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15/11/2025
Thaxted Festival has grown into a beloved cultural institution in North-West Essex - but its roots stretch back far further than the modern summer season. As we look forward to our 40th anniversary in 2026, it feels fitting to reflect on some of the defining moments that have shaped the Festival’s identity, its spirit, and its place in the community.
Long before today’s summer concerts, Thaxted’s musical story gained momentum thanks to composer Gustav Holst, who settled in the town during the 1910s. Holst joined with Thaxted’s Vicar, Fr Conrad Noel, to bring community music-making into the Church’s Whitsun celebrations , bringing together student choirs and local participants.
At that time, participants included students from Morley College and St Paul’s Girls’ School, performing alongside local amateurs - a lively community affair rooted in Holst’s deep belief in the power of music in everyone’s life.
His presence in the town left a lasting legacy: several of his compositions were inspired by Thaxted, and the melody of Jupiter from The Planets was later adapted into the hymn tune ‘Thaxted.’
Although Holst’s Whitsun Festivals ended in 1918, the musical tradition endured in memory - and was revived in 1987 with the launch of the modern Thaxted Festival.
This renewal was led by a passionate team of volunteers who wanted to bring regular, world-class music back to Thaxted’s historic setting. From modest beginnings, the Festival grew steadily, eventually establishing its now-familiar pattern of four summer weekends.
Over the years, this volunteer-led ethos has remained central: the Festival is run by a dedicated charitable foundation and a community that cherishes not only the music, but the place.
Beyond his early festivals, Holst’s personal connection with Thaxted remained strong. He lived in Thaxted for several years, played the church organ, and composed pieces inspired by the town’s spiritual and musical life.
Today, visitors can still trace his footsteps: there’s a blue plaque marking the site of Holst’s former residence in Town Street.
His commitment to the town’s musical and communal life helped lay the foundations for what the modern Festival has become.
Thaxted’s identity has long been intertwined with the tradition of Morris dancing.
Each year, dancers from across the UK gather in Thaxted for the Thaxted Morris Weekend, performing through the town’s streets, around its Guildhall, and in front of the parish church.
These colourful, rhythmic processions and historic dances echo the Festival’s values of community, heritage, and shared celebration - a reminder that Thaxted Festival is more than a series of concerts; it’s part of a living cultural tradition.
Over the decades, Thaxted Festival has become known for nurturing musical talent. Recent seasons highlight this beautifully, as emerging artists share the stage with more established names - but the seed was planted long ago in Holst’s collaborative spirit. Over the last forty years, many leading performers have made appearances here during the early stages of their careers: Nicola Benedetti, Jamie Cullum, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Nigel Kennedy, Julian Lloyd Webber, Bryn Terfel, to name but a few.
The Festival’s commitment to education - from school workshops to open rehearsals – has been a constant element of each summer season. It continues with today’s school students in an echo of Holst’s vision of music not only being performed, but deeply shared.
Thaxted Parish Church, with its soaring spire and Gothic architecture, has become a character in its own right.
With the Tudor windmill (John Webb’s Mill) overlooking the church, and the Guildhall standing nearby in its timber-framed glory, you feel immersed in centuries of history.
As audiences flock to the Festival each summer, these landmarks serve as a reminder: the music is part of a larger story, one rooted in place, tradition, and continuity.
These milestones - Holst’s original festivals, the revival in 1987, the return of Morris dancing in the early twentieth century, and the ongoing educational mission - aren’t just interesting footnotes. They are the heartbeat of Thaxted Festival. They remind us that the Festival is not simply a concert series, but a living legacy: a space where the past and the present converse, where community and artistry meet, and where music continues to shape the identity of a town.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of the modern Festival, we celebrate not just our most recent season, but these threads of history that have been woven into every note played and sung.