About Us

True Carnivals were at first associated mainly with 5th November.

In 1850 the Pope designated a Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. Taunton was greatly displeased by this and giant effigies of Pius IX and Cardinal Wiseman were paraded through the streets before being burned on a large bonfire in Castle Green.

A similar gesture was made 5th November 1868 when a gang of boys paraded a ‘guy’ dressed to represent Serjeant Cox, Lord of the Manor of Taunton Deane, and then set it alight in front of the house of a prominent Conservative in the town. Taunton was inevitably influenced by the growing popularity of Bridgwater Carnival.

On 7th November 1881 it staged an elaborate fancy-dress torchlight procession around the town to the Parade where effigies of Parnell and Dillon were thrown on a bonfire.

A similar procession at Rowbarton burnt a likeness of a railway employee labelled ‘Railway sneak’, referring to the GWR prosecuting local porters for stealing beer. A third procession bore a huge boat displaying an effigy of a fishmonger in a protest about prosecutions for hawking fish.

A group known as the Taunton Bonfire Boys organised a grand walking parade in fancy dress from the Winchester arms on 5th November 1881, led by a brass band. This was lit by Chinese Lanterns and featured characters dressed as demons walking arm in arm with others costumed as female members of the Salvation Army. The following year the procession represented the entry of the Duke of Monmouth into the town and an effigy of Judge Jefferies was burnt on the Parade Celebrations were somewhat dampened from 1890 when the Market Trustees banned bonfires rolling blazing tar barrels on the Parade.

Celebrations were somewhat dampened from 1890 when the Market Trustees banned bonfires rolling blazing tar barrels on the Parade.

The first modern Carnival was staged on 15th October 1891 by Taunton’s cyclists in aid of funds for the Taunton & Somerset Hospital in East Reach. The torchlight procession included 130 riders. The Carnival became an annual event from then, with few gaps until 1914. The 1896 procession featured a detachment of Johannesburg troopers and there wasa Carnival Concert in the Parade Assembly Rooms.

In 1897 Rowbarton inaugurated a second torchlight procession, this time in aid of the Rowbarton District Nursing Association. Taunton Rugby Club topically recreated the Klondyke Gold Rush. The main Carnival of 1898 included an Arctic tableau and a full scale replica of Nelson’s Victory manned by naval pensioners.

The 1913 Carnival revived the torchlight procession and was in aid of East Reach Hospital, the Taunton
District Nursing Association and the Bristol Eye Hospital.

Carnival wasn’t revived until September 1922 by which time the Taunton and Rowbarton committees had joined together. This was mainly due to Preb George Ruck, vicar of St Andrew’s and Chairman of the Nursing Association. The procession that year left Greenway Recreation Ground. It was dominated by six floats from Pool Wall Mills whose employees depicted changing costume fashion from 1837 to 1887. The annual event continued until 1929 when it lapsed again.

September 1933 saw another resuscitation and the first Carnival Queen, Madge Coles of Wiveliscombe. Described as ‘a winsome brunette still in her teens’ she was crowned by the Mayor, Cllr Stainer, in Vivary Park. Her gown was presented by the Somerset County Herald and fitted by Chapmans. Festivities included a fete in Vivary Park with music from the band of the 5th Battalion Somerset Light infantry. The procession featured the ‘Sea Hawk, a pirate ship manned by a bloodthirsty crew from the Somerset County Gazette.

The annual processions remained a regular feature until 1939. That year’s event, together with a fun fair in Vivary Park, was scheduled for 2nd September. Relations with Germany deteriorated very rapidly. Over 2,000 London evacuees arrived at Taunton station that day, and a general blackout was announced for that night.
The Carnival was cancelled!

Unlike many of the town’s annual events Carnival wasn’t immediately revived once the war ended. The next procession took place on 6 June 1953 for the Coronation. A crowd of 20,000 watched a procession of 44 tableaux and features and 14 other groups.

Taunton Mayor, Cllr Vic Ellis brought together a Committee representing many organisations

within the town,

including Round Table, National Savings Committee, Area Sports Association, Old Tyme Dancing Club, Area Youth Committee, and Motoring Club.

It’s purpose was to celebrate the Centenary of Taunton Flower Show and the Golden Jubilee of the National Savings Movement. Organised by the Gala Celebrations Committee this featured activities 22nd July to 4th August. The Carnival procession was held on the evening of Thursday 28th July and organised by Mr P Hammond of Arthur Martin’s Autorama.

The proceeds from the Carnival itself were distributed between the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Fund, Blagdon Lodge, St John Ambulance Brigade and Red Cross Libraries at Musgrove and East Reach, each receiving £25. An additional £10 16s went to Sandhill Park League of Friends for Childrens Christmas Cheer Fund.

The festival was so popular it was decided to repeat it annually and on 23rd September 1966 the Taunton Carnival Committee was born.

These weeks of celebrations continued until 1971. Difficulties were encountered in finding organisers for the various events and the Committee decided to move the procession from the summer to the autumn, partly because “people are generally less self-conscious in the dark”. The 1972 procession was scheduled for 21st October – and Carnival has been held on the third Saturday of October ever since.

From 1967 to 2002 the Procession was preceded by the famous Cider Barrel Race. Pairs of men and women struggled to propel a firkin, a nine gallon traditional wooden barrel, along the first mile of the procession route. Supported first by Taunton Cider and then Sheppy’s Cider the event attracted major press coverage over the ‘antics’ of the barrels and those brave enough to take them on. Many made the challenge more difficult by dressing up in costumes not designed for such efforts.

Other towns in the southern part of the county were also putting on Carnivals. Clubs based in Wellington, Ilminster, Chard and Taunton took their entries to each event. The four Committees saw the benefits of working together with common rules and competition classes so in 1972 the South Somerset Federation was came into being. Results from the four Carnivals are put together to produce Overall Champions. The events in the four towns always take place in the same order and on the same weekends. Yeovil held a Carnival for several years and made the Federation a five town competition.

The Carnival Committee has always enjoyed an excellent working relationship firstly with Taunton Borough Council and its successors Taunton Deane Borough and West Somerset and Taunton Councils.

In 1973 the procession assembled on the Market and Priory Bridge Road Car Park site for the first time and stayed there until 2011, including the year the bridge was replaced.

In the aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster there was a sea change in the approach to planning events involving large crowds. Safety had always been a feature for both Clubs and Committees but now more needed to be formally planned and recorded. The phrase ‘contingency planning’ came to the fore. Committees are formed by individual volunteers. It became apparent that we were all exposed to personal risk of prosecution, with the potential of heavy fines or even jail sentences.

In 1994 we formed the Taunton & District Carnival Committee Limited, a Company Limited by Guarantee, and properly registered at Companies House. Previously the Committee had been ‘run’ by the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Now we had Directors – funnily enough the membership appointed the same individuals. Carnival continued in pretty much the same vein right through from 1973 to 2012, adapting to developments within the town but without major change. Potential redevelopment of the Market and Priory Bridge Road Car Park meant we were looking for a new assembly area and therefore a new route.
After extensive discussions with all interested parties, not least Highways and the Emergency Services we settled on The Third Way and a shorter point to point route, hoping to future proof the procession against other redevelopments.

From 2012 to today the organisation has remained much the same. The road between the old Lidl car park and Tangier Car Park is closed at 2.30pm, with the town centre roads closed at 6.30pm to allow a prompt start at 7.00pm. The Procession wends its way through the town to the Finish Line at the bottom of East Reach. The dispersal and dismantling takes place on Chritchard Way, previously known as Victoria Parkway but renamed in 2004 after Colin Chritchard MBE, longtime Honorary Secretary of the Committee.