Old English Customs 
 
THE FAVERSHAM MOOT HORN. 
 
 This horn served for the calling of local assemblies at Faversham, Kent, 
 circa 1300. 
 
Old Snglish Customs 
 
 Sxtant at the Present Time 
 
 An Account of 
 
 Local Observances^ Festival Customs^ and 
 
 (Ancient Ceremonies yet Surviving 
 
 in Great Britain 
 
 By 
 
 T. H. T)itchfield, 3U.A., F.S.A. 
 
 London 
 
 c K 
 1896 
 
\v 
 
PREFACE 
 
 I HE object of this work is to describe all 
 the old customs which still linger on in the 
 obscure nooks and corners of our native land, 
 or which have survived the march of progress 
 in our busy city's life. There are many books 
 which treat of ancient customs, and repeat 
 again the stories told by Brand, Hone, and 
 other historians and antiquaries ; but, as far 
 as we are aware, there is no book describing 
 the actual folk-customs yet extant, which 
 may be witnessed to-day by the folk-lorist 
 and lover of rural manners. We have 
 endeavoured to supply this want, and to 
 record only those customs which time has 
 spared. Undoubtedly the decay has been 
 rapid. Many customs have vanished, quietly 
 dying out without giving a sign. The 
 present generation has witnessed the extinc- 
 tion of many observances which our fathers 
 
 practised and revered, and doubtless the 
 v 
 
 286064 
 
Preface 
 
 progress of decay will continue. We have 
 entered upon a diminished inheritance. Still 
 it is surprising to find how much has been 
 left ; how tenaciously the English race clings 
 to that which habit and usage have estab- 
 lished ; how ancient customs hold sway in 
 the palace, the parliament, the army, the law 
 courts, amongst educated people as well as 
 unlearned rustics ; how they cluster around 
 our social institutions, are enshrined in reli- 
 gious ceremonial, and are preserved by law ; 
 how carefully they have been guarded through 
 the many ages of their existence, and how 
 deeply rooted they are in the affections of 
 the English people. It is really remark- 
 able that at the present day, in spite of 
 ages of education and social enlightenment, 
 in spite of centuries of Christian teach- 
 ing and practice, we have now amongst 
 us many customs which owe their origin to 
 pagan beliefs and the superstitions of our 
 heathen forefathers, and have no other raison 
 d'etre for their existence than the wild 
 legends of Scandinavian mythology. 
 
 I desire to express my thanks to more than 
 vi 
 
Preface 
 
 sixty correspondents in different parts of 
 the country for the kind aid they have 
 given me in collecting information for this 
 work. It has often been difficult to deter- 
 mine whether during recent years particular 
 customs have become defunct, and the only 
 method of acquiring trustworthy informa- 
 tion has been to communicate with local 
 authorities. I have been fortunate in find- 
 ing able writers, folk-lorists, and antiquaries 
 in all parts of England, who have kindly 
 written to me concerning the customs in 
 their localities, and furnished me with most 
 valuable information. I gratefully preserve 
 their names : 
 
 Dr. Williamson, Surrey. 
 Miss Banfield, Cornwall. 
 Rev. H. Kingsford, Worcester. 
 V. G. Hewett, Esq., Kent. 
 S. Andrew, Esq., Lancashire. 
 Rev. G. B. Brooks, Bucks. 
 C. J. Billson, Esq., Leicester. 
 Rev. Dr. Lee, Bucks. 
 Rev. W. Norman, Bedford. 
 R. M. Dawkins, Esq., Devon. 
 Mrs. Musters, Notts. 
 W. M. Brookes, Esq., Yorks. 
 vii 
 
Preface 
 
 Rev. E. H. Goddard, Wilts. 
 Rev. J. B. Jones, Cornwall. 
 Rev. W. Poole, Hereford. 
 Rev. A. J. Edwards, Beds. 
 R. P. L. Booker, Esq., Eton College, 
 Professor Rhys, Oxford. 
 Rev. E. Atkinson, Cambridge. 
 Rev. W. H. Sewell, Suffolk. 
 Rev. H. F. Howard, Berks. 
 T. M. Fallow, Esq., Yorks. 
 Rev. J. Moreton, Cornwall. 
 J. BagnalJ, Esq., Stafford. 
 Rev. E. Bradley, Lichfield. 
 W. H. Evans, Esq., Berks. 
 Capt. Dickinson (Army). 
 Major R. Holden (Army). 
 G. F. Alldritt, Esq., Surrey 
 Commander Edye. 
 Capt. Anson, R.N. 
 Rev. C. P. Winter, Wales. 
 Rev. W. C. Box, Northants. 
 Miss Righton, Kent. 
 Rev. Canon Beach (Army). 
 Miss Cornwall, Gloucester. 
 Rev. H. J. Carter, Cambridge. 
 W. Cudworth, Esq., Yorks. 
 Rev. C. V. Goddard, Dorset. 
 Lady Read, Wales. 
 P. Manning, Esq., Oxford. 
 Sir George Birdwood. 
 Rev. W. G. Rutherford, Westminster. 
 Mrs. L. Simonds, Hants, 
 viii 
 
Preface 
 
 E. Armstrong, Esq., Oxford. 
 
 Rev. Augustin Ley, Hereford. 
 
 Rev. A. J. M'Caul, London. 
 
 Rev. J. H. Fleming, Norfolk. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Bond, Devon. 
 
 Rev. J. L. Francis, Devon. 
 
 W. Norbury, Esq., Cheshire. 
 
 Rev. W. H. Lyon, Dorset. 
 
 Rev. C. Farrow, Yorks. 
 
 Rev. E. A. Chichester, Surrey. 
 
 Rev. G. Parr, Middlesex. 
 
 Rev. W. H. Connor, Northumberland. 
 
 Rev. G. B. Vaux, Kent. 
 
 Rev. A. W. Headlam, Durham. 
 
 G. E. Dartnell, Esq., Wilts. 
 
 J. W. Bradley, Stafford. 
 
 Mrs. Ogle, Cheshire. 
 
 Rev. J. B. Robins, Oxford. 
 
 I am of course indebted to Notes and 
 Queries > which has for so many years devoted 
 much of its space to the preserving of the 
 records of ancient customs. The labours of 
 the Folk-Lore Society are well known, and 
 their publications have been very useful to 
 me in the progress of this work. Finally, I 
 have to express my thanks to Mrs. Gomme, 
 who, in conjunction with her husband, the 
 
 first President of the Folk-Lore Society, has 
 ix 
 
Preface 
 
 done so much for the study of the science 
 of Folk-lore, and who has most kindly 
 assisted me in revising the proof-sheets of 
 this work. For the loan of the illustration 
 of the Faversham Moot Horn I am in- 
 debted to the editor and publisher of Mr. 
 LI. Jewitt's book on Corporation Plate. 
 
 P. H. D1TCHFIELD. 
 
 BARKHAM RECTORY, 
 
 Midsummer -day 1896. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 PAGES 
 
 The decay of old customs Causes of their decline 
 Numerous survivals Not confined to the country 
 Pagan origin Importance of their preservation The 
 calendar 1-7 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Christmas customs Mumming Folk-drama in Devon, 
 Yorks, &c. "Vessel boxes" Carol-singing Fur- 
 mety at Christmas Mistletoe and kissing-bush Plum- 
 pudding Christmas-tree Bell customs at Dewsbury, 
 &c. Boar's-head at Oxford Barring out in Cumber- 
 land Mumping and goodening on St. Thomas' Day 
 Hoodening "Picrous day" Burghead custom St. 
 Stephen's Day and stoning the wren Yule Doos and 
 local cakes Boxing-Day Pantomimes Christmas- 
 cards 8-36 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 New Year's Day and first-footing Banffshire custom 
 Wassail bowls New Year's gifts and good wishes 
 Midnight services Queen's College, Oxford Yorks 
 custom Local rhymes and wassailers Quaaltagh in 
 Isle of Man Twelfth Night or Epiphany Plough 
 Monday Wassailing orchards Court custom 
 Hakey Hood Watching animals St. Paul's Day 
 Valentine's Day Islip valentine Customs in Berks 
 and Essex Hurling at St. Ives . . . 37~58 
 
 xi 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Lenten customs Shrove Tuesday Pancake-bell Shrov- 
 ing Tossing pancakes at Westminster Devonshire 
 rhymes Welsh survival of thrashing the hen 
 Coquilles at Norwich Football on Shrove Tuesday 
 Mothering Sunday Simnels Care Sunday Palm 
 Sunday and ball-play Fig Sunday Spy Wednesday 
 Maundy Thursday Good Friday and hot cross buns 
 Skipping on Good Friday and marbles Guildford 
 custom Custom at St. Bartholomew's Church, Lon- 
 don Blue-Coat School custom ^Flogging Judas 
 Cornish custom of gathering shellfish St. David's 
 Day 5^-77 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Easter customs Pace-eggs Clapping for eggs in Wales 
 Pace-egg play Biddenden custom Kentish pudding- 
 pies Hallaton hare-pie and bottle kicking School 
 customs St. Mark's Day and ghosts Custom at St. 
 Mary's, Woolnoth Hocktide at Hungerford All 
 Fools' Day 78-94 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 May Day customs Magdalen College, Oxford Sweep 
 at Oxford and Cheltenham Bamptom customs 
 Charlton, Clifton, and Witney, Oxon Edlesborough, 
 Bucks Minehead and Hawick customs Saltash, 
 Cornwall Lancashire, Leicestershire, Cornwall, 
 Gloucestershire, Northants customs Old Maypole 
 still standing Gawthorpe, Yorks St. Mary, Cray 95-110 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Helston Furry dance Rogation-tide and Ganging Week 
 Beating the bounds at Malborough, Lichfield, 
 Oxford, Leicester, and London Royal Oak Day 
 Wilts custom Selkirk Common - Riding 
 "Grovely" Singing custom at Durham . . ui-122 
 
 xii 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PACKS 
 
 Club feasts at Whitsuntide Bampton, Oxon Morris- 
 dancers Irish ' ' death ride " Wakes in Lancashire 
 and Yorks Rush-bearing at Oldham, Ambleside, 
 Grasmere Hay strewing at Braunston, Leicester 
 Horn dance at Abbot Bromley " Flower Sermon " 
 Cornish " feasten " Sunday .... 123-140 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Midsummer Eve customs, Pontypridd, Wales Cornish 
 customs Bale-fires Ratby meadow-mowing Reeve 
 houses at Desford Harvest customs Mell-sheaf and 
 Kern-supper Kern-baby The "maiden" Cailleach 
 Devonshire " Knack " " Dumping " Harvest- 
 bell Horn-blowing in Hertfordshire Harvest-songs 
 Sheep-shearing in Dorset Michaelmas goose 
 Biddenham rabbit St. Crispin's Day and the shoe- 
 makers 141-159 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Fifth of November Berks songs Beckley and Hed- 
 dington, Oxon Town and Gown at Oxford Harcake 
 or Tharcake, Lancashire Local cakes St. Clement's 
 Day "Souling"on All Soul's Day Allan apples 
 at Penzance Butchers' custom . . . 160-172 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Local customs Gloves in Church of Abbots Ann, Andover 
 Dunmow Flitch Skimmerton-riding in Wilts and 
 Dorset Riding the Stang .... 173-181 
 
 xiii 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 FACES 
 
 Holy Wells Scottish superstition Pin-wells Rag-wells 
 Well-dressing in Derbyshire Tissington well-dress- 
 ing Endon, Staffordshire Youlgrave, Derbyshire 
 St. Alkmund's, Derby Wishing-wells Walsing- 
 ham, Norfolk 182-189 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Marriage customs Orange blossoms Rice-throwing 
 Wedding-ring Bride's veil Shoe-throwing Custom 
 at Stoke Courcy Knutsford custom Chopped straw 
 at weddings Spur-peal Holderness customs Kiss- 
 ing in Somerset Yorkshire Dale customs Races for 
 ribbons Courting customs Taking Day at Crowan 
 Cornish miners' custom Shooting the bride The Sin- 
 eater Funeral customs Passing bell Yorks funeral 
 biscuits Corpse roads Crape on beehives Telling 
 the bees Burying cheeses Wheat at funerals 190-205 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Legal customs Clameur de Haro Tynwald Hill and 
 Manx laws Court of pie-powder Court-leets and 
 Court-barons Court of Exchequer Borough-English 
 Gavelkind Court Leet at Dunchurch Heriots 
 Judge's black cap Gray's Inn Curious custom at 
 Royal Courts of Justice 206-219 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Civic customs Lord Mayor's show Former splendour of 
 civic processions Livery Companies of London 
 Civic banquets Loving-cup Election of Master of 
 Girdlers' Company Skinners' Company Vintners' 
 Company Swan-upping and the Dyers' Company 
 The salt-cellar of the Innholders' Company Silver 
 cradle Colchester oyster feast Huntingdon and the 
 ox's skull Preston Guild York and Mayoress' chain 
 
 Freemasons 220-231 
 
 XIV 
 
Contents 
 CHAPTER xv 
 
 PACES 
 
 Bell-ringing customs Dewsbury Pancake-bell Bells as 
 guides Pudding-bell Harvest-bell Gleaning-bell 
 Curfew Passing-bell Eight-hours' bell at Ged- 
 dington, &c. Calling servants at Fulham Palace 
 Auction by candle at Aldermaston, Corby, Warton 
 Market Drayton Coventry and Lady Godiva Pack 
 Monday Fair Rockland Guild Mock Mayors- 
 Statute fairs Gingerbread fairs Town-crier's call 
 Relic of feudalism at Dalton-in-Furness Survival 
 of old charm Colting at Appleby Brixham market 
 custom Raffling for Bibles Witches' obelisk Gipsy 
 custom Ploughing custom .... 232-255 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Court customs Epiphany customs Maundy custom 
 
 Coronation customs Royal births Royal funerals 256-266 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Parliamentary customs Searching the House Introduc- 
 ing new member Hat ceremony "Who goes 
 home ? " Royal assent to Bills Ceremony of opening 
 Parliament Installation of Speaker Introduction of 
 new Peers in House of Lords Woolsack . 267-275 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Curious doles Plums at Christmas Dorsetshire custom 
 Gloves for the parson Bread and cheese for all- 
 Scrambling charity Figs and ale Pork and petticoats 
 Old love-feasts Bull-baiting Poor seamen 
 Lamps in London Washing Molly Grime Predilec- 
 tion for colours Tombstone charity Prisoners at 
 Newgate Redeeming English slaves Maid-servants 
 Musical bequest " Lion sermon " Pax cake 
 National events Dancing round John Knill's tomb 
 Dole at Hospital of St. Cross at Winchester . 276-285 
 XV 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Army customs Keys at the Tower Twelfth Lancers and 
 hymn-tunesScotch traditions of the 1st regiment of 
 foot Royal Welsh Fusiliers and St. David's Day 
 Inkerman Day Royal Berks Scots Greys 7th 
 Hussars 8th Hussars Regimental nicknames 1 4th 
 Hussars Coldstream Guards The Buffs Northum- 
 berland Fusiliers Suffolk Regiment Lancastrian 
 Fusiliers Relics of American War Royal Canadians 
 Cheshire regiment 7th Fusiliers Duke of Corn- 
 wall's Light Infantry Black Watch . . 286-298 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Curious tenures Modern customs Conclusion . 299-308 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 (i.) Words of Berkshire mumming plays . , . 309-314 
 
 (2.) Mummers' play at Islip, Oxon .... 315-319 
 
 (3.) Mummers' play at Bampton, Oxon . . . 319-326 
 
 (4.) Melodies of the Morris-dancers at Bampton, Oxon 327-331 
 
 (5.) The Boar's-head song at Queen's College, Oxford 332-333 
 
 XVI 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The decay of old customs Causes of their de- 
 cline Numerous survivals Not confined to the 
 country Pagan origin Importance of their 
 preservation The calendar. 
 
 MANY writers have mourned over the 
 decay of our ancient customs, which the 
 restlessness of modern life has effectually 
 killed. New manners are ever pushing out 
 the old, and the lover of antiquity may 
 perhaps be pardoned if he prefers the more 
 ancient modes. The death of the old social 
 customs, which added such diversity to the 
 lives of our forefathers, has not tended to 
 promote a reign of happiness and content- 
 ment in our village communities, but rather 
 to render rustic life one continuous round of 
 labour unrelieved by pleasant pastime. 
 
 The causes of the decline and fall of many 
 old customs are not far to seek, Agri- 
 
 A 
 
Otd;\Rnglish Customs 
 
 cultural depression has killed many. The 
 deserted farmsteads no longer echo with the 
 sounds of rural revelry; the cheerful log- 
 fires no longer glow in the farmer's kitchen ; 
 the harvest-home song has died away, and 
 " largess " no longer rewards the mummers 
 and morice dancers. When poverty stands 
 at the door, mirth and merriment are afraid 
 to enter. Moreover, the labourer himself 
 has changed ; he has lost his simplicity. 
 His lot is far better than it was fifty years 
 ago, and he no longer takes pleasure in the 
 simple joys that delighted his ancestors in 
 days of yore. Railways and cheap excursions 
 have made him despise the old games and 
 pastimes which once pleased his unenlightened 
 soul. The old labourer has died, and his 
 successor is a very " up-to-date " person, who 
 reads the newspapers and has his ideas upon 
 politics and social questions that would have 
 startled his less cultivated sire. 
 
 Again, the shriek of the engine has sounded 
 the death-note of many once popular festivals. 
 The railway-trains began to convey large 
 crowds of noisy townsfolk to popular rural 
 gatherings, and converted the simple rustic 
 feasts into pandemoniums of vice and drunken 
 revelry. Hence the authorities were forced 
 to interfere, and to order the discontinuance 
 of the festivals. Such has been the fate of 
 such popular gatherings as the Langwarthby 
 
The Survival of Customs 
 
 Rounds, which once delighted the hearts of 
 the Cumberland folk. 
 
 In consequence of these causes the decay 
 of many old customs was inevitable. Never- 
 theless they have not all died yet, and it is 
 indeed surprising how many still linger on 
 in the obscure corners of our native land, 
 where railroads and modern culture have not 
 yet penetrated. We will endeavour to record 
 the customs that still remain, the survivals 
 of old-world rural life. We will visit the 
 quaint and quiet streets of rural towns and 
 villages ; hear the rude rhymes of the 
 mummers and " souling " children, and 
 mark their fantastic dress and strange un- 
 couth capers. Handed down from remote 
 antiquity, these verses have been passed on 
 from generation to generation and preserve 
 the record of England's history writ in the 
 memories of her children. Norse legends, 
 that came to our shores with the fierce 
 Vikings, Saxon superstitions, Roman customs, 
 Norman manners, Pagan beliefs, pre-Reforma- 
 tion practices, Tudor triumphs, great events 
 in history, the memory of mighty chiefs and 
 infamous conspirators, are all preserved in 
 our existing customs which time has spared. 
 Popular customs contain the germ of history ; 
 and however rude and uncouth they may 
 be, if we look beneath the surface we find 
 curious and interesting stores of antiquarian 
 3 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 lore which well repay the labour of the ex- 
 plorer. 
 
 Nor are curious customs confined to the 
 country. The court and the palace, the 
 law courts, the Church, Parliament, mili- 
 tary ceremonials, all present interesting fea- 
 tures of customs and observances which time 
 has consecrated and not destroyed. We shall 
 notice many strange tenures of property ; 
 curious bequests which perpetuate the eccen- 
 tricity of the benefactors ; certain manorial 
 customs which have been termed "jocular;" 
 some municipal customs which certainly have 
 their humorous side; and all the odd and 
 fantastic observances which may be witnessed 
 in the streets of our country towns, as well 
 as in the homes of our villagers. 
 
 In Pagan institutions we must ground 
 many old customs and rites, which, travel- 
 ling to us through an infinite succession of 
 years, have been sadly distorted and disfigured 
 in their progress. Old Paganism died hard, 
 and fought long and stubbornly in its 
 struggle with Christianity. How often do 
 we find the incorporation of some ancient 
 cult and Pagan custom in many observances 
 sanctioned by years of Christian practice? 
 The hot-cross buns on Good Friday, the 
 bonfires on St. John's Eve relics of old 
 Baal worship the hanging of mistletoe, the 
 bringing in of the Yule-log, and countless 
 4 " 
 
Origin of Customs 
 
 other customs, many of which still survive, 
 are the results of a compromise. The Chris- 
 tian teachers found the people so wedded to 
 their old rights and usages, that it was vain 
 to hope for the complete abandonment of 
 their long-cherished practices. Hence the 
 old Pagan customs were shorn of their 
 idolatry, and transferred to the Christian 
 festivals. Nor is it uncommon to find sur- 
 vivals of old forms of nature-worship, of 
 various cults of hero or demigod, of pro- 
 pitiatory offerings to the spirits of woods 
 and streams, just as we find the old Norse 
 legends of Loki and Heimdal and Sigyn on 
 the Saxon crosses at Gosforth, blended with 
 the triumphs of Christianity over the pros- 
 trate Pagan deities. 
 
 Sometimes local customs owe their origin 
 to the popular will in some places, and have 
 become part of the local law. In some cases 
 we find that a particular custom, which seems 
 strange and remarkable, is but a variation of 
 some well-ascertained folk custom which once 
 extended over a wide area. Other popular 
 customs are only observed in one particular 
 place, and owe their origin to some ascer- 
 tained historical event. 1 They are frequently 
 very extraordinary, and cause us to wonder 
 how the wit of man ever invented such 
 
 1 Presidential address to Folk-Lore Society, by Mr. J. L. 
 Gomme. 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 strange modes of expressing its ideas and 
 feelings. We wonder, too, how they could 
 have been preserved so long amid the many 
 changes of our social life. We have festival 
 customs, ceremonial customs, and sports and 
 games, to which English folk have ever clung 
 with fond affection. The Church has pre- 
 served for us many of our festival customs ; 
 ceremonial customs have been guarded by 
 legal enactments, and become connected with 
 all the chief events in human life. Hence 
 we have a mass of customs associated with 
 all our social institutions which will repay 
 our careful examination and close scrutiny. 
 
 Existing superstitions, as shown forth by 
 examples of amazing credulity, will find no 
 place in these pages ; we must leave to others 
 to record the cases of modern witchcraft, 
 fortune-telling, planet-ruling, and such won- 
 der-working powers, startling to the philo- 
 sopher of the nineteenth century, who be- 
 lieved that all superstitions had been killed 
 by modern culture and enlightenment. We 
 seek only the ancient customs which survive 
 in town or hamlet, in church or court, where, 
 if our readers will bear us company, we can 
 show to them the strange performance and 
 wild, rude ceremony, and try to discover the 
 origin and meaning of that which we behold. 
 One request I fain would utter : " Villagers 
 and most worthy townsfolk of England, we 
 6 
 
Origin of Customs 
 
 know that old customs are dying fast, that 
 old practices are falling into disuse ; let them 
 not die, I would beseech you at least not 
 before these pages are written, lest our good 
 friends whom I shall venture to bring with 
 me to visit you should go away disappointed, 
 and lest hereafter you should mourn the loss 
 of those things which now appear to your 
 enlightened minds of little value or interest/ 1 
 Most of the local time-honoured customs of 
 Old England are connected with the Church's 
 Calendar. The Church always was the centre 
 of the life of the old village, and the social 
 amusements and holiday observances were 
 associated with the principal feasts and fes- 
 tivals of the Church. Fairs are still held in 
 most places on the festival of the saint to 
 whom the parish church is dedicated. Christ- 
 mas, Easter, Ascension Day, Whitsuntide, 
 still bring with them their accustomed modes 
 of popular celebration. We propose to follow 
 the course that the Calendar lays down for 
 us, and notice all the remarkable observ- 
 ances which have long ago been incorporated 
 in old English life ; and as innocent asso- 
 ciations of a simpler, perhaps a happier time, 
 it would be a pity if ever they were allowed 
 altogether to disappear. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 Christmas customs Mumming Folk-drama in 
 Devon, Yorks, Sfc. " Vessel boxes " - Carol- 
 singing Furmety at Christmas Mistletoe and 
 kissing-bush Plum-pudding Christmas-tree 
 Bell customs at Dewsbury, Sfc. Boars-head at 
 Oxford Barring out in Cumberland Mumping 
 and goodening on St. Thomas' Day Hooden- 
 ing " Picrous day " Burghead custom St. 
 Stephen's Day and stoning the wren Yule 
 Doos and local cakes Boxing Day Pantomimes 
 Christmas cards. 
 
 ALL the old poets sing in praise of the 
 great festival of the Saviour's birth, which, 
 according to Herrick, " sees December turned 
 to May," and makes u the chilling winter's 
 morn smile like a field beset with corn." 
 Sir Walter Scott bewails the decline of the 
 ancient modes of celebrating the festival, 
 and says 
 
 " England was merry England when 
 Old Christmas brought his sports again ; 
 A Christmas gambol oft would cheer 
 A poor man's heart through all the year." 
 
 The " Lord of Misrule " has been dead 
 8 
 
Christmas Customs 
 
 many years and been decently buried, though 
 when alive he did not always merit that 
 epithet. ThelfuJle^g_isjip_JjDnger drawn 
 in state intoThT^aron'shall, but we have 
 still some fragments of_ancient revels pre- 
 served in__he_rnummers^ curious perform- 
 ance. " Mumming " is supposed to be de- 
 rived from the Danish word mumme^ or 
 momme in Dutch, and signifies to disguise 
 oneself with a mask. Dr. Johnson defines a 
 mwnmePas one~who performs frolics in a 
 personated dress. Modern mummers usually 
 do not wear masks, but they dress themselves 
 up in a strange garb resembling sheep-skins, 
 except that instead of wool they have 
 coloured paper cut into ribbons. The head- 
 gear is elaborately covered with the same 
 material. The dress of the characters is 
 varied to suit their parts. They have frills 
 over the knees in a fashion somewhat similar 
 to that represented in some pictures of the 
 time of Charles II. Their weapons are 
 wooden swords, but " King George " usually 
 sports an iron one fashioned by the village 
 blacksmith. I have repeatedly witnessed the , 
 performance of Berkshire mummers, which / 
 is probably the remnant of some ancient 
 "mystery" play, which time and the memo- 
 ries of old Berkshire folk have considerably 
 altered. 
 
 There was a celebrated pageant of St. 
 9 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 George which existed in the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth centuries, and took a foremost place 
 among the miracle-plays of Old England. 
 " St. George and the Dragon " is a well- 
 known legend, to which the mumming play 
 refers in the words 
 
 " I am St. George, that noble champion bold, 
 And with my trusty sword I won ten thousand 
 
 pounds in gold ; 
 'Twas I that fought the fiery dragon, and brought 
 
 him to the slaughter, 
 And by those means I won the King of Egypt's 
 
 daughter." 
 
 The scaley appearance of the dresses is sup- 
 posed to allude to the scales of the dragon, 
 but this interpretation seems fanciful. Then 
 we have a crusading element introduced in 
 the character of " the Turk," and the fierce 
 fight between the Christian knight and " the 
 black Morocco dog." Evidently the Christ- 
 mas mumming play, and the other forms of 
 folk-drama, the Plough Monday and the 
 Pace egg plays, are adapted from divers 
 sources, and are full of interest. 1 
 
 It is not surprising that the mumming 
 play has many variants ; indeed, it varies in 
 different parts of the same county, not only 
 in diction, but also in the dramatis per sonce. 
 
 1 The subject of the English Folk-Drama has been carefully 
 examined by Mr. T. F. Ordish. Cf. Folk-Lore Journal^ June 
 1893- 
 
 IO 
 
Mumming Plays 
 
 The words are doggerel rhymes well 
 suited to the idioms and pronunciation of 
 the speakers. The plot in all the plays is 
 somewhat similar. The first person, who 
 acts the part of " the Greek Chorus," is 
 either Beelzebub, otherwise represented as 
 Father Christmas, or " Molly," a man dressed 
 up as an old woman, who introduces the 
 characters. Then enters " King George," a 
 mighty hero, who boasts of his prowess, and 
 challenges all brave warriors to fight. His 
 challenge is accepted by another mighty hero, 
 who is described in some places as the 
 Turkish knight, at others as the Duke of 
 Northumberland or a French officer. In 
 Devonshire " Lord Nelson " also appears. 
 A vigorous fight takes place between the 
 two champions, in which " King George " 
 is usually victorious, and his opponent falls 
 grievously wounded. Sometimes " King 
 George " is defeated, but he fights again 
 and vanquishes his rival. Great consterna- 
 tion ensues, and a doctor is hastily sum- 
 moned 
 
 " To cure this man lies bleeding on the ground." 
 
 The " Doctor " comes, and administers a 
 wonderful pill, which revives the prostrate 
 foeman. The jester, " Jack Vinny," who 
 prefers to be called " Mr. John Vinny," 
 extracts a tooth from the wounded man, 
 1 1 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 and thus cures him. They dance together. 
 " Happy Jack," a very melancholy person in 
 tattered garments, sometimes bearing " his 
 family," a number of little dolls, on. his 
 back, enters, and requests some contribu- 
 tions, and with some more rhymes repeated 
 by " Beelzebub " the play ends, and the com- 
 pany sing in turn some modern ditties. 
 
 Such is the usual plot of a mumming play, 
 subject to the variations which custom has 
 introduced in different parts of the country. 
 
 At Stoke Gabriel, Devon, the characters 
 are St. George, Lord Nelson, a Frenchman, 
 a Turk, a doctor and his wife, Beelzebub, 
 and Father Christmas. Mighty duels with 
 swords take place, and the Turk and French- 
 man are defeated. At last Lord Nelson is 
 wounded, and the doctor is summoned by 
 the characters singing 
 
 " Where is a doctor to be found 
 To cure Lord Nelson's deep and deadly wound." 
 
 In vain the doctor's efforts. Lord Nelson 
 dies, and is carried out ; but he revives be- 
 hind the scenes, and returns unofficially to 
 swell the chorus. 
 
 Between the duels the champions march 
 up and down and sing. Of St. George and 
 Nelson they say 
 
 " With his pockets lined with red, 
 
 And a heart that's ne'er afraid." 
 
 12 
 
Mumming Plays 
 
 But of the Frenchman and the Turk they 
 say 
 
 " With his pockets lined with blue, 
 And a heart that's never true." 
 
 The doctor and his wife are comic charac- 
 ters, with masks and absurd dresses ; the 
 wife is played by a boy, and causes great 
 amusement by being rather indecorously 
 rolled about on the floor and kicking. 
 Beelzebub is grotesquely dressed, and Father 
 Christmas wears the conventional garb of 
 snowy whiteness. The other characters wear 
 high pasteboard head-dresses decorated with 
 beads and ribbons, and the rest of their attire 
 is hung with ribbons, and made as gorgeous 
 as possible. A fez adorns the head of the 
 valiant Turk. 
 
 The actual " Book of Words " of some 
 of these plays may not be without interest, 
 and some examples will be found in the 
 Appendix. 
 
 In Yorkshire the mummers come round 
 and perform a very short sword-dance, but 
 their mumming is nothing like the elaborate 
 play which we have noticed elsewhere. 
 
 Near Bradford, bands of men dressed as 
 nigger minstrels, in very fantastic costumes, 
 perambulate the streets playing fifes, con- 
 certinas, kettledrums, and other instruments, 
 and are known by the plain-spoken York- 
 T 3 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 shire term, " Bletherhead Bands." Some- 
 times they enter the houses on New Year's 
 Eve with besoms in order to " sweep out 
 the old year." In Cornwall the mummers 
 rejoice in the no less uncomplimentary 
 term of " Geese-dancers ; " and in Stafford- 
 shire they are known as the " Guisers." 
 " Billy Beelzebub," the fool of the play 
 performed yearly at Eccleshall, Staffordshire, 
 and Newport, Shropshire, sings a song be- 
 ginning 
 
 " I am a jovial tinker, 
 
 And have been all my life, 
 So now I think it's time 
 
 To seek a fresh young wife. 
 And it's then with a friend will a merry life spend, 
 
 And I never did yet I vow, 
 With my rink-a-tink-tink, and a sup more drink, 
 
 I'll make your old kettles cry sound, 
 Sound, sound ! 
 
 I'll make your old kettles cry sound." * 
 
 The characters in the Guisers' play are : 
 Open-the-door, Sing Ghiles (probably inten- 
 ded for Sir Guy of Warwick), King George, 
 Noble Soldier, Little Doctor, Black Prince 
 of Paradise, Old Beelzebub, and Little Jack 
 Devil-doubt. The first song of the com- 
 
 1 A full account of the Guisers' play, with the words, is given 
 in "Shropshire Folk-Lore," p. 483, and in Folk- Lore Journal, 
 1886. 
 
Mumming Plays 
 
 pany is tuneful and effective, and the words 
 are 
 
 " On a bleak and a cold frosty morning, 
 When winter inclement they were scorning, 
 Through the sparkling frost and snow, 
 And a skating we will go. 
 
 Will you follow ? will you follow ? 
 
 To the sound of the merry, merry horn ! 
 
 See how the skates they are glancing, 
 From the right to the left they are dancing, 
 And no danger shall we feel, 
 With our weapons made of steel. 
 
 Will you follow ? &c. 
 * 
 
 See how Victoria reigns o'er us ! 
 She has health, she has wealth, to adore us (!) 
 In the merry, merry month of May, 
 All so lively, blithe, and gay. 
 Will you follow? &c." 
 
 The Sussex mummers are called "Tip- 
 teerers," and their play, which resembles 
 those printed in the Appendix, has appeared 
 in the Folk- Lore Journal}' 
 
 In Yorkshire, before Christmas, girls, and 
 even women, come round bearing " vessel- 
 boxes," a corruption evidently of " wassail," 
 further changed to " vessel-cups " in the East 
 Riding, and sing the well-known strains of 
 " God rest you, merry gentlemen." At Leeds 
 
 1 Cf. Folk- Lore Journal, 1884. 
 
 15 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 they sing "The five joys of Mary," which 
 begins with the verse 
 
 " The first good joy that Mary had, 
 
 It was a joy of one, 
 To see her own son, Jesus Christ, 
 To suck at her breast-bone." 
 
 The " vessel " is a box containing two 
 dolls, representing the Virgin and Child 
 decorated with ribbons, and having a glass 
 lid. At Aberford it is called a Wesley-box, 
 a further corruption of " wassail," and in no 
 way alluding to the father of a distinguished 
 sect. 
 
