---
title: 'I got hit in the teeth at England''s oldest ritual'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=hCZwH5CSlEY'
video_id: 'hCZwH5CSlEY'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 915
---

# I got hit in the teeth at England's oldest ritual

> Source: [I got hit in the teeth at England's oldest ritual](https://youtube.com/watch?v=hCZwH5CSlEY)

## Summary

The video documents the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, an ancient English tradition involving dancers carrying reindeer antlers. The creator attends the public event, observes the dance's three phases, and interviews the jester, Terry, who reveals the mystery surrounding the tradition's origins. The video also reflects on the impact of modern media on such local customs and the creator's own participation in the dance.

### Key Points

- **Arrival and Setup** [0:00] — The creator arrives in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, guided by signs warning of delays due to 'Horn Dance Day'. The village is already busy at 7:30 AM, with instructions to meet at the church.
- **Church Gathering and Participants** [0:26] — Inside the church, there are two groups: locals who know each other and outsiders with cameras. The jester, Terry, is introduced. The dancers take antlers off the wall, and a short prayer is led by the vicar.
- **Three Phases of the Dance** [2:48] — The Horn Dance has three phases: walking in a line, stepping back and forth, and parading in circles. The dance is a full-day event, lasting until 5-6 PM, covering 12-13 miles.
- **Cast of Characters** [3:54] — The dance includes the jester (Terry, in charge), the hobby-horse, a kid with a bow and arrow (percussion), Maid Marian, and a kid with a triangle. The triangle's skill level varies.
- **Interview with Terry the Jester** [5:04] — Terry has been the jester for 46 years, starting when the original jester didn't show up. The dance's origins are a mystery; theories include a harvest celebration or a fertility dance. There is no written record.
- **Historical Record and Theories** [7:01] — The first written record (17th century) describes the 'Hobby-Horse Dance' with reindeer heads. Carbon dating places the antlers around the 11th-12th century, but they may have been imported from Scandinavia. A Victorian theory about a charter is unsupported.
- **Music and Participation** [10:17] — The accordionist plays a mix of tunes, including 'The Dam Busters March'. The creator volunteers to carry antlers and participates in the dance, but gets hit in the teeth during a collision.
- **Concerns About Internet Fame** [12:52] — The creator worries that online attention might disrupt the tradition, citing examples like the Cooper's Hill cheese rolling and Lewes Bonfire. The Horn Dance's low-key, weekday nature offers some protection.

### Conclusion

The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance persists as a mysterious, physically demanding tradition, largely protected from overexposure by its weekday schedule. The creator's participation, including a minor injury, underscores the dance's authentic, community-driven nature.

