Stormy Daniels Awarded In Salem For Enduring Actual 'Witch Hunt'

Marco Margaritoff
Fri, November 1, 2024 

Stormy Daniels Awarded In Salem For Enduring Actual 'Witch Hunt'
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Stormy Daniels, the adult film performer whose alleged affair with Donald Trump spawned the historic hush money trial that he decried as a “witch hunt,” received a witchy award Thursday on Halloween for surviving his attempts to spin the narrative.

The ceremony was held in Salem, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials during the late 1600s, which saw hundreds accused — and around 20 executed — as supposed “witches.”

Daniels was appropriately dressed like one when she accepted the first annual “Salem Witches’ Woman of Power Award” at the town commons and, in front of hundreds of fellow witches, chronicled living in a mobile home as a result of the blowback from her testimony about the former president.

“I was put on the stand two years ago and someone said I was unfit to testify because I was a witch,” said Daniels, per The Guardian. “I was honest, I was telling the truth and I was persecuted. To me this award should inspire others to speak up and not be silenced.”

Daniels told the Boston Globe she “screamed like a little girl” when she learned about the honor, which recognizes strength, intuition and “magic,” as she has been a self-described witch since childhood.

“No one understands what the last six years have been like for me,” she added. “Everyone else gets to turn off the TV and forget about politics, which has reached this next-level, dark insanity. I don’t get that opportunity. I’m living in an RV because I can’t go home. The persecution those witches felt hundreds of years ago feels very familiar to me.”

Daniels, at the center of a "magic circle" Thursday, candidly chronicled her own witch hunt. Andrew Burke-Stevenson/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Christian Day, a self-described warlock who organized the event, praised Daniels.

“A lot of people know Stormy for being a porn star and fighting against Trump in court,” he told attendees, per the Guardian. “But a lot of people don’t know that she is a practicing witch, and that she is someone who stands out as a woman of power.”

Trump was convicted earlier this year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide his $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels. He might well retake the White House next week. Daniels, meanwhile, says she’s lived “on the run” ever since her home address was displayed in court. (Trump’s attorney has said this was an accident.)

The adult film actor launched a GoFundMe in June to raise money for a new house, and to help her escape the rape and death threats from Trump’s supporters.

Marvel's series 'Agatha All Along' gets it right, say modern witches

(RNS) — Marvel Studios’ television series ‘Agatha All Along,’ which has its finale Wednesday (Oct. 30), oozes witchcraft lore, movie references and symbolism. Modern witches are all in.

Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), from left, Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), Teen (Joe Locke), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) in Marvel Television’s “Agatha All Along,” exclusively on Disney+. (Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. © 2024 Marvel)

Heather Greene
October 30, 2024

(RNS) — Marvel Studios’ television series “Agatha All Along,” which has its finale on Disney+ on Wednesday (Oct. 30), oozes witchcraft lore, movie references and symbolism.

And modern witches are there for it.

“They are really doing their research,” said Opal Luna, a witch, author and crafter in Florida, “and I appreciate that.”

A spinoff from Marvel’s “WandaVision” miniseries, which ran in early 2021, “Agatha All Along” picks up from that show’s final episode with Agatha, played by Kathryn Hahn, who was magically enslaved by Wanda, known as the Scarlet Witch. The show follows Agatha and her covenmates — among them Lilia (Patti LuPone) and Rio (Aubrey Plaza) — as they seek to recapture their magical powers.

This is all standard television witchy fare, but “Agatha” is drawing real-life witches with an aesthetic that aligns directly with a long legacy of magical storytelling — a teenage witch’s room is littered with witchcraft movie memorabilia — and with modern witchcraft practice. In one episode, the creators imagine the characters as figures inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot cards, a classic card set first published in 1909, with Agatha as the Three of Swords, Lilia the Queen of Cups, and Rio Death.

RELATED: As the pioneers of modern paganism die, fears grow that their wisdom will be lost


Opal Luna. (Courtesy photo)

“The people that wrote this have to have a background in paganism, witchcraft or something,” said Luna. The characters are “not all typical Halloween witches.” (Marvel Studios did not respond to a request for comment.)

Inspired by the show, Luna plans to include its theme song, “The Ballad of the Witches Road,” in her rituals celebrating this year’s Samhain, a pagan holiday honoring the dead that is celebrated between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Luna believes it will become a pagan staple for years to come.