 Carol-singing is very general in most parts 
 of England, but few old carols are sung. 
 " Good King Wenceslas," and other modern 
 carols or hymns, have supplanted the ancient 
 traditional ones. The singing of carols is a 
 memorial of the hymn sung by the angels to 
 the shepherds at Bethlehem. In some places 
 the children carry round a doll laid in a box, 
 a rude representation of the Holy Child in 
 his manger-bed. 
 
 In Worcestershire the carol-singers always 
 end their songs with the following : 
 
 " I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New 
 
 Year, 
 
 Pocket full of money, cellar full of beer, 
 Good fat pig to last you all the year." 
 16 
 
Christmas Carols 
 
 In Cambridgeshire (Duxford) the favour- 
 ite carol is the ancient one 
 
 " God bless you, merry gentlemen, 
 
 Let nothing you dismay, 
 For remember Christ our Saviour 
 Was born on Christmas Day." 
 
 Cornish folk have always been famous for 
 their carols. Even the knockers and other 
 underground spirits, who are always heard to 
 be working where there is tin, and who are 
 said to be the ghosts of the Jews who cruci- 
 fied Jesus, in olden times held mass and sang 
 carols on Christmas Eve. 1 Some of the tunes 
 of the modern Cornish carol-singers are 
 very old. 
 
 Cornish folk, too, are famous for their 
 pies ; giblet-pie is the recognised Christmas 
 dainty. Then they have squab-pie, made 
 of mutton and apples, onions and raisins ; 
 mackerel-pie, maggety-pie, and so many other 
 pies that it is said, " The devil is afraid to 
 come into Cornwall for fear of being baked 
 in a pie." 
 
 In Yorkshire, furmety, or wheat-corn boiled 
 in milk with spices, is eaten on Christmas^ 
 Eve. The mistletoe is still hung in our 1 
 houses at Christmas-time, but few connect 
 this instrument of mirth with the wild beliefs 
 of our Norse ancestors. The mistletoe plays 
 
 1 Folk-Lore Journal, 1886. 
 
 I 7 B 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 an important part in Scandinavian mythology, 
 and the custom of hanging branches of this 
 plant is common to all Norse nations. The 
 legend is that Baldur was slain by a mistletoe 
 dart at the instigation of Loki ; and in repara- 
 tion for this injury the plant is dedicated to 
 his mother Frigg, so long as it does not 
 touch the earth, which is Loki's kingdom. 
 Hence the mistletoe is hung from ceilings 
 of our houses ; and the kiss given under it 
 is a sign that it is no longer an instrument 
 of mischief. In the sixteenth century fetes 
 were held in France in honour of the mistletoe. 
 Some contend that kissing under the mistletoe 
 is a dead or dying custom ; others state that 
 all kissing should be abandoned on the ground 
 that it spreads infection. It is perhaps diffi- 
 cult to arrive at any safe conclusion with 
 regard to the prevalence of this particular 
 custom, as those who practise it are not 
 always the most forward in proclaiming their 
 adherence to primitive usages. 
 
 The old " kissing bunch " is still hung in 
 some of the most old-fashioned cottage houses 
 of Derbyshire and Cornwall two wooden 
 hoops, one passing through the other, decked 
 with evergreens, in the centre of which is 
 hung " a crown " of rosy apples and a sprig 
 of mistletoe. This is hung from the central 
 beam of the living-room, and beneath it there 
 is much kissing and romping. Later on, the 
 18 
 
Christmas Plum-Pudding 
 
 carol-singers stand beneath it and sing the 
 familiar strains of " God rest ye, merry gen- 
 tlemen," and " While shepherds watched." / 
 
 Among the foods peculiar to special sea- 
 sons, none is so common as the plum-pudding 
 at Christmas. " Time immemorial " is the 
 usual period assigned for the introduction of 
 practices about which knowledge is limited, 
 and the date of the invention of Christmas 
 plum-puddings has been relegated to tj*at 
 somewhat vague and indefinite period. 'But 
 the plum-pudding is not older than the early 
 years of the eighteenth century, and appears . 
 to be a " House of Hanover " or " Act of 
 Settlement " dish. The pre-Revolution or 
 Stuart preparation of plums and other in- 
 gredients was a porridge or pottage, and not 
 a pudding, and was made with very strong 
 broth of shin of beef. 
 
 The searchers of the symbolical interpreta- 
 tions contend that on account of the richness 
 of its ingredients the plum-pudding is em- 
 blematical of the offerings of the Wise Men. 
 The same authorities assert that mince-pies, 
 on account of their shape, are symbolical of 
 the manger-bed of the Infant Saviour. I 
 venture to think that such interpretations 
 should be received with some hesitation. 
 
 The children still delight in their Christmas- ' 
 tree, which also belongs to no " immemorial 
 time," the first Christmas tree being introduced - 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 to this country by some German merchants 
 who lived at Manchester. The Queen and 
 Prince Albert also celebrated Christmas with 
 its beautiful old German custom ; and the 
 Court having set the fashion, Christmas-trees 
 became general, and have brought endless 
 delights to each succeeding generation of 
 children. 
 
 In a few remote districts in Cornwall on 
 Christmas Eve children may occasionally be 
 found dancing around painted lighted candles 
 placed in a box of sand. 1 Church towers, too, 
 are sometimes illuminated. Tennor Church 
 tower was made brilliant by a beacon-light 
 a few years ago, and we hope that the custom 
 has been continued. 
 
 A very interesting custom prevails near 
 Dewsbury. On Christmas Eve, as soon as the 
 last stroke of twelve o'clock has sounded, the 
 age of the year e.g. 1 895 is tolled as on the 
 death of any person. It is called the Old 
 Lad's, or the Devil's, Passing Bell. A carol 
 has been written on this subject : 
 
 " Toll ! toll ! because thus ends the night, 
 
 And empire old and vast, 
 An empire of unquestioned right, 
 O'er present and o'er past. 
 Toll! 
 
 1 Miss Courtney, "Cornish Customs, "Folk- Lore Journal, 1886. 
 20 
 
Bell-Customs at Christmas 
 
 Stretching far from east to west, 
 Ruling over every breast, 
 
 Each nation, tongue, and caste. 
 
 Toll ! toll ! because a monarch dies, 
 
 Whose tyrant statutes ran 
 From Polar snows to Tropic skies, 
 
 From Gravesend to Japan. 
 Toll! 
 
 Crowded cities, lonely glens, 
 Oceans, mountains, shores, and fens, 
 
 All owned him lord of man. 
 
 Toll ! toll ! because the monarch fought 
 
 Right fiercely for his own, 
 And utmost craft and valour brought 
 
 Before he was o'erthrown. 
 Toll! 
 
 He the lord and man the slave ; 
 His the kingdom and the grave, 
 
 And all its dim unknown. 
 
 Joy ! joy ! because a babe is born, 
 
 Who, after many a toil, 
 The scorner's pride shall laugh to scorn 
 
 And work the foiler's foil. 
 
 Joy! 
 
 God as Man the earth has trod, 
 
 Therefore man shall be as God, 
 
 And reap the spoiler's spoil." 
 
 In many parishes the bells are tolled before 
 midnight on the 3ist of December, and a 
 21 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 joyous peal heralds the advent of the New 
 Year. At Kirton-in-Lindsay this custom is 
 as old as 1632, the following entry appearing 
 in the Churchwardens' account-books: " Item, 
 to the ringer of new yeare day morninge 
 xiid." 
 
 In several places, notably at Woodchester, 
 Gloucestershire ; Norton, near Evesham ; 
 Wells and Leigh, Somerset, a muffled peal 
 is rung on Holy Innocents' Day in com- 
 memoration of the martyrdom of the Babes 
 of Bethlehem. At Norton, after the muffled 
 peal has ceased, the bells are unmuffled, and 
 a joyous peal is rung for the deliverance of 
 the Infant Jesus. 
 
 -At Queen's College, Oxford, the Boar's- 
 head feast is still celebrated with accustomed 
 ceremonial. The mythical origin of the 
 custom is the story of a student of the College 
 who was attacked by a wild boar while he 
 was diligently studying Aristotle during a 
 walk near Shotover Hill, some five hundred 
 years ago. His book was his only means of 
 defence ; so he thrust the volume down the 
 animal's throat, exclaiming, " Graecum est ! " 
 The boar found Greek very difficult to digest, 
 and died on the spot ; and the head was 
 brought home in triumph by the student. 
 Ever since that date, for five hundred years, 
 a boar's-head has graced the College table at 
 Christmas. The custom is really as old as 
 22 
 
Boar s-Head Feast 
 
 heathendom, and the entry of the boarVhead, 
 decked with laurel and rosemary, recalls the 
 sacrifice of the boar to Frigg at the midwinter 
 feast of old Paganism. 
 
 Every Christmas Day this " right merrie 
 jouste of y e olden tyme" is enacted at 
 Queen's College. A large boar's - head, 
 weighing between sixty and seventy pounds, 
 surmounted by a crown, wreathed with 
 gilded sprays of laurel and bay, mistletoe 
 and rosemary, with small banners surround- 
 ing, is brought into the hall by three 
 bearers, whose entry is announced by trum- 
 pet. A procession of the Provost and 
 Fellows precedes the entry of the boarV 
 head. The bearers are accompanied by the 
 precentor, who chants an old English carol, 
 the Latin refrain being joined in by the 
 company. The following are the words of 
 this ancient ditty : 
 
 " Caput apri defero, 
 
 Reddens laudes Domino. 
 The boar's-head in hand bring I, 
 Bedecked with bays and rosemary ; 
 And I pray you, masters, be merry, 
 
 Qui estis in convivio. 
 
 The boar's-head, I understand, 
 Is the bravest dish in all the land, 
 When thus bedecked with gay garland : 
 Let us servire cantico. 
 
 23 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Our steward hath provided this, 
 In honour of the King of Bliss, 
 Which on this day to be served is 
 In Reginensi Atrio. 
 
 Chorus Caput apri defero, 
 
 Reddens laudes Domino." 
 
 There are four versions of this ancient carol. 
 The earliest is called " The Original Carole," 
 taken from " Christmess Carolles, newly em- 
 prynted at London in ye flete strete, at ye 
 sygne of ye sonne, by Wynkyn de Worde. 
 The yere of our Lorde m.d. xxi." The second 
 is the one already quoted. The third is very 
 rare, and is taken from the Balliol MSS., No. 
 354 ; and the fourth is from the Porkington 
 MSS., a fifteenth -century collection. The 
 origin of this strange custom certainly can 
 be traced to the old Scandinavian Yule fes- 
 tival, when an offering of a boar's-head was 
 always made. However, in support of the 
 mythical story of the student and the boar, 
 there is preserved in the College a picture of 
 a saint having a boar's-head transfixed on a 
 spear, with a mystic inscription, " Cop cot ; " 
 and in Horspeth Church, near which the 
 contest is supposed to have taken place, there 
 is a window containing a representation of 
 the incident. 
 
 In spite of the schoolmaster and the School 
 Board, the old custom of barring out during 
 24 
 
Mumping on St. Thomas' Day 
 
 the Christmas holidays still prevails in Cum- 
 berland. A few years ago the Dalston School 
 Board received a letter from the master, re- 
 questing that the school might close on the 
 Thursday before Christmas instead of the 
 Friday, on the ground that " the old barba- 
 rous custom of barring out " the schoolmaster 
 might no longer be resorted to. If the 
 school were opened on the Friday, the mas- 
 ter was of opinion that the children might 
 possibly be persuaded by outsiders to make 
 an attempt to bar him out, and would then 
 have to suffer a large amount of severe cas- 
 tigation. The school was accordingly closed 
 on the Thursday, much to the regret of the 
 chairman and others, who would like to 
 have witnessed the repetition of so ancient 
 a custom. (Notes and Queries.) 
 
 The festivals associated with Christmas 
 have some old customs. On St. Thomas' 
 Day (December 21), the custom of mumping 
 is still practised in many places, notably at 
 Hornsea, East Yorks, where the old women 
 perambulate the town and are accustomed to 
 receive small gratuities. The word mumping 
 comes to us from the Dutch, and signifies to 
 mumble or mutter. The beggars on this 
 occasion are usually old people, and toothless 
 age mumbles both food and words ; hence 
 the beggars are called mumpers, and they are 
 said " to go a mumping." In many parts of 
 2 5 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 the country it is called " going a-gooding ; " 
 in Cheshire, " going a-Thomasing ; " and in 
 some places in Staffordshire the money col- 
 lected is given to the vicar and church- 
 wardens, who distribute it to the poor aged 
 folk on the Sunday after St. Thomas' Day. 
 The following rhyme for this day is taken 
 from the Bilston Mercury, Staffordshire : 
 
 " Well a day, well a day, 
 St. Thomas goes too soon away ; 
 Then your gooding we do pray, 
 For the good time will not stay. 
 St. Thomas Grey, St. Thomas Grey, 
 The longest night and the shortest day, 
 Please to remember St. Thomas Day." 
 
 At Stoulton, Worcester, and at Pole- 
 brooke, Oundle, the custom of going " good- 
 ing" or "Tommying" is kept up, and also 
 at Newington-by-Sittingbourne, Kent, a beau- 
 tiful village, where, amid a setting of orchard 
 and hop-land, old-world manners may well 
 be pleased to dwell. It is there known as 
 goodenin'. The old widows assemble on St. 
 Thomas' Day and proceed to the houses of 
 the gentlemen and farmers, who are requested 
 to " please remember the goodenin'." Gifts 
 of money are bestowed upon the goodeners, 
 who repair to the White Hart Inn and divide 
 the spoil. The derivation of the word is 
 a subject for conjecture. A correspondent 
 26 
 
Hoodening 
 
 suggests that it is derived from " goody," 
 the name given to old widows ; while another 
 writer connects goodening or hoodening with 
 Woden or Odin, the presiding deity of the 
 ancient Yuletide rites. 1 The custom also 
 prevails in Hampshire, 2 and until recently 
 at Great Gransden, Huntingdon, where the 
 vicar now receives the alms and gives the old 
 women a tea. 
 
 Hoodening is a kind of old horse-head 
 mumming once prevalent in Kent, and still 
 exists in some places. Hoodening is ob- 
 served still at Walmer; the young men per-[ 
 ambulate the village, bearing a Hoodening 
 Horse, a rudely cut wooden figure of a 
 horse's-head with movable mouth, having 
 rows of hob-nails for teeth, which opens 
 and shuts by means of a string and closes 
 with a loud sharp snap. It is furnished 
 with a flowing mane, and is worn on the 
 head of a ploughman, who is called the 
 Hoodener. It is suggested that the wooden 
 (pronounced 'ooden or hooden) horse's-head 
 gave the name to hoodening or goodening. 
 We must leave the solution of this difficult 
 derivation to the discretion and judgment of 
 our learned readers. 3 It is evidently con- 
 
 1 " Kentish Odds and Ends," in Kentish Express, by A. Moore. 
 
 2 " Old Woman's Outlook," Miss Young, p. 280. 
 
 3 Hone suggests that it is an ancient relic of a festival ordained 
 to commemorate our Saxon ancestors' landing in the Isle of 
 Thanet. 
 
 27 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 nected with the old Pagan feast held on the 
 Kalends of January in the seventh century, 
 when men used to clothe themselves with the 
 skins of cattle and carry heads of animals. 
 A similar custom prevails at Northwich, 
 Cheshire, on All Souls' Day, when a gang of 
 boys and girls come round at night, reciting 
 verses and singing snatches of songs, accom- 
 panied by a man dressed as a horse. The 
 monster prances and clatters with its hoof 
 when a modest coin is presented to it. 
 Possibly hoodening is a relic of the old 
 hobby-horse dance which once formed one of 
 the leading festivities in the Squire's hall at 
 Christmas. At any rate, hoodening is a very 
 ancient custom, which still lingers amongst 
 us, and attracts the attention of the curious 
 in Old English manners. 
 
 At Kingscote, Gloucestershire, they have a 
 peculiar kind of Bull Hoodening. Every 
 Christmas, five or six villagers go from house 
 to house with a wassail-bowl, and one per- 
 sonates a bull by crouching on the ground, 
 his body hid by sacking, and his head by a 
 real bull's face, hair, and horns complete. 
 He is commonly called " the Broad," and 
 each verse of the Wassailing-Bowl song is 
 sung, beginning : 
 
 " Here's a health to Old Broad and to his right eye." 
 
 The present Rector of Kingscote has 
 28 
 
Picrous Day 
 
 known the custom for sixty years, but has 
 never heard of its existence in any other 
 place, and no hint of its origin has been ob- 
 tained. It is probably a survival of the old 
 Pagan feast mentioned above. 
 
 The following rhyme is uttered at Har- 
 vington, Worcestershire : 
 
 " Wissal, wassail, through the town, 
 If you've got any apples throw them down ; 
 Up with the stocking and down with the shoe, 
 If you've got no apples, money will do ; 
 The jug is white, and the ale is brown, 
 This is the best house in the town." 
 
 In some counties corn used for furmety is 
 given away, and this is called in Lincolnshire 
 u mumping wheat." At Saxton, near Tad- 
 caster, Aberford, Sherburn, and other small 
 towns in Yorkshire, the children go round to 
 the farmhouses begging for furmety, singing 
 the old doggrel verses. 
 
 The second Thursday before Christmas in 
 East Cornwall is observed by the miners as 
 a holiday in honour of one of the reputed 
 discoverers of tin. It is known as Picrous 
 Day, but who this saint or early metal- 
 worker was, history relateth not. There is 
 also a White Thursday in Cornwall, in no 
 way related to the Dominica in albis. It 
 occurs on the last Thursday before Christmas, 
 and tradition records that on this day white 
 29 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 tin (i.e.) smelted tin) was first made in 
 Cornwall ; hence its name, Chewidder or 
 White Thursday. (Notes and Queries.} 
 
 Fishermen are somewhat superstitious folk, 
 and love to preserve their ancient customs. 
 The seamen of Burghead, Elgin, on Yule 
 night meet at the west end of the town, 
 carrying an old barrel, which they proceed to 
 saw in two. The lower half is then nailed to 
 a long spoke of firewood, which serves as a 
 handle. The half barrel is then filled with 
 dry wood saturated with tar, and built up 
 like a pyramid, leaving a hollow to receive a 
 burning peat. Should the bearer stumble 
 or fall, the consequences would be unlucky 
 to the town and to himself. The Claire is 
 thrown down the western side of the hill, and 
 a scramble ensues for the burning brands, 
 which bring good luck, and are carried home 
 and carefully preserved till the following year 
 as a safeguard against all manner of ills. The 
 Claire used to be carried round all the ships 
 in the harbour, but this part of the custom 
 has now been discontinued. (Folk-Lore.) 
 
 Before the days of the Society for the 
 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, boys 
 were accustomed in many places, notably 
 Essex, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, to 
 kill wrens, and carry them about on furze 
 bushes from house to house, repeating the 
 words 
 
 30 
 
Stoning the Wren 
 
 " The wren, the wren, the king of the birds, 
 St. Stephen's Day was killed in the furze ; 
 Although he be little his family's great, 
 And so, good people, give us a treat." 
 
 The origin of the cruel custom is curious. 
 There is a Norse legend of a beautiful siren who 
 bewitched men and lured them into the sea, 
 after the fashion of the Lurlie of Rhineland 
 fame. A charm was obtained to counteract 
 her evil influence and capture the siren, who 
 contrived to escape by assuming the form of 
 a wren. Once every year, presumably on St. 
 Stephen's Day, she was compelled by a power- 
 ful spell to appear in the guise of the bird, 
 and ultimately to be slaughtered by mortal 
 hand. Hence poor wrens are killed in the 
 hope of effecting the destruction of the 
 beautiful siren. The feathers of the birds 
 are plucked and preserved as a prevention 
 from death by shipwreck, and formerly its 
 body was placed in a bier, and buried with 
 much solemnity in a grave in the church- 
 yard, while dirges were sung over its last 
 resting-place. Few wrens are stoned now, 
 and I imagined that the custom had happily 
 died out. However, in the Isle of Man I 
 find that it still lingers, and the " hunting 
 of the wren " is solemnised to a large extent. 
 Numerous " bushes " are borne about by 
 groups of lads chanting a monotonous ditty. 
 They adorn the " bushes " with much taste, 
 
 3 1 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 but a large number are usually minus the 
 wren itself. The bush consists of two hoops 
 crossed, with a wren suspended by the legs 
 in the centre. The usual rhyme is 
 
 " We hunted the wren for Robin the Bobbin ; 
 We hunted the wren for Jack of the Can ; 
 We hunted the wren for Robin the Bobbin ; 
 We hunted the wren for every one." 
 
 The boys collect money, and present a feather 
 of the bird to each donor, which is supposed 
 to avert the danger of shipwreck. Afterwards 
 the bird is buried on the seashore (formerly 
 in the churchyard) with much solemnity, 
 and dirges in Manx language are sung over 
 it. (Folk-Lore and Notes and Queries.} 
 
 A wren-box was sold at Christie's a few 
 years ago, which used to be carried in pro- 
 cession in some parts of Wales on St. 
 Stephen's Day. It is about seven inches 
 square, and has a glass window at one end. 
 Into this box a wren was placed, and it was 
 hoisted on two long poles, and carried round 
 the town by four strong men, who affected 
 to find the burden heavy. Stopping at in- 
 tervals, they sang 
 
 " ' O where are you going ? ' says milder to melder ; 
 'O where are you going?' says the younger to the elder. 
 ' O I cannot tell,' says Festel to Fose ; 
 ' We're going to the woods/ said John the Red Nose. 
 We're going, &c. 
 
 32 
 
Stoning the Wren 
 
 ' O what will you do there ? ' says milder to melder ; 
 ' O what will you do there ? ' says the younger to 
 
 the elder. 
 
 ' O I do not know,' says Festel to Fose ; 
 1 To shoot the cutty wren,' says John the Red Nose. 
 To shoot, &c." 
 
 And so on for eight more verses, taking the 
 form of question and answer, as in the 
 ballad of " Cock Robin," and describing the 
 method of shooting the wren, cutting it up, 
 and finally boiling it. 
 
 Fanciful interpreters have seen in the 
 stoning of the wren a connection with the 
 stoning of St. Stephen, whose martyrdom 
 occurred on the day of the observance of 
 this barbarous custom. Another legend is 
 that one of St. Stephen's guards was awak- 
 ened by a bird just as his prisoner was about 
 to escape. In Worcestershire St. Stephen's 
 Day is a great occasion for pigeon-shooting. 
 Possibly this may have arisen from the old- 
 world custom of hunting the wren. 
 
 In the North of England children are still 
 regaled with Yule "doos," which are flat 
 cakes, from six to twelve inches long, roughly 
 cut into the shape of a human figure, raisins 
 being inserted for the eyes and nose. The 
 name is probably derived from dough, and 
 the shape was doubtless originally intended 
 to represent the Infant Saviour with the 
 Virgin Mary. In Cornwall, too, they have 
 33 c 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 a peculiar cake, a small portion of the dough 
 in the centre of each top being pulled up ; 
 and this small headpiece to the cake is called 
 "The Christmas." The cakes are given 
 away to poor people, and each member of 
 the family has his own special cake. The 
 whole subject of local cakes, feasten and 
 customary, is full of interest ; and at a 
 recent Folk-lore Congress, Mrs. Gomme 
 exhibited a large collection gathered from 
 different parts of Great Britain. There are 
 cakes peculiar to certain towns and villages ; 
 cakes commemorative of special events ; cakes 
 connected with harvest, sowing, births, mar- 
 riages, funerals, and the great Church fes- 
 tivals, and others. It is surprising to learn 
 the amazing number of peculiar forms 
 which local custom has sanctioned and 
 ordained, and the old Yule "doos" were 
 not the least interesting of this remarkable 
 collection. 
 
 Children of both "larger and smaller 
 growth " still look forward to the Christmas 
 Pantomime, which, in spite of modern de- 
 velopments, maintains its popularity, espe- 
 cially in the provinces. Pantomimes have 
 entirely changed their character since they 
 were first introduced into this country by 
 a dancing - master of Shrewsbury, named 
 Weaver, in 1702. The humours of Grimaldi 
 and his successors, the merry tricks of the 
 34 
 
Boxing Day 
 
 clown and the diversions of the harlequinade, 
 have given place to grand spectacular dis- 
 plays and scenic effects which would certainly 
 have astonished our forefathers. However, 
 the Pantomime will probably long continue 
 to hold its place on the list of existing cus- 
 toms of the English people. 
 
 The day after Christmas is still known as 
 " Boxing Day," and is so called from the 
 " Christmas Boxes " which used to be in 
 circulation at that time. In the British 
 Museum are specimens of "thrift -boxes " 
 small and wide bottles with imitation 
 stoppers, from three to four inches in height, 
 of thin clay, the upper part covered with 
 a green glaze. On one side is a slit for the 
 introduction of money, and as the small 
 presents were collected at Christmas in these 
 money-pots, they were called Christmas 
 boxes. Thus these boxes gave the name to 
 the present itself and to the day when these 
 gifts were commonly made. Christmas gift- 
 books are extensively published now. The 
 first announcement of such a book appeared 
 in the General Advertiser of January 9, 
 1750, and was published by Mr. J. New- 
 berry at the " Bible and Sun " in St. Paul's 
 Churchyard. It was called " Nurse True- 
 love's Christmas Box ; or, The Golden Play- 
 thing for Little Children, by which they 
 may learn the letters as soon as they can 
 
 35 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 speak, and know how to behave so as to 
 make everybody love them." 
 
 The sending of Christmas-cards is a very 
 popular custom, which shows no signs of 
 decay. The custom is of very recent growth, 
 the first English Christmas-card being issued 
 from Summerly's Home Treasury Office, 12 
 Old Bond Street, in j_84fL- The design was 
 drawn by J. C. Horsley, R.A., at the sug- 
 gestion of Sir Henry Cole, K.C.B., repre- 
 senting a merry family party gathered round 
 a table quaffing generous draughts of wine. 
 The sale of a thousand copies of this card 
 was then considered a large circulation. Since 
 those days the custom has become universal. 
 If good wishes could bring us happiness, 
 our cups of joy would indeed be full, 
 and a " Merry Christmas and a Happy New 
 Year" would fall to the lot of all, except to 
 the postmen. 
 
\ 
 * 
 
 CHAPTER-^!! 
 
 New Years Day and Jirst-footing Banjfshire 
 custom Wassail bowls New Years gifts and 
 good wishes Midnight services Queen's Col- 
 lege, Oxford Yorks custom Local rhymes and 
 wassailers Quaaltagh in Isle of Man Twelfth 
 Night or Epiphany Plough Monday Wassail- 
 ing orchards Court custom Haxey Hood 
 Watching animals St. Paul's Day Valentine's 
 Day Islip valentine Customs in Berks and 
 Essex Hurling at St. Ives. 
 
 ONE of the earliest customs that I can 
 recollect is that of first-footing on New 
 Year's Eve, which is commonly practised in 
 the North of England and in Scotland. The 
 first person who enters the house after mid- 
 night is called the first-foot, and is esteemed 
 as a herald of good fortune. In Lancashire 
 this important person must be a dark-com- 
 plexioned man, otherwise superstitious folk 
 believe that ill-luck will befall the house- 
 hold. In some other parts of England a 
 light-complexioned man is considered a more 
 favourable harbinger of good fortune. 
 
 Indeed, there seems to be a great variety 
 of opinion with regard to the complexion 
 37 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 of a "first-foot." In Northumberland a 
 light-haired and flat-footed man is pre- 
 ferred ; in Fife, red hair and a flat foot are to 
 be avoided. Sometimes a man is preferred, 
 sometimes a boy; occasionally women are 
 chosen ; at other places they are strongly 
 objected to. Quot homines tot sententice is 
 certainly true with regard to the appearance 
 and sex of the lucky " first-foot." The 
 person who performs this duty in Durham is 
 bound by custom to bring in a piece of coa], 
 a piece of iron, and a bottle of whisky. 
 To each man of the company he gives a 
 glass, and to each woman a kiss. 
 
 On these occasions sweetened ale or egg- 
 flip are the prescribed beverages for the 
 drinking of healths when the new year is 
 " brought in." In Banffshire the villagers 
 covered up the peat fire with the ashes and 
 smoothed them down. These were examined 
 in the morning, and if the trace of any re- 
 semblance to the print of a foot with the 
 toes pointing to the door could be detected, 
 it was believed that one of the family would 
 die or leave home during the year. 
 
 In " Auld Reekie " the custom of first- 
 footing is observed with much enthusiasm. 
 Crowds assemble, as midnight approaches, 
 nigh the old Tron Church, and usher in the 
 new year with much shouting and hand- 
 shaking. Much might be written concerning 
 
 38 
 
New Year Customs 
 
 the New Year customs of Scotland, but we 
 are concerned chiefly in the consideration of 
 English customs, and must not stray across 
 the Border. 
 
 In ancient days the wassail bowl of spiced 
 ale was carried round from house to house 
 by the village maidens, who sang songs and 
 wished every one " a happy new year." In 
 fact, wassail was heard all over the land, from 
 cot to keep, from mansion to monastery, 
 where the poculum caritatis was passed 
 round with accustomed rejoicings. The 
 loving cup at our civic feasts, the grace 
 cup at our college "gaudies," are the sole 
 relics of this ancient observance. 
 
 The presentation of New Year's and 
 Christmas cards, and of other more costly 
 gifts to friends at this season, is universally 
 practised, and this practice is as old as the 
 time of the Romans. Hone tells us of 
 a remarkable lawsuit arising out of this 
 custom. A poet was commissioned by a 
 Roman pastry-cook to write some mottoes 
 for the New Year's Day bonbons, and 
 agreed to supply five hundred couplets for 
 six livres. Although the poet's eye with 
 fine frenzy rolled, and the couplets were 
 completed in due course, he did not re- 
 ceive the stipulated reward for his labours. 
 Hence the lawsuit, and we trust the poet 
 obtained due compensation. Crackers were 
 39 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 not then invented, but we still have our 
 mottoes, which can thus claim a very re- 
 spectable antiquity. 
 
 The Church endeavoured to overthrow 
 many old customs on account of the super- 
 stitions connected with them ; and New 
 Year's gifts were objected to because they 
 were originally offered as omens of success 
 for the coming year. Even superstition was 
 supposed to lurk in the benevolent greeting, 
 " A happy new year to you." An old Puri- 
 tan as late as A.D. 1750, in the poem called 
 " The Popish Kingdom," thus describes the 
 sins of his countrymen : 
 
 "The next to this is New Year's Day, whereon to 
 
 every friend 
 They costly presents in do bring, and newe yeare's 
 
 gifts do sende ; 
 These gifts the husband gives his wife, and father 
 
 eke the childe, 
 And master on his men bestowes the like with 
 
 favour milde ; 
 And good beginning of the yeare they wishe and 
 
 wishe again, 
 According to the ancient guise of heathen people 
 
 vaine." 
 
 We need not record how universal was the 
 practice ; how Roman citizens gave strencz 
 to each other ; how kings and emperors 
 took toll of their subjects ; how Henry VI. 
 received his New Year's gifts of food and 
 40 
 
New Year Customs 
 
 jewels, geese, turkeys, hens, and sweetmeats ; 
 how Queen Elizabeth was gratified by re- 
 ceiving a vast store of offerings, including 
 caskets studded with gems, necklaces, brace- 
 lets, gowns, mantles, smocks, petticoats, 
 mirrors, fans, and a pair of black silk stock- 
 ings, knitted by Mrs. Montague for her royal 
 mistress, who never afterwards wore cloth 
 hose. New Year's Day is still happily ushered 
 in by the giving of presents, and of cards con- 
 veying to us the good wishes of our friends ; 
 and we trust that this practice may long 
 continue. 
 
 A midnight service is now the most usual 
 manner of ushering in the new year. At 
 Basingstoke it is customary to sing the " Old 
 Hundredth" on the church tower at mid- 
 night, at the close of the service. We be- 
 lieve that these Watch Night Services were 
 first introduced by the Wesleyan Methodists, 
 whose example Churchmen have wisely copied, 
 with much benefit to their congregations. 
 
 In former days it used to be the fashion for 
 people to exercise their wit by making a rebus 
 out of their name, and they loved to record 
 at once their family and their humour by 
 handing down to posterity the witticism 
 which they had devised. Thus at St. Bartho- 
 lomew's Church, Smithfield, we see a bar stuck 
 in a barrel, which serves to immortalise the 
 family of Barton. The founder of Queen's 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 College, Oxford, Robert de Eglesfield, 
 sought to preserve the memory of his good 
 deeds by a similar device, and directed that 
 on New Year's Day a needle and thread, a 
 rebus on his name, Aiguille et fil (Egles- 
 feld), should be given to each member of 
 the College. This custom is performed 
 every year by the bursar of the College, who, 
 according to ancient usage, adds the whole- 
 some moral, "Take this, and be thrifty." 
 This sage counsel is better than the founder's 
 wit, which can scarcely be said to be as sharp 
 as his needle's point. As the students are 
 away from Oxford on New Year's Day, the 
 Fellows and their guests receive the time- 
 honoured gift. 
 
 At Skipsea, in Holderness, Yorkshire, the 
 young men gather together at twelve o'clock 
 on New Year's Eve, and, after blackening 
 their faces and otherwise disguising them- 
 selves, they pass through the village, each 
 having a piece of chalk. With this chalk 
 they mark the gates, doors, shutters, and 
 waggons with the date of the new year. It 
 is considered lucky to have one's house so 
 dated, and no attempt is ever made to dis- 
 turb the youths in the execution of their 
 frolic. 
 
 There are many old rhymes which were 
 sung by the maidens as they carried from 
 door to door a bowl richly decorated with 
 42 
 
Wassailing 
 
 evergreens and ribbons, and filled with a 
 compound of ale, roasted apples, and toast, 
 and seasoned with nutmeg and sugar. Here 
 is one from Nottinghamshire, but I know 
 not whether it is still sung : 
 
 " Good master, at your door 
 Our wassail we begin ; 
 We all are maidens poor, 
 So we pray you let us in, 
 And drink our wassail. 
 
 All hail, wassail ! 
 
 Wassail! wassail! 
 And drink our wassail ! l? 
 
 Halliwell, in his " Popular Rhymes," gives 
 the following, which was sung at Yarmouth, 
 Isle of Wight : 1 
 
 " Wassal, wassal, to our town ; 
 The cup is white and the ale is brown ; 
 The cup is made of the ashen tree, 
 And so is the ale of the good barley. 
 Little maid, little maid, turn the pin, 
 Open the door and let us in ; 
 God be here, God be there, 
 I wish you all a happy New Year." 
 
