GORTON STREET GAZETTE Secretary banned the Eccles Wakes. British Artist Joseph Parry (1744–1826) moved from Liverpool to Manchester in 1790 and went on to paint several large historical compositions, often depicting scenes of everyday life featuring hundreds of figures most infamously a series of paintings that captured the typical Ale House, Race Course and Town Square experience of the Eccles Wakes festival. The village wakes flourished in Lancashire and became notorious for massive scale public disorder and associated as holidays for tradesmen. At Salford Wakes in 1819, there was a “Jack Ass Race for a Purse of Gold” a “Foot Race of a mile for a good hat” “ Ribbons to be danced for by Old Maids” and other events included chasing a greased pig, thick porridge eating, and a race for "Wooden Legged Men”! At the Prestwich Wakes of 1832 competitions included “an eating match of 3lb of treacle and bread” and “a smoking match for ten old women”! Some great ideas there to adopt for next year’s Eccles Beer & Gin Festival!
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