A woman from Dorset has just completed what could be the world’s longest corn dolly measuring over 65 feet.
The 20metre long intricately woven dolly is made up of over 3,000 wheat stalks finely interlaced by Audrey Rolfe over the last four weeks. The corn dolly is made in a traditional ‘Long Welsh Fan’ design by Dorset resident and Guild of Straw Craftsmen Audrey.
Working in her Bridport home the dolly slowly increased in length and had to be wound around a home made cable type drum until it was completed yesterday.
Audrey said: “I could have made it quicker but I am very particular about how the finished article looks and the overall strength of the completed dolly as it is such a long length. It is in fact, longer than our house!”
The handcrafted construction that derives from pagan harvest time customs had to be taken to a local sports hall in order to be officially measured.
It needed at least seven people to unwind and carry it without snapping and then lay it out flat at Bridport Leisure Centre so it could be gauged with a surveyors measuring wheel.
The dolly turned out in the end to be 20 meters long and that corresponds to 65feet and 7.4 inches. Audrey has been a corn dolly maker for some 37 years, and is well known as one of the finest exponents of the craft in the south west of England.
The dolly is made from Maris Widgeon wheat straw, selected by Audrey for its durability and pliability - vital criteria for the intricate and painstaking plaiting of each stalk to achieve the finished design.
The public will have a chance to see the giant corn construction for the very first time at Dorset County Show Sept 6th and 7th. The show falls on the first weekend of September, around the time of what is called the Harvest Moon.
Show Secretary Sam Mackenzie-Green comments on the reason for creating the corn dolly this year. “We all know that 2014 has been a challenging year for farmers in the south west though thankfully the recent run of good weather has ensured a quick and easy harvest with minimal drying costs. The creation of this huge work of art will hopefully bestow huge amounts of good fortune on farmers for 2015.”
The show organisers have submitted the dolly project to the Guinness World Records and are waiting to hear if it will be confirmed as a world record attempt.
Dorset County show Secretary Show Secretary, Sam Mackenzie-Green added, “We have extensively harvested the history books and stalked the net but we cannot find any reference to such a huge corn dolly, so we feel very confident that we have a record breaker to show off.”