 At Oldham, in Lancashire, the wassailers 
 still come round with their bunches of ever- 
 greens hung with oranges and apples and 
 
 1 Cf. Folk-Lore Journal, 1884, p. 25. 
 
 43 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 coloured ribbons, and sing the following 
 carol : 
 
 " Here we come a-wassailing 
 
 Among the leaves so green ; 
 Here we come a-singing, 
 
 So fair to be seen. 
 For it is in Christmas-time 
 
 Strangers travel far and near ; 
 So God bless you, and send you 
 
 A happy new year." 
 
 Until quite recently, in the same town, a 
 gang of men used to come round " agganow- 
 ing," and sang a strange ditty, which ran 
 something after this fashion : 
 
 " We're come to give you warning 
 It's New Year's Day a morning, 
 With a hey and a how, 
 And an aggan agganow." 
 
 Possibly this may be connected with the 
 old Hagmanay or Hogmanay carol which 
 used to be sung in the North Country at this 
 time of year. Brewer derives the word from 
 the Saxon hdlig monath, or holy month, and 
 states that King Haco of Norway fixed the 
 feast of Yule on Christmas Day, the eve of 
 which was called Hogg-night, but the Scots 
 were taught by the French to transfer the feast 
 of Yule to the feast of Noel, and Hogg-night 
 has ever since been the eve of New Year's Day. 
 
 In the Isle of Man the old custom called 
 the " Quaaltagh " is still partially observed. 
 44 
 
The i^uaaltagh 
 
 In almost every district a party of young men 
 go from house to house singing a rhyme in 
 the Manx language, which translated is as 
 follows : 
 
 " Again we assemble, a merry New Year 
 To wish to each one of the family here, 
 Whether man, woman, or girl, or boy, 
 That long life and happiness all may enjoy. 
 May they of potatoes and herrings have plenty, 
 With butter and cheese and each other dainty, 
 And may their sleep never, by night or by day, 
 Disturbed be by even the tooth of a flea, 
 Until at the Quaaltagh again we appear, 
 To wish you, as now, all a happy New Year." 
 
 When these lines are repeated at the door, 
 the party are invited into the house and par- 
 take of refreshments. The one who enters 
 first is called the " Quaaltagh," or first-foot, 
 and, as in the northern parts of England, it 
 is essential for good fortune that he should 
 be dark-complexioned. The actors do not 
 assume a fantastic garb like the mummers of 
 England or the guiscards of Scotland, nor 
 are they accompanied by minstrels. As in 
 Banffshire, the housewives in many of the 
 upland cottages, before retiring to bed, spread 
 the ashes smoothly on the hearth, and if in 
 the morning the print of a foot can be 
 detected with the toe pointing towards the 
 door, they believe there will be a death in 
 the family during the year; but if the toe 
 45 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 points in a contrary direction, the family will 
 not fail to have an increase. At St. Albans 
 "Pop Ladies" are cried and sold in the 
 streets, and in parts of Wales children go 
 round showing a " calening " and wishing 
 good luck in return for pence or cake. 
 
 Twelfth Night, or Old Christmas Day, was 
 formerly the appointed time for the observ- 
 ance of many old customs which are now 
 defunct. No longer are kings and queens 
 of rural festivals elected by the lot of the 
 bean and the pea hidden in a cake. St. Dis- 
 taff's Day is no more. We feared that the 
 sounds of rustic revelry had died away when 
 the orchards were wassailed and the ancient 
 rhyme chanted 
 
 " Here's to thee, old apple-tree, 
 Whence thou may'st bud, and whence thou may'st blow, 
 And whence thou may'st bear apples enow ! 
 Hats full! caps full! 
 Bushel bushel sacks full, 
 And my pockets full too ! Huzza ! " 
 
 But we are relieved to find that the apple- 
 wassail has not quite passed away. Three 
 years ago the custom prevailed at Duncton, 
 near Petworth, on the South Downs, and on 
 Old Christmas Eve the voices of the younger 
 villagers sang their lays to the apple-trees, 
 the old " Mistletoe Bough" being one of 
 their favourite ditties. The wassail is sup- 
 
Orchard Customs 
 
 posed to help the growth and abundance of 
 apples for cider-making, and " the oldest in- 
 habitant" can recollect that the custom has 
 been kept up for the last fifty years. 
 
 In " Bygone Days in Devonshire and Corn- 
 wall," published in 1874, the authoress, Mrs. 
 Whitcombe, states that the above rhyme is 
 still repeated by the farmer's family and 
 friends when gathered round the orchard 
 trees, who sprinkle cider over the roots and 
 hang cake on the branches. 
 
 The custom of firing guns under apple- 
 trees is not entirely defunct in Devonshire. 
 In 1889 the custom prevailed at Cullompton. 
 When the parson was popular, the line " old 
 parson's breeches full," was added to the 
 rhyme quoted above. 
 
 In Surrey the boys sing the following rhyme 
 under the apple-trees in the Surrey orchards: 
 
 " Here stands a good apple-tree, 
 Stand fast at root, 
 Bear well at top ; 
 Every little twig 
 Bear an apple big : 
 Every little bough 
 Bear an apple now ; 
 Hats full ! caps full ! 
 Threescore sacks full ! 
 Hullo, boys ! hullo ! " 
 
 We thought, too, that Plough Monday 
 was dead, and that the ploughmen no longer 
 
 47 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 dragged their ploughs from village to village, 
 dancing while " Bess " rattled her money- 
 box. The money was in pre-Reformation 
 times devoted to the maintenance of the 
 ploughmen's light, which burned before the 
 altar of the Ploughmen's Guild in the chantry 
 of the church. But we are glad to find that 
 Plough Monday is still observed in Cam- 
 bridgeshire, where bands of young men, pro- 
 fusely ornamented with scarves and ribbons, 
 drag wooden ploughs of a primitive descrip- 
 tion along the streets. But " Bess," a man 
 dressed as a woman, no longer forms part of 
 this quaint procession. The custom also pre- 
 vails in Huntingdonshire. At Great Grans- 
 den a party of men decked with ribbons go 
 round the village with a decorated plough, 
 repeating in a shrill monotone 
 
 " Remember us poor ploughboys, 
 
 A ploughing we must go ; 
 Hail, rain, blow, or snow, 
 A ploughing we must go." 
 
 A few years ago the men used to plough 
 up the lawn, or the scrapers and door-steps, 
 if no money was given. 
 
 The Plough Monday play, one of the few 
 remaining specimens of English folk-drama, 
 still survives. It resembles in some points 
 the Christmas and Easter plays, but has seve- 
 ral distinguishing features. In the Plough 
 48 
 
Plough Monday Play 
 
 Monday play there is no St. George, and the 
 principal feature is the sword - dance. In 
 Lincolnshire the actors who drag the plough 
 along are called plough-bullocks ; in Yorks 
 they are known as plough-stotts. The play, 
 as performed recently at Wyverton Hall, 
 Nottinghamshire, is printed in "A Cavalier 
 Stronghold," by Mrs. Musters. "Hopper 
 Joe " carries a basket, as if he were going to 
 sow seeds, in which the spectators place money. 
 The sergeant arrays himself in some old 
 uniform, and the young lady always wears a 
 veil ; Beelzebub has a blackened face, and 
 either a besom of straw or a club with a 
 bladder fastened at the end. The chief feature 
 of the play is the raising to life of the old 
 woman, whom Beelzebub has knocked down, 
 by the doctor, who is always dressed in the 
 smartest modern clothes, with a riding-whip 
 and a top-hat. Sometimes they wear ribbons 
 and rosettes and feathers stuck in their hats, 
 and the brass ornaments of their horses' har- 
 ness hanging down in front. Sometimes they 
 have figures of small horses and ploughs in 
 red and black fastened on their dress. One 
 of the mummers in the Lincolnshire Plough 
 Monday procession usually wears a fox's skin 
 in the form of a hood, and " Bessy " a bullock's 
 tail under her gown, which he holds in his 
 hand when dancing. 
 
 Plough Monday is also observed in the 
 49 D 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 City of London, when a special meeting of 
 the Wards takes place, and the Lord Mayor 
 gives a banquet. 
 
 There is also the interesting ceremony 
 performed every year at the Chapel Royal, 
 St. James's Palace, when, on behalf of the 
 sovereign, gold, frankincense, and myrrh are 
 presented on the altar in remembrance of the 
 gifts of the Magi to the Infant Saviour. 1 
 
 At Haxey, in North Lincolnshire, on the 
 Feast of the Epiphany, a curious custom 
 prevails. A roll of canvas tightly corded 
 together, about three inches in diameter and 
 two feet long, is thrown down amidst a crowd 
 of rural revellers, and a violent struggle for 
 its possession takes place. It is called the 
 " Haxey Hood," and tradition states that its 
 originator was a Lady Mowbray, who when 
 riding to church lost her hood, which was 
 blown off by a gale of wind. Twelve 
 labourers rushed to capture the lady's head- 
 gear, and caused her much amusement by 
 their eager endeavours. She was so gratified 
 by their civility that she promised to give a 
 piece of ground, still called the Hoodlands, 
 for the purpose of providing a hood to be 
 thrown up annually on Old Christmas Day, 
 and to be contended for on the same spot 
 where her hood had been blown off. More- 
 over, she ordered that the twelve men should 
 
 1 Cf. " Court Customs," infra. 
 
 5 
 
Haxey Hood 
 
 be clothed in scarlet jerkins and velvet caps, 
 but the boggons, as they are called, are now 
 dressed as morris-dancers. Many people 
 flock to take part in this curious contest, 
 and much excitement prevails. The hood 
 is thrown from the old mill, near the spot 
 where the accident happened, and the villagers 
 strive to kick or carry it, after the manner 
 of a football, to their own hamlet. The 
 boggons stand round the field and try to 
 prevent the hood from being taken beyond 
 its boundaries. Should they capture it, it 
 is taken to the chief of the boggons, who 
 throws it again from the mill. Whoever 
 succeeds in conveying it to the cellars of 
 any public-house is rewarded by receiving 
 one shilling. The next day the boggons, 
 or plough -bullocks, go round dragging a 
 small plough, and collect money, crying 
 " Largess," and run races and wrestle in the 
 evening. This is a curious survival of an 
 ancient custom. 
 
 In Suffolk it has always been usual in 
 farmhouses to have furmety at meals, espe- 
 cially at breakfast, during the period from 
 Christmas to Old Christmas Day. In Leices- 
 tershire special cakes are given to children 
 on the Epiphany feast. In Worcestershire 
 Epiphany or Old Christmas Day is observed 
 much as Christmas Day itself, and during 
 this season bands of musicians go round 
 
 5 1 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 and play at the houses in the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 In the north of Hampshire the old villagers 
 sit up till twelve o'clock on Old Christmas 
 Night, and as soon as they hear the leaves 
 rustling they go to the nearest cow or horse 
 stable to watch the animals stand up and lie 
 down on their other side. The villagers 
 who keep up the custom can no longer 
 explain the meaning of it. The idea of 
 watching the animals arose from the belief 
 that at twelve o'clock on the night of the 
 Nativity oxen knelt in their stalls in honour 
 of the event ; and the rustling of the leaves 
 is connected with the tradition that thorn- 
 trees blossom at midnight to commemorate 
 the Saviour's birth. The same beliefs are 
 current in the neighbourhood of Stoneyhurst, 
 Lancashire, where there are not wanting wit- 
 nesses to the truth of the fact of the midnight 
 blossoming. Cornish folk also believe that 
 sheep turn to the east and bow their heads 
 on Old Christmas Night in memory of the 
 sheep belonging to the shepherds at Beth- 
 lehem. They take it also that as the sheep 
 observe this custom on Old Christmas Night, 
 that must be the actual day of the Nativity, 
 and not December 25th. This maybe com- 
 pared to the old Yorkshire custom of watch- 
 ing the beehives on the new and old Christmas 
 Eve, to determine upon the right Christmas 
 
 5 2 
 
Valentine s Day 
 
 from the humming noise which they suppose 
 the bees will make on the anniversary of the 
 birth of our Saviour. 
 
 January 24th, St. Paul's Day, is a holiday 
 with the miners of Cornwall, who call it 
 Paul Pitcher Day, from a custom they have 
 of setting up a water pitcher and pelting it 
 with stones until it is broken. A new one 
 is then brought, and carried to the ale-house 
 to be filled with beer. Throwing broken 
 pitchers and other vessels against the door of 
 the houses is also another favourite amuse- 
 ment of Paul Pitcher Eve. Young men 
 perambulate the village, and exclaim as they 
 throw the sherds 
 
 " St. Paul's Eve, 
 And here's a heave." a 
 
 St. Valentine's Day, the time-honoured 
 festival of lovers, the theme of poets, has 
 been shorn of its ancient glories, although 
 valentines still adorn the shop-windows on 
 February I4th. The saint was a priest and 
 martyr in Italy in the third century, and 
 why the day of his death should have been 
 selected for the drawing of lots for sweet- 
 hearts and for sending affectionate greetings 
 is not very evident. The custom seems to 
 have originated in France, whence it migrated 
 
 1 This is mentioned in Notes and Queries, 1874, and I gather 
 from Miss Courtney's article in Folk-Lore that it still exists. 
 
 53 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 to Scotland, and thence to England. The 
 first Sunday in Lent was, in ancient times, 
 the usual day for its observance, and that 
 day was generally known as le jour des valen- 
 tines, when the maidens selected their valen- 
 tines as gallants or future husbands. Hence 
 our Valentine's Day is really the " day of 
 valentines," when valentines or gallants were 
 chosen, and is in no way connected with the 
 saint whose feast has been commonly asso- 
 ciated with the festival of lovers. 1 
 
 In Leicestershire lozenge-shaped buns, with 
 currants and caraways, called shittles, are 
 given to the old people and children on this 
 day, notably at Glaston and Market Overton 
 (Rutland). The bakers call them " valentine 
 buns." 
 
 Some very homely rhymes are still sent by 
 rural lovers to their adored ones. From 
 Islip, Oxfordshire, we have the following : 
 
 " Come, my little sogar dear, 
 Wash your face and curl your hair, 
 And you'll be mine and I'll be thine, 
 And so good-morrow, Valentine. 
 As I sat in my garden chair, 
 I saw two birds fly in the air, 
 And two by two and pair by pair, 
 Which made me think of you, my dear." 
 
 1 Cf, a note by F. Chance in Notes and Queries, 7th Series, 
 v., Feb. 1 8, 1888. 
 
 54 
 
Valentine s Day 
 
 It is not necessary to record the ancient 
 customs which prevailed on this day, long 
 since obsolete, when fair maidens refused to 
 open their eyes until their favourite admirers 
 appeared and claimed the privilege of being 
 their valentine for the year, or when a happy 
 youth drew by lot the name of some girl 
 whom he was bound by all the laws of St. 
 Valentine to admire and serve as her gallant 
 lover. The written valentine was of later 
 growth, and many a fate has the following 
 effusion sealed : 
 
 " The rose is red, the violet blue, 
 The pink is sweet, and so are you. 
 Thou art my love, and I am thine ; 
 I drew thee to my valentine ; 
 The lot was cast, and then I drew, 
 And fortune said it should be you." 
 
 The boys of Berkshire are more practical, 
 and use the opportunity for collecting small 
 bribes, repeating the following rhyme : 
 
 " Knock the kittle agin the pan, 
 
 Gie us a penny if 'e can ; 
 We be ragged an' you be vine, 
 
 Plaze to gie us a valentine. 
 Up wi* the kittle and down wi' the spout, 
 
 Gie us a penny an' we'll gie out." 
 
 The meaning of " we'll gie out " appears to 
 be " we'll stop singing." 
 
 At the village of High Roding, Essex, the 
 
 55 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 children, according to ancient custom, visit 
 the houses of the residents and sing with 
 great glee the lines 
 
 " Good morning to your valentine, 
 Curl your locks as I do mine ; 
 Two before and two behind, 
 Good morning to your valentine. 
 I only come but once a year, 
 Pray give me some money as I stand here, 
 A piece of cake or a glass of wine, 
 Good morning to your valentine." 
 
 Among the gratuities distributed are the 
 usual batch of bright new sixpences, one of 
 which is given to every child in the parish 
 who presents himself or herself at the Ware 
 Farm at eight A.M. on Valentine's Day. 
 The same verses are sung at Duxford, Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 In East Anglia it is customary to leave 
 small presents on the doorstep, to ring the 
 bell violently, and then run away. It is 
 not always easy to transplant old customs, 
 and I can well remember the trouble which a 
 Suffolk doctor brought upon himself, who, 
 on removing to a northern county, tried to 
 gain the affections of his new patients by 
 introducing this harmless pleasantry. The 
 natives did not understand the custom, and 
 thought that it might be connected with the 
 first of April. 
 
Hurling 
 
 A remarkable set of verses comes from 
 Northrepps, where the children sing : 
 
 " Good morrow, Valentine ! 
 
 How it do Hail ! 
 When Father's pig die, 
 You shall ha' its tail. 
 
 Good morrow, Valentine ! 
 
 How thundering Hot ! 
 When Father's pig die, 
 
 You shall ha' its jot." 
 
 The jot is the tripe of the pig, considered a 
 delicacy by Norfolk poor people. 
 
 The annual custom of holding a hurling 
 match continues at St. Ives, Cornwall, and is 
 observed on the Monday after the feast day 
 which falls on Quinquagesima Sunday. It is 
 scarcely necessary to describe the old game of 
 hurling, which resembles a Rugby game of 
 football without the kicking of the ball. The 
 ball is about the size of a cricket-ball, formed 
 of cork or light wood. It is certainly " a 
 play verily both rude and rough," as an old 
 writer aptly describes it. Formerly village 
 fought with village at these annual hurling 
 matches; but probably on account of the 
 severe rivalry and ferocity displayed these 
 contests were discontinued. But at St. Ives 
 one part of a parish plays against another on 
 the sands on the day of the feast. All the 
 57 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Toms, Wills, and Johns are on one side, 
 while those having other Christian names 
 range themselves on the other. At St. 
 Columb the towns-folk contend against the 
 country-folk; at Truro the married men 
 with the unmarried ; and at Helston two 
 streets with all the other streets. This takes 
 place on May 2nd, when the boundaries of 
 the town are perambulated. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Lenten customs Shrove Tuesday Pancake- 
 bell Shroving Tossing pancakes at Westminster 
 Devonshire rhymes Welsh survival of thrash- 
 ing the hen Coquilles at Norwich Football on 
 Shrove Monday Mothering Sunday Simnels 
 Care Sunday Palm Sunday and ball-play Fig 
 Sunday Spy Wednesday Maundy Thursday 
 Good Friday and hot cross buns Skipping on 
 Good Friday and marbles Guildford custom 
 Custom at St. Bartholomew s Church, London 
 Blue-Coat School custom Flogging Judas 
 Cornish custom of gathering shell -Jish St. 
 David's Day. 
 
 1 HE season of Lent has many customs 
 which linger on. It is ushered in by Shrove 
 Tuesday, when in ancient times the people 
 flocked to the confessional to be shriven, 
 or shrove, before the great fast commenced. 
 We have nothing in this country which 
 corresponds with the Carnival on the Con- 
 tinent, although something of the same kind 
 of festivity was once practised here, as an old 
 writer testifies : 
 
 " Some run about the streets attired like monks, and 
 
 some like kings, 
 
 Accompanied with pomp and guard, and other 
 stately things ; 
 
 59 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Some like wild beasts do run abroad in skins that 
 divers be 
 
 Arrayed, and eke with loathsome shapes, that dread- 
 ful are to see ; 
 
 They counterfeit both bears and wolves, and lions 
 fierce in sight, : 
 
 And raging bulls ; some play the cranes, with wings 
 and stilts upright." 
 
 Our modern carnival is a much less riotous 
 proceeding, and generally resolves itself into 
 eating pancakes. Shrove Tuesday is often 
 called " Pancake Day," and at many places 
 a bell is rung which is called " pancake-bell." 
 This bell formerly called the faithful to the 
 confessional. 
 
 At Culworth, Northamptonshire, and at 
 Crowle, Lincolnshire, the pancake-bell may 
 still be heard, and also at the pretty village 
 of Church Minshull, Cheshire, and at Morley, 
 near Leeds, the old custom has been observed 
 without intermission for over a hundred 
 years. 1 
 
 The children in Berkshire have still their 
 rhymes which they sing on this day, and 
 receive their accustomed bribes. At Purley 
 they say 
 
 " Knick-knock, pan's hot, 
 I'm come a-shroving ; 
 Bit of bread and a bit of cheese, 
 That's better than nothing. 
 
 1 Cf. " Bell Customs." At numerous churches in Leicester- 
 shire and Rutlandshire the bell is rung. 
 60 
 
Shrove Tuesday 
 
 Last year's flour's dear 
 
 That's what makes poor Purley children come 
 shroving here. 
 
 Hip, hip, hurrah ! 
 
 Up with the pitcher and down with the pan, 
 Give me a penny and I'll be gone." 
 
 At Baldon, Oxfordshire, a similar rhyme 
 is sung : 
 
 " Pit-a-pat, the pan's hot, 
 I be come a-shroving ; 
 Catch a fish afore the net, 
 That's better than nothing. 
 Eggs, lard, and flour's dear, 
 This makes me come a-shroving here." 
 
 These rhymes have many variants, which 
 need not now be enumerated. They may be 
 heard in various forms in all the Southern, 
 and Midland counties. Sometimes the shrov- 
 ing children have unpleasant ways of signify- 
 ing their displeasure should the accustomed 
 gift be not forthcoming. This they do by 
 throwing stones at the door and singing 
 
 " Skit- scat, skit-scat, 
 Take this, and take that," 
 
 or by tying a stone to the door handle. 
 
 The origin of eating pancakes on Shrove 
 Tuesday has been much disputed. The fol- 
 lowing suggestion by a learned ecclesiastic 
 of the Roman Church possibly contains the 
 61 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 explanation of the custom. "When Lent 
 was kept by a strict abstinence from meat 
 all through the forty days, it was customary 
 to use up all the dripping and lard in the 
 making of pancakes. To consume all, it 
 was usual to call in the apprentice-boys and 
 others about the house, and they were sum- 
 moned by a bell, which was naturally called 
 ' pancake-bell.' " * 
 
 An interesting survival of " tossing the 
 pancake " exists at Westminster School, and 
 is accompanied with several quaint obser- 
 vances. The cook, bearing a frying-pan with 
 a pancake, is conducted by a verger carrying 
 the silver mace from the college kitchen to- 
 the great schoolroom, when all the boys are 
 assembled. The cook tries to toss the pan- 
 cake over an iron bar which runs across the 
 schoolroom from one wall to another. If 
 the pancake goes clear over, the boys make 
 a rush and try each to catch it whole. The 
 boy who gets it whole receives a guinea from 
 the Dean on showing it in an unbroken con- 
 dition. The cook also receives ten shillings 
 if he does his part properly. Now-a-days, 
 only so many boys join in the struggle for 
 the pancake as there are forms in the school. 
 Each form names a representative. Formerly 
 the whole school made a rush, which was 
 rather a dangerous sport, and very wisely the 
 
 1 Notes and Queries, 8th Series, i., March 5, 1892. 
 62 
 
Shrove 'Tuesday 
 
 number of competitors for the prize has 
 been limited. 
 
 From Bridestowe, Devonshire, we have 
 received a few simple rhymes, written by a 
 girl in the village as they are usually sung. 
 The words are : 
 
 "Lain crock, pancake, fritter for our labour, 
 Dish o' meal, piece of bread, or what you please to 
 give me. 
 
 I see by the string 
 There's a good thing in ; 
 I see by the latch 
 There's something to catch. 
 Trip a trap tro ! 
 
 Give me my hump and I'll be go. 
 Nine times, ten times, men come shroving, 
 Pray, dame, something, an apple or a dumpling, 
 Or a piece of chuckle cheese of your own making, 
 Or a piece of pancake of your own baking. 
 Trip a trap tro ! &c." 
 
 In some parts of Wales there is a custom 
 of casting thin lead figures of birds and ani- 
 mals, which are set up and thrown at by 
 boys with chunks of lead on Shrove Tuesday. 
 Whatever the shape of the figure may be, it 
 is called " a bird." If it is knocked down, 
 it becomes the property of the thrower, but 
 every chunk of lead that fails to knock down 
 a bird is claimed by the owner of the bird. 
 This is probably a survival of the ancient 
 and cruel sport of threshing the hen, thus 
 
 63 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 mentioned by Tusser in his " Five Hundred 
 Points of Good Husbandry : " 
 
 " Come, go to the barn now, my jolly ploughmen, 
 Blindfolded, and speedily thresh the fat hen ; 
 And if you can kill her, then give her thy men, 
 And go ye on fritters and pancakes dine then." 
 
 Well might a foreign visitor to our shores 
 sagely remark that " the English eat a certain 
 cake on Shrove Tuesday, upon which they 
 immediately run mad and kill their poor 
 cocks." 
 
 At Norwich a custom prevails of selling 
 at the bakers' and confectioners' shops a small 
 currant-loaf called a " coquille," which the 
 boys also cry in the streets. A notice at the 
 shops runs as follows : " Hot coquilles on 
 Tuesday morning at eight o'clock, and in 
 the afternoon at four o'clock." Probably the 
 word is derived from its shell-like shape 
 (jcoquille = shell) ; but another authority con- 
 nects it with " coquerell " or cock, and sup- 
 poses that the cake was sold when the old 
 sport of throwing at cocks was in vogue on 
 this day. 
 
 Shrove Tuesday is a day celebrated for its 
 famous football encounters, which are not, 
 like ordinary games, fought out on a level 
 field between goal-posts, but are entirely of 
 another character. At Sedgefield the church 
 clerk and sexton had, according to imme- 
 
Football on Shrove Tuesday 
 
 morial custom, to find a ball to be played 
 for by the trades-folk and villagers on this 
 day. The goal of the former is at the south 
 of the village, that of the latter is a pond at 
 the north end. The ball is put through the 
 bull-ring in the middle of the village. The 
 game always begins at one o'clock, and is 
 fought out for three or four hours with 
 much ferocity. There are no rules of " off- 
 side," or of "no charging or hacking allowed." 
 All is fair in love or war, and also in the 
 old-fashioned football of England and Scot- 
 land. At Chester-le-Street they have an 
 annual match between the " up-street " and 
 " down - street " folk on Shrove Tuesday. 
 The contest takes place in the street, the 
 windows being all carefully barricaded ; and 
 a burn lies in the course of the players, who 
 rush into the water, and enjoy a fine scrim- 
 mage there. At Alnwick the contest used 
 to take place in the street, but the Duke of 
 Northumberland instituted an annual match, 
 which now takes place in " the Pasture " every 
 Shrove Tuesday between the parishioners of 
 the two parishes of St. Michael and St. Paul. 
 The committee receives the ball at the barbi- 
 can of the castle from the porter, and march 
 to the field headed by the Duke's piper, 
 where the contest takes place, after which a 
 fine struggle takes place for the possession 
 of the ball. In Scotland, the streets of Duns 
 
 6 S E 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 are enlivened by a game of handball on 
 Fasten E'en. The ball is started in state 
 by the lord of the manor, and the goals are 
 the kirk and the mill. 
 
 The football on Shrove Tuesday is still 
 played at Dorking in the streets, as in the 
 days of yore. The tradesmen wisely barri- 
 cade their shops, and a collection is made 
 during the morning throughout the streets, 
 nominally to defray the cost of damages. 
 The footballers first parade the streets clad 
 in grotesque costumes, and bands of music 
 accompany the procession. The football is 
 kicked off in the centre of the High Street 
 at two o'clock, and all who wish join in the 
 game. The play is furious and the ball is 
 kicked everywhere, sometimes reaching the 
 fields at the outskirts of the town. During 
 four hours the contest lasts, and towards the 
 end of the struggle there is much excitement 
 and vigorous kicking, extremely dangerous 
 to the limbs of the competitors. The old 
 custom of tolling the pancake-bell during 
 the morning has now been discontinued. 
 
 " Clipping of churches " was formerly 
 practised in Wiltshire, when the children 
 joined hands round the church, walked 
 round three times, and repeated the lines 
 
 " Shrove Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, poor Jack went 
 
 to plough, 
 
 His mother made pancakes, she scarcely knew how ; 
 66 
 
Shrove Tuesday 
 
 She tossed them, she turned them, she made them 
 
 so black, 
 With soot from the chimney that poisoned poor 
 
 Jack." 
 
 This rhyme was current in Shropshire ten 
 years ago, and is probably still existing. 
 
 In Cornwall all the mischief inherent in 
 human nature used to be called into play 
 on this day. Women rubbed the faces of 
 passers-by with sooty hands; people threw 
 water over everybody they came into contact 
 with ; knockers were wrenched off; gates 
 unhung and carried away ; boys prowled the 
 streets on " Nickanan Night " with clubs, like 
 imps of darkness, beating at doors, and carry- 
 ing off whatever they could seize, and many 
 other pleasant attentions were paid by friendly 
 neighbours in order to keep up old customs 
 and to promote the happiness of mankind ! 
 Happily these have passed away, and the 
 former victims of such pleasantries will not 
 regret their departure. 
 
 The voice of rural revelry is hushed during 
 \ the first few weeks of Lent, and no popular 
 j customs break the stillness of the spring- 
 time fast until Mid-Lent Sunday is reached. 
 This day has several pleasing associations. 
 It is called " Mothering Sunday," and from 
 early times it has been the custom for chil- 
 dren who were absent from home in service 
 to visit their parents on this day. This prac- 
 67 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 tice arose from an ancient ordinance of the 
 Church requiring the priests and people to 
 visit the mother-church of the district on 
 Mothering Sunday, and long ago this eccle- 
 siastical custom became generally associated 
 with the pleasant gathering of families and 
 the renewing of the ties of home life. Her- 
 rick sang of this custom in his beautiful 
 poem 
 
 " I'll to thee a simnell bring, 
 'Gainst thou go'st a mothering ; 
 So that when she blesseth thee, 
 Half the blessing thou'lt give me." 
 
 It is satisfactory to know that this custom 
 of " Merrie England" still prevails in some 
 of the rural parts of Gloucestershire and also 
 in Radnorshire. At Selsby, near Stroud, the 
 servants are accustomed to ask for leave of 
 absence on this day, pleading that it is 
 Mothering Sunday, and a certain cake coated 
 with white and embellished with pink is par- 
 taken of. At Wotton-under-Edge, in the 
 same county, the festival is observed at the 
 " Swan Inn," where cake and wine are pro- 
 vided for all the servants, who are allowed 
 to bring with them their friends and sweet- 
 hearts. In the district of Rossendale Mother- 
 ing Sunday is still the day for the gathering 
 of scattered members of families, and it is 
 customary there to make a " Fag," i.e.) a 
 68 
 
Mothering Sunday 
 
 fig-pie, for this special social entertainment. 
 As a family festival the day is observed in 
 Leicestershire, and young people flock home- 
 wards and eat veal and furmety. 
 
 The day is still observed in Worcester- 
 shire. At Stoulton, children return home for 
 the day, and often bring a present to their 
 parents ; and often families make a point of 
 attending church. Veal is the appointed 
 viand of the day, and consequently it is in 
 great demand. 
 
 This Sunday is also called Simnel Sunday, 
 so named from the special cakes eaten on 
 that day. The word Simnel is derived from 
 the Latin word simila? signifying fine wheat- 
 flour, and not from the fictitious personages 
 Simon and Nell whom popular tradition has 
 credited with the manufacture of the first 
 Simnel. Even Lambert Simnel, the preten- 
 der, who was by trade a baker, has been 
 credited with the invention. Bury, in Lan- 
 cashire, is the great place for these cakes, 
 which often resemble the largest wedding- 
 cake, and the custom of eating them on this 
 day is prevalent throughout Lancashire. The 
 streets of Bury used to be blocked with stalls, 
 on which were displayed simnels of various 
 sorts, and crowds assembled from all the sur- 
 rounding neighbourhood. 
 
 Passion Sunday, the second before Easter, 
 
 1 Cf. German word Semmel, signifying a roll of best bread. 
 
 69 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 is also called Care Sunday, according to the 
 old Nottinghamshire rhyme 
 
 " Care Sunday, care away, 
 Palm Sunday and Easter Day." 
 
 Why it is so named is a disputed question. 
 Some derive it from the word karr^ signi- 
 fying a satisfaction for a debt, alluding to 
 the satisfaction made by our Saviour ; others 
 connect it with carl or ceorl, meaning a 
 husbandman. 1 At any rate, the custom of 
 eating " carling peas," ?'.., peas fried in butter 
 with vinegar and pepper, exists still in York- 
 shire and Northumberland. 
 
 Palm Sunday has several interesting customs 
 which commemorate the triumphant entry of 
 our Lord into Jerusalem, when the people 
 took branches of palm-trees and scattered 
 them in the way. In Wiltshire " palms," or 
 branches of willow and hazel, are carried to 
 Martinsell, a hill near Marlborough. A 
 curious game is usually played there on this 
 day, consisting in hitting a ball gradually up 
 the steep slope of the hill to the summit 
 with crooked sticks. A line of boys with 
 bandy or hockey sticks in their hands are 
 ranged on the northern side of the hill, one 
 above the other ; they hit or " pass " a ball 
 up from one boy to the other till it reaches 
 
 1 The derivation of c are has been much disputed. Cf. Hamp- 
 son's " Med. CEvi. Kalend.," and Dyer's "Popular Customs." 
 70 
 
Palm Sunday 
 
 the last boy, who knocks it to the top, 
 whence it falls to the bottom of the hill and 
 the game recommences. A similar game is 
 played at Roundway Hill. 
 
 In very many places " palms " are worn on 
 Palm Sunday. In some villages it is known 
 as " Fig Sunday." At Edlesborough, Buck- 
 inghamshire, the children procure figs, and 
 nearly every house has a fig-pudding. For 
 some days beforehand the shop-windows of 
 the neighbouring town of Dunstable are full 
 of figs, and on Palm Sunday crowds go 
 to the top of Dunstable Downs, one of the 
 highest points in the neighbourhood, and 
 eat figs. Nor is this custom confined to 
 Buckinghamshire ; until quite lately people 
 used to assemble on Silbury Hill on the same 
 Sunday and eat figs, and fig-puddings were 
 much in vogue. 
 
