Wakes week

Blackpool sands August 1895

The wakes week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland.

History

Wakes were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications. During the Industrial Revolution the tradition of the wakes was adapted into a regular summer holiday particularly, but not exclusively, in the industrialised areas of England where each locality would nominate a Wakes Week during which the industries would close down for a week. This week became the focus for fairs, and for holidays where the workers would visit the nearest seaside resorts, particularly after the building of railways.

There is a merry, happy time,
To grace withal this simple ryhme:
There is jovial, joyous hour,
Of mirth and jollitty in store:
The Wakes! The Wakes!
The jocund wakes!
My wandering memory now forsakes
The present busy scene of things,
Erratic upon Fancy's wings,
For olden times, with garlands crown'd
And rush-carts green on many a mound.
In hamlets bearing a great name,
The first in astronomic fame.
 — From The Village Festival by Droylsden poet Elijah Ridings.

Present day

The tradition still exists in some parts of England, although its significance has declined in recent decades. It was commonplace for schools to allocate a one week holiday coinciding with wakes week in lieu of holiday time elsewhere in the year;— typically the May half term holiday or the end of the summer holiday in August. Schools began to discontinue the wakes week holiday after the introduction of the National Curriculum and the standardisation of school holidays across England, and it rarely exists today.