The song, composed by the Oscar-winning duo Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who wrote “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen” and the tear-jerker “Remember Me” from Pixar’s “Coco,” speaks of a “a dangerous journey” leading to a reward. Agatha and her coven seek their lost power; Luna’s Samhain ritual is a spiritual walk into the underworld to confront death and discover wisdom.

Marshall WSL, a witch and co-host of the podcast “Southern Bramble,” agreed that the song encapsulates “the journey of the (modern) witch” into their own power, he said.

Fans of the show from the witchcraft community also appreciate the complexity of the characters. Many modern witches, Marshall said, find their way to witchcraft through trauma or grief, turning to the practice as an alternative method “to realize their inner strength and power.



Teen (Joe Locke), left, and Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) in “Agatha All Along.” (Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 Marvel)

As a “heavily bullied child” and an outcast in a very small town, Marshall sees a parallel between his own story and the character Teen, with his Jewish backstory and queer identity.

“Agatha is complicated,” added Marshall. “None of us as individuals are truly all love and light. … We all have a range of emotions.” Agatha is “every witch.”

Marshall WSL. (Courtesy photo)

Marshall has been moved to create a talisman for himself modeled after a necklace Agatha wears on the show. The necklace, based on an 18th-century Italian brooch, depicts the pagan god Zeus’ daughters, three dancing graces. The show calls the trio “maiden, mother and crone,” another detail that “speaks to modern witches who work with (the triple goddess),” Marshall said.

“Agatha All Along” is not the first show or movie to strike a chord with modern witchcraft practitioners. “Bewitched,” which ran from 1964 to 1972, as well as “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (1996-2003) and “Charmed” (1998-2006), all inspired modern-day witches.

In the mid- to late 1990s, said David Salisbury, a witch, author and activist in Washington, D.C., witchcraft-related movies and shows were everywhere. “It was very exciting to see all those fantastical witchcraft stories” on screen “and then go online (to the newly growing internet) to research and connect with other witches,” said Salisbury. “It was a perfect storm of inspiration and access.”

Salisbury said “The Craft,” from 1996, is a common movie cited by witches as a source of inspiration. As he studied magic, Salisbury said, he was fearful that his growing knowledge would eventually ruin his love for “The Craft,” but that never happened. “I realized that we actually are calling the elements. We are invoking directional spirits to help us. We are casting spells to improve our lives,” he said, just as the characters in the movie do.

The fidelity of “The Craft” to real practice was no accident. “The Craft” is one of the first films to openly hire a modern witch adviser, Wiccan high priestess Pat Devin. The modern witch community — and young seekers like Salisbury — recognized these details. The film’s cult status remains strong 30 years later and inspired a sequel, “The Craft: Legacy” (2020).


Zoe O’Haillin-Berne dressed as the Wicked Witch. (Courtesy photo)

It is not surprising that “The Craft” movie poster appears in Teen’s bedroom. But “Agatha” goes deeper into Hollywood’s witch trove by featuring MGM’s 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” in its imagery and themes.

“Every little girl and every queer little boy wanted to be Dorothy, or maybe Glinda because they want to wear the big, beautiful gown,” said Zoe O’Haillin-Berne, a Celtic Christo-pagan and a witch who serves on the board of directors of the International Wizard of Oz club and plays the Wicked Witch of the West at events through her company, the Spirit of Oz.

O’Haillin-Berne was drawn to the Wicked Witch. Some of her magical altar tools are reminiscent of the Oz aesthetic and she wears black robes in ritual. “I’m an old-fashioned witch,” she said. “I love black pointy hat.”

However, her connection to Oz runs deeper than clothing and witchcraft paraphernalia. Her passion is tied directly to her self-empowerment journey. O’Haillin-Berne’s first witchcraft ritual, she explained, was performed the same day she began her gender transition. “Maybe it’s because I was this little trans kid that always felt disenfranchised by the world,” she mused, that she loved the Wicked Witch, “a woman who commands the world around her.”

“Agatha All Along” may never reach the status of “The Craft” or “The Wizard of Oz,” but the show, in its short run, has created a storm of approval from many in the modern witchcraft community. One fan posted on the social media platform Threads, “I hope ‘Agatha All Along’ inspires a whole new generation to explore witchcraft, just like ‘The Craft’ did for mine.”

