TWO village traditions and a day of celebration brought large crowds to St Briavels on Sunday.

As well as the Whittington Purse sermon and Cheese Dole – two traditions that have taken place annually on Whit Sunday for centuries – there was a day of celebration at St Briavels Castle and the village church.

The guest preacher for this year’s Whittington Sermon was Rev Chris Maclay, the Vicar of Bream, who spoke about identity and Christians’ belief that a fulfilled life comes through Jesus.

The Whittington Purse dates back to 1625 and offers a visiting preacher £1 6s 8d in pre-decimal coins if they get a cheer from the crowd.

The event opened with music from Parkend Silver Band.

Following the sermon the bread and cheese for the ‘dole’ were blessed by Rev Maclay and Rev Bob Simpson, the associate priest at St Briavels.

The bread and cheese is thrown to the crowd from high up on the Pound Wall by Keeper of the Wood Gerald Creswick and his sister Margaret Saunders.

The celebration day, which involved musical entertainment, readings and craft stalls at the castle, were among the final events of this year’s River Wye Festival.

There was also an art and craft exhibition at St Briavels Church.

•See this week’s Review for more photographs.