MAY 2026 · WITNESS
Bristol's Jack in the Green
Bristol
The Jack in the Green is a figure made of a frame and leaves — a walking tower of foliage about two metres tall with a Green Man mask at the top, carried from inside by a person you can't see. It leads the procession. Around it and behind it, green-painted faces, ivy crowns, bluebell and pink blossom flower wreaths, tattered rag costumes in every shade. Button accordions. Violins. Staves for mock combat. The route runs from Bristol Harbourside to Horfield Common — about three miles through the city on May Day.
I shot from inside the procession, not from the pavement. The difference matters. From the pavement you get spectacle. From inside you get faces.
That was what I was after: the faces of people who have agreed, for an afternoon, to be something older than themselves. Some looked solemn. Some looked like they'd been waiting all year. An elder in ivy crown and sunglasses with a green-dyed beard and a button accordion, the ivy wreath sitting slightly over his glasses — he didn't adjust it. A woman with teal-blue hair holding a hand drum, watching something off to her left. Two men facing each other with crossed wooden staves, both laughing. An older woman holding her own staves at a standstill, green paint on her hands, crown on her head, absolutely still amid the noise around her.
Some looked like they had been counting down since last May.
Fishponds, Bristol — May 2026
The Jack passed under the crane by the harbour and the shot made itself — Green Man mask framed in the iron arch, the crowd trailing behind into the light. Under the tree canopy on the way to Horfield Common it was the same but softer, the foliage of the Jack and the foliage of the plane trees merging for a moment.
The portraits were what the day was for. A young woman with eyes closed, smiling, bluebell crown. A long-haired man in red mirrored sunglasses and leaf crown, looking directly at the lens, completely unreadable. A group shot of eight or nine people in flower crowns, solemn, like a folk band's album cover, which is possibly what it was.
Near the end of the route a green-faced reveller leaned toward a small child on someone's shoulders — the child in a dinosaur hoodie, watching the whole thing with extreme suspicion — and offered to dab their nose with green paint. The child did not take it.
Green-faced reveller in ivy crown with a carved Green Man mask looming behind, Jack in the Green, Bristol
The Jack in the Green tower of foliage and flowers leading the procession past Bristol Harbourside, crowd and violinist alongside
Green-costumed performer in yellow and green tattered rags raising both arms to the crowd, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Young reveller with green face paint and flower crown of bluebells and pink blossom, Jack in the Green
Two green-clad revellers processing through Bristol Harbourside, one playing a button accordion
Green-bearded reveller in leaf crown holding a ribboned flower staff, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Close portrait of a laughing reveller with green-dyed beard and ivy wreath obscuring his glasses, Jack in the Green
Green-faced figure in layered rag costume with an accordion player blurred behind, Jack in the Green procession
Group of green-faced procession participants in flower crowns and tattered costumes, solemn expressions, Jack in the Green
Green-faced elder playing a button accordion in ivy crown and sunglasses, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Green-painted woman with teal-blue hair holding a hand drum, crowd watching the Jack in the Green procession behind
Close portrait of a green-faced man in ivy wreath framed by coloured rag streamers, Jack in the Green
Bearded reveller in green rag costume walking beside two green-costumed children, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Long-haired reveller in red sunglasses and green rags with green-painted children alongside, crowd watching
Close detail of a flower crown of bluebells, pink blossom and ivy on a reveller at Jack in the Green, Bristol
Green-faced woman in ivy crown smiling beside the towering Jack in the Green figure, Bristol procession
Green-faced reveller raising an arm beside the towering Jack in the Green figure with Green Man mask and ribbons
Green-faced reveller lifting both hands skyward amid other costumed figures, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Two green-costumed musicians, one playing violin, marching with the Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Green-faced reveller in flower crown standing before the foliated Jack in the Green figure, Bristol
Green-clad revellers raising hands toward the Jack in the Green, cargo containers and Bristol street behind
Green-painted elder in yellow and green rags pointing skyward and calling out to the crowd, Jack in the Green
Two green-costumed revellers facing each other, both playing button accordions, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Close portrait of a young woman with green face paint and ivy leaf crown, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Smiling green-faced woman in ivy crown amid green-costumed revellers, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Green-painted elder grinning behind a large red piano accordion in leaf crown, Jack in the Green
Smiling crowd of spectators watching the Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Two green-costumed revellers facing off with wooden staves, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Green-faced musician playing recorder in patchwork rag costume, girl in sunglasses alongside, Jack in the Green
Older woman with green-painted hands and leaf crown holding crossed wooden staves, Jack in the Green
Two green-painted men crossing wooden staves in mock combat, laughing, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Profile portrait of a green-faced young woman in ivy crown, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Crowd of spectators and families with children watching the Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Green-faced reveller in tattered rag costume carrying a wooden staff, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Green-faced reveller with wooden staff, violinist visible behind, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Three green-costumed musicians including violinist and concertina player, Jack in the Green procession
Young woman with green face paint and ivy crown, eyes closed, smiling, Jack in the Green, Bristol
Smiling green-faced woman in ivy crown, close portrait, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Laughing green-faced woman holding a sprig of greenery, Jack in the Green tower blurred behind, Bristol
Green-faced reveller laughing at a baby held up by its parent, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
Green-faced reveller offering greenery to a small child in a dinosaur hoodie on someone's shoulders, Jack in the Green
Smiling spectators watching the Jack in the Green procession, Bristol, woman with orange bow headband
The Jack in the Green flower-crowned tower leading the procession through Bristol streets, crowd lining the route
Full procession view with the Jack in the Green tower and green-costumed revellers filling a Bristol street
Young reveller in green rags and flower crown leading the Jack in the Green procession through central Bristol
Long-haired bearded reveller in coloured rag costume and red sunglasses, Jack in the Green procession, Bristol
The Jack in the Green foliage tower framed under a steel lifting bridge, large crowd following behind, Bristol
Photographer walking alongside the Jack in the Green procession as it passes under a metal bridge, Bristol
Dense crowd following the Jack in the Green through Bristol streets, procession stretching back along the road
Green-costumed reveller smiling as the Jack in the Green procession moves through Bristol streets
Close view of the Jack in the Green — Green Man mask, flower crown and coloured ribbons — beneath an iron bridge, Bristol
The Jack in the Green's Green Man face and flower-crowned foliage tower passing under an iron arch, Bristol
The Jack in the Green tower leading a procession down a tree-lined Bristol street, flower crown against the canopy
The Jack in the Green foliage tower with Green Man mask moving through central Bristol streets, crowd following
Green-costumed musicians including a violinist playing as the Jack in the Green procession passes, Bristol
Green-costumed revellers and Jack in the Green procession filling a broad Bristol street
Close portrait of a long-haired bearded reveller with red mirrored sunglasses and leaf crown, Jack in the Green
Green-costumed revellers processing along a tree-lined suburban Bristol street, Jack in the Green
The Jack in the Green foliage tower beneath tall plane trees approaching Horfield Common, crowd alongside
The Jack in the Green leading the procession under a green tree canopy toward Horfield Common, Bristol