RELATED: ‘The Wicker Man,’ the classic horror film and pagan must-see, gets new life at 50

Another user posted a video showing followers how to imitate the Safe Passage tarot spread, a tricky but slick maneuver performed on the show.

Teen (Joe Locke), left, and Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television’s “Agatha All Along.” (Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 Marvel)

Marvel has announced an Agatha tarot deck, published by Insight Editions, the publisher of other Disney-related tarot decks.

Marshall said he’s already preordered the deck, but he’ll have to wait until July for its release. In the meantime, he and other Agatha fans in the community will be eagerly waiting for the next season.

“We (witches) are inspired by mythos. I think we are inspired by song. I think we are inspired by characters, deities, spirits that make us feel something,” he said. “And we are really getting that with ‘Agatha All Along.’”

The mashup holiday 'Diwaloween' celebrates light as the year turns dark

(RNS) — This Thursday (Oct. 31), two seemingly opposing holidays, Diwali and Halloween, will be celebrated as one by many South Asians for the first time since 2016.

“Spooky Chai” artwork created by Manasi Arya, featuring a skeleton hand and a green hand with henna toasting with glasses of chai tea. (Image courtesy of Manasi Arya)
Richa Karmarkar
October 29, 2024

(RNS) — What happens when the religious festival celebrating the victory of good over evil coincides with the spookiest night of the year? Diwaloween. Or maybe Hallowali.

Mashups of Diwali and Halloween occur every few years as Diwali, a day on the lunar calendar that shifts from year to year on the Western calendar, falls on or around Halloween. This year the two coincide for the first time since 2016.

The made-up holiday takes the form of trick-or-treating at the temple, Bollywood-themed costume parties, sparklers lighting the night for both the evil-destroying goddess Lakshmi and little goblins. Diwaloween, say many South Asian Americans, is one of the best examples of the diaspora’s unique dual-belonging and could only happen in America.

“I think this is a sign of one of the many ways that Hindu and other South Asians who celebrate Diwali and festivals this time of year are making America their own in some way and participating in these rituals,” said Shana Sippy, associate professor of religion and chair of Asian studies at Centre College.

RELATED: For New York’s Indo-Caribbean Hindus, Diwali is a fusion of East and West

Diwali, one of the largest and most recognizable celebrations for South Asian of dharmic faiths, is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs around the world. Those who observe the day traditionally wear their best new clothes, exchange sweets with neighbors, light oil lamps called diyas, draw colorful rangoli patterns with sand and send off fireworks.


Devotees light earthen lamps on the banks of the River Sarayu as part of Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya, India, on Nov. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Increasingly a secular holiday even in the India subcontinent, the holiday can trace its roots to several strands of Hindu mythological stories of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna and the goddess Kali. Diwali is considered an especially auspicious time to start something new.

Halloween, with its ghosts, ghouls and skeletons, often seemed in conflict with the season of light, renewal and hope to many immigrants who came to the United States. Manasi Arya, a 27-year-old social media content creator and fashion designer in New York, said her parents initially “couldn’t understand the point” of Halloween and often asked, “Why don’t you just dress up as an Indian princess?”

“All my friends at school, my neighbors, they were always wearing these really cool costumes that were just like a different character, but I was literally wearing a lengha,” said Arya, referring to a typical Indian dress.

Arya’s family eventually warmed up to the American ritual, even helping her paint Desi-style pumpkins for competitions, with henna art or a heavily made-up woman’s face.

The inspiration led Arya to launch a Diwali-meets-Halloween line of clothing and accessories that included Desi vampires, patterned ghosts and witches with saris and bindis. On Diwaloween, said Arya, “It just so happens that two of our favorite holidays are happening in one day.”


“Desi Witches” artwork created by Manasi Arya. (Image courtesy of Manasi Arya)

The combined holiday also addresses the reality that the resources for traditional Diwali celebrations aren’t always available in the U.S. “We don’t get to do the very typical, traditional things for Diwali, the way that you can do it in India, right? So I think it’s cool to bring that American element into how we’ve been able to celebrate our Diwali here.”

