A FORMER minister at St Briavels had the opportunity to play a central role in one of two Whitsun traditions, now that he has left the village.

Rev Robert Simpson was invited to preach for the Whittington Purse, a tradition that goes back to the 1630s.

After music by the Parkend Silver Band, Local Minister for St Briavels, Rev David Rees, explained that in his will Mr Whittington left £3 for an apprentice, £3 for the poor and £1 6s 8d for four sermons to be preached by a clergyman from outside the parish.

Rev Simpson, who now lives in Bream, took sharing as his theme drawing on the Whittington Purse and cheese and bread dole traditions from the village, Pentecost which Christians celebrate as the time when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and the character of Jean Valjean from Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables.

Rev Simpson said: “I was minister for six years from 2014 to the end of 2019 and I couldn’t do this.

“It has to be someone who doesn’t minister the parish.

Arguments between clergy and their parishoners are not new.

“It’s clear that Mr Whittington did not get on with his vicar and so wanted to make sure that somebody could preach four decent sermons a year.

“Whether you think this is a decent sermon is up to you.

“I love this celebration and he link between this celebration of Pentecost –Whitsun in old money – and an even older ceremony which goes back at least 800 years and the bread and cheese were thrown from the castle walls.

“King John is called our worst king but he did something good because he started this tradition.

“In those days May was the starving month, the meat had gone off, we’d run out of food and you were scratching around for something to eat.

“The tradition was about supplying the poor with something to eat in what was a difficult part of the year.

“As an only child my parents taught me the importance of sharing and that goes to the heart of these two events, the sermon celebrating Pentecost and the bread and cheese distribution.

“When it started it was rather more than small pieces of bread and cheese we catch in our umbrellas.”

He said the character of Valjean, the criminal who spends the rest of his trying to change those around him was also a reminder of Pentecost.

“I thought that was a wonderful Pentecost message because that is why Jesus came, that is why he shared his life with us

“It was also a tradition to keep some of the bread and wrap it up to keep you safe in the mine or the woods

Somebody from St Briavels was telling me that when their aunt died they opened the draw they found about 50 little packets of bread that she’d kept.

“For her it was something not just about food it was something spiritual, Jesus is the bread of life.

“It reminded her of God’s care for her just as it reminded her forebears of God’s care for them.

“As we celebrate and rejoice at these old traditions, let’s remember why they were there, why we still celebrate them and let us receive for ourselves the life of Christ who died and rose again for us.”

Rev Simpson then blessed the 10 loaves and 12lb of cheese which had been cut into small cubes and divided into two large baskets.

The bread and cheese is thrown to the waiting crowd by Keeper of the Wood Gerald Creswick and his sister Margaret Saunders – who had undertaken the marathon task of cutting the bread and cheese with help from other family members.

This year the bread and cheese was thrown from the high platform of a cherry picker.

For many years Mr Creswick and Mrs Saunders used to complete the tradition from the top of the Pound Wall opposite St Briavels Castle.