The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Carhampton Wassail
Carhampton wassails
In partnership with:
Overview
Carhampton is famous for its wassailing celebration which is started in the 1930s by the Taunton Cider Company. A small event takes place in the community orchard next to the Butchers Arms Pub on 17 January. Villagers form a circle around the largest apple tree and hang pieces of toast soaked in cider in the branches for the robin who represents the good spirits of the tree. Shotguns are fired overhead to ward off evil spirits.
Wassail is traditionally hot mulled spiced cider and drunk during the wassailing ceremony. The word comes from Old Norse ves heil and literally means be you healthy or to your health. The first recorded wassail is in 1585 and linked to Twelfth Night marking the coming of Epiphany and the end of Christmas. The ceremony is to bless the tree thereby encouraging a good crop of apples in the coming season. Apple Tree Man is a folktale in Somerset and he is the spirit of the apple tree and the guardian of the fertility of the apple orchard.
Related
Watch for free
Minehead - 1932 - Osborne Personal Film Minehead - 1932 - Osborne Personal Film
Amateur film 1932 45 mins Silent Location: Minehead
A Somerset holiday with prolific amateur cinematographers the Tigg family
Watch for free
Minehead - 1943 - Osborne Personal Film Minehead - 1943 - Osborne Personal Film
Amateur film 1943 11 mins Silent Location: Minehead
Wartime fun and frolics at the Somerset seaside: sunbathing and seaweed fighting on Minehead's golden sands, and day trips to Dunster and Carhampton.
Watch for free
On Falling - Exclusive Q&A On Falling - Exclusive Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
Writer-director Laura Carreira talks to Nia Childs about her debut feature, On Falling.
Watch for free
Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.
Watch for free
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Watch for free
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Watch for free
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Watch for free
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.