Perambulation Of The Town Leat on:
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The Perambulation of the Town 
The tradition involves walking the length of the watercourse (the leat) to its source six miles away at Norwood Common.
The procession starts at the Town Hall and is led by the four individuals known as "pioneers" armed with pickaxes and sledgehammers whose job it is to demolish any obstruction found in the stream. Behind the pioneers is the Bailiff of the
Leat
A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Other ...
is a traditional mediaeval custom, also known as water-bailing, that takes place in the town of Tiverton, Devon
Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587.
History Early history
The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...
, England, once every seven years. The event commemorates and claims the gift of the town's water supply in around 1262 from Isabella, Countess of Devon. The tradition involves walking the length of the watercourse (the leat) to its source six miles away at Norwood Common.
The procession starts at the Town Hall and is led by the four individuals known as "pioneers" armed with pickaxes and sledgehammers whose job it is to demolish any obstruction found in the stream. Behind the pioneers is the Bailiff of the Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
, who carries an ancient staff of office, behind him are the "Withy-boys", drawn from Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...
and Tiverton High School
Tiverton High School is a state secondary school located in Tiverton, Devon, England. It is located on the outskirts of the town, and has a close working relationship with the co-sited Petroc (formerly East Devon College).
The school curren ...
, whose job it is to whip the stream with willow sticks – or withy
A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles.
-wands. Then come the police, the town beadle, the Mayor of Tiverton, his fellow councillors, and lastly, the general public.
The procession's first stop is Coggan's Well in Fore Street, the traditional centre of the town where the stream emerges from underneath the road. Placing his staff in the water, the Bailiff of the Hundred claims the stream "for ever, for the sole use and benefit and as the right of the inhabitants of the town of Tiverton". Further proclamations are made at Castle Street, Townsend, Brickhouse Hill, Chettiscombe, the waterworks at Allers and finally at Norwood Common, where a plaque marks the actual source. The ancient route now involves negotiating walls, private gardens and making use of many paths that are not public rights of way, some of which must be cleared on each perambulation.
The event last took place on 9 September 2017 when 450 people completed the trek; it is next due to be undertaken in 2024.
References
{{reflist Tiverton, Devon English traditions