Wingrave is a village in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, midway between Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury. This site is about the village Patronal festival, of the celebrations that surround it and how they have changed over the years.
The Patronal Festival takes place on St Peters day, June 29th. On the Sunday following, the church was strewn with rushes and in later years, hay. This was also the Village Feast Day a time when the Village fair was set up for two or three days.
The Religious services and the hay strewing attracted large numbers of villagers who would also have been interested in going to the Fair later and it was an opportunity to raise funds to support the Church. The fund raising aspects became more important during the 20th Century.
Now the fair is gone but the secular side of the Patronal Festival continues in the form of the Village fete, now held on the Recreation ground, a continuing celebration of the community that is Wingrave.
Back to top