## Transcript

There were signs as I drove
into Abbots Bromley
saying there might be delays
on the roads thanks to “Horn Dance Day”.
There was still mist on the ground
as the sun rose
and I parked up in rural Staffordshire.
More than a dozen videos into this series,
it does feel a little odd
that I haven’t yet talked about
any Weird English Traditions.
So, those signs felt like a good omen.
(background chatter)
It’s busy in the village already.
It’s only 7:30 in the morning.
And my instructions are:
go to the church and look for the people
in the costumes.
There were already lots of people there.
I didn’t have any special access here:
this was a public event,
with lots of people inside
and outside the church,
and there were two types
of people in there:
folks from the village
and the surrounding area
who clearly all knew each other,
and a lot of…
Tourists is the wrong word.
There were definitely tourists,
and I’ll talk about them later.
But mostly, the outsiders were people
like me with cameras,
here to broadcast, not to save memories
for themselves.
The man with the jingling bells is Terry,
the jester, we’ll talk to him later.
In the meantime, the folks in costume
are taking the antlers off the wall.
Look, there’s a lot that I’m gonna need
to explain later.
If I talk about it all now,
we’ll be in the church for most of
this video and it’ll be really dull.
But in nearly every shot here,
you’ll see someone with a camera,
maybe a small GoPro,
maybe a 360 camera
on a very long stick...
longer than mine, but never mind.
Or maybe it’ll be some odd hybrid camera
which appeared to take
physical film plates
while also having a modern flash attached?
I wish I’d asked him about that.
Or it’ll be a full professional camera,
either someone from the local newspaper
or an agency stringer
who’s come along to get some footage
that they might be able to sell.
And all of us with cameras are...
awkwardly jostling for position,
not wanting to interfere with proceedings
but also not wanting
anyone else’s camera in our shot.
With the antlers down,
everyone in costume ready,
and all the photographers off at the side,
the vicar welcomed everyone
and led a short prayer.
Bless all who visit this parish today.
Give them joy in their hearts
and surround them with your loving care.
And bring them safely
to their journey’s end.
Amen. 
 (audience mutters “amen”)
For anyone who’s used to more vocal
religious worship, don’t worry,
the gentle mutter of “amen”
at the end there was normal,
actually it was positively enthusiastic
by most Church of England standards.
Anyway, up went the antlers,
and also the hobby-horse,
and everyone headed outside.
Everybody ready?
’Cos we’ve got to stop the traffic.
-Are we ready? 
 -Yep.
And we were off.
(accordions playing ‘A Hundred Pipers’,
triangle chiming)
The oldest village tradition
in England sets out
and immediately a taxi decides to turn
around and go the other way
because the high street’s
gonna be blocked for a while.
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
has three phases:
first, walking down the street in a line.
-Morning Jill, you all right? 
 -Morning Jill!
You all right? Morning, you all right? 
 (music continues)
And as this happens, the locals
take pictures from their doors,
or follow along.
Whoa!
Second: stepping back and forth,
back and forth,
in what seemed like a very simple routine
but which, I would find out later,
was much more difficult than it looked.
And third: parading around in a circle
or a couple of small circles.
(music continues)
Eventually, they turned off the main road
and started a route through the village,
because this is not a single
early morning dance.
I don’t think I appreciated
quite what a physical challenge
this actually is for them.
Because, like, I’m running around
with a camera,
as are so many other people around here.
Oh, it’s okay, it’s been about 15 minutes.
They’re going to be walking
with those all day.
They’re going to be playing
accordion all day.
Like, they’re not finished
until 5pm, 6pm, something like that.
Also, there’s quite a few car drivers
somewhat confused.
Like most English towns and villages,
you can track the architecture
getting more and more modern
as you head away from the centre.
Also, let me explain that triangle
that’s very loud in all of the footage.
The Horn Dance has a cast of characters.
Along with the dancers and the musicians,
there’s the jester, Terry,
who’s in charge.
There’s the hobby-horse.
There’s the kid with the bow and arrow,
which she’s usually blank-firing
in rhythm as percussion,
it’s just very quiet compared
to everything else.
There’s Maid Marian,
that’s the man in blue and yellow.
And there’s the kid with the triangle.
Because that’s a very young kid,
I think they got swapped out
at various points,
because the level of triangle skill
seemed to change quite a lot
as we went along,
