Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels

By Jonathan Millar (jonathan.millar@archant.co.uk)

Shunning the traditional pop and fizz of a fireworks display Ottery St Mary has long been home to a more dramatic November 5 celebration.

• STEVEN started doing Tar Barrels way back in 1963.

• THE barrels may have got bigger and heavier, but Steven'senthusiasum hasn’t waned.

• Passed from person to person, with everyone jostling for control, they sometimes move like a flaming heirloom between father and son, friend to friend.

• STEVEN still going strong and for many more years to come.

And with Ottery's flaming tar barrel event secure for this year and looking good for the future we thought we would delve behind the scenes for an inside view.

If the idea of fighting through busy streets with a 30 kilo barrel on your shoulders seems impossible, how do the hardy residents of this otherwise sane town manage it with flames pouring out the top, and why?

Rumours say it started before the 17th century although, as with much history, the true date is lost in the mist or, in this case maybe, smoke of time.

Did it start as a way of exorcising evil spirits? A pagan ritual using fire to cleanse the streets, raise the spirit of local people and clear dark forces from the town.

Maybe, but what we do know is that year after year the event's popularity has boomed, until this year, when a dark cloud loomed over its future. The town's carnival committee, who organise the event, were inundated with questions from the national media and support from far and wide.

On the night thousands are expected to come and watch as barrels sponsored by the town's pubs are set alight and hoisted high by boys, men and women.

The barrels, from nearby cider makers, are prepared well in advance by pouring in tar and rolling them until it coats the inside, ready to blaze when the time comes.

Passed from person to person, with everyone jostling for control, they sometimes move like a flaming heirloom between father and son, friend to friend.

Steven Woodley, 50, who lived in Ottery for 25 years and has not missed a year since 1963, explained how he began.

"The first time I went was in 1962 and I was just a small boy and the gloves I had brought were too thin. The older boys looked me up and down and made fun of them.

"Let's just say they stayed in my pocket that night."

Returning next year better prepared, he finally got a taste of how it felt to run with the barrel.
"I had a couple of goes that year and it was great fun, just as much as it looked."

"I learnt quickly that a good hundredweight west of England sack was the best protection you could find for your hands.

"Now they have brought in a middle sized barrel for the young lads, but as soon as I was out of school and working at 15 I made the jump to a men's barrel," he added.

Explaining how the event has changed, Steven remembers that in his first few years there were only hundreds watching compared to the thousands you see now.

"Over the years it has become much better organised and safer, although to any outsider it would look the same as it ever did."

With only a handful of men in their 50s still taking up the challenge, Steven is unsure how long he can go on.

"Other guys have said you just get to a stage where you can't get your hands on the barrel and over the years I have got a little slower and I have fewer turns but I have years left in me yet."

With carrying barrels still a point of pride amongst the town's youth and some great runners coming up through the ranks, let's hope they have a chance to hang up their gloves in years to come with the event still as vibrant and vital as it is today.

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