The Hooden Horse of Kent

Date 16 December 2025 19:00 - 20:30

Location Online talk

Speaker James Frost

The hooden horse was associated with the Christmas house-calling custom of hoodening in East Kent. It was later adopted by Morris sides as a mascot beast and started appearing at folk festivals at other times of the year. This talk explores its history and relationship with animal guising customs elsewhere in the country. James Frost collects, makes, performs and herds hooden horses. He published Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse in 2023 to accompany the exhibition of the same name at Maidstone Museum.

Photographer credit: Caroline Dyal