 The custom of observing "Fig Sunday" 
 prevails in the counties of Bedford, Bucks, 
 Hertford, Northampton, Oxford, Wilts, and 
 North Wales. At Kempton, in Hertford- 
 shire, it has long been the custom for the 
 people to eat figs " keep warsel " and make 
 merry with their friends on Palm Sunday. 
 More figs are sold in the shops on the few 
 days previous to the festival than in all the 
 year beside. Probably it is connected with 
 the withering of the barren fig-tree, the 
 account of which immediately follows the 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 narrative of the triumphal entry into Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 Amongst the Irish Roman Catholics the 
 Wednesday in Holy Week is known as Spy 
 Wednesday, the spy being Judas, who be- 
 trayed our Lord. 1 The Thursday in Holy 
 Week, commonly called Maundy Thursday, 
 is observed at Court by the presentation of 
 the royal Maundy gifts to poor people. 2 A 
 full account of the ceremony is given in the 
 chapter relating to Court Customs. The 
 word Maundy is derived from the Latin word 
 mandatum? and refers to the command of 
 our Lord to His Apostles to imitate His 
 example in the humility which He showed 
 in washing the feet of His disciples. 
 
 Good Friday has very many customs con- 
 nected with it which abound in interest. 
 Every one is familiar with the practice of 
 eating hot cross buns on this day, and 
 the well-known rhyme, which has several 
 variants 
 
 " One a penny, two a penny, 
 
 Hot cross buns ; 
 If you have no daughters, 
 Give them to your sons ; 
 
 But if you have none of these merry little elves, 
 Then you may keep them all for yourselves." 
 
 1 Notes and Queries. 2 Cf. "Court Customs," p. 257. 
 
 8 According to Archdeacon Nares, Maundy is derived from 
 the maund, a corruption of the Saxon rnand, a basket. 
 72 
 
Hot Cross Buns 
 
 This custom is as old as the Romans, who 
 were accustomed to present to their gods 
 consecrated bread. Two loaves were dis- 
 covered at Herculaneum marked by a cross. 
 The Romans divided their sacred cakes with 
 lines intersecting each other at right angles, 
 and called the quarters quadra? The cross 
 on the buns eaten on Good Friday now has 
 another meaning. 
 
 In Worcestershire hot cross buns made 
 on this day are supposed never to become 
 mouldy, and a loaf made and baked on 
 Good Friday, and hung in the kitchen, averts 
 ill-luck, and when grated is an excellent 
 remedy for various illnesses. 
 
 Much has been written concerning the 
 origin of hot cross buns. The Romans 
 made their sacred cakes in honour of Diana, 
 whose festival was observed soon after the 
 vernal equinox. The original home of the 
 custom, where it is chiefly observed, is Cam- 
 bridgeshire and Hertfordshire. There the 
 old Roman roads the Ickneld Street and 
 the Armynge Street crossed. There stood 
 in Roman times the altar of Diana of the 
 Crossways, to whom the Romans offered 
 their sacred cakes. There, too, the custom 
 of eating hot cross buns is chiefly observed, 
 whereas in many parts of England (e.g., Bath) 
 
 1 Northall's " English Folk-Rhymes." Cf. Virgil, &n. bk. vii.; 
 Martial, bk. iii. Epig. 77. 
 
 73 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 they are quite unknown. This is a curious 
 survival of the Roman times. 
 
 The strange custom of skipping on Good 
 Friday prevails at Brighton, though it is 
 rapidly falling into disuse. Twenty years 
 ago the whole fishing community engaged 
 in this amusement during the whole day. It 
 was generally practised with a long rope, 
 from six to ten grown-up people skipping 
 at one rope. Five years ago an elderly man 
 was observed indulging in this pastime, and 
 the day is known as " Long Rope Day." 
 
 Playing marbles on Good Friday is also a 
 curious local custom practised in nearly all 
 the Sussex villages by both boys and men. 
 It is considered quite as wrong to omit this 
 solemn duty as to go without the Christmas 
 pudding or to neglect any other imperative 
 observance. No one knows why tfo^play/ 
 marbles on Good Friday. 
 
 No one knows why the good people of 
 Guildford, Surrey, make a pilgrimage to St. 
 Martha's Hill on Good Friday, where, on one 
 of the most beautiful spots in Surrey, near the 
 old Norman church, crowds collect and pass 
 the time in singing and dancing. The latter 
 have been discontinued during recent years; 
 still many people flock thither, but they are 
 chiefly the old folks who make this pilgrim- 
 age. St. Martha's Church is an old pilgrim 
 church, whither the faithful used to go when 
 74 
 
Old City Customs 
 
 they were on their way to the shrine of St. 
 Thomas of Canterbury. Martha's Hill is 
 said to be a corruption of Martyr's Hill, and 
 the visit of the Guildford folk to this spot 
 is, doubtless, a relic of some ancient religious 
 ceremony or pilgrimage. 
 
 Old customs die hard in the City of Lon- 
 don. In the parish of St. Bartholomew the 
 Great, twenty-one aged widows receive on 
 Good Friday the means wherewith to re- 
 member the piety of a nameless benefactor. 
 According to time-honoured custom, they 
 attend service in the parish church, then walk 
 in procession to the long-disused graveyard 
 adjoining, and proceed to pick off a parti- 
 cular tombstone a new sixpence, deposited 
 there by the churchwarden ; and finally, on 
 leaving the scene of this quaint ceremony, 
 are presented with a hot cross bun. Any 
 widow who is incapable through the stiffness 
 of her joints to pick up the coin is not en- 
 titled to receive it. The name of the pious 
 citizen has been lost, as all the records of the 
 period were destroyed in the Great Fire. The 
 fund from which this bequest is derived has 
 unfortunately been diverted, but by the liber- 
 ality of a civic antiquary the custom is pre- 
 served, and the poor widows still receive their 
 sixpence. Another quaint ceremony is re- 
 gularly performed on Good Friday. Three 
 hundred years ago, Peter Symonds, a worthy 
 
 75 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Londoner of the days of Queen Elizabeth, 
 devised a sum of money to be bestowed on 
 Good Friday to the youngest boys of the 
 Blue-Coat School, in the shape of sixty new 
 pennies and sixty packets of raisins. The 
 children and poor of the City parishes also 
 benefit by the same will, and the money used 
 to be given over the tomb of the donor, 
 until the railway in Liverpool Street effaced 
 the spot. 
 
 The curious custom of flogging Judas 
 Iscariot, though not an English practice, 
 may be witnessed in any of our ports, if any 
 Portuguese or South American vessels are 
 in the harbour. An effigy is made of the 
 Betrayer, which is ducked in the dock, and 
 then kicked and lashed with knotted ropes, 
 amid the shouts and the singing of a weird, 
 rude chant by the spectators. 
 
 In the far west an old Cornish custom 
 still survives at St. Constantine. On Good 
 Friday crowds flock to Helford River to 
 gather shellfish (limpets, cockles, &c.). This 
 gathering of shellfish on Good Friday, usually 
 winkles from the sea, was once very pre- 
 valent all over the county. The origin of 
 this custom I dare not attempt to determine. 
 (Folk- Lore. ) 
 
 March ist is St. David's Day, a festival 
 dear to all patriotic Welshmen. The wear- 
 ing and eating of the leek is a common form 
 76 
 
St. David's Day 
 
 of designating the true Taffy. In the chap- 
 ter on army customs we have mentioned 
 some of the quaint ceremonies of the Welsh 
 Fusileers on this day. At Jesus College, 
 Oxford, much frequented by Welshmen, the 
 undergraduates wear leeks, and the Fellows 
 usually have a dinner, at which the guests 
 wear artificial leeks in their button-holes. 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Easter customs Pace eggs Clapping for eggs 
 in Wales Pace-egg play Biddenden custom 
 Kentish pudding-pies Hallaton hare-pie and 
 bottle kicking School customs St. Mark's Day 
 and ghosts Custom at St. Mary's, Woolnoth 
 Hocktide at Hungerford All Fools' Day. 
 
 1 HE Feast of the Resurrection is remark- 
 able for the almost universal practice of 
 giving Pace eggs. The word Pace is de- 
 rived from Pasche or Paschal, and we find 
 it under the various forms of pas, pays, 
 pasce, pask, pasch, passhe, and many others. 
 The imagination of some antiquarians has 
 caused them to see in the Paschal egg a 
 symbol or emblem of the Resurrection, and 
 to pronounce the custom to be of Christian 
 origin. But it is far older than Christianity, 
 and is common to Norse nations. In the 
 old sagas the earth was symbolised by an 
 egg ; in the ancient worship of Baal eggs 
 played a part ; and in all probability the 
 Christian teachers, finding that the people 
 were devoted to the custom, diverted from 
 it the old heathen notions and attached to 
 it Christian ideas and beliefs. Egyptians, 
 
 78 
 
Pace Eggs 
 
 Persians, Greeks, and Romans all shared in 
 the symbolical use of eggs, and the Parsees 
 even now distribute red eggs at their spring 
 festival. Old Pace eggs in our own country 
 were hard-boiled and dyed with various colours, 
 with names and " sentiments " imprinted on 
 them. They were dyed with logwood, onion 
 skins, pieces of coloured rags, and furze 
 flowers, and yellow, violet, and pink were 
 the common colours. Now aniline dyes are 
 used. Formerly the eggs were blessed by a 
 priest. In Yorkshire the children roll their 
 highly-coloured eggs against one another in 
 fields and gardens. The lads buy eggs and 
 press them in the streets against each other. 
 
 In Anglesey, North Wales, the children 
 go from house to house from the Monday 
 to the Saturday during Easter Week, clapping 
 until the door is opened to them. Formerly 
 they used to recite the following lines : 
 
 " Clap, clap, dau tfy 
 I hogyn bach ar y plwy," 
 
 the literal meaning of which is, " Clap, clap, 
 (give) two eggs to little lad on parish." 
 
 The custom is not confined to poor chil- 
 dren, as the children of well-to-do parents 
 join in the practice. 1 When no eggs are 
 forthcoming, each child receives a penny. 
 
 1 By the kindness of Lady Read I have in my possession a 
 clapper which was used in the parish of Llanfechall last Easter. 
 
 79 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 In Carnarvonshire the custom is but a 
 memory ; eighty years ago the clerk of 
 the parish used to go round with a basket 
 collecting Easter eggs, accompanied by boys 
 clapping. 
 
 This custom was not confined to Wales. 
 In Lancashire and Cheshire the custom of 
 Pace-egging is very common. " Please, good 
 dame, an Aister egg," is heard everywhere, 
 but money is now frequently given in place 
 of eggs. At Wilmslow the old rhyme used 
 to be 
 
 " Please Mr. 
 
 Please give us an Easter egg. 
 If you do not give us one, 
 Your hen shall lay an addled one, 
 Your cock shall lay a stone." 
 
 The boys roll the eggs like bowls, and at 
 Preston Park hundreds of people may be seen 
 engaged in rolling eggs down the grassy slope. 
 
 In Northumberland, when a man asks a 
 woman for an egg, if she refuses, he takes 
 off her boots until she pays a penalty. If 
 a man refuses to give a woman a Pace-egg, 
 she snatches away his cap, and will not restore 
 it until he pays a money forfeit. 
 
 Easter eggs were in mediaeval times blessed 
 
 by the priest, and this form of benediction 
 
 was authorised by Pope Paul V. : " Bless, 
 
 Lord, we beseech Thee, this Thy creature of 
 
 80 
 
Pace Eggs 
 
 eggs, that it may become a wholesome sus- 
 tenance to Thy faithful servants, eating it in 
 thankfulness to Thee, on account of the 
 resurrection of our Lord." The red dye 
 used to colour the egg was supposed to 
 allude to the blood of the redemption. 
 
 In connection with Pace-egging there is 
 the Pace-egg or Easter play, which resembles 
 in its main features the Christmas mumming 
 play. In this piece of ancient drama folk- 
 lorists see a relic of old Norse mythology 
 the contest of Thor and Balder, of spring 
 with winter. Beau Slasher is the champion 
 of winter, and his iron head, steel body, and 
 hands and feet made of knuckle-bones, are 
 descriptive of the frost-bound earth. These 
 interpretations seem somewhat fanciful. 
 
 Biddenden, a quiet and retired Kentish 
 village, presents every Easter the same 
 spectacle on a larger scale that it did on 
 Paschal Sunday about the time of the Nor- 
 man Conquest. At the beginning of the 
 twelfth century there lived in Biddenden two 
 twin-sisters Eliza and Mary Chalkhurst 
 who were the precursors of the Siamese 
 Twins. 1 They were joined together in the 
 
 1 One of these cakes is engraved in Ducarel's ' ' Repertory of 
 the Dioceses of Canterbury and Rochester," 1782, p. 137 ; and 
 another pattern is given in Hone's " Every-Day Book," vol. ii. 
 p. 443. Hasted regards the notion that the sisters were joined 
 together as a vulgar tradition arising from the figures on the 
 cakes, and says that their real name was Preston. 
 
 8l F 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 back by two ligaments, and after they had 
 passed a joint existence of thirty-five years 
 one of them died. The other was advised 
 to have the cords of unity dissevered, but 
 she refused, saying, "As we came together, 
 so also shall we go together." Six hours 
 afterwards she died. By their will they 
 bequeathed to the churchwardens of the 
 parish certain lands, of which the rents were 
 to be devoted to supplying the poor with 
 doles of bread and cheese every Easter 
 Sunday. The income now amounts to about 
 ^"40. Visitors from neighbouring places 
 flock to the village, which is turned into 
 a kind of fair, after the services in the 
 church have been celebrated by the vicar. 
 There are two distributions under the will of 
 the united sisters. In the first place, a thou- 
 sand hard-baked rolls, each stamped with 
 a representation of the foundresses of the 
 feast, are distributed among visitors who 
 may be in want of refreshment. They are 
 very durable, as they are as hard as wood, 
 and may be kept as curiosities for twenty 
 years. The second distribution consists of 
 loaves and cheese, and is limited to the 
 poor of the village. One of the church- 
 wardens sits at a little window of the work- 
 house, and to each of the poor parishioners 
 who march past in single file he hands a 
 loaf and a large piece of cheese. The 
 82 
 
Hare- Scramble 
 
 ceremony finished, many of the visitors 
 attempt to soften their cakes in Kentish 
 ale, and pass the rest of the day in old- 
 world conviviality. Biddenden then resumes 
 its accustomed quietude until the memory of 
 the twin-sisters is again celebrated. 
 
 The " Kentish men " still eat pudding- 
 pies at Easter, a kind of flat tart with a 
 raised crust to hold a small quantity of 
 custard, with currants sprinkled over its 
 surface. Bands of young folk used to roam 
 the countryside provided with this form of 
 refreshment on the Monday and Tuesday of 
 Easter Week. {Kentish Express.} 
 
 Another curious observance is the Halla- 
 ton Hare-scramble and Bottle-kicking, which 
 takes place annually on Easter Monday. 
 An eye-witness shall describe the strange 
 scene : " The origin of the custom associ- 
 ated with the hare-pie scramble is lost in 
 the mists of antiquity, and may be a relic 
 of mediaeval times, similar to the old 
 ' Whipping Toms ' in Leicester, put down 
 in I847. 1 At all events, at a remote period 
 a piece of land was bequeathed to the rector, 
 conditionally that he and his successors 
 
 1 "Whipping Toms" was a rough pastime which required 
 the aid of an Act of Parliament to suppress it. After a 
 hockey match the young men armed themselves with long 
 cart-whips, and proceeded to whip any one passing through 
 the precincts of Leicester Castle, unless they received a fee from 
 their victim. 
 
 83 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 provided annually two hare-pies, a quantity 
 of ale, and two dozen penny loaves, to be 
 scrambled for on each succeeding Easter 
 Monday at the rising ground called Hare- 
 pie Bank, about a quarter of a mile south 
 of the village. Of course, hares being out 
 of season at this time of the year, pies of 
 mutton, veal, and bacon are substituted. A 
 benevolent rector of the last century made 
 an effort to have the funds applied to a 
 better use ; but the village wags were equal 
 to the occasion, and raised the cry, and 
 chalked on his walls and door, as well as 
 on the church, * No pie, no parson, and 
 a job for the glazier.' Other subsequent 
 efforts alike failed. Easter Monday at Hal- 
 laton is the great carnival of the year. The 
 two benefit societies hold their anniversary 
 at the * Royal Oak' and the 'Fox Inn, 1 
 and bands accompany the processions to the 
 parish church, where the ' club sermon ' is 
 preached. After dinner at the inns, a 
 deputation is sent to the rectory for the 
 * pies and beer,' and then the procession is 
 formed in the following order : 
 
 "Two men abreast, carrying two sacks 
 with the pies cut up. 
 
 " Three men abreast, carrying aloft a bottle 
 
 each ; two of these are filled with beer ; they 
 
 are ordinary field wood bottles, but without 
 
 the usual mouth, iron-hooped all over, with 
 
 84 
 
Hare-Scramble 
 
 a hole left for drinking from ; the third is 
 a dummy. Occasionally a hare is carried, 
 in a sitting posture, mounted on the top of 
 a pole. 
 
 " The procession increases greatly in num- 
 bers as it approaches Hare-pie Bank, where the 
 pies are pitched out of the sack and scrambled 
 for. The spectators amuse themselves by 
 throwing the contents of the pies at each 
 other. Then follows the well-known ' Hal- 
 laton bottle-kicking.' One of the large 
 bottles containing ale is thrown into the 
 circular hollow on the mound, and the 
 ' Medbourne men/ or other villagers who 
 care to join in the sport, try to wrest the 
 bottle from the Hallatonian grasp. A fierce 
 contest then ensues, in comparison with 
 which a football scrimmage is mere child's 
 play. It is useless to describe the battle 
 that ensues, the Hallatonians striving to kick 
 the bottle to their boundary-line over the 
 brook adjoining the village, while their oppo- 
 nents endeavour to convey it towards the 
 Medbourne boundary. The victors of course 
 claim the contents of the bottle. Then ' the 
 dummy ' is fought for with unabated zest, 
 for the Hallaton people boast that this has 
 never been wrested from them. The third 
 bottle is taken in triumph to the market- 
 cross and its contents drunk with accustomed 
 honours. The bottles are carefully kept 
 
 85 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 from year to year, and those now in use have 
 done duty for more than thirty years." 
 
 The author of the " Folk-lore of Leicester- 
 shire " in an able paper 2 has shown a connec- 
 tion between the Christian festival of Easter 
 and the worship or sacrifice of hares. Certain 
 evidence of this exists here in England. At 
 Coleshill, Warwickshire, it used to be custo- 
 mary for the young men of the parish to try 
 to catch a hare before ten o'clock on Easter 
 Monday and bring it to the parson ; if they 
 were successful, the parson was bound to give 
 them a calf s-head and a hundred of eggs for 
 their breakfast and a groat in money. 
 
 The custom of hunting the hare at Leicester 
 on Easter Monday also supports the theory, 
 on which day the mayor and his brethren in 
 their scarlet gowns, attended by their proper 
 officers, used to go to Black-Annis' Bower 
 Close and witness the diversion of hunting 
 a hare. But as unfortunately there was no 
 hare to be hunted, the sport degenerated into 
 trailing a dead cat soaked in aniseed water 
 before a pack of hounds, amidst the shouts 
 of the spectators. This early form of drag- 
 hunting has been long ago abandoned, but 
 an annual fair on the Danes' Hills and the 
 Fosse Road, held on Easter Monday, has 
 
 1 "County Folk-lore: Leicestershire and Rutland," by C. J. 
 Billson, 1895. 
 
 2 Folk-Lore, December 1892. 
 
 86 
 
Hare-Scramble 
 
 preserved until recent years the traces of the 
 Leicester hare-hunt. 
 
 The writer, Mr. Billson, brings forward 
 much evidence to prove that " the hare was 
 originally a totem, or divine animal, among 
 the local aborigines, and that the customs 
 at Leicester and Hallaton are relics of the 
 religious procession and annual sacrifice of 
 the god." He also sees in the " bottle- 
 kicking " a relic of the " carrying out 
 Death," which is practised in some form in 
 many European countries. Something is 
 taken to represent Death, a log of wood 
 or a figure of straw; this is carried out of 
 the village and destroyed in some way. 
 This ceremony usually takes place in the 
 spring, signifying the destruction of winter, 
 the symbol of Death. Then on Easter 
 Monday at Ashton-under-Lyne there is the 
 custom of " Riding the Black Lad;" in 
 which case the effigy of a black boy, after 
 being carried round the town and shot at, 
 is finally burned. 1 The whole subject is 
 full of interest, and we refer our readers to 
 Mr. Billson's article, as we are now con- 
 cerned more with the account of existing 
 customs rather than deductions from them. 
 
 School customs are always full of interest. 
 Many have died, especially at Eton, where one 
 would have imagined they would be scrupu- 
 
 1 "Denham Tracts," vol. i., Folk-Lore Society, 1891. 
 
 87 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 lously observed. An ancient usage prevails at 
 Christ's Hospital, London, on Easter Tues- 
 day, when the boys visit the Mansion House, 
 and receive from the Lord Mayor the custo- 
 mary Easter gifts. Coins fresh from the mint 
 are given to the boys : to each Grecian one 
 guinea, to the Junior Grecians half-a-guinea, 
 to the monitors half-a-crown, while the rank 
 and file receive one shilling. Buns are given 
 to each boy, and also a glass of lemonade in- 
 stead of the wine which they received formerly . 
 In a Northern grammar-school the boys used 
 to attend the ceremony of the installation of 
 the Mayor, and were regaled with punch and 
 buns. Moreover, they were obliged to sin 
 against grammar as well as temperance prin- 
 ciples, for they were called upon to drink 
 the toast 
 
 " Prosperation (sic) 
 To the Corporation." 
 
 The toast and the punch and the custom have 
 been discontinued during the last twenty 
 years. The Christ's Hospital boys, after the 
 ceremony, accompany the Lord Mayor and 
 the Corporation of the City of London to 
 Christ's Church, Newgate Street, where the 
 Spital sermon is preached. This used to be 
 called the Second Spital Sermon, the first 
 being preached on the Monday; but this has 
 been discontinued. 
 
 88 
 
School Customs 
 
 The old Eton Montem has been dead some 
 years, and was last celebrated in 1 844. It was 
 a procession of the scholars, dressed either 
 in military or fancy costume, to the mons, 
 or Salt-hill, where they levied a tax, called 
 " salt," on all comers. Some relics of this 
 custom are preserved in the observances on the 
 famous Fourth of June, when the members of 
 the Boats, and especially the coxswains, wear 
 extraordinary dresses, said to be captains' and 
 midshipmen's uniforms. The old Montem is 
 supposed to be connected with the boy-bishop, 
 and originally took place on the Feast of St. 
 Nicholas. 
 
 On the eve of the Feast of St. Mark 
 (April 25th), Yorkshire folk sit and watch 
 in the porches of churches from 1 1 P.M. to 
 i A.M. It is supposed that the ghosts of 
 all who will die during the following year 
 pass into the church. People sometimes say 
 in case of the illness of a neighbour, that he 
 will not recover as his ghost was seen last St. 
 Martin's Eve; and sometimes this supersti- 
 tion has caused death, on account of the terror 
 which the prophecy inspired. (Folk-Lore.} 
 
 A curious custom is observed at Easter 
 at St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street, 
 London. As the congregation leave the 
 church, an Easter egg, coloured, and with 
 the words " My Redeemer " written on it, is 
 presented to every one. 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 " Heaving " is, we believe, quite extinct. 
 Many men little past middle age can re- 
 member how on Easter Monday the men 
 used to lift the women whom they met 
 thrice above their heads, and the women 
 responded on Easter Tuesday and lifted the 
 men. In spite of many inquiries, we can find 
 no evidence 1 of the continued existence of 
 this custom, which prevailed greatly in the 
 North of England, and also in Wales, War- 
 wickshire, and Shropshire. 
 
 A fortnight after Easter comes the once 
 famous Hock-tide, a very popular festival 
 in former days, but now little observed. 
 Only in one town have some of the humours 
 of Hock-tide been preserved. Hungerford, 
 Berks, still maintains its ancient and curious 
 customs, which not even the new District 
 and Parish Councils Act has been able to 
 affect. Hungerford is an old-world town, 
 governed, not by a mayor and town-council, 
 like other modern mushroom corporations, 
 but by a high constable, assisted by a port- 
 reeve, bailiff, tything or tutti men, hayward, 
 &c. Moreover, John of Gaunt was the great 
 patron of the town, and gave it a wonderful 
 horn, upon the safe preservation of which the 
 
 1 As late as the year 1883 a relic of this custom was observed 
 at Norton, Cheshire, where a man entered a house to "lift" 
 the wife of the owner. The latter objected, and summoned 
 the observer of old customs, who had to pay the costs of the 
 prosecution. 
 
 9 
 
Hock-tide in Hungerford 
 
 rights of the town depend. The proceedings 
 of Hock-tide commence with the watercress 
 supper at the hotel of the " John o' Gaunt," 
 consisting of black broth, welsh rabbit, mac- 
 caroni, and salad, accompanied by bowls 
 of punch. During the meal the affairs of 
 the township are discussed. On Tuesday, 
 " Hockney Day," the proceedings com- 
 mence by the town-crier blowing from the 
 balcony of the town-hall the ancient horn, 
 the gift of John of Gaunt. The Hock-tide 
 Court assemble, the jury is sworn, the names 
 of the free suitors are called over by the 
 town-clerk, and the commoners summoned 
 to " save their commons " for the ensuing 
 year. Various officers are elected, including 
 the water-bailiff, hall-keeper, hayward, ale- 
 tasters, &c. The tything or tutti 1 men 
 visit the residence of the high constable, and 
 are invested with the emblems of office. 
 Their duties consist of calling upon the 
 commoners, and demanding from the men 
 a coin, and from the women a kiss, and pre- 
 senting every person in the house with 
 an orange. Kissing evidently does not al- 
 ways go by favour, especially at Hunger- 
 ford during Hock-tide. The collection of 
 pennies is a simple matter, and a large 
 majority of the ladies usually submit to the 
 
 1 So called from their poles, wreathed with tutties or posies 
 of flowers. 
 
 9 1 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 ancient usage of the old town ; but many 
 hide themselves until all danger of a visit 
 from the tutti men is passed, and bolts and 
 bars often check the advances of the favoured 
 official. A luncheon is given by the high 
 constable at the "Three Swans/' during the 
 progress of which the boys and girls of the 
 town scramble for money and oranges thrown 
 to them from the windows. In addition to 
 these remarkable survivals of old customs 
 there is the " Sandin Fee Court," when the 
 list of " Rescients " is read, and regulations 
 made for the feeding of cattle on the marsh. 
 After another dinner the court leet is held, 
 and in the evening the constable's banquet, 
 when his worship sits in a beautiful old 
 carved ebony chair beneath the shade of the 
 famous John o' Gaunt's horn, which is sus- 
 pended between the two tutti poles. The 
 last toast of the evening is " To the memory 
 of John o' Gaunt," which is drunk in solemn 
 silence as the clock strikes the hour of 
 midnight. The Hock-tide proceedings are 
 brought to a close by the constable, feofers, 
 and other officers attending divine service in 
 the parish church. The municipal customs 
 of Hungerford are a curious and interesting 
 survival, and we hope that they may long 
 retain their peculiar usages. 
 
 The duties of the tything or tutti men 
 remind one of the ancient " gatherings " 
 92 
 
April Fool's Day 
 
 once universally practised at Hock-tide, and 
 supposed to be held in memory of the vic- 
 tory of our Saxon forefathers over the Danes. 
 The custom was for the men to traverse the 
 streets with ropes, and stop and bind all 
 the women they met, releasing them on pay- 
 ment of a small ransom. On the Tuesday in 
 Hock-tide the women retaliated and bound 
 the men ; but this custom is now quite 
 obsolete. 1 
 
 The spirit of mischief inherent in human 
 nature prevents youths and maidens from 
 forgetting the due observance of All Fools 1 
 Day (April 1st). Why people should be 
 sent on foolish errands and be made the 
 subjects of harmless jokes on this day, it is 
 difficult to conjecture. Nor is the custom 
 confined to one country. In France the vic- 
 tim is called un poisson d'Avril (an April 
 fish), and in Scotland a gowk or cuckoo; 
 while in India the same practice prevails. 
 It is supposed to be connected with the 
 popular celebration of the advent of the 
 vernal equinox, though some writers have 
 suggested that poisson is a corruption of 
 Passion, and that the mock trial of our 
 Saviour is in some way referred to. Pro- 
 bably it is a remnant of the old New Year's 
 Day festivities, which commenced on March 
 25th and ended on April ist. To decide 
 
 1 Cf. "Old English Sports," by P. H. Ditchfield, p. 42. 
 
 93 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 the vexed question of the origin of All 
 Fools' Day is almost as vain as to hunt the 
 gowk, which, according to the old rhyme, 
 was the fruitless sport assigned to foolish 
 folk : 
 
 " On the first day of April 
 Hunt the gowk another mile." * 
 
 Still the ingenuity of mankind is taxed on 
 this day to make April fools until the hour 
 of twelve strikes, when the sport is no longer 
 legitimate. It were well if fools and folly 
 could be confined to this brief period of 
 existence. 
 
 1 Dr. Giuseppe Pitri has published a monograph on this sub- 
 ject entitled // Pesce cTAprile (1891), which may well attract 
 the attention of the curious. The learned author states that 
 " there is scarcely any popular tradition of which the origin is 
 so obscure." 
 
 94 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 May Day customs Magdalen College, Oxford 
 Sweeps at Oxford and Cheltenham Bampton 
 customs Charlton, Clifton, and Witney, Oxon 
 Edlesborough, Bucks Hawick customs Saltash, 
 Cornwall Minehead and Lancashire, Leicester- 
 shire, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Northants cus- 
 toms Old Maypole still standing Gawthorpe, 
 Yorks St. Mary Cray. 
 
 Jr ROM ancient times May Day has ever 
 been the great rural festival, when the May- 
 pole was erected on every village green and 
 spring was ushered in with all the merriness 
 of simple rustic revelry. In recent times we 
 have witnessed a revival of the crowning of 
 May Queens and of children dancing around 
 Maypoles. The old ceremonies are closely 
 imitated, but they lack the spontaneity of the 
 ancient rural festivals, and we are concerned 
 now with the actual survivals of old customs, 
 rather than any modern imitations of the 
 same. In many old-world villages and towns 
 we find still the old May Day ceremonies 
 lingering on, and some of these we will visit, 
 and describe how the rustics still continue to 
 " usher in the May." 
 
 At Oxford the custom of singing the May / * 
 
 95 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Morning Hymn on the summit of the tower 
 of Magdalen College by the choristers is 
 regularly observed. 
 
 This is said to have taken the place of 
 a requiem mass which in pre-Reformation 
 days was performed on the same spot for 
 the* repose of the soul of Henry VII. The 
 following are the words of the hymn : 
 
 " Te Deum Patrem colimus, 
 Te laudibus prosequimur, 
 Qui corpus cibo reficis 
 Coelesti mentem gratia. 
 
 Te adoramus, O Jesu ! 
 Te, Fill unigenite ! 
 Tu, qui non dedignatus es 
 Subire claustra Virginis. 
 
 Actus in crucem factus es, 
 Irato Deo victima ; 
 Per te, Salvator unice, 
 Vitse spes nobis rediit. 
 
 Tibi, seterne Spiritus, 
 Cujus afflatu peperit 
 Infantem Deum Maria, 
 Sternum benedicimus. 
 
 Triune Deus, hominum 
 Salutis Auctor optime, 
 Immensum hoc mysterium 
 Ovanti lingua canimus." 
 
 About 150 persons are usually present, and 
 as the hour of five strikes the choir com- 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 mence to sing the hymn. In the street and 
 on the bridge a large crowd of spectators 
 assemble, many of whom blow horns and 
 other hideous-sounding instruments, and at 
 the conclusion of the hymn they disperse for 
 the accustomed country-walk. 
 
 In the same city on May Day garlands are 
 borne along the streets, and a " Jack-in-the- 
 Green," with the accompaniment of about a 
 dozen fantastically dressed men and women, 
 is often seen. This procession is formed by 
 the Sweeps, and consists of the following 
 personages : 
 
 1. Jack-in-the-Green. 
 
 2. A "Lord" and "Lady," who are 
 
 dressed in white and decorated 
 with ribbons. The "Lady" carries 
 a ladle, and the " Lord " a frying- 
 pan. 
 
 3. A " Fool," dressed as fantastically as 
 
 possible, who carries a bladder on 
 a string, wherewith to belabour the 
 bystanders. 
 
 4. A fiddler. 
 
 5. Two or three men who carry money- 
 
 boxes. 
 
 6. A man with shovel and poker, which 
 
 he uses as musical instruments. 
 
 The whole party, except the " Lady," have 
 their faces blackened, and are decked with 
 97 G 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 ribbons and flowers. They sing the follow- 
 ing song : 
 
 " Please to remember the chimney-sweeps ; 
 Please, kind sir, don't pass us by ; 
 We're old sweeps and want a living, 
 Spare us a copper as in olden time." 
 
 The chimney-sweeps of Cheltenham also 
 hold high revels on May Day. The dancers 
 have their faces blacked, and their band con- 
 sists of a fiddle and tin-whistle. The centre 
 of the group is formed by a large bush, or 
 hollow cone bedecked with leaves, out of 
 which peers the face of Jack-i'-the-Green. 
 The dresses of the attendants are red, blue, 
 and yellow, and they dance around the bush. 
 The leader of the party is the clown, who 
 wears a tall hat with a flapping crown, and a 
 fantastical dress, and "fancies himself" greatly. 
 There is also a man with a fool's cap, and 
 black figures fastened on his white pinafore, 
 and the representation of a gridiron. Two 
 boys complete the group, one wearing a girl's 
 hat adorned with flowers. They levy contri- 
 butions by holding out iron ladles or spoons, 
 and strike the bystanders with bladders fas- 
 tened to a stick. Their performance consists 
 in dancing and roaring. The Cambridge 
 sweeps evidently used to have a similar festi- 
 val, as the children still go round with a doll, 
 hung in the midst of a hoop wreathed with 
 flowers, singing the ditty 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 " The first of May is garland day, 
 And chimney-sweepers' dancing day ; 
 Curl your locks as I do mine, 
 One before and one behind." 
 
