Mummers keep ancient Christmas tradition alive in Hastings and Rye this weekend

Hollington Tipteerers mummers group will be out in the pubs of St Leonards and Rye this weekend performing their traditional Sussex Christmas play.

The lively and colourful play, which has been performed in Sussex around Christmas time for hundreds of years, sees a fight between St George and the Turkish Knight with the fallen warrior being raised from the dead by a mysterious Doctor figure.

Tipteerimg is the old Sussex phrase for mumming and the version of the play performed locally was collected from the memory of an old gentleman who remembered it being performed in Hollington when Hollington was still a rural area on the outskirts of Hastings.

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The group will be out in St Leonards on Friday evening and in Rye on Saturday evening touring around the pubs, but, keeping it traditional, they never announce beforehand which pub they are visiting and the time of their arrival.

Later this month they plan to tour pubs in the Queens Road area of Hastings and pay a visit to Robertbridge.