Whether you are an ‘Old School Cockney’, part of the ‘Cockney Diaspora’ or a ‘New School Cockney’, there is a festival taking place right now to keep your roots, spirit and culture alive.
Challenging the notion that ‘Cockney is dying’, the second annual Modern Cockney Festival is taking place throughout March with a series of free events to celebrate the ‘non-posh Londoner’.
In an era of complex social identities, the festival aims to unify anyone who identifies with the term ‘Cockney’. It focuses on building a greater sense of togetherness and community cohesion, whilst battling social prejudice against working-class identities.
The Modern Cockney Festival was launched in a Community partnership between the Bengali East End Heritage Society and Grow Social Capital in 2023.
Andy Green, the organisation’s founder comments that being a ‘Modern Cockney’ extends past the traditional archetype to include Bengali Cockney, Black Cockney, Chinese Cockney, Irish Cockney or “whatever rich tapestry of identities you connect with”.
He said embracing the traditional cultural markers such as pie and mash and rhyming slang, whilst respecting that everyone’s identification with the word is different, is what this campaign is all about.
The Modern Cockney Festival are already making a difference. They gained the first-ever formal recognition of Cockney as a culture in its 660-year history and succeeded in petitioning Tower Hamlets Council to recognise Cockney as a community language.
The campaign created ‘Cockney Conversations’, a platform to discuss Cockney culture and issues around tackling social injustices and are currently working with numerous Universities in a robust academic study on ‘what is the Modern Cockney?’
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National Pie and Mash Week (10th-16th March):
This staple Cockney dish has been served in London since at least the 19th Century, with South East London long considered its cultural home.
The first Pie and Mash shop dates back to 1844, which was set up on Union Street in Borough, by Henry Blanchard.
The UK’s ‘National ‘Pie and Mash Week’ runs from 10th – 16th March, created to protect this traditional Cockney cuisine. This is also the second week after it was created by the Modern Cockney Festival from March 11th -17th 2024.
We spoke to Cheryl Arment, owner of Arment’s Pie and Mash in Walworth. The shop welcomes thousands of locals and tourists to taste the crusty pies, mash and liquor.
The shop has a rich history and was first listed as an eel business in 1881 at 386 Walworth Road. It was purchased by the Arments from the Evans family in April 1914.
The current shop moved to 7-9 Westmoreland in 1979 and the business continues to thrive, with regular TV features including in the documentary Elephant Days and a Danny Dyer series.
Cheryl said that “a pie and mash shop is unique and cannot be compared to any other kind of pie” and that it is “woven into the fabric and heritage of London”.
In 2013, they were awarded a prestigious Southwark News blue plaque. It welcomes thousands of locals and tourists to taste the crusty pies, mash and liquor.
Arments are currently involved in the campaign to get Pie ‘n’ Mash Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status. This would mean that the the traditional methods of preparation, it’s heritage, and the label of ‘Pie and Mash’ would be legally protected.
This campaign was initiated by Andy Green during Pie and Mash week last year. The Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, Richard Holden, led the debate at Westminster Hall last October.
Pie and Mash shop owners have come together in February this year and are in favour of the status if they are able to retain their own unique recipes and meet the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affair’s (DEFRA) guidelines.
You can sign the petition to help Pie and Mash shops achieve the TSG status here.
Other characteristics of the traditional Cockney are also explored by the Modern Cockney Festival.
Cockney Language and Rhyming Slang:
Cockney language, such as rhyming slang has been deeply embedded into the history of the ‘Cockney’ identity.
This was celebrated last week on National Speak Cockney Day, March 3rd or the ‘fird of the fird’.
The Modern Cockney Festival attribute this characteristic to the ‘Old School Cockney’, typically from the working-class inner London heartland.
The origins of this cockney language is unknown. The Modern Cockney Festival coproduced a report in collaboration with the University of Warwick calling for the language to be celebrated as a community language in London.
The study debunks the myth around rhyming slang being born out of criminal activity. It emphasises it as a creative and playful langauge emerging in working-class communities.
It also states that rhyming slang, like the notion of the Cockney, has thrived on multicultural influences and has adapted with each wave of newcomers.
‘Born within the sound of the Bow Bells’:
Being born within sounds of the Bow Bells of St. Mary-le-Bow church on Cheapside has also long been associated with the ‘Traditional Cockney’.
However, the Modern Cockney campaign argues that the cherished Cockney myth is not as clear cut. They say it is Foundation myth, which is a story that provides a central pilar to a group’s identity.
The Bow Bells reference emerged in a 1571 sermon by J. Bridges, with St. Mary-le-Bow Church simply having been a common reference point at the centre of London, rather than a defining land boundary to distinguish Cockneys from other Londoners.
Since the 20th century witnessed a huge outward migration from traditional heartlands of Cockney communities, those who weren’t born within the sound of the Bow Bells still retained the language and identity of what can be labelled as ‘Cockney’.
The Bow Bells phrase remains a cherished myth of Cockney communities and rather signifies an emotional belonging rather than a requirement. The Modern Cockney Festival said that “The sound of Bow Bells is heard through the heart”.
Cockney Themed Events, organised by the Modern Cockney Festival 2025:
The Modern Cockney Festival, running from 1st – 31st March, exists to celebrate ‘non-posh Londoners’ culture, heritage and identity’. They are running a series of free Cockney based events.
Monday March 10th to Sunday 16 March:
‘National ‘Pie and Mash Week’ to see full listing.
Wednesday March 12th, 19:30pm
Carradine’s Cockney Singalong at Wiltons Music Hall, London E1 8JB.
Friday March 14th
Sir Michael Caine birthday celebrations at various Pie ‘n’ Mash shops.
Tuesday March 18th, 1pm
‘It ain’t awright!’– Online event where sociolinguists discuss accent prejudice in modern Britain and how to tackle it.
Wednesday March 19th, 1pm
‘Cockney Bubbles’- Online event discussing how the Cockney Diaspora can create their own celebrations of ‘bein Cockney’ with John Caster.
Tuesday March 25th, 1pm
‘40 years of East Enders- a real life soap opera?’– An online event discussing how Cockneys are portrayed on television.
Thursday March 27th, 6-10pm
‘Poetry for Togetherness’ with poets Chip Hamer, Ovyuki, Tim Wells, and comedian Arthur Smith at Dalston Lane Community Centre, Lewis Place, London, E8 1NU.
Saturday March 29th
Design a Cockney kilt and Rhyming slang for Kids ‘family fun day‘. Organised by Modern Cockney Kids festival at Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8EA.
