The Whipman's Ceremony

​During Civic Week the Kelso Laddie receives the title of My Lord Whipman for the evening. Parchments of an ancient flag were discovered by the Kelso Laddies in the Clock Tower of Kelso Town Hall. The flag has since been reproduced and a ceremony commemorating the ancient occupations related to the horse has been introduced into Civic Week.

“Between 250 and 300 hundred years ago, there existed in Kelso a Society of Whipmen. This brotherhood was formed from various occupations all of which were connected with horses, such as ploughmen, carters and farm servants.

This society of men banded themselves together against the land owners and farmers and the extremely oppressive conditions under which they were employed. In membership the society was known to have been at one time, very large and it enjoyed a certain measure of success.
 
Like societies of the same denomination in other country towns it had an annual parade of the members with races and other sports, the members being all finely –dressed out in their best clothes and adorned with great bunches of beautiful green red and blue ribbons which hung down over their shoulders, as history books tell us , like so many streamers.

By the beating of the drum they prepare at the Market Place, well mounted upon fine horses, from which they proceeded to a common field about half a mile form the town. The Generalissimo of this regiment of whipmen, who had the honourable title of My Lord, arrived with the brotherhood at the place of trysting with the music playing, the drum beating and the flag waving in the air.
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It appears from various sources of information that horse racing followed, the usual prize being a riding or cart saddle. The cavalcade then returned to the town in procession after which there was held in the evening a dinner and a ball, and as one writer records 'the day concluded in peace and harmony'.

Other Border towns claim earlier common riding festivals than Kelso Civic Week, but in fact this band of men pre-dates all of them!