Animal Guising & the Kentish Hooden Horse

Subject: Animal Guising &the Kentish Hooden Horse
From: Rain Dog
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 09:09 AM

Details of a book & forthcoming exhibition at Maidstone Museum.


Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse
By James Frost
With contributions from Geoff Doel and Ben Jones ("George")


Hoodening is an ancient calendar custom unique to East Kent, involving a wooden horse’s head on a pole, carried by a man concealed by a sack. The earliest reliable record is from 1735, but little serious research had gone into the tradition between Percy Maylam’s seminal work “The Hooden Horse”, published in 1909 (and reissued by Ozaru Books in 2021), and George Frampton's 2018 update, "Discordant Comicals". The current book, published to accompany a four-month exhibition at Maidstone Museum (8 February — 17 June 2023), further expands the field.

The text, accompanied by over 60 full colour illustrations — many never seen before in print — describes what hoodening was, what the hooden horse is, and how it can be seen in the national context of animal guising. It covers historical records and artifacts, revival groups, "Autohoodening" performances which reimagine the old tradition in a modern context, and related practices such as the Mari Lwyd, Obby Osses, various northern beasts, and stag guising. Appendices contain the text of numerous contemporary verses and plays.

The author, James Frost, is a Lecturer in Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University, as well as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has also made numerous hooden horses and similar beasts, and performed with the Canterbury Hoodeners

Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse - Ozaru Books


Details of the exhibition

Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden HorseWed 8th Feb 2023 to Sat 17th Jun 2023

Subject: RE: Animal Guising & the Kentish Hooden Horse
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 12:51 PM

I remember at early Broadstairs Festivals late 1970s, a guy always appeared in the parade as the hooden horse.

Subject: RE: Animal Guising & the Kentish Hooden Horse
From: Rain Dog
Date: 09 Jan 23 - 01:23 PM

More information on hoodening, including details on George Frampton's book 'Discordant Comicals:The Hooden Horse of East Kent' can be found here:

www.hoodening.org.uk

Subject: RE: Animal Guising & the Kentish Hooden Horse
From: Rain Dog
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 03:03 AM

I did not manage to get to the exhibition.

There is a short video available on Youtube

Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse exhibition virtual tour

Subject: RE: Animal Guising & the Kentish Hooden Horse
From: Rain Dog
Date: 19 Sep 23 - 03:03 AM

I did not manage to get to the exhibition.

There is a short video available on Youtube

Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse exhibition virtual tour