A COLLECTION OF NINETEEN WEST COUNTRY BRASS FRIENDLY-SOCIETY STAFF-HEADS

Each friendly society used their own brass motif to differentiate them from other societies. On the Society's annual Feast Day or Walking Day, usually in spring, the members would hold a parade around the village carrying poles or staves. Some poles were headed by garlands of flowers, whilst in the West Country, the poles were commonly headed by a brass finial with a distinctive shape and decorated with ribbons.