Area: Bath, England
The Bardic Chair of Caer Badon (Bath) was resurrected from the ancient list of the
Bardic Chairs of Britain by Tim Sebastian, Arch-Druid of the Secular Order of Druids in 1995 when he
announced his intent to claim the chair at a midwinter ceremony attended by King Arthur Pendragon,
among others. After a year and a day no one had come forward to challenge Tim and so he became the
first chaired Bard of Bath. Since then, there has been nine chaired bards, among them Tallyessin
(Kevan Manwaring) who was chosen in the first competition resulting from more than one contender
coming forward. His epic poem Spring Fall: the story of Sulis and Bladud of Bath was deemed the
winner by four top academic judges (Ronald Hutton, Graham Harvey, Michael York and Marion Bowman).
That year (1998) also saw the first Bardic Festival of Bath, launched on William Blake’s
birthday (November 28th) and lasting for three weeks up to the winter solstice when the annual
eisteddfod and chairing of the bard takes place. The winner receives a beautiful carved chair and
robe for a year and a day. The chaired bard’s role is to promote the Bardic Tradition through
talks and performances, and set the theme for the next year’s competition. Each chaired bard
has added his or her own contribution to the Bardic Chair, i.e. a residency; a website; a poetry
night etc – a raising the profile of the Chair and reaching out to a different section of the
community. So far, the chaired bards have been young and old, male and female, black and white
– performers whose style and medium varies from the traditional to the contemporary:
storyteller to pop poet, writer to singer-songwriter. The competition is open to any resident of the
Bath and North East Somerset area. In 2000 a Millennium Grove was planted at a local woodland based
upon the Celtic Tree Alphabet and this has served as the Gorsedd grove ever since, although many
ceremonies take place in the heart of the city of Bath, in the Circus – the circular urban
temple designed by Georgian Druid-architect, John Wood the Elder. The Gorsedd also has an Ovatian
Chair, which is held for three years, to promote the healing and divinatory arts; and a Druidic
Chair, lasting seven years. The Bardic Chair receives regular coverage in the local press and the
annual ‘Battle of the Bards’ and subsequent winner are widely publicised. Over the years
the Gorsedd has campaigned for the restoration of local heritage, promoted green issues,
cross-cultural links (as in the Coming Together Druid-Maori Camp in 2004) and equal access to the
arts. All are welcome to attend the free monthly bardic circle, run by Tallyessin at The Raven pub on
Queen St, Third Monday of the Month – where stories, poems and songs are shared (performed
from memory, not read). FFI: 01225 334204. Future plans include The Book of the Bardic Chair to
commemorate the tenth year of the Gorsedd, and a Young Bard of Bath competition.
The website is:
www.bardofbath.freeservers.com
The email is: bardofbath [at] freeservers [dot] com
