The history of Congleton's Bear

Congleton Wakes was always a cause for great excitement in the town. Every year the festivities gave hard working people a chance to chill out and have fun. Unfortunately though, one year sometime in the 1600s, Congleton’s dancing bear became ill and died just before the Wakes were to start. This was a disaster, as the bear was not only popular with the crowds but also a good generator of income for the town. There was no money immediately available to buy a new bear at such short notice, so in desperation the Wakes organisers approached the town Alderman to ask what could be done.

At this time, a sum of money had been set aside to buy a new bible for the town. The old bible was very old and needed replacing. Seeing the townspeople’s plight the Alderman suggested that they borrow this money to buy a new bear then replace it with some of the money the bear raised during Wakes week. This bible money became a sort of loan which the townspeople paid back as soon as they were able.

As is so often the case when a tale is told and retold, the facts have become altered over time, and the story now stands that the town bible was sold to raise money for the new bear... this is not actually true. Even back in those times Congleton people demonstrated great entrepreneurship by taking out this loan and using it in a business-like fashion. This sense of adventure and drive is still with us today, born out by the number of small businesses still thriving in the town. With this core of business excellence, together with the boundless enthusiasm of Congleton’s people, we will be able to gather our strengths and discard our weaknesses... and put Congleton on the map once again...