Diwaloween even has its requisite holiday movie, thanks to Shilpa Mankikar, whose multigenerational comedy “Diwal’oween,” is about a diaspora family’s hijinks leading up to the holiday. The film, currently being screened at cultural organizations across the U.S., is patterned after Mankikar’s own upbringing as a first-generation Indian in New Jersey, the state with the most South Asians in the country.

The film’s laughs come from the contradiction of a festival of lights clashing with a festival of darkness, Mankikar told RNS. “They are in opposition, and that’s like the comedy clash of it all.”

Mankikar, 47, grew up in a time when representation of Indian Americans in the media was restricted to misinterpretations and offensive stereotypes. But today non-South Asian Americans’ awareness and even celebration of Diwali has shot to an all-time high. The holiday has been recognized as a work holiday by several states and school districts, including New York City public schools, which will recognize it with a day off for the first time this year


“Holidays are a good opportunity to learn about each other and also, with celebrating Indian culture, there’s so much color and dancing and food that people now are familiar with,” said Mankikar. “It’s such a rich culture, so it’s great too that it’s now in the mainstream. We’re kind of coming to it on our own terms as an American generation.”


Youth enjoy a craft table during a Diwaloween screening in Shelby Township, Mich. (Photo courtesy of Shilpa Mankikar)

Sippy pointed out that, as a result of its popularity, Diwali has taken on an air of all-American consumerism, pointing to a Diwali Barbie released earlier this year, or the packs of Diwali mithai (sweets), sparklers and other branded Diwali goods for gift-giving. Diwali’s adoption by the retail world is analogous to the corporatization of Hannukah, or “Chrismakkah.”

The professor said the urge to combine the two holidays points to a human need for connection and community in an age of atomization in American society. “When (else) do we let our kids knock on strangers’ doors? We don’t often know even our neighbors’ names,” Sippy said. “Here you dress up and you buy things to give away to complete strangers,” she said.

Though opposites in spirit, Sippy said the two celebrations create warmth amid darkness — “Halloween being the dressing up, this opening of doors, the sharing of food, and the lighting of light as we start to get darker earlier.”

Prasanna Jog, national coordinator for the charity SewaDiwali, said Diwali food and parties have gotten better over the two decades since he arrived in the U.S. But what has gotten left behind is a tradition of thinking of the less fortunate on Diwali, he said. Jog co-founded SewaDiwali in 2018 as a reflection of the Hindu tenet of “seeing that everyone is happy,” and that inner growth happens when one “brings light to others.”

Opinion
Pennsylvania's recognition of Diwali as a state holiday is a big deal and long overdue
(RNS) — Beyond the symbolism of these bills and proclamations, there is the long overdue feeling of being seen.

(Photo by Udayaditya Barua/Unsplash/Creative Commons)
Murali Balaji
October 30, 2024

(RNS) — A native Pennsylvanian, I remember what it was like for my family to celebrate Diwali (or Deepavali, as it is also known for people of South Indian descent) at a time when Hinduism and other dharmic faiths were considered foreign and exotic religions.

In the 1980s, my family would perform a small puja at home on Diwali. We never mentioned that we were celebrating a religious holiday, despite Diwali’s significance to not just a billion Hindus, but to Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists as well. We celebrated in the shadows, afraid of not being considered “American” because of Diwali’s foreignness, which only added to the stigma of growing up Hindu back then.

That’s why, when Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 402, recognizing Diwali as a state holiday, last week, it was a long overdue acknowledgment of not only the presence of Hindus and followers of other dharmic faiths in Pennsylvania, but the contributions they have made, to the state and America as a whole. State Sen. Nikil Saval and state Rep. Arvind Venkat, who sponsored the bill in their respective chambers at the Statehouse, were there to see Shapiro sign it into law, along with Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhjia.

Pennsylvania’s recognition of Diwali follows in the footsteps of other states, such as New Jersey, New York, California and Texas, which have made similar efforts to recognize followers of dharmic faiths.

RELATED: How Kamala Harris and JD Vance appeal to Hindu voters

While Pennsylvania’s government won’t close on Diwali’s first and most important day, which this year falls on Thursday, its inclusion as a state holiday means that Hindu parents no longer have to defend taking their kids out of school in areas where the holiday isn’t already observed. A growing number of school districts in Pennsylvania (including my own alma mater, North Penn) already close for Diwali, signaling the important shift in recognizing Hindus as fellow Americans.

