**
Grenadiers eventually catch the Earl of Rone. Courtesy of Earl of Rone Council
When:
May 2009 (annual)
Where:
Combe Martin
Cost:
Free
This annual event at Combe Martin is a strange English tradition which involves the search for, and dispatching of, the imaginary Earl of Rone.
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The origins of this peculiar activity are murky, but legend has it that a real Earl of Rone, fleeing Ireland four centuries ago, was shipwrecked on the beach of Combe Martin and later found in a nearby forest. A traitor to Ireland, the Earl became a local hero and the festival celebrates the (dubious) heroism of his flight.
The Hunting of the Earl of Rone begins on the Friday with a procession of Grenadiers, then the children of Combe Martin re-enact their version of the Hunting of the Earl by searching through the village. The next day it is the grown-ups' turn to scour Lady's Wood in search of the "lost" Earl.
On Monday, the masked Earl is paraded through the village, back-to-front on a donkey, in a procession with drummers, musicians and dancers, a hobby horse and a fool, as well as villagers dressed as Grenadiers. He is frequently shot from off the donkey only to be revived by the hobby horse and the fool. An effigy of the Earl is then marched down to the beach at sunset and thrown into the sea, watched by crowds of onlookers.
The Hunting of the Earl of Rone begins on the Friday with a procession of Grenadiers, then the children of Combe Martin re-enact their version of the Hunting of the Earl by searching through the village. The next day it is the grown-ups' turn to scour Lady's Wood in search of the "lost" Earl.
On Monday, the masked Earl is paraded through the village, back-to-front on a donkey, in a procession with drummers, musicians and dancers, a hobby horse and a fool, as well as villagers dressed as Grenadiers. He is frequently shot from off the donkey only to be revived by the hobby horse and the fool. An effigy of the Earl is then marched down to the beach at sunset and thrown into the sea, watched by crowds of onlookers.
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Event details can change.
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