Wren house used during Twelfth Night celebrations

Description

Wren house, a replica made by Richard Cobb, sexton of Marloes church, Pembrokeshire, in 1869 of a house which he had made sixty years earlier. It was donated to the Museum by T. H. Thomas (Arlunydd Penygarn) in 1898. The wren house was used during Twelfth Night celebrations in many parts of rural Wales. This custom involved placing the body of a dead wren in the decorated box which served as its bier, and rested on 4 poles. The box was then carried by four men, all pretending to groan under a huge weight, as they called at all the houses in the village. Verses were sung in the form of question and answer, ending with an invitation into the house for refreshment. Length 35 cm, height 23 cm.