both in timing and enthusiasm.
After 45 minutes or so
of parading around the parish,
they made it to their first pit stop.
(applause)
There were bacon rolls and drinks,
and even occasional tots of what I think
was brandy or whisky
being given to the folks in costume.
There were still a few folks
with cameras watching on,
although a lot of the press photographers
had got their shots and moved on,
and some of the villagers
had gone to get ready for work
or to take their kids to school.
And everyone moved out of the way
for the bin lorry.
While they were stopped,
I had a chat with Terry, the jester.
How long have you been doing this?
This will be my 46th year.
46th year, so did you start out
as the kid on the triangle?
Or has it been...
 -No, I started out by going to a fête
where the dancers were
and the jester didn’t turn up.
-Right!
 -Luckily, they’d got the clothes...
-Yep.
 -...so, I ended up doing the jester
and I’ve done it ever since.
And the history of this
is a mystery, apparently.
(laughter)
Yeah, it’s a mystery.
Nobody really knows what it’s all about.
I mean, there’s one story that says
it’s a celebrational dance,
’cos it’s just after the harvest
was got in from the farmers.
And then other people say
it’s a fertility dance.
Right.
Like when you see the horns
going backwards and forwards,
it represents two male stags
when they’re fighting...
-Right.
 -...at rutting time.
And then the circles as we do.
But that’s all a guess, presumably?
There’s no written, definite thing.
All we’re interested in,
we’ll make sure it keeps going, like.
The dance used to be on Christmas
many, many years ago,
and at some point it switched
to Wakes Monday,
which is a holiday date that seems
to change by English region
and it would be far too much of a tangent
to explore that right now.
And all the history of that has been lost.
That’s the mystery of the dance.
That’s why we think we’re so popular.
As you can see this morning, I mean…
Yeah! I mean, there’s been a steady
attrition of the press photographers,
who presumably like me,
turn up for the start and then decide…
because you’re finishing
at what, eight tonight?
-Yeah. 
-So how far are you gonna be walking?
I mean, you’re talking about
12, 13 miles of like…
They finish...that’s the dancers, not me. 
-Yeah. (laughs)
Oh, yeah, because they’re going
to go round and round, aren’t they?
I’m too old for that! (laughs)
So, they’re all walking a half marathon
with heavy antlers on.
Why are they doing it?
Because that’s what happens every year.
The first written record that includes
the antlers is from the 17th century,
in The Natural History of Staffordshire.
I don’t have a physical copy of the book,
even modern reprints
cost hundreds of pounds.
But in there, it says
that the village has,
“a sort of sport called
the Hobby-Horse Dance,”
which included the dancer on the horse,
along with
“six others, carrying on their shoulders
as many reindeers’ heads”.
It’s clearly an earlier version of this,
with lots of things in common,
but what stood out to me, and maybe
this is just a non-expert’s misreading,
but it looks like a fundraising event.
The record talks of a pot,
held by the chiefs of the town,
with cakes and ale.
And “all people who had any kindness
for the Institution of the Sport”
would give a little bit of money
towards church repairs
and the poor people of the town,
which is still happening.
I didn’t get any footage of it on the day
’cos I didn’t think it was important,
but there was a collection going round
as they passed by each street,
and I bought a t-shirt, because I felt
like I should support them a little.
And there are plenty of places across
the UK that do something similar to this,
whether it’s the local rotary club
having Santa touring round
in a sleigh at Christmas
or some other charity parade.
To be clear, actual folklore scholars
do not know where or when this came from.
Wild reindeer have been extinct
in Britain for centuries.
The antlers have been carbon-dated
to somewhere around
the 11th or 12th century,
so, about a millennium old,
but that doesn’t mean they’ve been
in the village that long.
There’s a decent chance that they
were imported from Scandinavia,
although why and how they ended up
in a Staffordshire village, no idea.
This paper with the carbon dating
has thirty-seven citations
and none of them have
any actual explanation.
Its conclusion is basically,
“We don’t know”.
I did find a photo dated 1899,
and the metadata there says
that the Horn Dance
“celebrates the granting of the Charter
of the Forest by King Henry III”.
That’s a law that restored
some rights to commoners.
But that idea seems to come from the notes
in a Victorian-era book of pictures
by documentarian, Sir Benjamin Stone,
and the language in there seems to imply
that the writer just…
decided that?
It says that the dance “clearly indicates
its original object”
