Spaw Sunday, or Spa Sunday, is a celebration held on the first Sunday in May and peculiar to Yorkshire and, formerly, Lancashire. [1] [2] [3] It is focused on local holy wells or spas whose spring waters are believed to have restorative or healing properties only on that day. Celebrations usually include a short pilgrimage from the local church to the spring, and a blessing of the waters by the clergy, after which the crowd take turns to smell or taste the usually highly sulphurous waters. Traditionally liquorice was steeped in a cup of collected waters, or shaken in a bottle of same, to sweeten the taste. Though it is not officially recommended to drink the waters, watching others react to the strong taste is part of the spectacle. Dock pudding is served at the Calderdale events. [4]
Yorkshire, formally known as the County of York, is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due to its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographical territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the military, and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire.
Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England. The administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km2). People from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians.
A holy well or sacred spring is a spring or other small body of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The term holy well is commonly employed to refer to any water source of limited size, which has some significance in the folklore of the area where it is located, whether in the form of a particular name, an associated legend, the attribution of healing qualities to the water through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian saint, or a ceremony or ritual centred on the well site. In Christian legend, the water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint, a familiar theme especially in the hagiography of Celtic saints.
The practice was common up until the early part of the 20th century but nearly died out. In a few places it has been successfully revived in recent years and the day's events are accompanied by brass bands, long sword dancing, or similar traditional displays, at:
A British brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around communities and local industry, with colliery bands being particularly notable. The Stalybridge Old Band was formed in 1809 and was perhaps the first civilian brass band in the world.
The Long Sword dance is a hilt-and-point sword dance recorded mainly in Yorkshire, England. The dances are usually performed around Christmas time and were believed to derive from a rite performed to enable a fruitful harvest.
Midgley is a hill-top village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 12 miles (20 km) east from Burnley and 4 miles (6 km) west-north-west of Halifax town centres, and just north of the A646 road. Nearby villages are Mytholmroyd 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west-south-west, and Hebden Bridge 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the west-north-west.
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It takes its name from the River Calder, whose upper part flows through the borough. Several small valleys contain tributaries of the River Calder. The population at the 2011 Census was 203,826.
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England. It is an inland and in relative terms upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in moors of the Pennines and has a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972.
Whitsun is the name used especially in Britain and Ireland, and throughout the world among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples. In England it took on some characteristics of Beltane, which originated from the pagan celebration of Summer's Day, the beginning of the summer half-year, in Europe. Whitsuntide, the week following Whitsunday, was one of three vacation weeks for the medieval villein; on most manors he was free from service on the lord's demesne this week, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. Whit Monday, the day after Whitsun, remained a holiday in Britain until 1971 when, with effect from 1972, the movable holiday was replaced with the fixed Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May. Whit was the occasion for varied forms of celebration.
Mytholmroyd is a large village in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) east of Hebden Bridge. It lies 10 miles (16 km) east of Burnley and 7 miles (11 km) west of Halifax. The village is in the Luddendenfoot Ward of Calderdale Council and forms part of the Hebden Royd parish.
Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the Calderdale borough of West Yorkshire, England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack Top, is 1,448, increasing to 1,470 at the 2011 Census. The town of Hebden Bridge lies directly to the south-east. Although Heptonstall is part of Hebden Bridge as a post town, it is not within the Hebden Royd town boundaries.
Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Hebden Royd.
Askern is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is on the A19 road between Doncaster and Selby. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it became a spa town in the late 19th century, but this stopped once coal mines opened in the town. The last mine closed in the 1990s. It had a population of 5,570 at the 2011 Census.
Chalybeate waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Epiphany, also Theophany, Denha, Little Christmas, or Three Kings' Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some Western Christian denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. Qasr el Yahud in the West Bank, and Al-Maghtas in Jordan on the east bank, is considered to be the original site of the baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. The Metro brand has been used from the outset, and since the formal abolition of the WYPTE on 1 April 2014, it has been the public facing name of the organisation. The transport authority of West Yorkshire, responsible for setting transport policy, is the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The WYCA is also responsible for delivery of transport policies.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Luddenden is a district of Calderdale 3.1 miles (5 km) west of Halifax on the Luddenden Brook in the county of West Yorkshire, England.
Dock pudding is a distinctive West Yorkshire dish produced chiefly in the Calder Valley area. Its main ingredients are the leaves of bistort, together with oatmeal, nettles, onion, and seasoning to taste. Other ingredients are added but each personal family recipe does differ. Traditionally the pudding is fried in a frying pan along with bacon. Starting in 1971, an annual World Dock Pudding Championship is held at the local community centre in the village of Mytholmroyd.
The Pace Egg Plays are an Easter tradition in rural English culture in the tradition of the medieval mystery plays. The tradition was once widespread throughout England, but is now only practised in a few areas, particularly Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Scarborough Spa is a Grade II* listed building in South Bay, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a venue for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment, live music and events on the Yorkshire Coast. Originally built around the source of Scarborough's spa waters, it is owned by Scarborough Borough Council and is managed by Sheffield International Venues.
Holywell Green is a small village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately 3 miles (5 km) south from Halifax, 4 miles (6 km) north-west from Huddersfield and 1.5 miles (2 km) south-west from Elland. Holywell Green is part of the Greetland and Stainland Ward of Calderdale Council.
White Wells is a spa bath situated on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, England. It was built in c.1700 as an open air spa bath, later baths were enclosed and a single plunge pool survives today inside the White Wells Spa Cottage.
Edmund Deane (1572–c.1640) was an English physician and author. He is known for a significant work on the chemistry of mineral springs, and as an editor of alchemical tracts.
Gunthwaite is a hamlet in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Gunthwaite and Ingbirchworth and on the boundary of Kirklees in West Yorkshire. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 400, increasing to 460 at the 2011 Census.