Randwick is a village bordering the market town of
Stroud
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021.
Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, England, the United Kingdom. It is known locally for its folk traditions such as the Randwick Wap, a celebration of
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
, and its annual pantomime.
The population at the
2011 census was 1,423.
Governance
The village falls part of the '
Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe'
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
. This ward stretches from Randwick north easterly to
Whiteshill. The total ward population at the 2011 census was 1,747.
The civil parish was renamed from Randwick to
Randwick and Westrip on 1 August 2015.
Westrip is an outer suburb of Stroud, south of Randwick, which may have been within the parish beforehand.
Randwick Wap
The Wap is an annual series of events during spring which culminates in a traditional procession and festival dating back to the Middle Ages. Various theories exist on how it began, although most villagers believe it was a celebration that followed the completion of building Randwick's parish church.
The Wap was traditionally held on Low Sunday and Monday, the first Sunday and Monday after Easter. On the Sunday, the bells of the village church would be rung, a special service was held and a collection taken. On the Mon evening, a 'Mayor' was elected and he would be carried by chair to an ancient pool where he was immersed. Hordes would gather from far and wide including fiddle-playing and fortune-telling gipsies. By the late 19th century, however, the Wap was becoming better known for its drunken revelry rather than as an ancient spectacle and it was evident that something had to be done. In 1892, the church officials refused to ring the bells or hold a special collection to mark 'Wap Sunday' and although a mayor was elected, the Wap in its then form had run its course.
The Randwick Wap was eventually revived in 1971 by the vicar Rev Niall Morrison (son of
William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil) and now the festivities take place in the month of May.
References
External links
Stroud Voices mid 20th century oral history from Randwick residents
Villages in Gloucestershire
Stroud District
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