One of the many English Christmas customs is that of the Mummers play.
These plays were a traditional form of village entertainment
and can be found in slightly different forms in many areas of England.
Croxley Green has its own version of the play.
All the plays tell the story of the hero, usually St George,
who is at first killed by the Dragon, and is revived by the Doctor.
He then goes on to kill the Dragon, the Turkish Knight and finally the Giant,
and by so doing wins the hand of the King of Egypt's daughter.
Croxley Green’s version of the play was written by 'Neggy' Wilson,
and is a compilation of bits from other plays from around the country.
Neggy, one of Croxley Green's well known characters, was the headmaster of the Croxley Boys School.
He got together a group of his former pupils to perform the play in Croxley Green.
It was performed nearly every year from the 1920s until the late 1950s.
Some of the early actors were:
Stan Lyons, Fred Randall, Frank Paddick, and the three Samuels brothers.
Later members of the cast included:
Bert Sadler, Albert Seabrook, Don Webb and John and Michael Thomas.
All of them well known Croxley Green names.
In 1994 a group of Croxley Green residents decided that it might be an idea
to try to revive the play and perform it at Christmas time.
Actors were recruited and we set about making our costumes and rehearsing.
Unfortunately the original Croxley Green costumes were destroyed
in the fire at the Dickinson Guild House in 1965.
The original revival cast members were :
George Paddick, Alan Monahan, Madryn Waldron, Margaret Pomfret,
Nigel Moorcroft, Dave and Michele Bennett, John Quick and myself.
Some more recent members of the cast have included :
Bob and Hilary Parnell, Roger Cattermoul, Tim Davis, and Graham Sawyer.
As some of you may remember we had troubles at first with theatre licences but eventually this was sorted out.
The play has been performed on the Sunday before Christmas ever since.
There is a very informative article by Frank Paddick detailing the history of the early Croxley Green Mummers
and listing the places where the play was performed each year.
They usually started off at All Saint's Vicarage
and as most of the cast were workers at Dickinson's Mill they finished at Lindiswara Court.
Lindiswara Court was the home of Charles Barton-Smith, who was the then Manager at the Mill.
All names familiar to present day residents of Croxley Green.
Our first rehearsals were held in Yorke Mead School then in later at the Scout HQ on Watford Road
The last few years have seen us rehearse in "The Shed" behind The Sportsman PH.
We thank all those concerned for letting us use their buildings.
Many of the older people of Croxley Green still remember the original Mummers
and we feel proud to be able to carry on the tradition.
As Father Christmas says in his introduction to the play :
"We've come to show activity upon a Christmas time"
Chris Hillier
At the end of each performance there is always a collection.
Since 1994 we have now raised over
£3200+
which has been given to the Peace Hospice.