and that “clearly, therefore,
the primary intent
“was to assert certain rights”
about hunting.
That seems to have as much evidence
behind it
as my idea about it being
a charity parade.
We all interpret what we see
through our own lens.
Anyway, they let some of the spectators
have a quick go,
they continued along country roads,
picking up more and more people,
performing in someone’s front garden.
You can see there’s fewer cameras out now,
it’s more locals and some enthusiastic
folklore tourists.
The sun started to get higher in the sky
and it got warm as we kept walking.
There was also a performance at a country
house for the local dignitaries
where the riffraff like me
must stay outside the boundaries.
(music continues)
As we moved through quieter country lanes,
the discipline of the dance wasn’t held
to quite such strict standards:
often they were just out for a walk
while holding some horns,
although cars were still getting stuck
behind the big crowd.
-Oh, that car timed it wrong, didn’t he?
 -Yeah.
The music occasionally got
a little less traditional, too.
(‘Dam Busters March’
playing on accordions)
(crowd applauding)
Did I hear the Dam Busters
drop in there briefly?
You’ll hear all sorts of things
depending on his mood.
(laughter)
Anything from Nelly the Elephant… 
(laughter)
Yes, I slipped up there.
I didn’t mean to play
that this early in the day!
And then, at the next pit stop,
they called for more spectators
to have a go,
so I volunteered.
That turned out to be
slightly painful,
and I’ll explain the reason
for that in a moment.
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With most of the crew
taking a break,
I volunteered to be one of
the civilians having a go.
So I handed my camera
to someone,
and picked up some antlers.
-One hand there.
 -Yeah.
-And then, so this hand down. 
 -Use that hand and balance it up here.
However’s comfier. 
-Yeah. Right.
If…okay, yep. This…
It’s heavier and both much less balanced
than I thought it was.
This could be an 800+ year old set
of antlers here...
Oh easily yeah.
That I’m just holding
with one hand and my shoulders.
Yeah, you’ll be fine.
Thanks! (laughs) No pressure.
-No pressure.
That’s…that’s stable. I’ve got that, okay.
At least I hope I’ve got that.
-Has anyone told you what to do yet?
 -No.
-Okay, good.
 -No.
-Good. Same here.
 -I’m very nervous...
-Same!
 -...that something’s gonna break off.
Oh, apparently you’re holding the one
they’ve carbon dated to the 12th century.
Oh, my God. I think I’m holding
the littlest one.
-Yes, that is the lightest one.
-That’s why you’ve given it to me. 
 -This is unfortunately the heaviest one.
-The delicate girly. 
-(laughter)
-Alright.
 -Get between us.
-And I’ll follow you.
 -Yep.
What about when we’re doing
the back-and-forth thing? Do I just...?
Ah, it’ll make sense as we go.
(laughter)
Okay!
 -You’ll work it out.
Right!
(music starts)
There is one thing I’m worried about
as I’m showing this off to the world.
There are plenty of British traditions
that have come close to ruin
thanks to the internet.
The annual cheese rolling at Cooper’s Hill
used to be a tiny local event like this,
but back in 2010 a rush of publicity
meant it was cancelled
due to overcrowding,
and it nearly died out.
The Lewes Bonfire is now so overcrowded
that they urge the public not to attend,
trains don’t stop at the local stations,
roads are closed.
The Horn Dance is a little protected
against all that:
there’s less fire and spectacle,
and it’s a gentle, all-day event
held on a Monday.
But you saw how many cameras there were,
mine included,
all of us jostling to try and make it look
like there weren’t as many cameras there,
because that’s less authentic.
I do have a duty of care
to the places I visit.
Anyway, here’s where I get hit
in the teeth.
The real trick is how close
can you get together...
It’s fine, we got it, we got it!
(laughter)
-Without getting dizzy of course. 
-(laughter)
Already dizzy, already dizzy.
-Oof!
 -Careful.
-Oh, my... 
-Well, that hit me in the teeth, so…
My concerns, in order: first, do I still
have all my teeth? Yes.
Second, are the horns okay?
Yes, they’ve survived centuries,
and they’re horns.
They’re literally made by deer
to get clashed together.
Third, did I get that on camera?
Yes, I did.
Oof!
But the dance must go on,
even if holding the camera out made me
look like the worst of vloggers.
Mornin’.
And you’ll notice that when we cross over,
the experts have learnt to duck
their antlers down to avoid
having the exact sort of collision
that I had.
(cheering applause)
(music stops)
-Yeah, thank you so, so much.
 -No problem, mate.
-That is so kind of you.
 -I’ve got hold of it.
Whoo! (laughter)
-Survived, did it? 
-Well, I clashed antlers with someone...
-I’m intrigued to see that, actually. 
-So am I.
Next time, or right now
on Nebula:
I help wind and fire
22 tonnes of mediaeval destruction.