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Bank Holiday Fun at 'Cruinnaght Chreneash' 22 August 2005 Come and join the harvest celebrations at the Cregneash Folk Village this August Bank Holiday weekend, as Manx National Heritage stages its annual ‘Cruinnaght Chreneash’, which will take place at Cregneash from 10am to 5pm on the 28th and 29th August.  In addition to the traditional horse-powered harvest scene this year’s Cruinnaght Chreneash will recreate the agricultural activity that would have been a common sight on the Island in the 1940s, when the crops were cut using tractors and binders and then stooked (stacked) in the fields.
To commemorate the ending of the Second World War visitors will have an opportunity to see 1930s and 1940s tractors from the Southern Vintage Tractor and Engine Club working in the fields with a binder and baler. A crofter, a farmer and a land army girl will give personal accounts to visitors of harvest time in the village from 1910 to 1945. Listen to their stories and compare their different experiences. Yvonne Cresswell, MNH Curator for social history said: “The 1910 crofter with his small plot of land would have to gather the crops in by hand with tools such as scythes, whilst the wartime farmer with his many acres might have the latest ‘high-tech’ farm machinery, but most of his farm workers would have joined the forces so he would have needed a new labour force. Therefore young women were recruited to join the new Women’s Land Army to work the land and produce the food to feed a nation at war”. Visitors can also see demonstrations of wool spinning and even try their hand at spinning with a drop spindle. The blacksmith will be firing-up the smithy forge to fix the farm equipment needed for the harvest and on Sunday there will be rushwork demonstrations with bumbee cages being made and an opportunity for visitors to make their own. Yvonne Cresswell continued: “All the crafts and demonstrations around the village will reflect the harvest theme with a variety of traditional Manx food being cooked using typical food from the Manx harvest of fish, vegetables and fruit. There will also be an opportunity to see butter being freshly made; to discover how sunbonnets are made, and to see the traditional clothes worn by people 100 years ago”. There will be plenty to do for all the family with a variety of craft activities and things to make on the harvest theme. Adrian Cain, Manx language officer will also be on hand to help you learn a few words of Manx. The celebratory Mheillea (Harvest) dance will be performed around the village and visitors will have the opportunity to join in. Cruinnaght Chreneash takes place on both 28th and 29th August between 10am and 5pm. Cregneash is part of the award-winning Story of Mann and is open throughout the summer until October 2005. 22nd August 2005 More stories >>>
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