Join our May Day celebrations
The Brentham May Day is one of the longest running Spring celebrations in the country (nearly 120 years old) and is unique to our little corner of London. Hosted and supported by the Brentham Club since 1906, it’s a great opportunity for children to be part of their local history and community culture – and they have lots of fun too!
The next May Day celebration will be on Saturday 16th May 2026.
We are not aware of any other suburb where May Day celebrations survive on the scale they do in Brentham, though the tradition continues enthusiastically in a handful of towns and cities in Britain. Tutankhamun and a ban by Scotland Yard both feature in the history of Brentham May Day.
On May Day, children dress traditionally in white, wearing and carrying fresh flowers, or in fancy costumes. Leaving the Brentham Club at 2.30pm, the festivities begin with a procession around the streets of Brentham accompanied by a marching brass band. According to tradition, a herald leads the parade that includes Britannia, a Jack-in-the-Green, this year’s May Queen, past May Queens and all the May Day children.
The procession returns to the Brentham Club field where the new May Queen is crowned. The children then perform maypole and country dances for all to see before heading to the Brentham Club Hall to enjoy a delicious tea together!
May Day is open to local children from School Nursery age upwards. It involves attending a series of short rehearsals on Sunday afternoons at the Brentham Club over the weeks leading up to the big day. During these, the children learn the traditional Maypole and Country Dances that they will perform on the day.
Enrolment for May Day takes place in early March – watch out for details on local noticeboards and postings on this web site.
If you would like to find out more, we’d love to hear from you!
Please contact: mayday@brentham.com
See the archive for copies of May Day programmes and a gallery of former May Queens.
For a short video highlighting the charming celebrations click here
Brentham Garden Suburb 