Checked into the thatched and thick-walled Mason’s Arms at 5pm, quickly ate some food we’d brought with us, and then headed off down the lanes to the village hall at Upper Odcombe. We were due to meet the other Odcombe carollers there at 5:45pm. R had met one of them, Steve C, at Sidmouth festival in August this year where Steve was involved in a presentation on the the Odcombe carols.
In 1860 the church at Odcombe kicked the carol-singers out and they migrated to the Methodist chapel in the village. From there the tradition of Odcombe village carol singing began. The repertoire is 12 songs, and they are sung every year to every house in the village.
We met Steve, and a few other singers, at the village hall. At around 6pm we set off, maybe 10-12 of us. Two lads from the village were with us, and they’d run on ahead knocking at doors. We sang a carol at each place we stopped in Lower Odcombe. After each carol, they older lad from the village shouted out a personal greeting, naming each individual in the houses we were at and wishing them a happy and prosperous new year.
We did each of the 12 carols three times, so 36 in total, plus a few extra While Shepherds, one of which was in the Maon’s Arms. We finished about 9pm, and then went back to the pub for a pint. Very good.