REVAMPED wassail celebrations in a tiny Vale village have been caught on camera for a special project.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

The midwinter celebration, aimed at encouraging a bumper apple harvest, took place in the village of Chettle at the end of January.

The unique ceremony, dubbed a ‘wassail for the 21st century’, was created by members of the 100-strong village community alongside artists and performers as part of a project funded by the Dorset Performing Arts Fund at the Dorset Community Foundation.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

“This unique celebration was created by the people who live in the village, building on old traditions and adding new to celebrate the nature and landscape of the beautiful valley,” a spokesperson said.

During the ceremony, a centuries-old tradition, a ‘Head Apple’ leads a procession to an orchard to honour this most special fruit and to wake up the spring.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

Wassail – meaning ‘good health’ – is a centuries-old tradition in the south west, asking apple trees to bear a good harvest, offering the orchards toast and song and chasing out evil spirits.

The new village ceremony featured four new songs alongside traditional pieces, as well as beautiful costumes, headdresses and props inspired by the nature around them – antlers for the deer, barn owls and evergreens.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

Guest artists were invited to Chettle to help inspire the old-but-new ritual.

Mercury-nominated folk singer and activist Sam Lee, human ecologist and artist Zoe Laureen Palmer, genre-bending classical violinist Simmy Singh, and choir leader Sandie Campbell all worked alongside Dorset-based artists Lorna Rees and Adam Coshan to help create the performance.

The event was also documented in a film by artist, director and filmmaker Sophie Austin, with photographer Jayne Jackson capturing images.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

The project was produced by Chettle resident, Becky Burchell.

Lead artist Lorna said: “As artists, we’re deeply interested in how we collectively reconnect ourselves to the land and the food it produces, through celebrations, rituals, gatherings and culture.

“We wanted to help make an apple wassailing event to celebrate the trees in these orchards. We also wanted to have a party – to wake up the spring in the bleak of midwinter.

Wassail Ceremony underway. Photos: Jayne Jackson

“Chettle is a really special place. There has been settlement in the valley for 6,000 years, the village dates to Norman times and it’s steeped in Wessex folklore.

“There’s also something of the disco about the town – many of the inhabitants have worked on large-scale music festivals and raves, or else they are artists, growers and incredible craftspeople.”