The Hessle Waits are a Christmas carolling group from Hessle, East Yorkshire, founded in 1916. The Waits sing a range of traditional Christmas carols around the streets of Hessle as well as at fixed locations such as Hessle Square. We have been proudly raising money for Dove House Hospice since 1986.

Although our earliest records go back to 1927, due to references in our minutes books, it is believed the Hessle Waits was founded in 1916. This makes us one of the oldest existing Christmas carolling groups in the country. The organisation originally raised money for the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children on Park Street in Hull. It was reported in the Hull Daily Mail that, in 1918, the Waits donated £30 to the hospital – over £1400 in today’s money. This success only grew, with Hull Evening news reporting that the Waits raised £59 3s 4d in 1922, which equates to almost £3000 today. The hospital often made Waits committee members life members of the hospital in honour of their fundraising efforts.

The Hessle Waits also organised concerts in aid of our chosen charities. In 1935, the Waits held a concert in Hessle Town Hall (ticket on the left). Two years later, a concert was held at the Plaza cinema to a reported 600 people.

Carolling proceeded for the first two years of the Second World War; however, after 1940, the Waits did not go out again until December 1945. The Hessle Waits ceased support for the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children two years later, when the hospital was brought under public ownership under the National Health Service Act.

Choosing to adapt rather than cease carolling, the Waits chose to turn their efforts to raising funds for the orphanage at Hesslewood Hall. This support continued until 1984 due to uncertainty surrounding the orphanage’s future. It was at this point that the Waits lent their financial support to the North Humberside Hospice Project. This project later became what is now Dove House Hospice, who we have been supporting since 1986.

No carolling took place between 2020 and 2022 due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. There was eagerness amongst Waits members to not let this hiatus end 107 years of tradition. The committee were tasked with streamlining and modernising our organisation, so that Hessle may hear carol singing for another 100 years.

This year, the Hessle Waits are looking forward to returning to the streets of Hessle to bring some much-needed Christmas cheer to our community.