According to Donald Rawe, Thurstan Peter gave an address to the Royal Institution of Cornwall at Truro in 1913. He said,
"I believe the (Padstow) Hobby Horse and the (Helston) Furry dance alike to be ancient pagan festivals of revival and of fruitfulness....."
Rawe also mentions that "a hobby Horse custom existed in 18th and 19th Century West Cornwall. The creature was known as the Penglas" which seems to be similar to the Mari Llwyd in Wales.
He also says "The earliest written reference to a hobby horse is actually in the old Cornish drama Bewnans Meriasek (The Life of Meriasek) written in 1502. This at least points to the conclusion that hobby horsing was general in Cornwall at the time."
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Robyn