Diwali is commonly known as the festival of lights, though the holiday has multiple meanings and celebrations. The most widely commemorated by Hindus and non-Hindus is the return of Lord Rama from exile in the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The Sikhs’ celebration, known as Bandi Chhor Divas, marks the 17th-century release of Sikh Guru Hargobind and 52 Hindu kings who had been imprisoned by Mughal Emperor Jahangir for refusing to convert to Islam.

Beyond the symbolism of these bills and proclamations, there is the long overdue feeling of being seen. For years, I was bullied for being a Hindu, and a number of my peers (fellow Gen Xers) shied away from the religion so as to not be seen as foreign. My wife and I have vowed to raise our son Hindu in a manner in which he can proudly and comfortably feel connected to both our faith and our Americanness.
RELATED: The mashup holiday ‘Diwaloween’ celebrates light as the year turns dark

Our son’s teachers have asked my wife to make a presentation this week on Diwali, which was a welcome surprise. On Thursday, we’ll do a small puja, light the diyas (candles) celebrating Lord Ram’s return and then go trick-or-treating. Blending those celebrations together speaks to how far we’ve come from the days I had to hide who I was.
(Murali Balaji is a journalist and a lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of RNS.)

“As we gain economic prosperity, it’s even more imperative that we think of others,” said Jog, whose group of more than 450 contributing organizations has raised more than 2.2 million pounds of nonperishables for food pantries. “Even though we may not be born here like our children were, we consider the United States our ‘karma-bhoomi’ (land of action). Wherever you are, you need to contribute for the welfare or the betterment of the society, and it is through the power of selfless seva (service).”

And this year, volunteers send a special request for the little ones.

“We are just using that as an opportunity for the kids to have that courage to go door-to-door,” he said. “And in addition to asking for candy, they can also ask for some cans of food!”

RELATED: `Where the goodies are great’: Sweets lovers welcome Diwali

‘Staggering array’ of witches’ marks discovered at English Heritage site

Nadia Khomami 

Arts and culture correspondent
Tue 29 October 2024 
THE GUARDIAN

English Heritage volunteer Rick Berry discovered witches’ marks and rare curses carved into the walls of the Tudor property once visited by Henry VIII and his fifth Queen, Catherine Howard.Photograph: English Heritage

As English Heritage welcomes thousands of visitors over the Halloween period, a new discovery has made Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire a clear contender for the spookiest site of them all.

The charity has uncovered a “staggering array” of witches’ marks and rare curses carved into the walls of the Tudor property, once visited by Henry VIII and his fifth Queen, Catherine Howard.

Rick Berry, a volunteer at English Heritage, discovered and mapped about 20 ritual protection, or apotropaic, marks – among the most identified at any of the charity’s 400 sites.

Witches’ marks were traditionally made to turn away evil, providing protection to buildings and those who lived or worked within them against demons, witches or the evil eye.


Berry discovered a particular concentration of marks in the Old Hall’s servants’ wing, including flowers with six petals carved within a simple circle – known as daisy wheels and hexafoils – that were believed to trap demons.

There were also overlapping letter Vs, or Marian marks, believed to call on the Virgin Mary for protection, as well as a pentangle, which, despite modern connotations, was originally used to protect against evil. There were about 100 burn marks, believed to protect against fire.

The research also revealed a number of curse inscriptions, something unprecedented at an English Heritage site.

The hall’s surviving structures were built by Sir Thomas Burgh II in the late 15th century, and the property was the seat of the Burghs from 1430 to 1596, before being sold to a merchant family, the Hickmans, who resided there until around 1730.

It is believed the curse inscriptions were made around the time that the merchant William Hickman owned the property, owing to his notorious unpopularity. In one inscription, Hickman’s name is written upside down (the practice of defaming a name was thought to curse the named person).

According to English Heritage, Hickman was a ruthless businessman, asserting his rights as the owner of the manor and manipulating his authority to maximise his control and income.

He enclosed areas of common land, contested local market rights, levied tolls on river goods, and sought to open up the Gainsborough market to traders from London. One complainant called him a “threadbare fellow”.

Kevin Booth, the head of collections at English Heritage, said: “It is astonishing that centuries on the amazing old buildings in our care still have secrets waiting to be discovered.

