The Night of the Burning Barrels

 Whether referred to as the Tar Bar’l, Bah’l, Bahl or Baall (each spelling being a contraction of the word barrel), the exact origins of the custom remain shrouded in mystery, with no definitive account of how the tradition truly began. Some believe that the festival has pagan origins stretching back to the Middle Ages when the burning of effigies to ward off evil spirits was commonplace. One story has it that on one New Year’s Eve, Allendale’s Victorian village carol singers were plunged into darkness, the wild Pennine wind extinguishing their candles. Barrels of fire were ostensibly used to replace the candles so that the hardy folk of the Allen Valleys could see their hymn sheets. Other theories suggest that the festival is simply a working-class response to the lavish balls and more genteel New Year celebrations of the upper classes!

Whatever the true beginnings, it is clear that for the people of Allendale, the event is deeply ingrained in their cultural calendar – the night of the burning barrels is the town’s big annual get-together and everyone turns out to revel in the celebrations. 

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As it approaches midnight on the 31st of December, we find ourselves reluctantly leaving the warmth of our home to drive out into the dark Northumbrian night. While most raise a glass to welcome in the new year, 45 men born in the Allen Valleys will traditionally raise something quite different this evening – burning barrels filled with tar, sawdust, kindling and paraffin on their heads. Tonight, high in the Pennines, Allendale will mark the end of the old year, and the start of the new, with the same ritual that has been performed annually for at least 160 years.

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Read the full story in This Is Northumberland 2024.