History of the Wellow Maypole The existence of the Wellow Maypole can be traced as far back as 1856  and on the 9th of May 1860, a new pole had to be erected as the old one  had been sawn down during a drunken spree a few weeks earlier. To  commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887, a new pole was given  by Sir John Savile, which had three cross pieces near its summit,  painted spiral decoration and a seat around the base. In 1923, Lord  Savile replaced the Jubilee Maypole. This pole lasted until 1937 when it  was deemed to be unsafe and was cut down from 60ft to 20ft. In 1949,  this pole was finally chopped down for safety reasons and in 1950 a new  pole was bought from Rufford Estates. At this time a Maypole Committee  was formed to carry on the tradition and organise the annual event.  The 1950 pole lasted until 1966 when it was damaged by a storm, and was taken down and  sold for firewood.  Another pole of larch was obtained from  Thoresby Estate but on finding it had not been  seasoned properly, it was declared unsafe and  in 1976 was chopped down to half size. That  year the dancing took place around the  reduced pole. Later in 1976 the remainder of  the pole was taken down, and in 1977 with the  help of a heritage grant, a three section tubular  steel pole was purchased from Abacus  Engineering of Sutton in Ashfield. The present  pole is decorated with three cross pieces with  metal crown shapes at each end, and  surmounting the pole is a weathervane made  by a local engineer.   In November 2010 corrosion concerns resulted in its removal, to be replaced in March 2011  by another steel pole 17 metres high. The original weathervane and cockerel have been  renovated and replaced, together with new cross-pieces and crowns. Look closely and you  will see that the new maypole has 18 sides and is therefore believed to be unique among the  70 or so permanent maypoles in the country.  Wellow is one of only a handful where ribbon  dancing around the maypole still takes place.  Webmaster