Honiton: Hot Pennies event to return next week for 801st year

The ago-old Hot Pennies ceremony will return to Honiton on July 26 and it will be 801st year it has taken place.

The celebration was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

The unique event involves hot pennies being thrown from buildings onto the crowd below and it has taken place every July for 800 years. It still takes place on the first Tuesday after July 19 each year , and it traditionally marks the beginning of Honiton's agricultural fair.

How did the tradition start?

The Honiton Hot Pennies event celebrates the granting of the town's royal charter, which was given in the 13th Century when Honiton was granted a royal charter to hold a weekly market.

Charters are given by the monarch on the advice of the privy council and Honiton's Charter dates back to the reign of King Stephen. Nowadays new Charters are usually conferred on bodies such as professional institutions and charities that work in the public interest.

The ceremony started with the rich throwing scolding hot chestnuts from the buildings to the poor people on the street below, who would scrabble and fight to pick them up.

This practice then developed into the supposed philanthropic practice of throwing hot pennies instead of chestnuts, but it would result in burns.

The custom also encouraged people to travel to Honiton from the surrounding area to attend the subsequent fair at what is the start of 'Honiton Fair Week'

Nowadays only warm pennies are used.

What will happen on Tuesday?

The ceremony always starts with coins being thrown at 12 noon from the former Assembly Rooms, which are located in the Old Pannier Market, which nowadays is where The Bed Expert is located.

Dave Retter, the Town Crier, will open the event. He will lead a parade down the High Street to The Holt. When the parade reaches the pub, Mr Retter will hoist a glove onto a garlanded pole and shout 'No man may be arrested so long as this glove is up.' The glove is said to represent a good harvest.

The call is a reference to when people would come to Honiton to attend the fair that traditionally followed the Hot Pennies event, and it means they could come to the fair without being arrested for their debts.

Mr Retter told Nub News: "I took over the Hot Pennies Ceremony 27 years ago to make sure it continued to happen.

"The ceremony draws people into the town, and it puts Honiton on the map, much like the Tar Barrels does for Ottery St. Mary. It attracts tourists.

"But tradition affects tourism, and tradition is what Honiton does. We must not lose the Hot Pennies ceremony."

The event relies on sponsors, and this year several Honiton businesses have supported it. These include WBW Solicitors, Honiton Town Council, Honiton Chamber of Commerce and Tesco. A donation was also made from United Charities.