 At Bampton, Oxon, up to within forty or 
 fifty years ago, a party of children used to 
 go round the town on May Day, dressed in 
 white, with red, white, and blue ribbons 
 (these are now the colours of the Club). 
 A boy, called the " Lord," carried a stick 
 dressed with ribbons and flowers, which was 
 called a " sword," and a collecting-box for 
 pence. Two girls, known as the " Lady " 
 and her " Maid," carried on a stick between 
 them the "garland," which was made of 
 two hoops crossed, and covered with moss, 
 flowers, and ribbons. The " Lady " also 
 carried a " mace," a square piece of board 
 mounted on a short staff, on the top of 
 which were sweet-smelling herbs under a 
 muslin cover, decorated with red, white, and 
 blue ribbons and rosettes. The " Lord " and 
 "Lady" were accompanied by a "Jack-in- 
 the-Green." From time to time the "Lady" 
 sang the following words : 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, 
 I wish you a happy May ; 
 Please smell my mace 
 And kiss my face, 
 And then we'll show our garland." 
 
 99 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 After the words " kiss my face," it was 
 the " Lord's " duty to kiss the " Lady," and 
 then to hand round his money-box. This 
 custom has been almost discontinued on 
 May Day for many years past, but is kept 
 up, without the Jack-in-the-Green, at the 
 Club Feast on Whit-Monday. 
 
 At Charlton-on-Otmoor, Oxon, on May 
 morning a procession used to start from the 
 vicarage, headed by two men carrying a large 
 garland of flowers on a stick. With them 
 went six morris-dancers, a fool or " Squire," 
 who carried a bladder and a money-box, and 
 a man who played the pipe and tabour. At 
 the end of the day, after the dancing was 
 over, the garland was taken to the church, 
 and hung up on the rood-screen in place of 
 _the rood, where it was left till the next May 
 Day, when it was taken down and redressed. 
 The procession and dancing has been given 
 up since 1857, but the garland is still dressed 
 every May Day, and put upon the screen. 
 
 At Witney they still have a Jack-in-the- 
 Green, a man enclosed in a bower made in 
 the shape of a pyramid about ten feet high. 
 He is accompanied by various attendants, one 
 bearing a drum or a triangle, and another a 
 large silver ladle for the reception of the 
 monies of the spectators. 
 
 At Clifton, near Deddington, Oxon, a 
 number of boys and girls go round with a 
 100 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 garland, carried between two of them on a 
 stick, and sing the following song : 
 
 " Good morning, ladies and gentlemen ; 
 
 I wish you a happy day ; 
 I'm come to show my garland, 
 Because it's the First of May. 
 
 A bunch of May I have brought you, 
 
 And at your door it stands ; 
 It is but a spray, but it's well spread about, 
 
 'Tis the work of our God's hands. 1 
 
 And now I've sung my little short song, 
 
 No longer can I stay ; 
 God bless you all, both great and small, 
 
 And grant you a very happy May." 
 
 On May Day, at Spelsbury, the school 
 children go in procession, with a garland 
 carried on a stick between two of them. 
 They choose a " Lord " and a " Lady," who 
 are dressed in white, with coloured ribbons ; 
 the rest carry " maces" z>., sticks dressed 
 in ribbons and flowers. The following song 
 is sung : 
 
 " Hail ! all hail ! the merry month of May ! 
 I'm come to show my garland, 
 Because it's the First of May. 
 
 1 At Warborough, Oxon, they sing this verse : 
 " The streets are very dirty, 
 My shoes are very thin ; 
 But I've got a little pocket 
 To put my money in." 
 IOI 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Hail ! all hail ! away to the woods away, 
 And to the fields and lanes so gay. 
 Hail ! all hail ! " 
 
 At the end of the song, the " Lord " gene- 
 rally kisses the "Lady," and contributions in 
 money are asked of the bystanders. 
 
 The children at Wheatley, Oxon, sing a 
 very sweet little May Day song, which is 
 worthy of record : 
 
 " Spring is coming, spring is coming ; 
 
 Birdies, build your nest ; 
 Weave together straw and feather, 
 Doing each your best. 
 
 Spring is coming, spring is coming, 
 
 Flowers are coming too ; 
 Pansies, lilies, daffodilies, 
 
 Now are coming through. 
 
 Spring is coming, spring is coming, 
 
 All around is fair ; 
 Shimmer and quiver on the river, 
 
 Joy is everywhere. 
 
 We wish you a happy May." 
 
 At Edlesborough, Bucks, the girls dress 
 up a doll, sometimes with a small doll in its 
 lap, with many ribbons and flowers, and carry 
 it about in a small chair. This is evidently 
 intended to represent the Virgin and Child. 
 The church is dedicated to St. Mary the 
 Virgin ; possibly there may be some connec- 
 102 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 tion between the custom and the patron saint 
 of the parish. A similar custom, almost 
 defunct, prevails at Brightwalton, Berks, 
 where the Virgin and Child, in the guise of 
 the Queen of the May, with a doll in a 
 basjcet, is borne round the parish. 
 
 A rude custom prevails at Minehead on 
 May Day. The men fashion a cardboard 
 ship, about ten feet long, with sails trimmed 
 with flags and ribbons. This is carried on a 
 man's shoulders, his head coming through a 
 hole in the deck of the ship. To the end of 
 the ship is fastened a cow's tail. The men 
 then run about and frighten the people into 
 giving them money, threatening to beat them 
 with the cow's tail. The origin of this cus- 
 tom is said to date from the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, when a ship was sunk ofF 
 Dunster, and all hands lost. Only a cow 
 was found, which provided a tail wherewith 
 to grace the ceremony of the "Hobby Ship." 
 
 In Hawick a few of the young people still 
 go a-Maying, and rub their faces in the morn- 
 ing dew, whereby they secure twelve months 
 of rosy cheeks ; but year by year the number 
 of the devotees of " May Morning " are be- 
 coming less, and probably the next generation 
 will know little of the secrets of how rosy 
 cheeks were sought for on early May mornings, 
 and perhaps seek less simple and wholesome 
 ways for producing the much-desired bloom. 
 103 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Mrs. Pepys knew the virtues of May-dew, 
 as we gather from her husband's diary : 
 "My wife away to Woolwich in order to a 
 little ayre, and to lie there to-night, and 
 so to gather May-dew to-morrow morning, 
 which Mrs. Turner hath taught her is the 
 only thing in the world to wash her face 
 with." 
 
 A very curious May Day custom is ob- 
 served at Saltash, Cornwall, on the first three 
 days of May. The children gather all the 
 old kettles, scuttles, tea-trays, pails, and other 
 discarded vessels, and link them with cords. 
 In the evenings all these vessels are dragged in 
 noisy trail, with much vocal shouting, in and 
 out of all the nooks and corners of the parish. 
 The sanction of long-established custom 
 secures the tolerance of the town authori- 
 ties and the public; but the origin of the 
 custom is shrouded in mystery. Probably it 
 is a survival of a heathen rite, intended to 
 scare away demons from the homes and pro- 
 perties of the inhabitants. No alms are 
 asked, and no reason given for the three 
 evenings' noisy proceedings ; and there is an 
 air of mystery about the ceremony well 
 according with the theory of a demon-driv- 
 ing rite. Garlands are also carried round 
 the parish by the children on May Morning. 
 
 The eve of May Day at Oldham is known 
 as Mischief Night, when it was the custom 
 104 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 for the people to play all manner of tricks on 
 their neighbours. My informant remembers 
 to have seen a thatched house in a village 
 near Oldham adorned with mops, rakes, 
 brushes, on the tops of which were stuck 
 mugs, tubs, pails, or anything portable up 
 to a five-barred gate. Sometimes companies 
 would stay up all night playing and singing 
 in order to welcome the incoming May. 
 
 In most of the Lancashire towns the 
 carters decorate their horses with ribbons, 
 rosettes, and flowers. In Bolton prizes are 
 given for the finest team of horses, and the 
 most tastefully adorned, and the same cus- 
 tom prevails in other towns. Lancashire 
 folk dearly love a procession. At the school 
 feasts, the children, dressed in their best 
 finery, always march round the parish. On 
 May Day the gaily-decked horses are paraded 
 through the principal streets, with bands of 
 music, and the Mayor and Corporation 
 usually attend the function, which has many 
 practical uses. 
 
 In Cornwall, once the home of the Mayers, 
 the Maypole no longer exists. At High 
 Town, St. Mary's, Scilly, one is erected every 
 year, and the girls dance round it decked 
 with garlands and wreaths. May Day is 
 ushered in at Penzance by the discordant 
 blowing of large tin horns. At daybreak 
 the boys assemble and perambulate the town 
 105 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 blowing their horns and collecting money for 
 a feast. 
 
 In Polperro the people go into the country 
 and gather the whitethorn blossoms or narrow- 
 leaved elm. Later on the boys sally forth with 
 buckets and other vessels full of water, and 
 " dip " all who do not wear " the May." 
 They sing as their warrant for their conduct 
 
 " The first of May 
 Is Dipping Day." 
 
 At Padstow the day is called Hobby- 
 Horse Day. A hobby-horse is carried through 
 the streets to Traitor's Pool, where it is 
 made to drink. The head is dipped in the 
 water and the spectators are sprinkled. The 
 procession returns home, singing a song to 
 commemorate the tradition that the French, 
 having landed in the bay, mistook a party of 
 mummers in red cloaks for soldiers, hastily 
 fled to their boats and sailed away. 
 
 In Leicestershire the observance of May 
 Day is still kept up, and girls come round 
 bearing a small Maypole tastefully decorated 
 with flowers. The Gloucestershire children 
 sing as follows : 
 
 " Round the Maypole, trit, trit, trot ! 
 See what a garland we have got ; 
 Fine and gay, 
 Trip away, 
 
 Happy is our new May Day." 
 1 06 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 At Watford, Herts, the girls go about 
 the streets, dressed in white, with gay ribbons 
 and sashes of various colours. They carry a 
 "garland," two hoops, decked with flowers. 
 Their song begins as follows : 
 
 " Here begins the merry month of May, 
 
 The bright time of the year, 
 When Christ our Saviour died for us, 
 Who loved us so dear. 
 
 So dear, so dear, Christ loved us, 
 
 And all our sins to save ; 
 We'd better leave off our wickedness 
 
 And turn to the Lord again. 
 
 My song is done, I must be gone, 
 
 No longer can I stay ; 
 God bless you all, both great and small, 
 
 I wish you a merry month of May." 
 
 Girls with garlands are seen at Great Grans- 
 den, Huntingdonshire, but the old May Lord 
 and May Lady who once flourished here are 
 now dead. 
 
 At Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the children 
 bring their garlands and dolls, and sing : 
 
 " First and second and third of May 
 Are chimney-sweepers' dancing days ; 
 Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a happy May, 
 I've come to show my garlands 
 Because it is May Day." 
 
 A perfect garland of song adorns this 
 107 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 bright rural festival, and a volume of the 
 verses sung on May Day might be written. 
 We will conclude our May Day songs with 
 the words of Mayers in Northamptonshire, 
 at Denton and Chaldecote : 
 
 " Here come up poor players all, and thus do we begin 
 To lead our lives of righteousness, for fear we die in sin. 
 To die in sin is dreadful, to go where sinners mourn, 
 'Twould have been better for our souls if we had 
 
 ne'er been born. 
 Good morning, lords and ladies ! it is the First of 
 
 May; 
 
 I hope you'll view the garland, for it looks so very gay. 
 The cuckoo sings in April, the cuckoo sings in May, 
 The cuckoo sings in June, in July it flies away. 
 Now take a Bible in your hand and read a chapter 
 
 through, 
 And when the day of judgment comes, the Lord 
 
 will think of you." 
 
 The hand of the Puritans is evident in 
 this curious medley, who altered the old 
 May songs and took away from them much 
 of their light-heartedness. But, as we have 
 already seen, many of the old merry verses 
 survived, and are still repeated in the old 
 villages of England. 
 
 The original Maypole still stands in many 
 villages. At Orwell, near Cambridge, it stood 
 till, in 1 869, it was destroyed by a storm, and 
 has not since been replaced. There is a fine 
 one at Wellow, near Ollerton, Northamp- 
 108 
 
May Day Customs 
 
 tonshire; at Redmire, near Bolton Castle, 
 Yorkshire ; at Hemswell, near Gainsborough, 
 Lincolnshire ; at Welford, Gloucestershire ; 
 at Donnington, Shropshire ; and at Preston 
 Brockhurst, in the same county. The May- 
 pole may still be seen at Gawthorpe, York- 
 shire, where the ancient customs are kept up, 
 although marred by the invasion of factories 
 and the absence of all the sylvan beauties 
 of the country. Long streets of hideous 
 cottages and mill chimneys belching forth 
 their clouds of smoke are not in keeping 
 with the celebration of the Arcadia of the 
 First of May. But still the May Queen 
 rides on horseback surrounded by her sponsors, 
 electors, and attendants, and the Maypole 
 is reared and danced around as in the good 
 old days. 
 
 At Polebrooke, Oundle, the children elect 
 a May Queen and parade the village, the 
 May Queen at the head of the procession, 
 attended by two girls carrying dressed dolls 
 placed in a bower of green and flowers. 
 They sing the following words : 
 
 " May is come, we spy the traces 
 Of her fingers in the flowers, 
 Boys and girls with smiling faces 
 
 Come and seek her through the bowers. 
 Catch young May, 
 Make her stay, 
 
 Dance around her bright and gay." 
 109 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 One of the most successful revivals of the 
 May Day festivities takes place at St. Mary 
 Cray, Kent. There the old festival rites are 
 celebrated amid beautiful surroundings, and 
 thousands assemble to watch Maypole dances 
 and attend the coronation of the fair May 
 Queen. There have been so many revivals 
 of the old May Day customs, that it is not 
 vain to hope that ere long each village may 
 again have its Maypole and its May Queen, 
 and the hearts of the rustic youths and 
 maidens be rejoiced by the quaint observances 
 of this old-time festival. 
 
 no 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Helston Furry dance Rogation-tide and Ganging 
 Week Beating the bounds at Malborough, Lich- 
 Jield, Oxford, Leicester, and London Royal Oak 
 Day Wilts custom Selkirk Common -Riding 
 " Gravely " Singing custom at Durham. 
 
 ON May 8th, at Helston, Cornwall, there 
 remains a most curious and interesting sur- 
 vival of an ancient Celtic custom, which is 
 known as the Furry Dance. From time 
 immemorial this festival has been held, and 
 there seems no sign of decaying vitality. 
 The origin of the festival is disputed. Some 
 attribute it to the vision of a fiery dragon 
 over Helston in remote ages, when the in- 
 habitants naturally were grievously alarmed ; 
 and the Furry dance was subsequently in- 
 stituted, with the accompaniment of flowers 
 and branches, as a token of rejoicing for the 
 disappearance of the monster. Others say it 
 is a festival in honour of the Roman goddess 
 Flora; whilst still others claim that it is 
 connected with the Feast of St. Michael, in 
 memory of the cessation of a great plague 
 which raged in the seventh century, St. 
 Michael being the patron saint of Helston. 
 in 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 A legend narrates that he once encountered 
 the Devil, who was playing with a block of 
 granite known as Hell's Stone, having been 
 originally placed at the mouth of the infernal 
 regions. The Devil was worsted in the com- 
 bat, and took to flight, dropping the stone 
 into the yard of the Angel Inn, where it 
 remained until the end of the last century 
 as a witness of the truth of the story. 
 This stone naturally gave the name to the 
 town. 
 
 On May 8th, a procession of thirty or 
 forty couples is formed at the Market-house, 
 and, preceded by a band, goes through the 
 town dancing a quaint country-dance to the 
 Celtic Furry tune. The parties are composed 
 of gentlemen and ladies of the county families 
 in the neighbourhood, and the peculiarity of 
 the ceremony is that they dance in and out 
 of all the houses, going in at the front door 
 and out at the back, and returning vice versa. 
 It is a strange processional dance, in no way 
 resembling the old Maypole circular dance 
 of the Merrie England of our forefathers. 
 The words of the old Furry song, set to a 
 quaint and original melody, are curious, and 
 run as follows : 
 
 " Robin Hood and Little John, 
 
 They both are gone to the fair, O ; 
 And we to the merry greenwood, 
 To see what they do there, O. 
 112 
 
Helston Furry Dance 
 
 And for to chase, O, 
 To chase the buck and doe, 
 With Hal-an-tow, 
 Jolly rumble, O. 
 
 ( Chorus} 
 
 And we were up as soon as any day, O, 
 And for to fetch the summer home, 
 
 The summer and the May, O ; 
 
 For the summer is a come, O, 
 And winter is a go, O. 
 
 Where are those Spaniards 
 
 That made so great a boast, O ? 
 They shall eat the grey goose feather, 
 And we will eat the roast, O. 
 
 And every land, O, 
 The land that ere we go, 
 With Hal-an-tow, 
 Jolly rumble, O. 
 (Chorus as before.") 
 
 As for St. George, O, 
 
 St. George he was a knight, O ; 
 Of all the kings in Christendom, 
 King George is the right, O. 
 
 In every land, O, 
 The land that ere we go, 
 With Hal-an-tow, 
 Jolly rumble, O. 
 
 (Chorus) 
 
 God bless Aunt Mary Moses, 
 
 With all her power and might, O ; 
 And send us peace in Merry England 
 Both day and night, O." 
 
 113 H 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 The figure of the dance is simple. To 
 the first half of the tune the couples dance 
 hand in hand ; at the second the first gentle- 
 man turns the second lady, and the second 
 gentleman the first lady. This change is 
 made all down the set. 
 
 i Whether the word Furry is derived from 
 I Flora or from fer^ a fair or merrymaking, 
 \ or from the Greek <ep>, " to bear," or from 
 the Cornish furrier, a thief, alluding to the 
 spoils of the greenwood brought home to 
 deck their festival, I must leave to the in- 
 genuity of the curious. The modern festival 
 is utilised by the inhabitants of Helston as 
 an occasion for holding horse, dog, and 
 poultry shows, and also a Home Mission 
 bazaar ; but it still remains one of the most 
 curious and interesting gatherings in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Formerly any one found at work on this 
 day was seized, set astride on a pole, jolted 
 away on men's shoulders amidst a thousand 
 huzzas, and at last sentenced to leap over a 
 part of the river, so wide that the task was 
 impossible without the performer being im- 
 mersed. He could, however, gain his liberty 
 by a small contribution towards the entertain- 
 ments of the day. The boys of the Grammar 
 School were not forgotten, and a holiday was 
 demanded for them by the revellers. The 
 children used to " fade " (a Cornish word 
 114 
 
Beating the Bounds 
 
 signifying "to go") into the country, and 
 return with their heads decorated with flowers 
 and oak-leaves. Latterly all the ancient cus- 
 toms connected with the day have not been 
 strictly observed, but the old Furry dance is 
 still kept up with accustomed vigour. 
 
 The week in which Rogation-tide and 
 Ascension Day fall is sometimes known as 
 Gang Week, so named from the custom of 
 ganging or beating the bounds of the parishes. 
 This custom was once universally practised. 
 In the " Book of Homilies " there is a special 
 " Exhortation to be spoken to such parishes 
 when they use their perambulation in Roga- 
 tion Week, for the oversight of the bounds 
 and limits of their town." The words of 
 the homily are worth quoting, and state that 
 " we have occasion given us in our walks to- 
 day to consider the old ancient bounds and 
 limits belonging to our township, and to 
 other our neighbours bordering about us, to 
 the intent that we should be content with 
 our own, and not contentiously strive for 
 others', to the breach of charity, by any 
 encroaching one upon another, or claiming 
 one of the other, further than that in ancient 
 right and custom our forefathers have peace- 
 fully laid out unto us for our commodity 
 and comfort." Lawyers' deeds and the Ord- 
 nance Survey maps have rendered it well-nigh 
 impossible to be guilty of the encroaching 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 of which the homily speaks, but in several 
 places the custom of beating the bounds is 
 still kept up. 
 
 At Malborough, Devonshire, the practice 
 is observed with all due formality ; the mayor 
 and town-councillors invariably perambulate 
 the town and traverse its boundaries. A few 
 years ago the mayor himself was thoroughly 
 ducked during his progress, in order to ensure 
 his remembering a certain bit of the river 
 boundary. In many places boys were beaten 
 or ducked at certain spots, in order to impress 
 their memories with the details of the parish 
 bounds ; but it is not often that so important 
 and dignified an official as a mayor receives 
 such a painful aid to memory. 
 
 In beating the bounds of the city of Oxford 
 it is necessary for the mayor and corporation 
 to take a boat and go on the river. A few 
 years ago we read that <f the mayor and others 
 were upset," and later on the boat capsized. 
 Perhaps this ducking was in lieu of " bump- 
 ing," and shows that even the holding of the 
 office of mayor has some drawbacks. 
 
 Every three years the bounds of the parish 
 of St. Mary's, Leicester, are beaten, and the 
 day is observed as a holiday by the children. 
 The procession is composed of the vicar, 
 churchwardens, and other officials, and about 
 two hundred and fifty boys. Formerly at 
 one spot in the route a hole was dug, and 
 116 
 
Beating the Bounds 
 
 any newly-appointed parish officer was seized, 
 and his head placed in the hole, while his 
 body was thumped with a shovel. A feast 
 was held, and various sports followed, such 
 as racing, bobbing for apples in buckets of 
 water, &c. ; but these have been discontinued. 
 
 At Lichfield on Ascension Day the choris- 
 ters of the cathedral deck the houses and 
 street lamps in the parish of the Close with 
 elm-boughs. After the midday service the 
 clergy and choir start in procession from the 
 cathedral, properly vested, the boys carrying 
 small pieces of elm, and go round the boun- 
 daries of the parish, making a halt at eight 
 stations where wells exist, or are said to have 
 existed. At each of these stations the Gospel 
 for the day is said by one of the priest -vicars 
 in turn, followed by the singing of one verse 
 of Psalm civ. or c. On re-entering the cathe- 
 dral by the north-west door, the verse, " O 
 enter then His gates with praise" is sung, 
 and the company gather round the font, 
 where the blessing is given, and the boys 
 throw down their boughs. On the same day 
 the sacrist gives a bun to every unconfirmed 
 child in the parish. 
 
 At Oxford the bounds of the parish of St. 
 Mary the Virgin were beaten by boys with 
 white willow wands when Dean Burgon was 
 the vicar, and the writer remembers to have 
 seen them entering the quadrangle of Oriel 
 117 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 College during their perambulations. I am 
 not aware whether the practice is still con- 
 tinued. 
 
 In a parish in Suffolk the vicar revived 
 the custom a few years ago, but the farmers 
 objected to the people crossing their fields 
 and making gaps in their hedges. 
 
 Just over the Border they have a famous 
 beating of the bounds, better known as the 
 Selkirk Common-Riding. On the eve of 
 the celebration the senior burgh officer, at- 
 tended by a fifer and a drummer, marches 
 through the town and announces to the 
 lieges that on the morrow the important and 
 historic ceremonies would be observed. At 
 four o'clock on the following day the caller 
 morning air is pierced by the music of the 
 fife and drum, and soon a band of pipers 
 parade the streets, and enthusiastic "Souters" 
 of all ages assemble to take part in the pro- 
 ceedings. The flag of the town, an old and 
 battered pennon, has recently been replaced 
 by a new one, which is carried in the Com- 
 mon-Riding. The object of this festival is 
 to ride the marches of the town's lands in 
 order to protect them from the encroach- 
 ments or thieving propensities of neighbour- 
 ing lairds. A procession is then formed 
 consisting of mounted constables, the brass 
 band, the Bailies and members of the Town- 
 Council, the Hammermen with their flag, 
 118 
 
Selkirk Common-Riding 
 
 the Merchant Company, Standard - Bearer, 
 Provost, Town-Clerk, Burleymen, and others, 
 all mounted, to the number of about a 
 hundred. The Common-Riding Choir sing 
 appropriate melodies. Then the riders pro- 
 ceed on their gallop round the marches, and 
 not unusually several " spills " occur amongst 
 the inexperienced equestrians. Refreshments 
 are served at different places during the 
 journey, and the lease of one farm obliges 
 the tenant to regale the horsemen at the 
 Common-Riding. Races are run for switches 
 amidst wild excitement, and then the com- 
 pany return to the town, where a picturesque 
 ceremony takes place commemorating the 
 noble achievements of the famous Selkirk 
 Souters at Flodden Field. The Hammer- 
 men and the Souters cast the colours to the 
 tune of " Up wi' the Souters o' Selkirk," 
 and the ceremony is concluded with tumul- 
 tuous cheers. The Selkirk Common-Riding 
 is the great festival of the year in the town, 
 and does much to foster local esprit de corps, 
 and to preserve the historical and legendary 
 lore of this beautiful Border district. 
 
 In London in several parishes, and at Tor- 
 quay, beating the bounds is observed with 
 municipal honours; and possibly in many 
 other places the custom still exists, but no 
 further particulars have been ascertained of 
 the practice of this ancient observance. 
 119 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 May 29th, the birthday of Charles II., and 
 the day of his public entry into London after 
 the Restoration, is duly honoured by young 
 people in many parts of the country. In 
 Wilts it is known as Shitsack or Shick-shack 
 Day, 1 when the children carry shitsack, or 
 sprigs of young oak, in the morning, and 
 powder-monkey or even-ash (ash leaves with 
 an equal number of leaflets) in the afternoon. 
 Those who wear these emblems of loyalty 
 have the privilege of pinching or otherwise 
 ill-treating those who do not don the oak- 
 leaf. The adoption of this leaf is, of course, 
 intended to commemorate the escape of the 
 King when he hid himself in the famous oak 
 at Boscobel after the battle of Worcester. 
 
 At Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire, it has 
 always been the custom to attach an oak- 
 bough to the flag-staff on the church-tower 
 on " Oak Apple Day," and we remember to 
 have seen a similar practice in Cheshire. 
 
 The day is called " Oak and Nettle Day " 
 in Nottinghamshire, where the boys arm 
 themselves with oaken sprigs and bunches of 
 nettles. All who cannot " show their oak," 
 and thus testify to their loyalty, are punished 
 by being struck with the nettles on their 
 hands and face. Rotten eggs used to be in- 
 struments of punishment about twenty years 
 ago. 
 
 1 Also in Berks. 
 120 
 
Royal Oak Day 
 
 Royal Oak Day is loyally observed at 
 Northampton, which has a grateful remem- 
 brance of several generous acts of the Stuart 
 king. A great fire nearly destroyed the town 
 in 1675, and Charles II. gave the citizens 
 a thousand tons of timber out of Whittle- 
 wood Forest to enable them to rebuild their 
 houses, and also remitted the duty of chimney- 
 money for seven years. Hence his memory 
 is duly honoured. The corporation attend 
 All Saints' Church on May 29th, and march 
 thither in procession, followed by all the 
 school-children in the town, the boys having 
 gilt oak-apples in their caps. The statue of 
 the king, near the church, is also decorated 
 with oaken boughs on this day, and many of 
 the houses are similarly adorned. Northamp- 
 ton is evidently very loyal, and does not forget 
 kindness. 
 
 A very strange custom prevails on this 
 day at Wishford and Barford, near Salisbury. 
 The inhabitants of these villages have certain 
 rights in Grovely woods. These rights are 
 kept up by a meeting on " Oak Apple Day," 
 when boughs are gathered and carried in pro- 
 cession, and the cry is " Grovely ! Grovely ! 
 Grovely ! " 
 
 It is still the custom for the Durham 
 
 Cathedral choir to ascend the tower of the 
 
 cathedral on May 29, and sing three anthems 
 
 from the three sides of it. This custom is 
 
 121 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 as old as the battle of Neville's Cross, which 
 Queen Philippa fought with David I. of Scot- 
 land in the year 1 346, when the monks chanted 
 masses from the summit of the tower on be- 
 half of the Queen. Tradition states that a 
 choir boy once overbalanced himself and fell 
 from the tower, and was killed. Hence the 
 choir only sing their anthems on the three 
 sides. 
 
 122 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Club feasts at Whitsuntide Bampton, Oxon 
 Morris-dancers Irish "death ride" Wakes in 
 Lancashire and Yorks Rush-bearing at Oldham, 
 Ambleside, Grasmere Hay strewing at Braun- 
 ston, Leicester Horn dance at Abbot Bromley 
 " Flower sermon " Cornish "feastcn " Sunday. 
 
 WHITSUNTIDE is the great season for 
 the old club feasts. From an economic 
 point of view, no one who has the welfare 
 of the people at heart will regret the decline 
 of the old village benefit clubs. They were 
 nearly all rotten ; they were conducted on 
 the most unsound systems of financial orga- 
 nisation ; they usually failed to benefit the 
 members when aid was most needed ; and 
 their place is well supplied by the admirably 
 conducted benefit societies, the Oddfellows, 
 Foresters, and other sound benefit clubs. 
 But the student of the manners and customs 
 of our race regrets the disappearance of many 
 of our village clubs, because it has entailed 
 the destruction of many old customs asso- 
 ciated with the annual club feast, which 
 were not without their special interest and 
 123 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 importance. Those that have survived the 
 lapse of time are here recorded. 
 
 At Bampton, Oxon, in order to celebrate 
 the club feast, which is held on Whit-Mon- 
 day, a procession goes round the town ; it is 
 made up as follows : 
 
 1. A drum-and-piper, or, as he is more 
 commonly called, " whittle-and-dub " man 
 (the term pipe-and-tabour was in use within 
 living memory) ; the music is now, however, 
 played by a fiddler. 
 
 2. Eight morris-dancers, dressed in finely- 
 pleated white shirts, white moleskin trousers, 
 and top-hats decorated with red, white, and 
 blue ribbons. Only six dance at a time, two 
 standing out to relieve the others. They 
 dance to certain well-known tunes (a list of 
 which is given), and sing while they dance. 
 
 3. A clown called the " Squire," who 
 carries a staff with a calf s tail at one end 
 and a bladder at the other, with which he 
 belabours the bystanders. He also carries a 
 money-box, known as the " treasury," which 
 in this case is a wood box with a slit in the lid. 
 
 4. A " sword-bearer," who carries a cake 
 in a round tin impaled on a sword. The 
 cake is a rich pound-cake, and is provided 
 by some lady in the town. The tin has its 
 rim cut into zig-zags, and has a slit in the 
 bottom to admit the sword-blade. Both 
 cake and sword are decorated with ribbons. 
 
 124 
 
Whitsuntide Customs 
 
 When the dancing begins, any one who 
 wishes can taste the cake by applying to the 
 " sword-bearer." When all is over at night, 
 what is left of the cake is divided amongst 
 the eleven men, who generally give it to 
 their friends. 
 
 BAMPTON MORRIS-DANCERS. 
 First Dance, to the tune of 11 Green Garters" 
 
 " First for the stockings, and then for the shoes, 
 And then for the bonny green garters ; 
 A pair for me, and a pair for you, 
 And a pair for they that comes after." 
 
 Second Dance, to the tune of " Constant Billy" 
 
 " Oh, rny Billy, my constant Billy, 
 When shall I see my Billy again ? 
 When the fishes fly over the mountain, 
 Then you'll see your Billy again." 
 
 Third Dance, to the tune of" The Willow Tree." 
 
 " Once they said my lips were red, 
 Now they're scarlet pale ; 
 When I, like a silly girl, 
 Believ'd his flattering tale. 
 But he vow'd he'd never deceive me, 
 And so fondly I believ'd he, 
 While the stars and the moon 
 
 So sweetly shone 
 
 Over the willow-tree." 
 I2 5 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Fourth Dance, to the tune of " The Maid 
 of the Mi//." 
 
 " There's fifty fair maidens that sport on the green, 
 
 I gaz'd on them well, as you see ; 
 But the Maid of the Mill, the Maid of the Mill, 
 
 The Maid of the Mill for me. 
 She is straight and tall as a poplar-tree, 
 
 Her cheeks are red as a rose ; 
 She is one of the fairest young girls I see, 
 
 When she's dress'd in her Sunday clothes. 
 The Maid of the Mill, the Maid of the Mill, 
 
 The Maid of the Mill for me." 
 
 Handsome John. 
 
 " John is a handsome youth complete, 
 A smarter young lad never walked the street 
 And still the lady's tongue runs on 
 Oh ! what a handsome man was John ! 
 Sing fal the ral a li do." 
 
 Highland Mary. 
 
 " Around sweet Highland Mary's grave 
 
 We'll plant the fairest of lilies 
 The primrose sweet and violet blue, 
 
 Likewise the daffodillies. 
 But since this world's been grown so wide, 
 
 In some lonesome place we'll tarry ; 
 Welcome then come (sic), gather me to sleep 
 With my Highland Mary." 
 126 
 
Country Dances 
 
 Bob and Joan. 
 
 11 1 won't be my father's Jack, 
 And I won't be my mother's Jill ; 
 But I will be some fiddler's wife, 
 Then we can muse it at our will. 
 
 T'other little tune t'other little tune, 
 Bob at night and Bob at noon." 
 
 The melodies to which these words are 
 sung are quaint and original. They have 
 been noted down as sung by the villagers at 
 the present time, and are published in the 
 Appendix. Some of the customs of old May 
 Day are observed now at Whitsuntide at 
 Bampton. 1 Other dancing tunes are " Old 
 Tom of Oxford, 7 ' "The Old Green Bushes," 
 "The Girl I Left Behind Me," "The 
 Nutting Girl," "The Old Green Sleeves," 
 "Jgg in g to tne Fair," "The Princess 
 Royal," "The Forester's Daughter," "The 
 Bride in Camp," and " The Flowers of 
 Emborough." 
 
 It is pleasing to find that at least in one 
 village the old country-dances still exist. 
 In most parts of England they have become 
 extinct. Waltz and polka have banished 
 the old traditional steps and figures, songs 
 and melodies which were once favoured at 
 the Court of the Stuarts, and were carried 
 abroad to France, Germany, and Italy, and 
 
 1 Cf. " May Day Customs," p. 100. 
 127 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 became everywhere popular. They were 
 called country-dances, or contre-danses, be- 
 cause the performers were formed in two 
 lines, the ladies on one side, the gentlemen 
 on the other. Whilst they danced the 
 familiar steps, " crossed hands and down the 
 middle," all the dancers sang the words of 
 the old ballad " Bob and Joan " or " High- 
 land Mary." Such were the old English 
 country-dances, which the Bampton villagers 
 have preserved until the present day. We 
 have witnessed notable revivals of May 
 Queens and Maypole dances. May we hope 
 that some one will revive for us the old- 
 fashioned English country-dances ? 
 
