bi-annual event

Festival Photos

Festival makers - lovely people without whom the festival would not have run!

Handley's Songs

Three sound recordings or the school singing Cup Song, Handley's Burning and Waistcoat Song. The waistcoat song was wrtten by John Culingford.

The Waistcoat Song

The Cup Song

Handley's Burning

Waistcoat Song
In eighteen hundred and ninety two,
Began a tale I'll tell to you.
Butcher, Baker, Wheelwright too
Were at the jobs they're meant to do.

Chorus: All the men wore waistcoats,
All the men wore waistcoats,
All the men wore waistcoats,
In Handley eighteen ninety-two!

A spark flew from the wheelwright's shed,
And floated out right over-head.
It landed on a High Street thatch;
It was as if you'd struck a match!

Chorus: All the men wore waistcoats ( x3)
In Handley 1892!

The fire spread quickly down the street,
Fifty houses felt the heat!
Three full days it blazed away,
So hot you could not walk that way.

Chorus: All the men lost waistcoats,
All the men lost waistcoats,
All the men lost waistcoats,
In Handley 1892!

Shepherd huts came for no rent,
Bell tents from the Government.
The homeless were in quite a fix,
They numbered one hundred and eighty six.

Chorus: And they had no waistcoats,
And they had no waistcoats,
And they had no waistcoats,
In Handley 1892!

The plight of Handley was well told,
Clothes were sent for young and old.
In every parcel that was prized,
Arrived more waistcoats multi-sized!

All men wore two waistcoats,
Women wore two waistcoats,
Everyone wore two waistcoats,
In Handley 1892!