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SUMMARY:Fenny Poppers
DTSTART:20241111T120000Z
DTEND:20241111T130000Z
DTSTAMP:20260913T232639Z
UID:11014382024-11-11 12:00:00+00:00achurchnearyou
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:Poppers will be fired at 12 noon 2pm and 4pm at Leon Recreatio
 n Ground\n\n\nSt Martin’s church is perhaps best known as the home of th
 e Fenny Poppers\; six small ceremonial cannon which are fired annually on 
 St Martin’s Day (11th November.)\n\nThe tradition was initiated by Brown
 e Willis in order to perpetuate his own memory. He arranged for a sermon t
 o be preached at the church on each St. Martin’s Day and during his life
 time he also celebrated the occasion with a dinner attended by local clerg
 y and gentry. The poppers date from this time\, but there is no record of 
 their first use.\nFollowing his death in 1760\, the traditions were carrie
 d on and later documented.\nAll six poppers were re-cast in 1859\, after o
 ne of them burst. These are still in use today and were recently tested to
  ensure there are no cracks.\nNowadays the poppers are fired every St Mart
 in’s Day in the Leon Recreation Ground\, central Bletchley. Firings take
  place at noon\, 2pm and 4pm.\nThe poppers each weigh about 19 pounds (8.5
  kilos). The bore is 6 inches by 1.75 inches and they are charged with Pyr
 odex (a modern alternative to black powder)\, which is then plugged with w
 ell-rammed newspaper. They are ignited by means of a long poker\, the tip 
 of which has been heated red hot in a brazier.
GEO:-0.715704;51.99771
LOCATION:St Martin's\, Fenny Stratford
URL:https://www.gofundme.com/f/fenny-poppers?attribution_id=sl:4e3eca54-32
 6c-4fa3-8d8a-7b18c9885548&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=cust
 omer&utm_source=copy_link
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