Whitsun falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter. This usually comes in late May or early June. In 2024 the date will be May 19, because of an early Easter. Whitsuntide, the week following Whitsunday, was one of three holiday 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. It continued to be a holiday for workers. The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould's words for ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS , first published in the Church Times in 1864, were sung in 1865 by the children of Horbury Bridge as they marched up the hill to St. Peter’s, Horbury, in the annual Whit Tuesday procession. Eventually, the hymn was set to the tune 'St Gertrude', composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871.

Horbury Church; This year is the 100th anniversary of the death of Fr Sabine Baring-Gould, who was curate of Horbury from 1864-1867 under Canon John Sharp. We are pleased to be able to mark the centenary of Fr Sabine’s death in the parish for which he wrote ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’ over Whit Weekend 2024. The weekend opens on Friday, 17th May at 7pm with a concert at Horbury Working Members’ Club with award-winning folk artists Jim Causley and Miranda Sykes, who present ‘Ghosts, Werewolves and Country Folk – Songs and Stories of Sabine Baring-Gould’. Our celebrations then come to a climax with the re-enactment of the Whit Walk on Sunday, 19th May at 2pm.

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Various recordings of 'Onward, Christian Soldiers'on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Onward+Christian+Soldiers+