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Ickwell's Maypole
Ribbons, Morris bells and a May Queen, since at least 1563.
See it clearly
- What's there
- A permanent maypole on the village green
- Legend from
- 1500s
- Best time
- May Day bank holiday (3 May 2027)
- Tone
- Light-hearted
Coming up is Ickwell Green and its giant maypole, where May Day has been kept since at least 1563.
Ickwell Green has one of England's few permanent maypoles, a tall pole first set up on the green in 1872. May Day here goes back at least to 1563, when the Northill churchwardens paid out "for all our Maye" and for coats, shoes and bells for Morris dancers. Each year Morris men dance at Northill, a procession walks half a mile to the green, a May Queen is crowned at two o'clock and children dance the ribbons round the pole. Villagers still tell how a ball thrown over the pole by a lad called Mark Endersby lodged in its crown and stayed there.