British folklore

The Green Man of Bankside at Hastings May Day in East Sussex | photograph by Joe Charrington | British Folklore

The idiosyncratic English rituals that mark the changing seasons are captured on camera.

The Green Man of Bankside at Hastings May Day in East Sussex | photograph by Joe Charrington | British Folklore

Posts about Kieren Jones written by platformtworca

Bean Nighe, the Washerwoman at the Ford, is Scotland's harbinger of death, says AMY VAN DE CASTEELE

The English Folk Dance and Song Society introduces you to the wonderful world of British folk customs by delving into their photographic collection From its abundance of traditional songs, tunes and dances, to its strange but locally revered calendar customs, English communities...

Once a year in the village of St Margaret's Hope in South Ronaldsay, Orkney, young girls gather at the local school for a contest. Their costumes glint and jangle as they circle the square dressed as working horses, complete with collar and headdress in costumes handed down through generations. Boys and girls compete in a match at the Sands O' Wright - a beach just outside the village. They use their miniature ploughs to draw lines in the sand, learning the craft of the finely tilled…

We talk to Stephen Ellcock about his incredible new book England on Fire which takes us on a psychic journey through Albion's landscape.