3-096-199 - Ware in the World/Heritage Images

Tutti Man claiming a kiss, Hocktide Festival, Hungerford, Berkshire, c1955. Hocktide or Tutti Day is an ancient annual tradition held on the second Tuesday after Easter. The event is associated with the town's great patron, John of Gaunt. Its origins are thought to lie in celebrations following King Alfred's expulsion of the Vikings. Two florally decorated "Tutti Men" visit every house with commoners' rights (almost a hundred properties). Originally they collected "head pennies" to ensure fishing and grazing rights. Today, they largely collect kisses from each lady of the house. Here a woman leans out of the window of the coal merchant's to kiss one of the Tutti Men.