The Hoodeners

Hoodening is an East Kent heritage project documenting and celebrating a centuries-old winter custom, particularly as practised in Thanet and the village of St Nicholas-at-Wade. The tradition centres on a Hooden Horse and a band of villagers known as Hoodeners, who visit local pubs and private parties in the days before Christmas. Their present-day performance is a humorous play about death and resurrection, set around a nineteenth-century ploughing team. A new script, written each year in rhyming couplets, often weaves in recent local, national and international events. The troupe also performs songs and collects money for charity.

The website introduces the custom, explains its history and terminology, and profiles its traditional characters, including the horse Dobbin, the Wagoner, Mollie, Ted, the Boy and the Musician. It also features information about surviving Hooden Horses, related customs, songs, artwork and performance schedules. For readers seeking further study, it points to published histories and guides, including works from Thanet publisher Ozaru Books. Hoodening helps preserve and share a distinctive local tradition.