New wassail song echoes around Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard to start 300th anniversary celebrations

A new song written especially for the 300th anniversary of Sawbridgeworth’s historic orchard was sung by nearly 300 people at the annual wassail.

The event on a cold and calm winter’s night on Saturday January 25 began a year of celebration for Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard (RHSO), off The Crest, to mark the milestone.

A ukulele band started proceedings, playing songs the crowd could sing along to, before Zoe Dedman led the singing of wassail songs with help from students of Herts and Essex High School in Bishop’s Stortford and the choir and musicians from Sawbridgeworth’s Leventhorpe School, who had been rehearsing the new wassail song.

Refreshments of mulled cider and apple juice along with home-made savouries and cakes were enjoyed as the singing continued.

It was then time to bless the apple trees to bring forth a good harvest. Children were given pieces of bread to place in the trees to attract good spirits, before enjoying banging buckets with sticks to make as much noise as possible to ward off evil spirits.

RHSO group chair Ruth Buckmaster then read out the wassail blessing and poured cider over an apple tree.

A spokesman for the orchard said: “This was a fantastic evening bringing together past traditions with current students in a community wide event, stretching as far as people coming from Bexley Heath.

The following are the words of the new wassail song:

Old Apple Tree we Wassail thee / And hope that thou wilt bear

For Lord doth know where we shall be / Till apples come next year

So bloom well and bear well / So merry let us be

Let everyone lift up their cup and / Wish health to the old apple tree

Wassail, Wassail, Wassail

Further information on all the activities for the anniversary year can be found at www.rhso.co.uk.