All the floats assembled in Station Road,
where the judging was held and then the whole parade embarked upon a mammoth
journey. The route went from Ecclesfield via Grenoside to Wadsley Bridge, then
past the Sheffield Infirmary and through the city to Moorfoot.
Early Hospital Parade at a location in Sheffield,
possibly the Moor
The return was via the Wicker, Firth
Park, Shiregreen and back through the village to Stocks Hill, by which time it
would be around 8.00 pm. The day concluded with a feast beside the Ball Inn.
A feature of the parade was the team of
'Plough Bullocks'. A plough was put on a low cart and pulled by a team of
ploughmen who all wore old-fashioned agricultural smocks and top hats accompanied by
blacked-up faces. They were driven by a leader in similar garb who whipped them
with several pigs' bladders tied to a stick. Along the way numerous stops were
made at hostelries where the thirsty Plough Bullocks would be 'watered' with
beer drunk from an old galvanised bucket.