 In the Kennet Valley, near Newbury, 
 Whitsuntide is the great village holiday 
 when the surviving clubs assemble. Decked 
 out in their best clothes adorned with 
 ribbons and banners, the men parade the 
 lanes, preceded by a band, and march to 
 the church, where a special service is held. 
 Then they adjourn to a barn and have 
 dinner, and later in the day go to one or 
 two of the principal houses in the neigh- 
 bourhood, where dancing takes place on the 
 lawn or drives, while the band plays vigor- 
 ously. Village sports, running, and racing 
 are not uncommon at these club feasts, and 
 at Brindle, near Preston, Lancashire, we 
 have seen a most graceful company of 
 128 
 
Morris-Dancers 
 
 morris-dancers, consisting of about sixteen 
 young men, dressed in tight-fitting purple 
 knickerbockers and stockings, with football 
 " sweaters " of the same colour. They had 
 staves in their hands, and danced up the 
 village street, striking their staves together 
 in rhythmic time, while a band played stirring 
 melodies. It was a graceful and pleasing 
 spectacle, and may still be seen in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Preston and Chorley. 
 
 Very different from these homely scenes are 
 the wild spectacles which Irish superstition 
 brings before the eyes of the credulous, and 
 none are so weird as " the death-ride " which 
 occurs at Whitsuntide, The Irish peasants 
 believe that on a particular day at this 
 season of the year all those who have been 
 drowned in the sea come up and ride over 
 the waves on white horses and hold strange 
 revels. A fisherman who remained on the 
 water on the night of this ghastly pageant 
 saw a crowd of the dead on white horses 
 making their way towards him. Their faces 
 were pale with the hue of death and their 
 eyes burned with fire. They stretched out 
 thin long arms to lay hold on him, but he 
 managed to escape from their fearful grasp. 
 As he landed, however, one of the horsemen 
 rode close to him, and he saw the face of 
 a friend who had been drowned the year 
 before, and heard a voice calling him to 
 129 i 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 escape. Accordingly, he fled at full speed, 
 never even daring to look back to see whether 
 he was pursued. 
 
 The Wakes festivals are also great occa- 
 sions for the morris-dancers, especially at 
 Oldham, Lancashire, and in that neighbour- 
 hood. This is one of the oldest of our 
 feasts, and has survived with a surprising 
 tenacity of life in most of the villages and 
 towns of Lancashire. The day of the 
 wakes is the festival of the patron saint of 
 the parish church, and is so called because, 
 on the previous night or vigil, the people 
 used to watch, or u wake," in the church 
 till the morning dawned. It is the custom 
 for the inhabitants of the parish to keep 
 open house on that day, and to entertain 
 all their relations and friends from the sur- 
 rounding neighbourhood, who always make 
 a point of visiting the village on " Wake 
 Sunday." It is a great time for the as- 
 sembling of shows and roundabouts, which, 
 with their steam-organs, make night hideous. 
 Nearly every town and village in Lancashire 
 observes its wakes. Rochdale, Hey wood, 
 Ashton-under-Lyne, and Oldham are especi- 
 ally celebrated for their observance of this 
 festival ; though the people are now in 
 the habit of rushing off to the seaside, and 
 desert the local fair grounds for the attrac- 
 tions of Morecambe and Blackpool. The 
 130 
 
The Wakes 
 
 feasts or wakes in the neighbourhood of 
 Bradford are called "Tides," except at 
 Brighouse, where the festival is still known 
 as the Rush-bearing, and are kept up vigor- 
 ously. The Sunday after the feast is 
 known as the " Thump." 1 Thus we have the 
 Queensbury Thump, the Clayton, Thornton, 
 Denholme, and Allerton Thumps, when the 
 natives who reside elsewhere make a rule to 
 visit their old home, and the reassembling 
 of scattered families causes much social 
 happiness. At Great Gransden the feast is 
 held on the Monday after the Feast of St. 
 Bartholomew, the patron saint of the village, 
 when stalls are erected near the Plough Inn, 
 and the villagers indulge in dancing. At 
 West Houghton, Lancashire, a huge pie is 
 made in the shape of a cow's head, which is 
 eaten on the day of the wake, the Sunday after 
 St. Bartholomew's Day. The inhabitants are 
 sometimes called " cow 'yeds." At the Old- 
 ham wake a rushcart used to be sent from each 
 surrounding locality, and as many as ten rush- 
 carts have been seen in the town on that occa- 
 sion. They are not now quite so plentiful. 
 
 1 A writer in the Oldham Observer suggests that the name 
 arose from the rude custom of "thumping" any one who entered 
 an inn on these occasions and refused to pay for liquor. At a 
 recent Halifax " Thump," an offender of this description was laid 
 face downwards and beaten with a heated fire shovel. The 
 ringleader of this frolic nearly suffered a month's imprisonment 
 on account of his strict adherence to old customs. 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 The origin of the rush-bearing dates back 
 to the early times when the floors of our 
 houses and churches consisted of the hard 
 dry earth, which was covered with rushes; 
 and once a year there was the great ceremony 
 of the rush-bearing, when the inhabitants of 
 each village or town went in procession to 
 the church to strew the floor with newly-cut 
 rushes. Although we no longer need the 
 rushes to cover the nakedness of our church 
 aisles, the ceremony of rush-bearing still 
 exists. The rush-cart is piled up with rush- 
 sheaves decorated with ribbons, and the 
 morris-dancers perform their quaint antics. 
 Sometimes there is a May Queen under a 
 canopy of rushes, and a jester with a bladder 
 attached to a staff, with which he belabours 
 the crowd as he marches in front of the 
 procession. 
 
 Some particulars of the annual rush- 
 bearing at Ambleside may not be without 
 interest. It is held on the last Saturday in 
 July, the next Saturday after St. Anne's Day, 
 who was the patron saint of Ambleside. 1 
 The children meet at the church-room, and 
 with the rush-bearers, carrying about two 
 hundred crosses made of rushes and decorated 
 with flowers, form a procession, attended by 
 the clergy. They march to the church, 
 where a special service takes place, and a ser- 
 
 1 The modern church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. 
 I 3 2 
 
Rush-Bearing 
 
 mon is preached appropriate to the occasion. 
 After the service each child receives a square 
 of gingerbread, according to ancient custom. 
 On Sunday the festival is continued. 
 
 The rushes, no longer needed as a carpet, 
 are formed into various devices to symbolise 
 Christian truths, and in recent years have 
 been ornamented with flowers. Rush-bearing 
 is a beautiful old custom, and creates much 
 interest in the old-world places wherein it 
 continues to thrive. The floor of the church 
 of St. Peter, Barrowden, is strewed with reeds 
 cut from the river-side for six weeks after 
 the festival of St. Peter. 
 
 The rush-bearing at Grasmere is a beauti- 
 ful and picturesque festival, and claims to be 
 the only place where the custom appears to 
 have an unbroken record from remote ages 
 to the present day. It owes its preservation 
 to the energy of the late vicar, Mr. Fletcher, 
 and the liberality of the late Mr. Dawson of 
 Allan Bank, Grasmere, who was an admirer 
 of the old custom, and encouraged the 
 children to keep up the procession by pre- 
 senting a reward to each of the youthful 
 rush-bearers. Until 1885 the rush-bearing 
 took place on the Saturday nearest July 
 2Oth; it is now celebrated on the Saturday 
 nearest to St. Oswald's Day (August 5th), 
 to whom the church is dedicated. The 
 churchwardens' account-books reveal the 
 133 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 numerous charges for " ale bestowed on ye 
 rush-bearers and others, 2s./ 1 also " cakes 
 for the rush-bearers," &c. As late as 1841 
 the floor of the church was unpaved, and 
 was yearly strewed with rushes at the popular 
 festival. Hone gives a very interesting 
 record of rush-bearing at Grasmere, as it 
 was celebrated in the earlier years of the 
 century (July 21, 1827) : 
 
 "The church door was open, and I dis- 
 covered that the villagers were strewing the 
 floor with fresh rushes. During the whole 
 of this day, I observed the children busily 
 employed in preparing garlands of such wild 
 flowers as the beautiful valley produces for 
 the evening procession, which commenced at 
 9 P.M., in the following order : The chil- 
 dren, chiefly girls, holding these garlands, 
 paraded through the village preceded by the 
 Union Band (thanks to the great drum for 
 this information). They then entered the 
 church, when the three largest garlands were 
 placed on the altar, and the remaining ones 
 in various other parts of the place. In the 
 procession I observed the Opium-Eater, Mr. 
 Barber (an opulent gentleman residing in the 
 neighbourhood), Mr. and Mrs. Wordsworth, 
 Miss Wordsworth, and Miss Dora Words- 
 worth. Wordsworth is the chief supporter 
 of these rustic ceremonies. The procession 
 over, the party adjourned to the ball-room, 
 
Rush-Bearing 
 
 a hayloft, at my worthy friend Mr. Bell's, 
 where the country lads and lasses tripped it 
 merrily and heavily. The dance was kept 
 up till a quarter to twelve, when a livery 
 servant entered and delivered the follow- 
 ing verbal message to Billy (the fiddler) : 
 'Master's respects, and will thank you to lend 
 him the fiddle-stick. 1 Billy took the hint : 
 the Sabbath was now at hand, and the pastor 
 of the parish had adopted this gentle mode 
 of apprising the assembled revellers that 
 they ought to cease their revelry. The 
 servant departed with the fiddle-stick, the 
 chandelier was removed, and when the 
 village clock struck twelve, not an indi- 
 vidual was to be seen out of doors in the 
 village." 
 
 Pews and floors were introduced into the 
 church in 1841, but the rush-bearing con- 
 tinued to be kept up with undiminished 
 vigour. It is now celebrated on the Satur- 
 day next after St. Oswald's Day (August 
 5th), and new developments have taken place, 
 which are revivals of the old-time mode of 
 rush-bearing. The children assemble with 
 their garlands, and arrange them along the 
 churchyard wall, where thousands come to 
 admire the devices and floral decorations. 
 Moses in the bulrushes used to be a fav- 
 ourite design which rush-bearers attempted 
 to represent. At 6.30 the procession is 
 
 135 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 marshalled in the road in the following 
 order : 
 
 Banner of St. Oswald. 
 Clergy and Choir in surplices. 
 
 Band. 
 
 Queen with Pages. 
 
 Maids of Honour bearing the Rush-sheet. 
 The Rush-bearers. 
 
 The queen and her court and the bearing 
 of the rush-sheet were revived in 1891. 
 The latter was always an important feature 
 in the old festival. " Arranging the sheet," 
 says Bamford, a Lancashire poet, " was ex- 
 clusively the work of girls and women ; and 
 in proportion as it was happily designed and 
 fitly put together, was the praise or dispa- 
 ragement meted out by the people a point 
 on which they would be not a little sensitive. 
 The sheet was a piece of white linen, gene- 
 rally a good bed-sheet, and on it were pretty 
 rosettes and quaint compartments, and bor- 
 derings of all colours and hues which either 
 paper, tinsel, ribbons, or natural flowers could 
 supply. In these compartments were ar- 
 ranged silver watches, trays, spoons, sugar- 
 tongs, teapots, quart tankards, drinking cups, 
 and other fitting articles of ornament and 
 value." The present sheet was spun in Gras- 
 mere by a young woman of the village. 
 
 After the procession has been formed, the 
 
Rush-Bearing 
 
 hymn for St. Oswald is sung, and the band 
 plays the " Rush-bearing March " (said to 
 have been played nearly a century ago), and 
 the procession perambulates the village, the 
 bells ringing and the tower flag flying. On 
 returning to the church, the Rush-bearers' 
 Hymn is sung, and the garlands arranged 
 round the walls. Full choral Evensong fol- 
 lows. The children afterwards receive gin- 
 gerbread, and some wrestling bouts engage 
 the attention of the young men. The gar- 
 lands are removed on the following Mon- 
 day to a neighbouring field, where the May- 
 pole is set up, and a regular gala held for 
 the rush-bearers and all who choose to share 
 it. The words of the Rush-bearers' Hymn 
 and that of St. Oswald have no great dis- 
 tinguishing merit, and two verses of the 
 former may suffice : 
 
 The Rush-bearers' Hymn. 
 
 Our fathers to the House of God, 
 
 As yet a building rude, 
 Bore offerings from the flowery sod, 
 
 And fragrant rushes strewed. 
 
 May we, their children, ne'er forget 
 
 The pious lesson given, 
 But honour still, together met, 
 
 The Lord of Earth and Heaven. 
 
 The rush-bearing with morris-dancing is 
 
 137 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 still kept up at Whitworth, near Rochdale ; 
 at Warcop, Westmorland ; Haworth and 
 Saddleworth, Yorks ; and other places. 
 
 Sometimes churches are now strewn with 
 hay, as is the case at Braunston, Leicester- 
 shire, on the day of the feast, the Sunday 
 after St. Peter's Day. On the Thursday 
 before the wake or feast, the Holme 
 Meadow is mown, and the parish clerk 
 fetches on the Saturday a small load of 
 hay, which he must spread with his hands 
 on the floor of the church. The portion 
 of the meadow whence the hay is brought 
 is called "The Clerk's Acre," and the rest 
 of the hay belongs to him. At many other 
 churches in Leicestershire the same custom 
 used to exist, but we believe this is the only 
 surviving one. 
 
 It will be remarked that the wakes were 
 originally a religious festival held in honour 
 of the patron saint of the village. It was 
 the occasion for the assembling of many 
 people from the neighbouring towns and 
 villages. Hence the chapmen and trades- 
 folk came to exhibit and sell their wares, 
 and the festival of the saint became the 
 fair of the place ; the word itself being 
 derived from the ecclesiastical term feria, a 
 holiday. The religious element of the old 
 wakes has passed away, but the festival is 
 still observed as a great social and friendly 
 
 138 
 
Horn-'Dance at Abbot Bromley 
 
 gathering ; and as it continues to promote 
 kindly and neighbourly feelings, it is not 
 without its uses. 
 
 The annual wakes at Abbot Bromley, a 
 village on the borders of Needwood Forest, 
 near Stafford, is celebrated by a curious 
 survival from mediaeval times called the 
 Horn-dance. Six deer-skulls with antlers, 
 mounted on short poles, are carried about 
 by men grotesquely attired, who caper to 
 a lively tune, and make "the deer," as the 
 antlers are called, dance about. Another 
 quaintly dressed individual, mounted on a 
 hobby-horse, is at hand with a whip, with 
 which he lashes the deer every now and again 
 in order to keep them moving. Meanwhile 
 a sportsman with a bow and arrow makes 
 believe to shoot the deer. The horn-dance 
 used to take place on certain Sunday morn- 
 ings at the main entrance to the parish 
 church, when a collection was made for the 
 poor. At the present day the horns are the 
 property of the vicar for the time being, and 
 are kept, with a bow and arrow and the 
 frame of the hobby-horse, in the church- 
 tower, together with a curious old pot for 
 collecting money at the dance. It takes 
 place now on the Monday after Wakes Sun- 
 day, which is the Sunday next to September 
 4th. Similar dances formerly took place 
 in other places in the county of Stafford, 
 
 139 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 notably at the county town and Seighford, 
 where they lingered until the beginning of 
 the century. The under-jaw of the hobby- 
 horse is loose, and is worked by a string, so 
 that it " clacks" against the upper-jaw in time 
 with the music. The money is collected by a 
 woman, probably Maid Marion ; the archer 
 is doubtless a representation of Robin Hood ; 
 and besides these characters there is a jester. 
 Dr. Cox has examined the horns, and pro- 
 nounced them to be reindeer horns. 
 
 The city of London even is not deprived 
 at this bright season of all associations with 
 the beauties of the country. At St. James' 
 Church, Mitre Court, Aldgate, on Whitsun 
 Tuesday, the " Flower Sermon " is preached, 
 and at St. Leonard's Church, Shoreditch, a 
 botanical sermon is delivered, according to 
 the will of Thomas Fairchild in 1729. 
 
 In Cornwall the festival of the dedication 
 of each church is kept on the nearest Sun- 
 day and Monday to the saint's day, which 
 are called by the people " Feasten " Sunday 
 and Monday. " Plum-cake," coloured bright 
 yellow with saffron, is the favourite viand on 
 these occasions. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Midsummer Eve customs, Pontypridd y Wales 
 Cornish customs Bale-Jtres Ratby meadow- 
 mowing Reeve houses at Desford Harvest 
 customs Mell-sheaf and Kern-supper Kern- 
 baby The " maiden " Cailleach Devonshire 
 " Knack" " Dumping" Harvest-bell Horn- 
 blowing in Hertfordshire Harvest-songs 
 Sheep-shearing in Dorset Michaelmas goose 
 Biddenham rabbit St. Crispin s Day and the 
 shoemakers. 
 
 1 HERE is a strange mixture of elements 
 in the constitution of our social customs and 
 observances. Some of them are distinctly 
 ecclesiastical and of Christian origin, though, 
 as we have seen, in many cases the religious 
 element has been eliminated. In others the 
 origin is distinctly Pagan, and carries us back 
 to the time when Norse legendary lore or 
 Saxon superstition filled the hearts of our 
 forefathers. 
 
 The observance of the wakes was originally 
 of a religious character. We now record 
 one of a distinctively Celtic nature. Mid- 
 summer Eve is one of the ancient Druidic festi- 
 vals still liberally honoured in Wales. The 
 141 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 custom of lighting bonfires survives in many 
 villages, and around them the villagers dance 
 and leap through the flames. At Pontypridd 
 there are various ceremonies of a solemn sort. 
 The leaping through the flames is supposed 
 to ward off evil spirits and prevent sickness. 
 The connection of the ceremony of the bon- 
 fires with the old worship of the sun is in- 
 disputable. Its practice was very general 
 in nearly all European nations, and in not 
 very remote times, from Norway to the shores 
 of the Mediterranean, the glow of St. John's 
 fires might have been seen. The Scandi- 
 navians lit their bonfires in honour of their 
 gods Odin and Thor, and the leaping through 
 the flames reminds us of the worshippers of 
 Baal and Moloch, who used to pass their 
 children through the fire that burned at the 
 feet of their cruel god. It is strange that 
 such a custom should have had so long a 
 continuance. 
 
 The customs of Wales and Cornwall are 
 naturally very similar, and on the Cornish 
 hills the bonfires blaze, though they are not 
 so numerous as formerly. In remote and 
 primitive districts the people still believe 
 that dancing in a ring around a bonfire or 
 leaping through its flames is calculated to 
 ensure good luck to the performers, and to 
 serve as a protection from witchcraft and 
 other malign influences during the ensuing 
 142 
 
Midsummer s Eve 
 
 year. Some years ago on Midsummer's Eve 
 the old people would hobble away to some 
 high ground whence they could obtain a view 
 of the most prominent hills, such as Carn- 
 brea, Castle-an-Dinas, Carn Galver, St. Agnes 
 Bickaw, and many other beacon-hills far away 
 to the north and east, which vied with each 
 other in their midsummer's blaze. They 
 counted the fires, and drew a presage from 
 the number of them. There are now but 
 few bonfires to be seen on the western heights; 
 but Tregonan, Godolphin, and Carn Martle 
 Hills, with others towards Redruth, still 
 retain their Baal fires. Groups of girls, 
 neatly dressed and decked with garlands, 
 wreaths, or chaplets of flowers, until quite 
 recently used to dance in the streets on Mid- 
 summer's Eve ; but this custom has almost 
 died out. 
 
 But when we cross the sea and visit the 
 extreme west of Brittany, we see the Baal- 
 fires blaze on every hill, round which the 
 peasants dance all night, in their holiday 
 clothes, to the sound of the biniou (a kind 
 of rustic hautboy) and the shepherd's horn. 
 The girl who dances round nine St. John's 
 fires before midnight is sure to be married 
 within the year. In many parishes the cure 
 himself goes in procession with banner and 
 cross to light the sacred fire, and all the super- 
 stitions which ever flourished in the Celtic 
 H3 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 portion of our island are venerated and ob- 
 served with unabated faith and zeal. In Ireland 
 too the Bale or Beltane fires are lighted, and 
 young men leap through the flames, while 
 the children are lifted across the embers when 
 the fire has burnt low, in order to secure 
 them good luck during the coming year. 
 This usually takes place on May Day in 
 Ireland. Lady Wilde gives an account of 
 the origin of these fires which was furnished 
 by an old peasant. The "bushes" lighted 
 on May Day were first set up in honour of 
 the conquest of the Tuatha de Danans by 
 the great Milesians. A magician of the 
 Tuatha caused innumerable fiery darts to go 
 forth against the Milesian prince ; but in 
 passing they were all stopped by a bush that 
 stood between the chief and the magician, so 
 that a flame arose and the bush withered and 
 burned away. Hence the burning of the 
 May bushes, which to this day are supposed 
 to preserve those who pass through the 
 smoke against witchcraft. The authority of 
 this folk legend is, of course, indisputable. 
 
 " To the immortal memory of John of 
 Gaunt" is, as we have already noticed, a 
 toast drunk at the Hocktide solemnities at 
 Hungerford. There is another town where 
 the same toast is annually proposed and 
 drunk in solemn silence. At Ratby, in the 
 county of Leicester, an annual feast takes 
 144 
 
Meadow- Mowing Custom 
 
 place which is remarkable for several quaint 
 observances, and owes its origin to the time 
 of the worthy son of King Edward III. It 
 appears that the lot meadows at Ratby 
 adjoined the road, and the custom from 
 very early times was for the occupiers to 
 mow their crops on a certain day, called 
 " Meadow-morning," and to spend the rest 
 of the day with music and dancing. Now 
 it happened that John of Gaunt, Duke of 
 Lancaster, passed along the road, and observ- 
 ing their mirth and festivity, he alighted 
 from his horse and asked the cause of their 
 diversion. They told him that they were 
 mowing their meadow, called Ramsdale, 
 according to their annual custom. The 
 Duke, still preserving his incognito, joined 
 in their diversions, and was so pleased 
 with their innocent pastimes, that when he 
 took his leave he told them that if they 
 would meet him in Leicester, he would give 
 to each of them a ewe to their ram, also 
 a wether whose fleece would make them a 
 rich repast. Accordingly the rustics went to 
 Leicester, and the Duke redeemed his pro- 
 mise by giving them three pieces of land to 
 be called respectively, " the Ewes," " the 
 Boots," and " the Wether," the grass on the 
 last field to be sold annually to defray the 
 cost of a feast on Whit-Monday. He also 
 drew up certain articles for the regulation 
 145 K 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 of this bequest. Two persons were to be 
 chosen annually, to be called caterers, who 
 should go to Leicester to what inn they should 
 think proper, when a calf's-head should 
 be provided for their breakfast ; and when 
 the bones were picked clean, they were to 
 be put on a dish and served up with the 
 dinner. Likewise the innkeeper was to pro- 
 vide two large rich pies for the caterers to 
 take home, that their families might partake 
 of some of their festivities. Likewise there 
 should be provided for each person a short 
 silk lace, tagged at both ends with silver, 
 being equipped with which, they should all 
 proceed to Enderby, and sell the grass of 
 "the Wether" to the best bidder; from 
 thence they should go to the meadow and 
 dismount, and each person should take a 
 small piece of grass from the field and tie it 
 round their tagged lace, and wear it in their 
 hats, and ride in procession to the High 
 Cross in Leicester, and there throw them 
 among the populace; from thence proceed 
 to their inn, and go in procession to St. 
 Mary's Church, where a sermon was to be 
 preached for the benefit of a hospital founded 
 by Henry, Earl of Lancaster. When the 
 service was over, a deed should be read by 
 the clergyman concerning the gift, and the 
 church adorned with flowers. When the 
 ceremony was concluded, they were to return 
 146 
 
Meadow- Mowing Custom 
 
 to their inn to dinner and close the day with 
 mirth and festivity. 1 
 
 The ceremonies have somewhat varied in 
 course of years, but the following account 
 (slightly abridged) in Leicestershire Notes 
 and Queries shows that the main features 
 of the function still survive : The caterer 
 orders lunch at the inn at Enderby at 1 1 A.M., 
 consisting of flat, stilton, and cream cheese, 
 butter, various cakes, cucumber, raddish, 
 watercress, &c., with plenty of home-brewed 
 ale, which makes a hearty meal. He then 
 proceeds to sell the grass on the Wether. 
 He then, with the riders, eighteen in num- 
 ber, proceeds to an inn in Leicester, where 
 dinner has been previously ordered, together 
 with a lunch for ten inmates of Trinity 
 Hospital, which latter must consist of calf's- 
 head, bacon, &c., and one quart of ale each. 
 When the riders arrive at the inn, the custom 
 is to drink from a quart of ale before alight- 
 ing, the oldest of the Hospitallers having 
 thrown the bones of the calf's-head under 
 the horse of the first to arrive. The riders 
 are then shown into the dining-room, and an 
 ample meal is served. Dinner concluded, 
 two bottles of brandy are brought, and all 
 standing, drink " to the immortal memory of 
 John o' Gaunt." The table is then spread 
 
 1 Cf. Throsby's " History of Leicester," quoted by C. J. Billson 
 in " Folk-Lore of Leicestershire." 
 
 147 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 with dessert, and the bill having been called 
 for, to see how far the money will hold out, 
 the evening is spent in conviviality. 
 
 At the annual sale of the grass of the 
 Wether the ancient custom of passing a 
 penny round the table during the bidding is 
 observed. Prior to the dinner the company 
 formerly used to ride through the neigh- 
 bouring brook, the Soar, which is said in 
 rainy weather " to wash the wether's breech," 
 but this part of the ceremony of the day 
 seems to have been abandoned. 
 
 A meadow - mowing custom prevails at 
 Desford. 1 In the manor there are eighteen 
 reeve-houses, the owners of which have the 
 reeve-meadow annually in succession. The 
 reeve for the year has to find a dinner for 
 the court baron, to pay 1 to the steward, 
 and to provide prizes at the " meadow- 
 mowing," which consists of athletic sports for 
 the labourers. They indulge in wrestling, 
 running, and other games. No reeve-house is 
 ever wholly pulled down, otherwise the owner 
 loses his rights. So when a house has to be 
 rebuilt, some portion of the old building, a 
 chimney or a doorway, is left standing. 
 
 The harvest is drawing near, and several 
 customs linger on connected with the feast 
 of the ingathering. Agricultural depression 
 has killed many of them, and the farmers 
 
 1 Leicestershire Notes and Queries. 
 148 
 
Harvest Customs 
 
 are no longer able to dispense that open- 
 handed hospitality with which they were 
 accustomed to regale their labourers in the 
 good old days when agriculture was a thriv- 
 ing industry. Lammas Day, August ist 
 the ancient Loaf-mass, when a loaf of bread 
 made of the first ripe corn was used in the 
 service of the Holy Communion remains in 
 the calendar, but its observance as a feast of 
 the first-fruits has passed away. St. Roch's 
 Day, August i6th, formerly observed as the 
 harvest-home day, is scarcely known. We 
 have our harvest-festivals in our churches 
 now, and they are always well observed. 
 The churches are beautifully decorated with 
 fruit and flowers, and the villagers always 
 attend in large numbers, and sing with much 
 cheerfulness and fervour such hymns as 
 
 " We plough the fields and scatter 
 The good seed on the land." 
 
 These harvest-festivals are a fairly modern 
 institution, but they have now become almost 
 universal, and few villages at the present time 
 have no harvest-thanksgiving services. 
 
 The old method of celebrating the feast 
 of the ingathering was not connected with 
 any religious observance, and many curious 
 customs are associated with it. The old 
 Pagan autumn feast, as Mr. Green says, 
 " lingered on unchallenged in the village 
 149 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 harvest-home, with the sheaf, in old times a 
 symbol of the god, nodding gay with flowers 
 and ribbons on the last waggon." Canon 
 Atkinson states that we cannot use the past 
 tense even yet in speaking of this accom- 
 paniment of the harvest-home, although the 
 " harvest-home " is no longer the village 
 festival, but one that is celebrated on divers 
 farms all comprised in the same parochial 
 districts. In Yorkshire the " mell-sheaf," 
 the "mell -supper," or " kern -supper," are 
 still well known in many a primitive farm- 
 hold or hilly daleside occupation throughout 
 the northern districts. 1 The kern-supper is 
 given to the labourer by the farmer on the 
 completion of the cutting of the corn. Mr. 
 Henderson, in his " Folk-Lore of North 
 England "(1879), remarks : " Our most char- 
 acteristic festive rejoicings accompany the 
 harvest, namely, the mell-supper and the kern- 
 baby. In the northern part of Northumber- 
 land the festival takes place at the close of 
 the reaping, not the ingathering. When the 
 sickle is laid down, and the last sheaf of corn 
 set on end, it is said that they have ' got the 
 kern ; ' the reapers announce the fact by loud 
 shouting, and an image crowned with wheat- 
 ears, and dressed in a white frock and coloured 
 ribbons, is hoisted on a pole by the tallest 
 
 1 Cf. " Forty Years in a Moorland Parish," by Canon 
 Atkinson, p. 240. 
 
 150 
 
Harvest Customs 
 
 and strongest men of the party. All circle 
 round this 'kern-baby* or harvest-queen, 
 and proceed to the barn, where they set the 
 image on high, and proceed to do justice to 
 the harvest-supper." In some places " this 
 nodding sheaf, the symbol of the god," is 
 quite small, fashioned with much care and 
 neatness, and plaited with wonderful skill ; 
 in others it is large and cumbersome, taking 
 a strong man's strength to bear it. 
 
 In Scotland it is called " the maiden," and 
 is dressed like a doll. It is preserved in the 
 farmhouse above the chimneypiece. The 
 youngest girl in the harvest-field is supposed 
 to have the privilege of cutting "the maiden." 
 Its head is formed of ears of oats ; a broad 
 blue ribband is tied in a bow round the neck, 
 and a skirt of paper completes the costume 
 of "the maiden." In the north-east of 
 Scotland the last sheaf is known as the 
 "clyack," or "cailleach" (old woman), 1 and is 
 dressed up and made to look as much like 
 an old woman as possible. It has a white 
 cap, a dress, a little shawl over the shoulders, 
 fastened with a sprig of heather, an apron 
 turned up to form a pocket, which is stuffed 
 with bread and cheese, and a sickle is stuck 
 in the string of the apron at the back. At 
 the harvest-feast the cailleach is placed at the 
 
 1 Illustration of this appears in Folk-Lore of June 1895, and in 
 the Transactions of the Folk-Lore Congress, 1891. 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 head of the table, the company drink to her, 
 and in the evening the lads dance with her. 
 She is therefore the recipient of much honour. 
 Scottish harvest customs are extremely in- 
 teresting, but we may only just venture to cross 
 the Tweed, as our English customs only con- 
 cern us now, and the manners of our Scottish 
 neighbours would require a separate volume. 
 
 In Cornwall the last sheaf is called " the 
 neck," and is gaily decked with ribbons. In 
 some places two strong-voiced men are chosen, 
 and placed one with the sheaf, and the other 
 on the opposite side of the valley. One 
 shouts, " I've gotten it." The other replies, 
 " What hast gotten ? " The first then shouts 
 back triumphantly, " I've gotten the neck." 
 
 In Devonshire, the home of many old cus- 
 toms, a similar practice prevails. A small 
 quantity of the ears of the last corn is twisted 
 or tied together into a curious kind of figure, 
 which is brought home with great acclama- 
 tions, hung up over the table, and kept till 
 the next year. The owner would think it 
 extremely unlucky to part with this, which 
 is called " a knack." ' 
 
 The reapers whoop and holloa 
 
 " A knack ! a knack ! a knack ! 
 Well cut, well bound, well shocked." 
 
 i "Folk-lore Rhymes," G. F. Northall, p. 257. This word is 
 evidently the same as the Cornish "neck," mentioned above. 
 
 152 
 
Harvest Customs 
 
 The old song which accompanied the last 
 load to the barn varies in different districts. 
 The usual form is 
 
 " Harvest-home ! harvest-home ! 
 We've ploughed, we've sowed, 
 We've reaped, we've mowed, 
 We've brought home every load. 
 Hip, hip, hip, harvest-home ! " 
 
 Or as they say in Berkshire 
 
 " Whoop, whoop, whoop, harvest-whoam ! " 
 
 Very attractive are the glimpses of rustic 
 life which harvest customs give, especially 
 in East Anglia. " The sun is setting behind 
 the old windmill as we cross the field of 
 stubble ; from a group of harvesters comes a 
 woman who, with a low curtsey, asks us for 
 * largess.' As we pass along we hear merry 
 shouts and cheering, and presently round the 
 corner of the road comes a fine team of 
 horses, mounted by two lads dressed in the 
 garb of women, while the waggon is filled 
 with the last load of corn, and merry youths 
 and maidens ride above it. The waggon 
 stops, and the rider gives us three cheers, 
 and then on they go to the village -green 
 amidst much laughter and bright songs." 
 Evidently the East Anglian folk have not 
 quite forgotten how to laugh, as one of their 
 chroniclers asserts. 
 
 '53 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 The custom is known locally as "Hallering 
 Largess," and has been described as a certain 
 rhythmic chant, rendered with action and 
 gesture, and followed by a certain number 
 of shouts, in return for gifts. When they 
 have received the offering they shout thrice 
 the words, " Halloo, largess," which may be 
 a corruption of a la largesse. The ritual 
 appears to be as follows : The labourers 
 gather in front of the house, and form a ring 
 by joining hands. They bow their heads 
 very low towards the centre of the circle, and 
 give utterance to a low deep mutter, saying, 
 "Hoo-Hoo-Hoo;" then they jerk their 
 heads backwards and utter a shrill shriek of 
 "Ah! Ah!" repeated several times. The 
 Lord of the Largess, the leader of the band, 
 then cries, " Holla, largess," which is echoed 
 by the company, and thus the performance 
 ends, a very interesting survival of old 
 usages. 
 
 At Duxford, Cambridgeshire, a sheaf of 
 corn is placed on the top of the cart, and 
 the women rush out of the houses and throw 
 water on the returning harvesters, and shout 
 as loud as they can. 
 
 The Manx folk have a curious custom of 
 ascending the hills on old Lammas Day, 
 August 1 2th, and it is supposed to be related 
 in some way to Jephthah's daughter bewailing 
 her virginity upon the mountains. People 
 
Harvest Customs 
 
 who do not climb the hills on that day 
 read devoutly the account of Jephthah's 
 daughter. 
 
 In Scotland the reapers seize and " dump " 
 any one who visits the harvest-field. The 
 visitor is lifted up by his or her ankles and 
 armpits, and the lower part of his person l is 
 brought into violent contact with the ground. 
 "Head-money" is usually demanded, and, 
 if that is refused, the person has to under- 
 go the unpleasant experience of being 
 " dumped." 
 
 The old custom still exists at the parish 
 church of Driffield, Yorks, of ringing the 
 harvest-bell at five o'clock in the morning 
 and at eight in the evening every day during 
 harvest. In some parishes in Yorkshire it 
 used to be the custom to ring the bell at 
 8 A.M., as a signal that people might begin 
 to glean. 
 
