A group who perform 17th Century tunes in period costume are putting on a Christmas show at Worces-ter's Huntingdon Hall on Friday, December 21.

The Oxford Waits will perform a mixture of street ballads, airs and rounds on unusual instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, shawm and cittern.

The group takes its name from a band of city musicians known as 'waits' who played in large towns during the period of the English Civil War and the Restora-tion.

The Christmas show also features readings from some of the period's famous diarists such as Pepys on subjects including one of the more unusual episodes in English history.

The group's director Tim Healey said: "One of the interesting things about the 17th Century was that under the Puritans Christmas was banned.

"The Puritans used to go around and sniff out those people who were baking mince pies and putting out garlands of holly."

Tickets are £9 from the Huntingdon Hall box office on 01905 611427.