Next week on Wednesday 9th May 2018, the planting of the Penny Hedge will take place at 9am at the upper Harbour, Whitby.
The explanation below was taken from The Whitby Museum:
Every year at 9 am. on the eve of Ascension Day the ceremony of the Horngarth, or the Planting of the Penny Hedge, takes place in Whitby’s upper harbour on the east bank of the River Esk.
The ceremony is performed under the supervision of the Bailiff of the Manor of Fyling. The hedge is constructed with 9 upright hazel stakes driven into the mud with an ancient mallet, 9 ‘yethers’ or pliant branches for intertwining, and is braced at each end with ‘strout-stowers’. There is a brushwood infill around the lower part of the stakes. Completion of the hedge is followed by 3 blasts on the ram’s horn, then a cry of “out on ye” repeated 3 times by the Bailiff. It must be strong enough to stand three tides.
To read the story behind the planting of the Penny Hedge and why it was set as a penance visit https://whitbymuseum.org.uk/whitby-history/penny-hedge/