Published: August 23, 2008
In photos and video: East Brent Harvest Home 2008

Hundreds of people gathered in East Brent, near Burnham-On-Sea, on Friday (August 22nd) for the village's annual harvest home.

Over 400 people crowded into the event's show tent to tuck into a hearty meal and enjoy a day of traditional entertainment, which included live music and fairground rides.

The historic event dates back to 1857 and was originally held to celebrate the end of the harvest as an organised event for all farmers and farm workers in order to stop each farm from having its own party.

Previously, these individual parties might have lasted several days with little or no work being done for some time. The East Brent Harvest Home is the longest-running one in the country with breaks only during the wars and in 2001 because of foot and mouth. At one time as many as 10 villages in Somerset held harvest homes and several others are still going strong today.

Photos: Keith Gough

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