About
The Waytes in Bildeston
The Waytes Carols is a long-established tradition in Bildeston involving friends and musicians from near and far who get together for a highly enjoyable evening of music making. The event began over thirty years ago with a few friends busking Christmas carols in a local hostelry. The evening rose in popularity and had to move to a bigger venue, but it has always remained true to its origins: people from Bildeston or closely connected to the village providing a carol event with minimal rehearsal and full audience participation with the emphasis firmly on fun. The evening concludes in the special and most convivial atmosphere of the Crown.
Maurice Ratliff, able musician, piano teacher and longtime resident of Bildeston, had the idea of assembling a few musicians to play carols in the Crown Inn, and from these small beginnings the tradition became established. A small group of singers joined the ensemble, and the locals joined in with gusto. The landlord gratefully provided us with supper when the singing was done – this tradition, together with beer breaks during the performance, has continued to this day, with the bar open during the carols and what is now the Crown Hotel providing a supper for the musicians and their families and friends when the singing in done.
Maurice’s local connections meant that the number of musicians grew and grew, eventually proving too many for the Crown to accommodate, so the event moved to the village hall which also provided more space for the audience. Since then the event has taken place at Chamberlin Hall in Bildeston. Players have included children from as young as eight and professional musicians as well – a considerable number having been with us from the start.
In 2000 Maurice, having run the show brilliantly for a number of years, decided it was time to hand things over to Nansi Browne and Rachel Hamilton to organise. Ian McCrae, who had played tuba in the orchestra from the beginning now took over the task of directing things musically and has been our brilliant conductor ever since. John and Hilary Furlong soon joined the team, with John remaining as Treasurer to this day.
In 2020, during the pandemic, the Waytes couldn’t go ahead as planned but was instead Live Streamed from the Crown Inn with no live audience and a small, socially-distanced choir. The broadcast was very well received and so we broadcast the Waytes Carols again the following year when we returned to Chamberlin hall with reduced numbers.