 In Hertfordshire the custom of horn-blow- 
 ing during harvest still exists, and seems to 
 be peculiar to that county. 
 
 There are many harvest-home songs in use, 
 and here is one from Berkshire : 
 
 " Here's a health unto our master, 
 
 The founder of our feast ; 
 We hope his soul to God will go 
 When he do get his rest. 
 
 1 Cf. " Notes on Harvest Customs ; " Folk- Lore, 1889. 
 
 1 SS 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 May everything now prosper 
 
 That he do take in hand ; 
 For we be all his servants 
 
 As works at his command. 
 
 (Chorus] So drink, boys, drink, 
 
 And see ye do not spill, 
 For if ye do ye shall drink two, 
 For that be master's will. 
 
 Here's a health unto our mistress, 
 
 That giveth us good ale ; 
 We hope she'll live for many a year 
 
 To cheer us without fail. 
 She is the best provider 
 
 In all the country round ; 
 So take your cup and drink it up, 
 
 None like her can be found." 
 (Chorus as before.} 
 
 This song is also sung at Surrey harvest- 
 suppers. Full bumpers of ale are drunk by 
 couples at a time, as with a loving-cup, 
 while the song is sung, and if any is spilt, 
 the ceremony is repeated until the bumpers 
 are drained of their contents. {Guildford 
 Newspaper. ) 
 
 From Surrey we also have the following 
 curious harvest ditty : 
 
 " I've been to France, and I've been to Dover ; 
 I've been roving all the world over, 
 
 Over, and over, and over. 
 Drink half your liquor, and turn the bowl over, 
 
 Over, and over, and over." 
 
 156 
 
Harvest Customs 
 
 The verse is sung while a horn of ale is kept 
 by one of the company balanced on a wooden 
 bowl held upside down, and an endeavour is 
 made to drink half the contents. When the 
 ale is finished, the horn is tossed up in the 
 air and caught in the bowl. (Guildford 
 Newspaper^) 
 
 The harvest-home in the good old days 
 was a joy and delight to both old and young. 
 Shorn of much of its merriment and quaint 
 customs, it still exists; but modern habits and 
 notions have deprived it of much of its old 
 spirit and light-heartedness. In spite of agri- 
 cultural depression and diminished income, 
 it would be well to preserve this feature of 
 old country-life, which confers many benefits 
 on all. When labourers simply regard harvest- 
 time as a season when they can earn a few 
 shillings more than usual, and take no further 
 interest in their work or in the welfare of 
 their master, all brightness vanishes from 
 their industry ; their minds become sordid 
 and mercenary, and mutual trust, good-feel- 
 ing, and fellowship cease to exist. In some 
 places the only harvest-custom which survives 
 is that of drinking all the cider or ale that is 
 left, and singing in the fields as long as the 
 drink lasts. 
 
 The old rejoicings at sheep-shearing are 
 kept up in some measure in Dorsetshire, 
 when the small farmers invite their friends 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 to help them in the shearing, and entertain 
 their guests with accustomed hospitality. 
 This is a very ancient custom, which is alluded 
 to by Tusser in his " Five Hundred Points 
 of Husbandry " in the following lines : 
 
 " Wife, make us a dinner ; spare flesh, neither corn ; 
 Make wafers and cakes, for our sheep must be shorn ; 
 At sheep-shearing neighbours none other things 
 
 crave, 
 But good cheer and welcome like neighbours to 
 
 have." 
 
 Roast-goose is still a standing dish at 
 Michaelmas, and the presentation of geese 
 by those who have them to bestow is still 
 often observed a practice certainly to be 
 encouraged. The custom probably arose 
 from the usual practice of tenants bringing 
 fat geese to their landlord when they paid 
 their rent, in order to propitiate him, and to 
 make him kind and lenient in the matters of 
 rent, repairs, and the renewal of leases. 
 
 One of the more curious of local customs 
 was observed, until recent years, on August 
 22nd at Biddenham, Bedfordshire. In that 
 village, shortly before noon, a little proces- 
 sion of villagers was formed, who conveyed 
 a white rabbit, decorated with scarlet ribbons, 
 through the village, singing a hymn in honour 
 of St. Agatha. All the young unmarried 
 women who happened to meet this proces- 
 
St. Crispin s Day 
 
 sion extended the first two fingers of the 
 left hand, pointing towards the rabbit, at the 
 same time saying 
 
 " Gustin, Gustin, lacks a bier ! 
 Maidens, maidens, bury him here." 
 
 This custom is said to date from the first 
 Crusade. It is certainly curious, and its 
 origin is shrouded in obscurity. Several 
 works on popular customs speak of it as 
 still surviving ; but the Vicar of Biddenham 
 informs us that the custom does not appear 
 to have existed during the lifetime of the 
 present inhabitants. 
 
 October 25th, St. Crispin's Day, is ob- 
 served by the shoemakers of Scarborough, 
 and also in parts of Northumberland and 
 Sussex, who hold a dinner on this feast of 
 their patron-saint, and burn flambeaux on 
 the sands. These torches are probably sub- 
 stitutes for the altar lights which the Shoe- 
 makers' Guild provided for their Chantry 
 Chapel in pre-Reformation times. The Re- 
 formation put out the lights, but the torches 
 and the dinner remained. 
 
 \Note." Kern-baby." Mrs. Gomme has 
 three specimens of the kern-baby ; one 
 from Devonshire, one from Cornwall, and 
 one from Scotland ; but she believes that 
 the custom has quite recently died out in 
 those parts of the country.] 
 
 '59 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Fifth of November Berks songs Beckley 
 and Ileddington, Oxon Town and Gown at 
 Oxford Harcake or Tharcake, Lancashire 
 Local cakes St. Clement's Day " Souling" on 
 All Souls' Day Allan apples at Pcnzance 
 Butchers' custom. 
 
 OUR historical customs, or customs which 
 owe their origin to events in the history of 
 our country, are not very numerous. Besides 
 Royal Oak Day, which has already been de- 
 scribed, we have the famous commemoration 
 of the discovery of Gunpowder Plot on 
 November 5th. This is a very popular fes- 
 tival, when bonfires are lighted everywhere, 
 and "guys"- a perpetual memorial of the 
 famous Guy Fawkes are burnt with much 
 accompaniment of squibs and crackers. 
 
 Probably few of those who take part in these 
 functions recall to mind that November 5th 
 was instituted by the House of Commons as 
 " a holiday for ever in thankfulness to God 
 for our deliverance and detestation of the 
 Papists ; " but this ignorance does not pre- 
 vent them from keeping up the custom and 
 1 60 
 
Guy Fawkes Day 
 
 enjoying the excitement of the bonfire and 
 fireworks. 
 
 The usual rhyme which the youths repeat 
 when they carry round the guy and collect 
 fuel for their bonfires or largess for them- 
 selves is as follows : 
 
 " Please to remember the Fifth of November, 
 
 Gunpowder treason and plot ; 
 I see no reason why gunpowder treason 
 Should ever be forgot." 
 
 A common variation of the last two lines 
 is 
 
 " When the king and his train had nearly been slain, 
 Therefore it shall not be forgot." 
 
 The Berkshire boys used to add the 
 words : 
 
 " Our king's a valiant soldier 
 
 With his blunderbuss on his shoulder ; 
 
 Cocks his pistol, draws his rapier ; 
 
 Pray give us something for his sake here. 
 
 A stick and a stake, for our good king's sake. 
 
 If you won't give one, I'll take two ; 
 
 The better for me, the worse for you. 
 Chorus 
 
 Holloa, boys, holloa, boys, make the bells ring ; 
 Holloa, boys, holloa, boys, God save the Queen." 
 
 " King " is evidently the correct rhyme 
 for " ring," but on the accession of her 
 161 L 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Majesty Queen Victoria the correctness of 
 the poetry was sacrificed to the appropriate- 
 ness of the address to the reigning sovereign. 
 Some of the rhymes tell us of the nefarious 
 deeds of wicked Guy Fawkes, and the follow- 
 ing, we believe, is still extant : 
 
 " Guy Fawkes and his companions did contrive 
 To blow the House of Parliament up alive 
 With threescore barrels of powder down below, 
 To prove Old England's wicked overthrow ; 
 But by God's mercy all of them got catched, 
 With their dark lantern and their lighted match. 
 Ladies and gentlemen sitting by the fire, 
 Please put hands in pockets and give us our 
 
 desire ; 
 
 While you can drink one glass, we can drink two, 
 The better for we, and none the worse for you." 
 Rumour, rumour, pump a deny, 
 Prick his heart and burn his body, 
 And send his soul to Purgatory." 
 
 From Beckley, Oxon, we have the follow- 
 ing rhyme, which is still said by the youths 
 when collecting wood for their fire : 
 
 " Don't you know 'tis the Fifth of November, 
 Gunpowder Plot ? We've come to beg 
 A stick or a stake, 
 For King George's sake. 
 If you don't give us one, 
 
 We'll take two ; 
 Then ricket a racket, 
 Your door shall go." 
 162 
 
Guy Fawkes Day 
 
 At Heading ton, in the same county, the 
 boys sing the following verses : 
 
 " Remember, remember, 
 The Fifth of November, 
 
 Bonfire night ; 
 We want a faggot 
 
 To make it alight. 
 Hatchets and duckets, 
 
 Beetles and wedges, 
 If you don't give us some 
 
 We'll pull your old hedges ; 
 If you don't give us one, 
 
 We'll take two ; 
 The better for us, 
 
 And the worse for you." 
 
 A slight menace is very common in these 
 Gunpowder Plot ditties. At several places 
 at the present time it is customary to cele- 
 brate Guy Fawkes Day with much elaborate 
 ceremonial, torchlight processions, composed 
 of people in very fancy dress costume. The 
 display of fireworks in many towns is very 
 grand and elaborate. At Hampstead very 
 elaborate preparations are made ; several 
 bonfire clubs combine in making the display 
 effective, and the procession is usually very 
 picturesque and imposing. One car at the 
 last celebration, representing the British Isles 
 and the Colonies, with attendant beefeaters 
 and pages, was sent by Sir Augustus Harris. 
 
 On the South Coast these observances 
 
 163 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 are usual in several towns. At Rye the 
 " Borough Bonfire Boys " organise a pro- 
 cession, light bonfires, and burn effigies. At 
 Folkstone the procession consists of carts 
 and waggons, gaily decorated, and containing 
 tableaux vivants, contributed by the Friendly 
 Society. The Ancient Order of Druids send 
 a party representing the Ancient Britons. 
 A blacksmith's forge, a butcher's car, fire 
 brigades, and other shows, make up the pro- 
 cession, and torches and Chinese lanterns, and 
 bands of music, add brightness to the festival. 
 At Marylebone and Bermondsey the bonfire 
 clubs are much in evidence. Political guys 
 are not unknown, and at the last occasion 
 the Sultan of Turkey thrashing a poor Ar- 
 menian was one of the representations. In 
 the old Middlesex suburban town of EnfieJd 
 a huge fancy-dress procession is formed on 
 the evening of Guy Fawkes Day ; thousands 
 of people throng the streets, and fires of all 
 colours blaze along the line of route. Groups 
 allegorical of local traditions associated with 
 the old Enfield chase, Colonel Somerset's stag- 
 hounds, the Herts Yeomanry, fire brigades, 
 and schools, form interesting features in the 
 long procession. Money is collected for the 
 Cottage Hospital, and a monster bonfire is 
 lighted on the green and the traditional guy 
 burned. 
 
 The almost universal observance of the 
 164 
 
Town and Gown at Oxford 
 
 day, and the similarity of the modes of com- 
 memorating the discovery of the Gunpowder 
 Plot, obviate the necessity of recording the 
 manners and customs of the English people 
 on this occasion. 
 
 At Oxford, the " Town and Gown " rows 
 on November 5th, though shorn of some of 
 their ferocity, are not quite things of the 
 past, and the College authorities have recently 
 adopted the fashion of " gating " their men, 
 in order to prevent the usual encounters. 
 Why on this particular night the gentlemen 
 of the University and the roughs of the town 
 should seek to engage in deadly conflict and 
 fight and bruise each other, is one of the 
 mysteries of civilisation. One is not alto- 
 gether surprised to read of the stern battles 
 of mediaeval times, when there was much 
 antagonism between Town and Gown, and the 
 butchers fought with their cleavers, and were 
 therefore compelled to set up their shops 
 outside the city walls, and when the tower of 
 Carfax Church was obliged to be taken down, 
 as it became a point of vantage for the belli- 
 gerents. But why these contests should be 
 carried on in the nineteenth century, and 
 waged only on the night of the famous Fifth, 
 are questions which no one seems able to 
 decide. 
 
 In Lancashire, in the neighbourhood of 
 Oldham, it is still the custom at the begin- 
 165 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 ning of November to make what is called 
 Harcake. The origin of this custom is lost 
 in the mists of antiquity. It is probably a 
 relic of an ancient pagan festival. Har was 
 one of the names of Odin, and the word 
 appears in many place-names in the neigh- 
 bourhood, e.g.) Harrof, Hargrave, Hargate, 
 &c. In this making of harcake there is 
 doubtless preserved the memorial of an old 
 Norse festival. 
 
 In Nodal and Milner's " Lancashire Glos- 
 sary " the word is given as Tharcake ; but this 
 need not sever its connection with Northern 
 mythology, as Tharcake or Thor-cake sug- 
 gests the name of the deity in whose honour 
 the special cake was eaten. It is a kind of 
 oatmeal gingerbread, made of meal, treacle, 
 and butter, and is sometimes called parkins. 
 
 The whole subject of special local cakes is 
 full of interest. There are the Eccles cakes, 
 made at Eccles, in Lancashire, which resemble 
 the famous cakes of Banbury. Bath is famous 
 for its buns as well as its waters, and Rich- 
 mond for its maids -of -honour. Everton 
 boasts of its toffy, and Shrewsbury of its 
 cakes, alluded to in Shenstone's " Schoolmis- 
 tress " when he sings 
 
 " Ah ! midst the rest, may flowers adorn his grave 
 Whose art did first these dulcet cates display." 
 
 The eve of All Saints' Day (November ist), 
 166 
 
Souling 
 
 anciently called All-Hallow Eve, was a great 
 night for the witches, especially in Lancashire ; 
 but the old beldames have fled away on their 
 broomsticks, and old customs have gone with 
 them. But on All Souls' Day, November 2nd 
 which was first instituted in the monastery of 
 Clugny in 993 A.D., it is still customary for 
 children to go " a-souling," and soul-cakes 
 are still offered and eaten in Shropshire on 
 this day. One of the numerous versions of 
 the " soulers " is as follows : 
 
 " Soul ! soul ! for a soul-cake ! 
 I pray, good missis, a soul-cake ! 
 An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, 
 Any good thing to make us merry. 
 One for Peter, two for Paul, 
 Three for Him who made us all. 
 Up with the kettle and down with the pan, 
 Give us good alms and we'll be gone. 
 
 " The roads are very dirty, 
 
 My shoes are very thin, 
 I've got a little pocket 
 
 To put a penny in. 
 If you haven't got a penny, 
 
 A ha'penny will do ; 
 If you haven't got a ha'penny, 
 
 May God help you." 
 
 This is sung at Wellington, Salop. 
 
 There are many variants of these rhymes, 1 
 which need not be enumerated. Let it suffice 
 
 1 Cf. " English Folk-Rhymes," p. 220. 
 
 167 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 to mention one Staffordshire rhyme, which 
 runs as follows : 
 
 " Soul-day, soul-day, 
 
 We've been praying for the soul departed ; 
 So pray, good people, give us a cake, 
 For we are all poor people, 
 Well known to you before ; 
 So give us a cake for charity's sake, 
 And our blessing we'll leave at your door. 
 
 Soul ! soul ! for an apple or two ; 
 
 If you have no apples pears will do ; 
 
 If pears are scarce, then cakes from your pan, 
 
 Give us our souling, and we'll be gone." x 
 
 A curious rhyme is given in Shropshire 
 Folk-lore which is still sung or drawled : 
 
 " The cock sat in the yew tree, 
 
 The hen came chuckling by, 
 I wish you all good morning, 
 And a good fat pig in the sty. 
 A good fat pig in the sty ! " 
 
 " Souling " still lingers on in Cheshire. 
 
 The Day of St. Clement (November 23rd), 
 the patron saint of blacksmiths, is still ob- 
 served, and St. Clement Danes' Church, 
 London, has his emblem, an anchor, for its 
 vane. There are many legends concerning 
 the connection of " Old Clem " with the 
 craft, which need not now be recorded. One 
 of these relates to the time of King Alfred, 
 who made St. Clement king of all other 
 
 1 Poole's" Customs, Legends, and Superstitions of Staffordshire." 
 
 168 
 
St. Clement's Day 
 
 tradesfolk. An old traditional song, called 
 the " Jolly Blacksmith," is said to have been 
 sung on the occasion, and is very spirited : 
 
 " Here's a health to jolly blacksmith, 
 
 The best of all good fellows, 
 Who works at his anvil 
 
 While the boy blow the bellows. 
 For it makes his bright hammer to rise and to fall, 
 Says the old cob to the young cob and the old cob 
 
 of all. 
 Chorus. Twankie dillo, twankie dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo, 
 
 dillo, dillo, 
 
 With a roaring pair of bagpipes made of the green 
 willow." 
 
 The children in East Sussex still go Cat- 
 terning and Clemmening, and the black- 
 smiths do not forget the day. They used 
 to dress up a figure of " Old Clem," and 
 put him in front of the inn where they held 
 their feast. The rhyme sung in Sussex is 
 
 " Cattern' ] and Clemen' be here, here, here, 
 Give us your apples and give us your beer ; 
 One for Peter, two for Paul, 
 Three for Him who made us all. 
 Clemen' was a good man, 
 Cattern' was his mother : 
 Give us your best, 
 And not your worst, 
 And God will give your soul good rest." 
 
 1 Cattern' = St. Catherine, whose feast is November 25th, 
 formerly much observed by the Buckinghamshire lacemakers. 
 169 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 In the Government dockyards "Old Clem" 
 is still revered, and his figure is dressed up ; 
 the masters often give the blacksmiths a 
 wayz-goose, a leg of pork stuffed with sage 
 and onions, on this day. At the feast the 
 first toast is 
 
 " Here's to old Vulcan, as bold as a lion, 
 A large shop and no iron, 
 A big hearth and no coal, 
 And a large pair of bellows full of holes." 
 
 The Jolly Blacksmith's song is always sung. 
 The next toast is 
 
 " True hearts and sound bottoms, 
 Checked shirts and leather aprons." 
 
 Then follows a song beginning 
 
 " Tubal Cain, our ancient father, 
 
 Sought the earth for iron and ore ; 
 More precious than the glittering gold, 
 Be it ever so great a store." 
 
 " To the memory of ' Old Clem/ and 
 prosperity to all his descendants," is the 
 toast of the evening. 
 
 The Brighton Railway Company's smiths 
 have in recent years observed these customs. 
 At the White Horse Inn, Castle Street, 
 London, a supper is held, and " Old Clem's" 
 memory duly recorded. One of the farriers 
 is dressed in a new apron with gilt tags. 
 170 
 
Allan Apples 
 
 The anvils used to be fired with gunpowder, 
 but this part of the ceremonial has now been 
 discontinued. 
 
 " Going a-gooding " on St. Clement's Day * 
 is still practised at Market Bosworth, Leices- 
 tershire. The boys go round collecting apples 
 and money, and sing a rhyme very similar to 
 one already quoted. It runs 
 
 " St. Clement's, St. Clement's, St. Clement's is here ; 
 Apples and pears are very good cheer ; 
 One for Peter (the rest as before)" 
 
 On the nearest Saturday to Hallow E'en 
 the fruiterers of Penzance display in their 
 windows very large apples, known locally as 
 " Allan " apples. The eating of them is 
 supposed to bring good luck, and the girls 
 put them under their pillows in order to 
 dream of their sweethearts. 
 
 The same custom with some variations pre- 
 vails at St. Ives, in the same county. " Allan 
 Day " is a great children's festival, and hun- 
 dreds would deem it a great misfortune to 
 go to bed on Allan night without the time- 
 honoured Allan-apple beneath their pillows. 
 They fully expect to dream of the future 
 husband or wife, the fulfilment of the dream 
 depending on the silence observed before 
 eating the apple. The full ritual involves 
 
 1 Billson's "Folk-Lore of Leicestershire." 
 171 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 rising before dawn and sitting under a tree, 
 clad in the nightdress only, and then eating 
 the Allan apple. Two results are then due ; 
 the future husband or wife becomes present, 
 and if (there is a great virtue in the "if") 
 the sitter be not cold, then he or she will 
 not be cold during the winter. The peni- 
 tential ritual has however happily fallen into 
 abeyance. 
 
 A curious custom of taking a marrow- 
 bone from the butchers was formerly prac- 
 tised at Camborne on the Sunday nearest to 
 Martinmas, and has now been revived. A 
 number of men, known as the " Homage 
 Committee," go round the market with ham- 
 pers, which are soon filled with marrow-bones, 
 and afterwards visit the public-house as 
 " tasters." One night in November is known 
 in Padstow as "Skip-skop night," when the 
 boys in the place go about with a stone in a 
 sling, with which they strike violently the 
 doors of the houses, and ask for money to 
 make a feast. 
 
 Butchers still in some few places keep up 
 the custom of serenading a newly married 
 couple of their own trade with the " marrow 
 bones and cleavers." This serenade takes 
 place on the eve of the marriage night, 
 outside the house of the newly married pair, 
 in return for which the serenaders expect 
 money or ale and cake. 
 172 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Local customs Gloves in Church of Abbots Ann, 
 Andover Dunmotv Flitch Skimmerton-riding 
 in Wilts and Dorset Riding the Stang. 
 
 VERY remarkable are many of the local 
 customs which linger on in some of 
 our towns and villages, and which are 
 not confined to any special day in the 
 calendar. 
 
 At Abbots Ann, near Andover, it is the 
 custom to hang effigies of hands and arms 
 near the pulpit of the church on the left- 
 hand side of the nave, outside the chancel 
 arch, in memory of any girl who died un- 
 married. On the right of the arch chaplets 
 are hung. These effigies are probably imita- 
 tions of gloves, as in early times it was 
 not unusual to hang up in the churches 
 mittens or gloves at funerals. Nor was 
 the custom confined to the memorials of 
 the dead. 
 
 Sometimes to hang up a glove in a church 
 was the authorised method of challenging a 
 rival to mortal combat. Sir Walter Scott in 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 his " Rokeby " * alludes to this practice in 
 the lines 
 
 " Edmund, thy years were scarcely nine 
 When challenging the clans of Tyne 
 To bring their best my brand to prove, 
 O'er Hexham's altar hung my glove ; 
 But Tynedale nor in tower nor town 
 Held champion meet to take it down." 
 
 In the Life of Barnard Gilpin (1517- 
 1583), Rector of Hough ton-le-Spring, it is 
 recorded that on entering his church the 
 worthy man observed a glove hanging up, 
 and was informed by the sexton that it was 
 meant as a challenge to any one who would 
 take it down. The vicar removed the glove, 
 and admonished his congregation on the 
 wickedness of such savage practices. {Notes 
 and Queries.} 
 
 The custom of hanging up in the churches 
 garlands of roses with a pair of gloves cut 
 out of white paper, which had been carried 
 before the corpses of young unmarried 
 women at their funerals, used to prevail in 
 many parishes in Derbyshire. However, 
 during recent years they have almost all been 
 removed. We understand that the garlands 
 are still hanging in Ashover Church, and 
 possibly at Flamborough, Yorkshire. The 
 practice seems to have been very general in 
 
 1 Canto vi. 21. 
 174 
 
Dun mow Flitch 
 
 the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
 and lingered long in Derbyshire. The fol- 
 lowing lines attributed to Anna Seward 
 refer to the custom : 
 
 " The gloves suspended by the garland's side, 
 White as its snowy flowers with ribband tied ; 
 Dear village ! long may these wreaths funereal 
 
 spread 
 Simple memorials of the early dead." 
 
 The Dunmow Flitch is a well-known matri- 
 monial prize for which happy couples who 
 have never quarrelled during the first year 
 of their wedded life strive to establish their 
 claims before an impartial jury composed of 
 six maidens and six bachelors. There is a 
 judge arrayed in a full-bottom wig, and 
 advocates plead for and against the claims 
 of the suitors. The examination and cross- 
 examination of the claimants usually occasion 
 much mirth, and when the couples are pro- 
 nounced worthy of the flitch, they are chaired 
 and carried round the meadow, finally halting 
 at an open-air stage, where they publicly take 
 the customary oath, kneeling on rough stones. 
 
 This custom has not been observed con- 
 tinuously. For several years it entirely 
 lapsed, until in 1855 the historical novelist 
 Harrison Ainsworth revived the custom and 
 presented the prize. He wrote a novel 
 entitled " The Flitch of Bacon." The fol- 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 lowing record of the proceedings in the year 
 1701 is full of interest : 
 
 <c 
 
 Dunmow 
 
 Nuper Priorat. 
 
 At a court barren of the right wor- 
 shippful Sir Thomas May, Knight, 
 then holden on Friday, the 
 
 da ^ of J une ' in the ^ r of our Lord 
 1701, before Thomas Wheeler, Gent, 
 
 steward of the said manor, it was 
 thus enrolled : 
 
 /Elizabeth Beaumont, spinster 
 " Homage < Henriette Beaumont, spinster 
 
 i 
 
 lAnnabella Beaumont, spinster 
 
 Jane Beaumont, spinster 
 Mary Chester, spinster 
 
 Jury. 
 
 " Be it remembered that at this court it is 
 found and presented by homage aforesaid, 
 that William Parsley and Jane his wife have 
 been married for the space of three years last 
 past, and it is likewise found that William 
 Parsley and Jane his wife, by means of their 
 quiet and peaceable, tender and loving coha- 
 bitation for the space of three years aforesaid, 
 are fit and qualified persons to be admitted 
 by the court to receive the ancient and 
 accustomed oath, whereby to entitle them- 
 selves to have the bacon of Dunmow delivered 
 unto them according to the custom of the 
 manor. Whereupon at this court in full 
 and open court came the said William 
 Parsley and Jane his wife in their persons, 
 and humbly prayed that they might be per- 
 
Dunmow Flitch 
 
 mitted to take the oath. Whereupon the 
 steward and the jury and other officers pro- 
 ceeding with the usual solemnity to the 
 ancient and accustomed place for the admini- 
 stration of the oath and receiving the said 
 bacon ; that is to say, two great stones lying 
 near the church door, where the said William 
 Parsley and Jane kneeling down on the two 
 stones, the said steward did administer the oath 
 in these words, or to the effect following 
 
 " ' You do swear by custom of confession, 
 That you never made nuptial transgression, 
 Nor since you were married man and wife 
 By household brawls or contentious strife, 
 Or otherwise at bed or board, 
 Offended each other in deed or word. 
 Or in a twelvemonth's time and a day 
 Repented not in thought anyway, 
 Or since the church clerk said Amen 
 Wished yourselves unmarried again, 
 But continue true and in desire 
 As when you joined hands in the quire.' 
 
 " And immediately thereupon William Par- 
 sley and Jane Parsley, claiming the said bacon, 
 the court pronounced sentence for the same in 
 these words, or to the effect following 
 
 " * Since to these conditions without any fear 
 Of your own accord you do freely swear, 
 A whole gammon of bacon you do receive 
 And bear it away with love and good leave ; 
 For this is the custom of Dunmow well known ; 
 Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's your own.' 
 177 M 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 And accordingly a gammon of bacon was 
 delivered unto the said William Parsley and 
 Jane Parsley with the usual solemnity. 
 
 Ex d p r - Th- Wheeler, gent, steward, 
 Will m Hague." 1701 (William III.). 
 The Spectator observed with some cynical 
 reflection that when the bacon was first given 
 away only two couples successfully formu- 
 lated their claims. The first couple was a 
 sea-captain and his wife, who had not seen 
 each other after their wedding until the day 
 the prize was awarded ; the second was an 
 honest pair who resided in the neighbour- 
 hood of Dunmow, the husband being a man 
 of plain good sense and a peaceable temper 
 the woman was dumb. A recent claimant 
 was a Yeoman of the Royal Bodyguard, over 
 sixty years of age, and the bravery which 
 carried him through the Crimea and the 
 Indian Mutiny assisted him doubtless in 
 undergoing the trial of procuring the Dun- 
 mow Flitch. 
 
 Those who are not so fortunate in their 
 pursuit of matrimonial bliss have sometimes 
 most unpleasant experiences to undergo. In 
 cases of great scandal and immorality the 
 villagers take the law into their own hands, 
 and organise a serenade of rough music in 
 order to express their disapproval. It is 
 called a Skimmenton or Skimmenton-Riding 
 in Wilts, or sometimes Housset, Hooset, or 
 
Skimmenton 
 
 Wooset. In Berks the "Hooset" is a 
 draped horse's-head, carried at a " Hooset 
 Hunt." The orthodox procedure in North 
 Wilts on the occasion of a Skimmenton is as 
 follows : The party assembles before the 
 house of the offenders, armed with tin pots 
 and pans, and perform a serenade for three 
 successive nights. Then after an interval of 
 three nights the serenade is repeated for 
 three more. Then another interval of the 
 same duration, and a third repetition of the 
 rough music for three nights. On the last 
 night the effigies of the offenders are burned. 
 The word and the custom have emigrated to 
 America. It is the strongest expression of 
 outraged public opinion that a country dis- 
 trict is capable of conveying. It checks open 
 profligacy, brands with infamy all gross in- 
 stances of licentiousness, and exposes to 
 ridicule those couples who by their quarrels 
 disturb the quiet and order of the neigh- 
 bourhood. The three causes for riding the 
 Skimmenton are (i.) When a man and his 
 wife quarrel, and he gives up to her; (ii.) 
 when a woman is unfaithful to her husband, 
 and he patiently submits without resenting 
 her conduct ; (iii.) any grossly licentious con- 
 duct on the part of married persons. In the 
 neighbourhood of Dorking, Surrey, this kind 
 of rough music is common. 
 
 In Dorsetshire it is called Skimmington ; 
 179 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 in Scotland " Riding the stang," the peccant 
 party being seated across a pole (or stang) in 
 no very comfortable position. Sometimes 
 they used to sweep the doors of those whom 
 they threatened with similar discipline. A 
 few years ago a famous Skimmerton took 
 place at Whitechurch Canonicorum, West 
 Dorset. In the dusk of the evening a strange 
 noise was heard of the beating of trays and 
 kettles, and three grotesquely attired figures 
 were escorted by a procession of persons in 
 various eccentric costumes, who paraded the 
 village. The figures represented three per- 
 sons well known to the villagers, a male and 
 two females. The latter were carried by 
 donkeys, and one had a very long tongue 
 tied back to the neck. After their peram- 
 bulations the processionists conveyed their 
 figures to a field where a gallows was erected, 
 on which the effigies were hung and after- 
 wards burnt. 1 Mr. Thomas Hardy has im- 
 mortalised a Skimmerton-riding in his novel 
 entitled " The Mayor of Casterbridge." 
 
 " Riding the stang " ' was once a very 
 popular custom in the North of England. 
 At the Langwathby Rounds, recently a 
 flourishing village festival, all who were 
 found at work on the day of the feast had 
 
 1 Proceedings of Dorset Field Club, vol. xiv. p. 182. 
 
 2 Derived from the Saxon word steng (Danish stang), signify- 
 ing a long bar or pole. 
 
 I 80 
 
Riding the Stang 
 
 to ride the stang or pay a forfeit. The 
 amenities of Northallerton still include the 
 time - honoured corrective of riding the 
 stang. A few years ago an occasion for the 
 exercise of this forcible expression of public 
 opinion was furnished by an ostler who had 
 proved unfaithful to his recently married 
 bride. In a small pony-cart an effigy was 
 placed, and the ringing of a bell and the 
 shouts of the populace created much excite- 
 ment. This was continued for three nights, 
 and on the last the final riding of the stang 
 took place. Two figures were placed in the 
 cart, and carried round the town, after 
 which a bonfire was lit on the green below 
 the church, and after repeating a doggrel 
 rhyme, the crowd proceeded to burn the 
 figures. It is not often, we hope, that the 
 necessity for a genuine Skimmenton or rid- 
 ing the stang arises, and the custom is of 
 course intermittent ; but offenders would be 
 wise not to assume that this notable ex- 
 pression of public opinion has quite passed 
 away. 
 
 181 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 Holy wells Scottish superstition Pin-wells 
 Rag-wells Well-dressing in Derbyshire Tis- 
 sington well - dressing Endon, Staffordshire 
 Youlgrave, Derbyshire St. Alkmund's, Derby 
 Wishing-wells Walsingham, Norfolk. 
 
 MANY folk customs linger around wells 
 and springs. They are the haunts of the 
 nymphs and sylvan deities, who must be 
 propitiated by votive offerings, and are re- 
 vengeful when neglected. They cure all 
 manner of diseases, and the genius loci must 
 be reverenced with humility and conciliated 
 by gifts in order that wishes may be grati- 
 fied and cures effected. Town-folk may be 
 ignorant of the virtues of holy wells, but in 
 rural districts, where old customs linger, they 
 are not yet forgotten. Amidst the sights 
 and sounds of nature men are prone to 
 cherish the beliefs and customs of their fore- 
 fathers. In Scotland this is more especially 
 the case, and the adoration of wells may be 
 encountered in all parts of the country from 
 John o' Groats to the Mull of Galloway. 1 
 
 i " Past in the Present," Sir Arthur Mitchell. 
 182 
 
Holy Wells 
 
 Sir Arthur Mitchell states that he has seen 
 at least a dozen wells in Scotland which have 
 not ceased to be worshipped. The cure of 
 children is a special virtue of many of these 
 wells. Anxious mothers make long journeys 
 to some well of fame, bathe the little invalid 
 in its waters, drop an offering into them, and 
 attach a bit of the child's dress to a bush 
 or a tree growing by the side of the well. 
 Pins and nails and bits of rag may constantly 
 be seen in all parts of the Highlands at 
 these hallowed springs. 1 In England too this 
 custom is not unknown. There is a Rag 
 well near Newcastle, so called from the 
 number of shreds of clothing that adorn the 
 bushes at its side. On Holy Thursday the 
 fair maids of Cornwall visit St. Roche's Well, 
 and throw crooked pins or pebbles into the 
 water, and by the bubbles that rise to the 
 surface seek to ascertain whether their sweet- 
 hearts will be true or false. The same kind 
 of divination is practised also at Madron 
 Well, near Penzance, once very famous on 
 account of the cures wrought by its waters. 
 In Ireland, too, these votive offerings to the 
 spirits of the streams may still be seen, and 
 in Wales, Professor Rhys states that there 
 is a holy well in Glamorganshire between 
 Coychurch and Bridgled, where people suffer- 
 
 1 "Past in the Present," Sir Arthur Mitchell: "Folklore of 
 Scottish Lochs and Springs," Mackinlay. 
 