“The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, not least under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it’s the scene of quite such a high concentration of protective carvings remains a mystery.”

Despite the apotropaic marks, there have been a number of ghostly sightings at the hall. Many believe it is haunted by Elizabeth Burgh, Sir Thomas Burgh II’s daughter.

The story goes that Elizabeth was ready to run away with her lover, a poor soldier or servant, when her father found out about their plans and locked Elizabeth away in one of the rooms. She died shortly after from a broken heart, and her tortured soul still haunts the hall in search of her lover. People have reported seeing her ghost emanating from the Tower Room.

Other English Heritage sites where protective carvings have already been identified include Boscobel House and The Royal Oak, Bolsover Castle, Kirby Hall, Harmondsworth Barn, Stokesay Castle, Audley End and Deal Castle.

Volunteer discovers ‘astonishing’ array of witches marks at English Heritage site

Joe Middleton
Tue 29 October 2024 at 4:09 am GMT-6·2-min read
THE INDEPENDENT

Rick Berry found around 20 carvings (English Heritage)

A “staggering array” of witches marks have been found carved into the walls at an English Heritage site.

The discovery at Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire was made by volunteer Rick Berry, who mapped around 20 carvings at the Tudor property, that was once visited by Henry VIII and his fifth queen, Catherine Howard.

Mr Berry spent two years identifying the apotropaic marks, sometimes called witches marks – the most found at any of the charity’s 400 sites.

Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire (English Heritage)


Overlapping Vs or Marian marks, which are believed by some to call on the Virgin Mary for protection (English Heritage)


The long-time volunteer found a wide variety of designs including overlapping Vs, or “Marian marks”, which are believed by some to call on the Virgin Mary for protection, and a pentangle, which was originally used to protect against evil.

Mr Berry also discovered rare curse inscriptions, thought to have been made around the time that William Hickman owned the property from 1596.

In one inscription, Mr Hickman’s name is written upside down. The practice of defacing a name was widely believed to curse the named person and is something not seen before at any English Heritage site, the charity said.

As well as the carvings, there were around 100 burn marks that are believed to be for protection against fire.

A rare curse inscription made against William Hickman who previously owned Gainsborough Old Hall (English Heritage)


A pentangle, which was originally used to protect against evil (English Heritage)

English Heritage’s Kevin Booth said: “It is astonishing that, centuries on, the amazing old buildings in our care still have secrets waiting to be discovered.

“The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, not least under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it’s the scene of quite such a high concentration of protective carvings remains a mystery.

“We have a great team of volunteers across the country and it is testament to Rick’s passion for the place that these incredible protection marks have been found at Gainsborough.

‘Britain’s brass bands older than thought and invented by Napoleonic War soldiers’

Nina Massey, PA Science Correspondent
Tue 29 October 2024

Britain’s brass bands are older than previously thought and were invented by soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars, a new study has found.

The findings challenge the widely held belief that brass bands originated with coal miners and other industrial communities in northern England and Wales between the 1830s and the 1850s.

A University of Cambridge historian has found evidence that suggests Britain’s earliest brass bands were founded by military musicians in the 1810s.

According to Dr Eamonn O’Keeffe, regimental bands first experimented with all-brass arrangements in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.

Dr O’Keeffe, who is the National Army Museum junior research fellow at Queens’ College, Cambridge and part of the University’s Centre for Geopolitics, said: “These findings illustrate just how deeply brass bands are embedded in British history and culture.

“We already knew about their relationship with industrialisation. Now we know that brass bands emerged from Britain’s wars against Napoleon.”

Wartime bands included woodwind instruments such as clarinets and bassoons, but the 15th Regiment of Foot had already organised a bugles-only band by 1818.

Taking advantage of new instrument designs developed at home and in Continental Europe, a number of other regiments had established all-brass bands by 1830.

The Life Guards, for example, performed on valved trumpets gifted by the Russian Czar.

Local defence units also assembled brass bands, including a volunteer rifle corps in Paisley (1819) and yeomanry troops in Devon (1827) and Somerset (1829).

Brass bands were found to have originated in the military during the Napoleonic wars (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The new study, published in The Historical Journal, shows that veterans of the Napoleonic wars founded many of Britain’s earliest non-military brass bands from the 1820s onwards.These groups often emerged far beyond the northern English and Welsh industrial communities with which they later became associated.

