The Greasy Pole
Central to the 700 year history of the annual Egremont Crab Fair is the Greasy Pole event.
The start of the Crab Fair was until recently marked with the erection of the Greasy Mutton Pole "at the fish stone by the Market Cross".
Each year, at the beginning of Crab week, the twenty foot high wooden pole is erected in the market place and greased with lard.
The objective was to climb to the top and retrieve a prize, originally a hat, usually a top hat. The winner, normally an agile youth, then paraded around the town wearing his prize.
In 1852 the prize became a side of mutton which, if not won by the end of the day, was cut up and divided amongst the poor.
The tradition continues to this day, and in addition to the main prize, ribbons are now attached to the pole which can be grabbed from lower levels and exchanged for gifts in the town.
In recent years the Greasy Pole event was prevented from taking place, because the wooden pole was such a temporary structure.
Not only was the pole badly missed, but the historic festival was depleted of an important and iconic asset.
The Return of the Greasy Pole
The new pole, above right, was officially opened at a ceremony led by The Worshipful the Mayor of Copeland, Cllr Anne Faichney, Jamie Reid MP and the artists, pictured below in the Market Place on 19 Jaunuary 2008.
Photographs: Peter Watson.
Egremont Regeneration Partnership worked to commission a unique public work of art for Egremont with Grizedale Arts', the group undertaking some of the town's arts strategy. Grizedale's ambition has been to work with the people of the town and with internationally renowned artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane on this work, which will be their first public sculpture It comes out of a long-standing involvement between the townspeople of Egremont, Grizedale Arts and the artists to reinstate the Crab Fair's Greasy Pole as a permanent public sculpture in the market place, well known landmark, signposting Egremont as the home of the Crab Fair and to be used once a year for the traditional Greasy Pole event.
The new Pole, made of carbon fibre, seeks to improve upon the original wooden Pole through use of advanced and low maintenance materials and the addition of a decorative collar. This collar prevents the Pole form being climbed outside the Crab Fair, yet can be ritually raised to the top of the Pole at the start of Crab Fair week, where it can be used to hold the prize.
Below: Jeremy Deller, left and Alan Kane, right with a model of the greasy pole during manufactured. Photo: Karen Storr
The main structure is made out of carbon fibre by the racing yacht manufacturer Formula Spars. The carbon fibre ensures low maintenance, durability and strength for its lifetime of use, whilst its woven texture and iridescent finish will mark it out as distinct from regular street furnishings and similar structures.
The Pole has been designed to be located in a site currently occupied by a redundant tree guard in the centre of the market place and the centre of the town, with vistas from the approach roads and the wide Georgian Main Street.
The Greasy Pole is now a famous sculpture attracting visitors to and interest in the town, whilst enabling Egremonthians to continue an important tradition which was under threat of extinction.
This project has been co-ordinated by Grizedale Arts with the generous support of The Egremont and Area Regeneration Partnership, West Lakes Renaissance, Lord Egremont, Copeland Borough Council, The Henry Moore Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Egremont Town Council and Arts Council England.
The pole's relationship to maypoles and similar ritual public objects found in Europe is clear, but, as the first public sculpture by Jeremy Deller, it also functions as a contemporary work of art with international significance.
Art of the last century has moved away from the idea a prized object on a museum plinth or gallery wall. The pole fits into the long art history of ritual objects and reflects the wider shift taking place in the way art now works. Artists of today are now much more concerned with working out of galleries, in the real world and working with people and communities for the benefit of all.
Jeremy's Deller and Alan Kane's work on the Greasy Pole project especially encapsulate the mood of our times, and brings back an important part of our heritage. The work of art in this case lies not in the actual object, but in the work and community action needed to negotiate the return of the pole.
This public work now realised in Egremont has attracted interest from the Tate Gallery, the Arts Council of England, the Visual Arts and Galleries Association and independent critics. It has also gained support from West Lakes Renaissance, Cumbria Council and Lord Egremont.
The Crab Fair history
Egremont's Crab Fair was first held in 1267, when King Henry III granted a Royal Charter to Thomas de Multon. Originally a harvest festival (the name referring to the local crab apples) it has evolved over the centuries as a platform of local cultures and traditional country sports. What distinguishes it from other country fairs, is the idiosyncratic nature of the events combined with its embrace of contemporary culture. Alongside the rituals of Cumberland wrestling, gurning, pipe smoking, hound trailing and giant vegetables, sit microlite display teams, rock bands and talent competitions.
The start of the Crab Fair has until recently been marked with the erection of the Greasy Mutton Pole "at the fish stone by the Market Cross". The pole was thirty foot tall and greased with lard and the objective was to climb to the top and retrieve a prize, originally a top hat.
Jeremy Deller
Jeremy Deller is one of the UK's leading artists and has become known for his public projects and exhibitions which remix traditional culture with contemporary life. His work champions the indigenous folk and popular culture of the British Isles as something as vital and important as the established culture of heritage, museums and galleries.
Jeremy is widely recognised on the international stage and after undertaking commissions in the United States and Spain was awarded the Turner Prize. .
The artist regularly works and collaborates with another artist, Alan Kane, and they both have a long standing relationship with Egremont. Their exhibition Folk Archive was shown at the Barbican in London and has touring the UK and Europe. The show featured and promoted the enormous range of art and creativity produced each year for the Crab Fair as part of a general survey of the folk art of our Islands.
Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane are two of the UK's most prominent artists and have become known for public projects and exhibitions which promote a democratic view of culture, often remixing traditional cultures with contemporary life.
Their recent Folk Archive project profiles the indigenous folk and popular culture of the British Isles as something as vital and important as the work presented in our museums and galleries. Their recent European touring exhibition Folk Archive presented a large scale survey of this material, with the distinct folk culture of Egremont featuring prominently.
This project had added weight because it was not merely instigated by the artists, but also came out of a wish from the town to save this valued cultural icon.
Grizedale Arts
Grizedale Arts is an international research and development agency for artists based in the Lake District National Park. It has now gained a significant reputation for its groundbreaking programme and, in particular, for its projects which link local issues to our global culture.
Grizedale has a continuing interest in the way art and culture influence regeneration and contribute to the rural economy. This project has much appeal because it is working in a constructive way, to bring back a traditional and historical artefact, whilst adding to the growth of the region.
Grizedale Arts are working in partnership with the Egremont and Area Regeneration Partnership on Creative Egremont, a public art strategy devised by Grizedale Arts as part of the town's overall regeneration strategy. Creative Egremont offers a new take on public art; rather than commissioning stand alone works of art, it seeks to establish an infrastructure to develop the town's own cultural development through a sustainable programme of projects and events.
10 1 07 Greasy Pole launch.pdf
