In Ottery St Mary, Devon, locals carry flaming barrels of tar on their backs for ancient and inscrutable reasons. Guy Fawkes' Day. (photo credit: bbcamericangirl is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The centuries-old tradition involves local men, women and children carrying full-sized lit tar barrels through the narrow streets of Ottery St Mary. The organisers of the event believe its origins ...

Ottery St Mary's 'wacky' tradition of carrying flaming barrels through the streets of the town takes place on Tuesday (November 5). It takes place from 7pm, road closures are in place from 3.30pm. The ...

Ottery St Mary is gearing up for its annual tar barrels crowd-pleaser somersetlive News By Daniel Clark Content Editor Molly Seaman 20:14, 1 NOV 2024 13:55, 5 NOV 2024 (Image: SWNS) ...

Ottery Tar Barrels 2024: Road closures, timings, parking and warnings Ottery St Mary is gearing up for its annual tar barrels crowd-pleaser News By Daniel Clark Content Editor ...

The Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary, Devon November 5 from 7pm This iconic event kicks off with a parade of flaming tar barrels carried through the streets of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

Every year, the small East Devon town called Ottery St Mary witnesses a spectacular tradition—hundreds of people crowd the narrow streets as the flaming tar barrels are carried through the downtown.

The Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary are a centuries-old tradition, believed to have begun following the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, though its exact origins remain uncertain.

Not that things are quite as unruly at Ottery St Mary as they once were. ‘When I was young, it was mayhem,’ Mr Wade recalls. ‘Thirty years ago, we had two police officers and some hand-made signs. Now ...

Both Lewes and Ottery St Mary’s traditions have their origins in “rumbustious disorderly celebrations often carried out by youths,” as historian Hutton puts it. Like Lewes, Ottery St Mary’s formalized ...