The Colyton Brass Band was the first named civilian band which Dr O’Keeffe has identified.

It played God Save the King in a village in Devon in November 1828 as part of birthday festivities for a baronet’s son.

The study also found slightly later examples in Chester and Sunderland (both 1829), Derby and Sidmouth (1831), and Poole (1832).

In 1834, Lincoln’s brass band was being trained by William Shaw who used to be a trumpeter and bugleman in the 33rd Regiment of Foot.

The Napoleonic Wars (1793 – 1815) led to a dramatic proliferation of British military bands, Dr O’Keeffe says.

By 1814, more than 20,000 people who played instruments were serving in uniform, in the regular army and militia, as well as a host of part-time home defence formations.

By 1814, more than 20,000 people who played instruments were serving in uniform (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Dr O’Keeffe analysed press reports, memoirs and regimental records, and found that after they had been demobilised, men and boys who honed their instrumental skills in uniform embarked on a variety of civilian musical careers, becoming instructors, wind performers, composers and even opera singers.

He said: “It is widely assumed that brass bands were a new musical species, distinct from their military counterparts.

“They are primarily seen as a product of industrialisation pioneered by a combination of working-class performers and middle-class sponsors.

“But all-brass bands first appeared in Britain and Ireland in a regimental guise.

“As well as producing a large cohort of band trainers, the military provided a familiar and attractive template for amateur musicians and audiences.

“This coincided with expanding commercial opportunities and a growing belief in the moralising power of music.”

Many buglers appealed to their senior officers to keep their instruments after their service was complete, paving the way for future generations to secure second-hand instruments (Yui Mok/PA)

Drums and bugles that were issued by the Government were supposed to be returned to public stores on demobilisation and band instruments generally belonged to regimental officers.

However, drummers and bandsmen were often unwilling to give up the tools of their trade, the researcher found.

Seven Herefordshire local militia musicians petitioned their colonel in 1816 “to make us a present” of their regimental instruments, noting that performers in other disbanded units had been permitted to keep their instruments, the study found.

The men promised to continue their weekly practices if the request was granted, pledging that “a band will be always ready in the town of Leominster for any occasion”.

Additionally, some officers auctioned off the instruments of their disbanded corps, making large volumes of affordable second-hand instruments available to amateur players and civilian bands in the post-war decades.

Dr O’Keeffe said: “Brass bands enabled aspiring musicians of all ages to develop new skills and allowed people to make music as a community, learning from each other.

“That was the case in the 19th century and it’s still the case today.”

Up next

Volunteer discovers ‘astonishing’ array of witches marks at English Heritage site

Joe Middleton

Tue 29 October 2024 at 4:09 am GMT-6·2-min read

Rick Berry found around 20 carvings (English Heritage)

A “staggering array” of witches marks have been found carved into the walls at an English Heritage site.

The discovery at Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire was made by volunteer Rick Berry, who mapped around 20 carvings at the Tudor property, that was once visited by Henry VIII and his fifth queen, Catherine Howard.

Mr Berry spent two years identifying the apotropaic marks, sometimes called witches marks – the most found at any of the charity’s 400 sites.

Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire (English Heritage)

Overlapping Vs or Marian marks, which are believed by some to call on the Virgin Mary for protection (English Heritage)

The long-time volunteer found a wide variety of designs including overlapping Vs, or “Marian marks”, which are believed by some to call on the Virgin Mary for protection, and a pentangle, which was originally used to protect against evil.

Mr Berry also discovered rare curse inscriptions, thought to have been made around the time that William Hickman owned the property from 1596.

In one inscription, Mr Hickman’s name is written upside down. The practice of defacing a name was widely believed to curse the named person and is something not seen before at any English Heritage site, the charity said.

As well as the carvings, there were around 100 burn marks that are believed to be for protection against fire.

A rare curse inscription made against William Hickman who previously owned Gainsborough Old Hall (English Heritage)

A pentangle, which was originally used to protect against evil (English Heritage)

English Heritage’s Kevin Booth said: “It is astonishing that, centuries on, the amazing old buildings in our care still have secrets waiting to be discovered.

“The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, not least under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it’s the scene of quite such a high concentration of protective carvings remains a mystery.