 183 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 ing from any malady dip a rag in the water, 
 bathe the affected part, and then place the 
 rag on a tree close to the well. He saw 
 hundreds of these shreds covering the tree, 
 and some had evidently been placed there 
 recently. 1 
 
 The custom of " well-dressing " was origi- 
 nally a pagan rite held in honour of the 
 nymphs, and corresponds with the ancient 
 Roman Fontinalia, or annual flower-festival 
 of the spirits of the streams and fountains. 
 Shorn of its pagan associations and adapted 
 to Christian usage, the time-honoured cus- 
 tom flourishes with pristine vigour. Derby- 
 shire, with the adjacent counties, is the home 
 of " well-dressing." At Tissington, which 
 claims to have the only real survival of the 
 custom, it takes place on Ascension Day ; at 
 Goulgrave on June 24th, Midsummer Day ; 
 at Derby and Wirksworth at Whitsuntide ; 
 at Barton on the Thursday nearest to St. 
 John the Baptist's Day. Hone wrote of 
 the Tissington " well-dressing " as a festivity 
 which is heartily loved and earnestly antici- 
 pated, one which draws the hearts of those 
 who were brought up there, but whom fortune 
 had cast in distant places, homeward with an 
 irresistible charm. Elaborate preparations 
 are made for its approach. Flowers are 
 arranged in patterns to form mottoes and 
 
 1 Folk- Lore, September 1892. 
 184 
 
W^ell-Dressing 
 
 texts of Scripture, as also devices, such as 
 crosses, crowns, and triangles, while green 
 boughs are added to complete the picture. 
 A recent visitor at one of these functions 1 
 says, " The name ' well-dressing ' scarcely 
 gives a proper idea of these beautiful struc- 
 tures. They are rather fountains or cas- 
 cades, the water descending from above, 
 and not rising as in a well. Their height 
 varies from ten to twelve feet, and the 
 original stone frontage is on this day hidden 
 by a wooden erection in the form of an arch 
 or some other elegant design. Over these 
 planks a layer of plaster of Paris is spread, 
 and whilst it is wet, flowers without leaves 
 are stuck in it, forming a most beautiful 
 mosaic pattern. On one the large yellow 
 field-ranunculus was arranged in letters, and 
 so a verse of Scripture or a hymn was re- 
 called to the spectator's mind. On another 
 a white dove was sculptured in the plaster 
 and set in a groundwork of the humble 
 violet. The daisy, which our poet Chaucer 
 would gaze upon for hours together, formed 
 diaper-work of red and white ; the pale 
 primrose was set off by the rich red of the 
 'ribes.' Nor were the coral berries of the 
 holly, mountain ash, and yew forgotten ; 
 they are carefully gathered and stored in 
 the winter to be ready for the May Day 
 
 1 Notes and Queries. 
 
 185 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 fete. It is scarcely possible to describe the 
 vivid colouring and beautiful effect of these 
 favourites of nature arranged in wreaths 
 and garlands and devices of every hue. 
 And then the pure sparkling water, which 
 pours down from the midst of them on the 
 rustic moss-grown stones beneath, completes 
 the enchantment, and makes this feast of 
 the ' well-flowering ' one of the most beauti- 
 ful of all the old customs that are left in 
 Merrie England." 
 
 Around the first well are gathered groups 
 of country-folk, while the clergyman reads 
 the first of the three Psalms appointed for 
 the day, and a hymn is sung. Then all 
 move forward to the next well, where 
 another Psalm is read and another hymn is 
 sung ; the Epistle and Gospel are read at 
 the last two wells. Some attribute the 
 origin of the custom to a great drought 
 which visited Derbyshire in 1615, when the 
 wells of Tissington continued to flow, and 
 provided water for the whole neighbour- 
 hood; but, as we have said, we must refer 
 the origin farther back to Roman times, 
 and connect it with the ancient pagan 
 festival. 
 
 At Endon, in Staffordshire, the festival 
 
 is held on Royal Oak Day, and a description 
 
 of the proceedings is not without interest. 
 
 There are two wells at Endon, the one 
 
 186 
 
Well-Dressing 
 
 very old and almost dry, which has long 
 since fallen into disuse ; the other alone sup- 
 plies the village with water. From a very 
 early hour in the morning the whole village 
 is astir, and the people busy themselves in 
 bedecking the wells for the coming cere- 
 mony. Crowds of visitors flock in from 
 all parts of the district, and the village green 
 swarms with eager spectators. The pro- 
 ceedings are under the personal guidance 
 of the vicar of the parish, and at two o'clock 
 a procession of school children is formed at 
 the new well, headed by a band of music. 
 The children wave flags vigorously, and the 
 procession marches to the old parish church, 
 where a solemn service is held, and the 
 villagers attend in large numbers. Hymns 
 and psalms applicable to a thanksgiving 
 service for water are sung, and at the con- 
 clusion of the service the procession is 
 re-formed, and marches back to the new 
 well. Then the clergy and choir walk 
 slowly round the well, singing " Rock of 
 Ages " and " A Living Stream so Crystal 
 Clear." The well is adorned, as at Tissing- 
 ton, with a large wooden framework erected 
 in front of it, covered with a surface of 
 clay, and thickly studded with flowers of 
 every kind of hue. " O ye wells, bless ye 
 the Lord ! " was the text that garnished the 
 summit. Maypole dances, including the 
 
 187 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 crowning of the May Queen, occupy the 
 greater part of the afternoon, and in the 
 evening the band plays for dancing, and the 
 Maypole dances are repeated. After dusk 
 there is a display of fireworks. At Youl- 
 grave, in Derbyshire, the festival is observed 
 with much spirit, the day being kept as 
 a general holiday. The clubs hold their 
 annual procession, headed through the vil- 
 lage by bands of music, and after parading 
 the streets, attend a short service in the 
 parish church. Up till quite recently " well- 
 dressing " was observed at Buxton, in Derby- 
 shire. A friend of the writer visited the 
 office of the leading local newspaper in 
 order to obtain a report of the last festival, 
 and was grieved to find that it had ceased 
 to be observed two or three years ago. At 
 St. Alkmund's, Derby, "well-dressing" is 
 still practised with much solemnity, and 
 the photograph of the floral decorations of 
 the well on a recent occasion bears witness 
 to the admirable taste and skill of the 
 designers. Also at Bisley, near Stroud, 
 Gloucestershire, there is an annual well- 
 dressing. 
 
 Wishing-wells exist in many places, notably 
 at Walsingham, Norfolk, among the meagre 
 remains of the once famous abbey. A little 
 to the north-east of the site of the old 
 monastic church there are two small circular 
 1 88 
 
Wishing- Wells 
 
 basins of stone, the waters of which had once 
 miraculous efficacy in curing disorders of 
 the head and stomach. They are no less 
 powerful now, for they procure for the sup- 
 pliant the gratification of his wishes. In 
 order to attain the desired end, the votary 
 must kneel on a bare stone placed between 
 the wells. He must plunge to the wrist each 
 hand into the water, and then think of what 
 he most earnestly desires, without disclosing 
 his wish to any one. The hands are then 
 withdrawn, and as much of the water as can 
 be contained in the hollow of each is to be 
 swallowed. This wish will then be assuredly 
 accomplished within a twelvemonth, if the 
 efficacy of the solemn rite be not frustrated 
 by the incredulity of the suppliant. A volume 
 might be written of the lingering superstitions 
 of the English people, of charms and portents, 
 belief in witchcraft, and other kindred cults 
 which die hard ; but we are at present con- 
 cerned only with the existing customs of 
 our race, and not with their superstitions 
 and beliefs, except so far as they may be 
 manifested in local usage and ceremonial 
 observances. 
 
 189 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Marriage customs Orange blossoms Rice- 
 throwing Wedding - ring Bride s veil Shoe- 
 throwing Custom at Stoke Courcy Knutsford 
 custom Chopped straw at weddings Spur- 
 peal Holderness customs Kissing in Somerset 
 Yorkshire Dale customs Races for ribbons 
 Courting customs Taking Day at Crowan 
 Cornish miners' custom Shooting the bride The 
 Sin-eater Funeral customs Passing bell 
 Yorks funeral biscuits Corpse roads Crape on 
 beehives Telling the bees Burying cheeses 
 Wheat at funerals. 
 
 1 HE three great events of human life 
 birth, marriage, and death have naturally 
 drawn around them some of the most curious 
 customs and beliefs. The practice of many 
 of them is almost universal, but few concern 
 themselves with the origin and import of the 
 strange rites which they so often witness. 
 Almost every bride is adorned with orange 
 blossoms. When did their use become 
 general, and why was this particular flower 
 selected ? It is well known that nuptial 
 garlands are of the most remote antiquity. 
 Among the Romans the bride was bound to 
 190 
 
Marriage Customs 
 
 have a chaplet of flowers or herbs for her 
 head, and among the Saxons both bride and 
 bridegroom were crowned with wreaths kept 
 in the church for that purpose. The nuptial 
 garlands were said to be for the most part 
 rosemary or myrtle, sometimes of corn or 
 flowers. In some countries it is said that 
 the bride is crowned with a garland of prickles, 
 and so delivered to her husband, in order 
 that he might know that he had tied himself 
 to a thorny pleasure. The orange is a Chinese 
 plant, and in China from time immemorial 
 the orange has been considered the emblem 
 of good fortune. Saracen brides used these 
 blossoms in their personal decoration on their 
 wedding-day, which are supposed to signify 
 fruitfulness. The custom was probably intro- 
 duced to Western Europe by the Crusaders. 
 Another explanation, which is doubtful, avers 
 that the orange was the golden apple of Juno, 
 which grew in the garden of the Hesperides, 
 and that, as the golden apple was presented by 
 that goddess to Jupiter on their wedding-day, 
 so orange blossoms now adorn our brides. 
 These classical interpretations of the origin 
 of the custom can scarcely be accepted. 
 
 The bride and bridegroom at weddings are 
 also deluged with rice. Why is rice thrown 
 on these occasions ? This custom is also of 
 Chinese origin, and a curious legend is said 
 to account for the origin of the practice. 
 191 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Fifteen hundred years before Christ there 
 lived in the province of Shansi a famous 
 sorcerer called Chao. A man named P'ang 
 was just going to be married, and came to 
 consult the oracle. He was informed by 
 Chao that he would die in six days. Not 
 quite satisfied with the result of the augury, he 
 consulted a sorceress, fair Peachblossom, and 
 obtained the same prognostication ; but the 
 sorceress promised to avert the catastrophe 
 by charms. Chao was astonished to see P'ang 
 walking about on the seventh day, and re- 
 cognising that Peachblossom's power was 
 stronger than his, he determined to destroy 
 her. This could only be done by very careful 
 strategy. So he went to her simple parents, 
 and pretended to seek her in marriage for his 
 son. The parents consented ; marriage-cards 
 were duly exchanged ; but the unlucky day 
 was chosen for the wedding when the Golden 
 Pheasant was in the ascendant. So surely as 
 the bride entered the red nuptial chair, the 
 spirit-bird would destroy her with his power- 
 ful beak. But wise Peachblossom knew all 
 these things, and " Fear not ; I will go and 
 defeat him," she said. So she ordered rice 
 to be thrown out of doors, which the spirit- 
 bird made haste to devour; and while his 
 attention was thus occupied, Peachblossom 
 stepped into the bridal chair and passed on 
 her way unscathed. That is said to be the 
 192 
 
Marriage Customs 
 
 reason why we throw rice at weddings, and 
 we hope it may always be effectual in ward- 
 ing off the attacks of the Golden Pheasant. 
 Whether the legend accounts for the custom 
 or not, it is undoubtedly of Chinese origin, 
 and probably is taken to signify a good wish 
 that plenty may always follow the fortunes 
 of the newly- wedded pair. 
 
 The use of the wedding-ring dates back 
 to pagan times, and the placing of it on the 
 fourth finger of the left hand (a custom 
 founded on the idea that on that finger 
 there is a vein which proceeds directly to 
 the heart) has been traced through Aulus 
 Gellius, who lived A.D. 150, and Apion in 
 A.D. 40, to the remote times of Egyptian 
 antiquity. 
 
 The bride's veil is a relic of the old 
 " care-cloth " held over the heads of bride 
 and bridegroom during the ceremony. This 
 was done in Saxon times, and is also enjoined 
 by both the Sarum and York Uses. 1 
 
 We also throw old shoes after young 
 married folk in order to express our wishes 
 for their good fortune. Probably this was 
 not the original meaning of the custom. 
 The throwing a shoe after a bride was a 
 symbol of renunciation of dominion and 
 authority over her by her father or guar- 
 dian, and this receipt of the shoe by the 
 
 1 Cf. Notes and Queries > No. 182, &c. 
 
 193 N 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 bridegroom was an omen that the authority 
 was transferred to him. 
 
 In Kent the shoe is thrown by the prin- 
 cipal bridesmaid, and the others run after 
 it. It is supposed that she who gets it will 
 be married first. It is then thrown amongst 
 the men, and he who is hit will be first 
 wedded. 
 
 There are several wedding customs which 
 are peculiar to localities. At Stoke Courcy, 
 Bridgwater, there is an old custom, which is 
 also found at a few other places in Somer- 
 set. A chain or rope is drawn across the 
 street, and the bridal party are not allowed 
 to pass on their way home until the bride- 
 groom has satisfied the demands of the 
 holders for money wherewith to drink the 
 health of the happy couple. The same cus- 
 tom prevails at Minehead. Formerly a chain 
 of flowers was used. Now men hold ropes 
 across the road in six or seven places at short 
 intervals, expecting money at each place be- 
 fore the wedding carriage is allowed to pass. 
 
 At Knutsford, Cheshire, silver sand is 
 spread on the pavement in front of the 
 bride's house as soon as she sets out for 
 the church. The sand is arranged in the 
 form of wreaths of flowers, half-moons, and 
 mottoes, and good wishes for the bride's 
 happiness are inscribed. Other houses in 
 the street are also similarly adorned, and 
 194 
 
Marriage Customs 
 
 the numerous flowers of sand and hearty 
 good wishes greet the bride on her return- to 
 her home. 
 
 The origin of this is thus explained. 
 King Canute forded a neighbouring brook, 
 and sat down to shake the sand out of his 
 shoes; while he was doing this a bridal 
 party passed by, and he shook the sand in 
 front of them, and wished them joy, and as 
 many children as there were grains of sand. 
 
 Mrs. Gaskell wrote that when she was 
 married all the houses in the town were 
 sanded, and these were the two favourite 
 verses inscribed on the sand : 
 
 " Long may they live, 
 
 Happy may they be, 
 Blest with content, 
 
 And from misfortune free." 
 
 " Long may they live, 
 
 Happy may they be, 
 Blest with a numerous 
 Pro-ge-ny." 
 
 Unpopular brides in the North have 
 chopped straw or chaff scattered in front 
 of their houses, and this mode of expressing 
 displeasure is sometimes employed in the 
 case of offenders who outrage the moral 
 feelings of their neighbours. This popular 
 indignation is sometimes shown against a 
 wife-beater by scattering chaff or straw in 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 front of his house amidst groans and angry 
 cries. This custom is similar to the Ger- 
 man practice, when only chaste maidens were 
 allowed to wear the bridal wreath ; if one of 
 sullied reputation ventured to assume it, the 
 wreath was torn from her head, and some- 
 times replaced with one of straw, while on 
 the eve of her marriage chaff or chopped 
 straw was scattered before her door. In 
 " Westmorland dialect " it is stated that a 
 girl, when her lover proves unfaithful, is, by 
 way of consolation, rubbed with pease-straw 
 by the neighbouring lads ; and when a North 
 Country youth loses his sweetheart by her 
 marriage with a rival, the same sort of com- 
 fort is administered by the lasses of the 
 village. 
 
 The custom of spreading chaff before a 
 house door prevails at Stratford-on Avon. 
 " That is the way our people show their feel- 
 ings for wife-beaters," explained a native of 
 the place. 
 
 In the Midland and Northern counties a 
 peal is rung on the evening of the Sunday 
 after the publication of the banns. This is 
 called " Spur-peal," and the Sunday is known 
 as " Spur-Sunday," to spur meaning to ask 
 (Scottish spier). "To put in the spur- 
 rings," signifies to give the banns to the 
 clergyman, and to be " spurred up " is to 
 have the banns published. 
 196 
 
Marriage Customs 
 
 At Holderness the young folks pour hot 
 water on the door-steps after a wedding, in 
 order that other marriages might flow. The 
 idea seems to be to keep the threshold warm 
 for another bride, and not to suggest any 
 unpleasant prophecies with regard to the 
 future of the newly-wedded pair. 
 
 At Halse and Bishops Lydeard, Somerset, 
 it is customary for the bridegroom to kiss 
 the bride during the marriage ceremony 
 after placing the ring on her finger. This 
 is a survival of the old nuptial kiss, which 
 formed part of the solemn ceremonial of 
 marriage according to the Sarum Use. 
 
 The Cornish maids and men have a custom 
 useful for the encouragement of matrimony. 
 At Crowan, on the Sunday previous to 
 Prayes Crowan fair (July i6th), they go to 
 the parish church, and at the end of the 
 service hasten to Clowance Park, where a 
 large crowd is assembled. Here the young 
 men select their partners for the forthcoming 
 fair; and as sometimes rivals contend for 
 the same beauty, and as sometimes the 
 beauty rejects the generous offers of eager 
 swains, contentions arise, and tussles ensue 
 which afford much amusement to the spec- 
 tators. "Taking Day," as it is called in 
 Clowance Park, is responsible for many 
 happy weddings. 
 
 At Eddinbury, Cheshire, a lover is required 
 197 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 to pay his footing on commencing courting. 
 Recently the happy man refused to conform 
 to this established usage. A huge flour-bag 
 was therefore produced, in which the unfor- 
 tunate lover was enveloped. It is not stated 
 whether his ludicrous appearance caused the 
 lady to change her mind. 
 
 Courtship has its customs too. Girls in 
 Buckinghamshire are wont to pin their 
 woollen stockings to the wall, and repeat 
 the following rhyme : 
 
 " I hang my stocking on the wall, 
 
 Hoping my true love for to call ; 
 May he neither rest, sleep, nor happy be, 
 Until he comes and speaks to me." 
 
 Another custom, when a lover is faithless, 
 is to prick the " wedding " finger, and with 
 the blood write upon paper her own name 
 and that of the favoured swain, afterwards 
 to form three rings (still with the blood) 
 joined underneath the writing, dig a hole in 
 the ground, and bury the paper, keeping the 
 whole matter a secret from every one. This 
 is believed to be an unfailing charm. 
 
 To see her future husband in a dream, 
 a maiden, on taking off her boots, must 
 place them T-square fashion, and pointed in 
 the direction of the nearest church. She 
 must then say 
 
 198 
 
Courtship 
 
 " I set my boots in the shape of a T, 
 Hoping my true love for to see ; 
 The shape of his body, the colour of his hair, 
 And the daily apparel my true love doth 
 wear." 
 
 Then she must get into bed backwards, 
 preserving strict silence. This procedure is 
 to be repeated twice, and then the future 
 husband will appear without fail. 1 
 
 In East Lancashire Friday evening is not 
 considered a correct or suitable time for 
 courtship. The first person spying a couple 
 so engaged enters the house, seizes the frying- 
 pan, and beats on it a tattoo. This arouses 
 the neighbours, who give a warm reception 
 to the offending couple if they do not with- 
 draw hurriedly. 
 
 Yorkshire, the home of so many old 
 customs which linger on in the distant dales, 
 has still some strange survivals of wedding 
 customs which can be traced back to very 
 remote antiquity. After the wedding is 
 over, races are run in a field near the church, 
 the prize being a ribbon presented by the 
 bride. This ribbon is a delicate substitute 
 for the bride's garter, which used to be taken 
 off as she knelt at the altar, and offered as 
 a prize for the fleetest runner. The races 
 were formerly run on horseback, and the 
 
 1 Walford's "Antiquarian." 
 199 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 goal was the bride's door. We have here 
 some relics, as Canon Atkinson points out in 
 his " Forty Years in a Moorland Parish," of 
 the ancient manner of wooing, which con- 
 sisted in carrying off the bride by physical 
 force. Traces of this can still be observed 
 in the Welsh custom of the bridegroom 
 mounting on horseback after the ceremony 
 with his wife behind him, and then being 
 pursued by the wedding guests. This is a 
 strange relic of the old savage practice. 
 
 The miners of Cornwall have several curi- 
 ous customs. Not the least remarkable of 
 these is the practice of burning the hats of 
 fathers after the birth of their first child. 
 This still prevails at St. Just. 
 
 At Eyam, Derbyshire, a correspondent 
 informs me that it was the custom forty 
 years ago, after the publication of the banns 
 for the third time, for an elderly man who 
 sat in the choir gallery to supplement the 
 parson's words by saying, " God speed 'em 
 well." But the man is probably dead now, 
 and the custom too. Another peculiar 
 wedding custom, of which there appears 
 to be no record, existed at Gunton, Norfolk. 
 A friend of the writer saw, on the occasion 
 of a wedding in the parish church, a man 
 hiding himself behind a tree. When the 
 bride and bridegroom returned from the 
 church, the man fired at or near them. 
 200 
 
Burial Customs 
 
 This custom was called "Shooting the 
 Bride," and was supposed to bring good 
 luck and drive away evil spirits. The same 
 custom prevails in Ireland. 1 The bridal 
 party are saluted with shots from muskets 
 and pistols in every village through which 
 they pass. This often causes many riders to 
 be unseated, as they all gallop fast on these 
 occasions, as at the old Yorkshire weddings, 
 contending for the honour of arriving first 
 at the bridegroom's house. 
 
 In Ireland a very strange marriage custom 
 prevails in County Mayo. Gangs of men, 
 dressed in women's dresses, and with straw 
 masks, attend the wedding and dance. The 
 band consists of twelve men, and the leader 
 of the " straw-boys " has the privilege of 
 dancing a measure with the bride. 
 
 Burials, too, have still some curious cus- 
 toms which time has spared. The mourn- 
 ful tones of the "passing bell" announce 
 the presence of death in the village. It was 
 formerly rung just when the sufferer was 
 yielding up life, in order that the parishioners 
 might pray for the departing spirit, and 
 after death the " soul-bell " was rung. Our 
 modern "passing bell" corresponds with the 
 latter. Sometimes the sex of the departed 
 is shown by tolling the bell twice for a 
 woman and thrice for a man. In Shropshire 
 
 1 We are not sure whether the custom is now defunct. 
 201 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 all the bells are chimed when the body is 
 being brought to the church, and the custom 
 is called "ringing the dead home." In 
 Hampshire the outer door of the house, 
 through which the body has been carried, is 
 left open until the return of the mourners ; 
 otherwise it is supposed that another death 
 will occur before a year has passed away. 
 
 In Yorkshire it is customary after a death 
 to send to the friends of the family a bag 
 of biscuits, together with a card bearing 
 the name of the deceased. Sometimes these 
 "funeral biscuits" are small round sponge- 
 cakes, and were formerly known as arvel 
 bread- arvel or arval being the ale or 
 feast of the heir when he succeeds to his 
 father's property. 1 This is a relic of the old 
 pagan funeral feasts, and is not unknown in 
 other parts of England. It is probably con- 
 nected with the curious custom of the Sin- 
 eater, formerly observed in Wales. A poor 
 person was hired (one of them is described 
 as "a long, lean, ugly, lamentable rascal ") to 
 perform the duties of Sin-eater. Bread and 
 beer were passed to the man over the corpse, 
 or laid on it ; these he consumed, and by 
 this process was supposed to take on him all 
 the sins of the deceased, and free the defunct 
 person from walking after death. The eaters 
 
 1 Cf. " Forty Years in a Moorland Parish," Canon Atkinson, 
 p. 228. 
 
 2O2 
 
Burial Customs 
 
 of funeral biscuits in modern times little re- 
 flect upon the extraordinary superstition of 
 which these dainties are a relic. 
 
 At a funeral near Market Drayton in 
 1893, the body was brought downstairs, a 
 short service was performed, and then glasses 
 of wine and funeral biscuits were handed to 
 each bearer across the coffin. The clergy- 
 man, who had lately come from Pembroke- 
 shire, remarked that he was sorry to see that 
 pagan custom still observed, and that he had 
 put an end to it in his former cure. Mr. 
 E. Sydney Hartland has recently maintained 
 in The Times that the custom of the Sin- 
 eater still exists in Wales, and mentions the 
 current belief in Derbyshire that every drop 
 of wine drunk at a funeral is a sin committed 
 by the deceased. Hence wine is drunk at 
 the funerals in order to release the soul of 
 the dead from the burden of sin. At Padi- 
 ham wine and funeral biscuits are always 
 given before the funeral, and the clergyman 
 is always expected to go to the house, and 
 hold a service before the funeral party goes 
 to church. Arval bread is eaten at funerals 
 at Accrington, and there the guests are ex- 
 pected to put one shilling on the plate used 
 for handing round the funeral biscuits. 
 
 In the North of England a basin full of 
 sprigs of box is often placed at the door of 
 the house, and every one who attends the 
 203 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 funeral takes a sprig of box, carries it in the 
 procession, and throws it into the grave of 
 the deceased. 1 In the Dale district of York- 
 shire, when a young unmarried woman is 
 buried, the bearers are usually six single 
 young women, who wear white scarves and 
 gloves. A dead child is borne by six chil- 
 dren, whose sex accords with that of the 
 deceased. 
 
 In the same county there are roads called 
 corpse roads, along which the bodies of dead 
 folk are carried on the way to their last 
 resting-place. At Sharleton the coffin must 
 always be carried to Grime Lane End, and 
 then put into the hearse or cart. The 
 mourners always walk to this spot, and then 
 enter the carriages and continue their way 
 along the corpse road to the church. Local 
 custom has sanctioned this usage, which is 
 never varied. Canon Atkinson mentions 
 some similar customs in his " Forty Years 
 in a Moorland Parish." 
 
 In many counties the custom exists of 
 putting crape on beehives after the death of 
 their owner. This is solemnly done by his 
 nearest relation ; otherwise it is supposed 
 that the bees will die. The bees, too, have 
 to be informed of the death ; this is done 
 by tapping the hives and saying, " Brownie, 
 brownie, brownie, your master is dead." 
 
 1 "Curious Church Customs," p. 145. 
 2O4 
 
Burial Customs 
 
 This is called " waking bees." The custom 
 was practised at Greenham, Berks, during 
 the present year. An old woman reproached 
 herself to the vicar because she had omitted 
 to " tell the bees " when their master had 
 died ; but she was relieved to find that a 
 neighbour had been more thoughtful, and 
 had duly performed the ceremony. 
 
 Near Bridgwater, when a batch of cheeses 
 is made, one is put aside for the funeral 
 function of the master, should he die within 
 the year. If he outlives the year, the cheese 
 is sold, and always commands a good price. 
 
 One other funeral custom is worthy of 
 record. The husband of a lady living in 
 Lancashire recently died. As soon as his 
 death became known, a friend sent to the 
 widow a small sheaf of wheat to be distri- 
 buted among the relatives present at the 
 funeral. This wheat is evidently an emblem 
 of immortality, and the custom of intro- 
 ducing wheat at a funeral is still known in 
 modern Greece. Chandler, in his "Travels 
 in Greece," states that at a funeral two men 
 followed the body, each carrying on his head 
 a dish of parboiled wheat, which was de- 
 posited over the body. 1 
 
 1 Notes and Queries, 7th Series, vi., Nov. 3, 1888. Note by 
 Lady Russell. 
 
 2O5 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Legal customs Clameur de Haro Tynwald 
 Hill and Manx laws Court of Pie-Powder 
 Court - Leets and Court - Barons Court of 
 Exchequer Borough - English Gavelkind 
 Court Leet at Dimchurch Heriots Judge's 
 black cap Gray's Inn Curious custom at Royal 
 Courts of Justice. 
 
 1HE statute-book of the laws of England 
 is replete with survivals of ancient customs, 
 and learned legal commentaries disclose the 
 existence of strange local usages, curious 
 tenures and rights, which originated centuries 
 ago, and are held to be valid because they 
 " have been used so long that the memory 
 of man runneth not to the contrary." It is 
 remarkable that the period to which legal 
 memory extends goes as far back as the first 
 year of the reign of Richard I. 
 
 One of the more curious survivals of the 
 customs of the Middle Ages may occasion- 
 ally be observed in the Channel Islands. 
 This is called the Clameur de Haro, and 
 enables a suitor to claim the jurisdiction 
 of the royal courts of the island in case 
 he considers himself wronged and unjustly 
 206 
 
Manx Custom 
 
 treated. A few years ago (March 4, 1890) 
 this custom was exercised in order to prevent 
 the public auction of certain household goods, 
 which was disapproved by the eldest son of 
 the family. The formula uttered by the son, 
 according to ancient usage, was as follows 
 " Haro ! Haro ! Haro ! a 1'aide, mon 
 prince ! on me fait tort ! " The sale ceased 
 at once, and the matter had to be referred 
 to the royal courts of the island. This 
 appeal can always be resorted to by the 
 inhabitants of the Channel Islands whenever 
 they believe that they are being treated un- 
 justly. 
 
 In the Isle of Man, according to ancient 
 custom, the laws of the island are read 
 publicly on the Tynwald Hill once every 
 year in Manx and in English. 
 
 This ceremony connects the little Manx 
 nation with the days of the Sagas and the 
 Sea-Kings. On old Midsummer Day, July 
 5th, the governor goes with a military escort 
 to the Church of St. John, near the famous 
 hill, and is received by the bishop, the clergy, 
 the Keys, Deemsters, coroners, and people. 
 Divine service is held, and then they all 
 march to the mound, the sword of state 
 being carried before the governor. The 
 chief men of the island stand on the lower 
 steps of the mound, and the people gather 
 in crowds on the grass beyond. The coro- 
 207 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 ners proclaim a warning, that no man shall 
 make a disturbance at Tynwald " on pain of 
 death." The Deemsters then recite the Acts 
 of Tynwald, and all retire to the church, 
 where the laws are signed and attested. This 
 method of proclaiming the laws was formerly 
 common amongst all Norse nations. In Ice- 
 land the custom survived, but has now been 
 discontinued. The " little Manx nation " 
 alone preserves this badge of ancient liberty. 
 Formerly this method was sorely needed, as 
 the laws only existed in the breasts of the 
 Deemsters, and were called " Breast Laws," 
 being handed down orally from Deemster 
 to Deemster. In the time of the second 
 Earl of Derby, they were first committed to 
 writing. 
 
 The oath of the Deemster or Judge is 
 worthy of record in a book dealing with old 
 customs, and is remarkable for its ancient 
 form and phraseology. The words are : 
 " By this Book and by the holy contents 
 thereof, and by the wonderful works that 
 God hath miraculously wrought in heaven 
 above and in the earth beneath, in six days 
 and seven nights, I do swear that I will with- 
 out respect, or favour, or friendship, love 
 or gain, consanguinity or affinity, envy or 
 malice, execute the laws of this isle justly 
 between our Sovereign Lord the King and 
 his subjects within this isle, and betwixt party 
 208 
 
Court of Pied-Poudre 
 
 and party, as indifferently as the herring's 
 backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish." 
 
 The court of pie-powder, which still 
 exists at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has an old- 
 world title, and was formerly attached to all 
 the great fairs and markets in the kingdom. 
 The name is a corruption of the court of 
 pied-poudre (curia pedis pulverizati)^ which 
 is said to be so called from the dirty feet of 
 most of the suitors who frequent the court. 1 
 It is a court of record incident to every 
 market and fair, of which the steward of the 
 owner of the market or fair is judge, with 
 power to administer justice for all com- 
 mercial injuries and disputes which may 
 occur in the course of business transacted at 
 the gathering of traders. 
 
 The same court exists at Sturbridge Fair, 
 near Cambridge, and so useful is this insti- 
 tution for the administration of rough and 
 ready justice that it has recently been revived 
 at Peterborough. The old Guildford charter 
 granted in 1285 gave special powers for the 
 holding of this court. The charter runs : 
 " And furthermore we have granted to the 
 aforesaid Mayor and good men that they and 
 their successors shall have for ever a pie- 
 powder court from hour to" hour, and all 
 things that belongeth to the same court." 
 
 1 A more satisfactory derivation is pied puldreaux, or the 
 court of the pedlars. 
 
 209 o 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 It gives full power to this court for collect- 
 ing dues, settling quarrels and complaints, 
 and deciding disputes. There is no evidence 
 as to the date when these courts were first 
 established in this country. " Over all com- 
 mercial complaints its authority was absolute 
 an offender might be taken, a jury of 
 similar traders empanelled on the spot, evi- 
 dence heard at once, and he would be per- 
 haps commencing his punishment all within 
 an hour." 
 
 The ancient fair at Newcastle is opened 
 by the Mayor and Sheriff at the Guildhall, 
 and notice given as follows : " That a 
 court of pie-powder will be holden during 
 the time of the fair, that is to say, one in the 
 forenoon and another in the afternoon, when 
 rich and poor may have justice administered 
 to them according to the law of the land 
 and the customs of the town." A similar 
 proclamation is made at Modbury, South 
 Devon, on the eve of St. George's Day by 
 the Portreeve. Yarmouth and Boston, Hull 
 and Winchester still retain documents and 
 books relating to this ancient court, and the 
 readers of " Pilgrim's Progress " will find in 
 Bunyan's description of Vanity Fair a very 
 accurate picture of its former methods of 
 jurisdiction. At Bristol it survived till 1885 
 in the shape of a body calling itself the 
 Tolsey Court, the name being derived from 
 210 
 
Fairs 
 
 U 4.^1 > 
 
 tol " or toll. At Ely a proclamation is 
 still read twice a year at the opening of the 
 fair, in the name of " Alwyne, by Divine 
 permission my Lord Bishop of the Diocese 
 of Ely " which commands that " all vaga- 
 bonds, idle and misbehaving people, cheaters, 
 cozeners, rogues, sturdy beggars, and shifters, 
 do depart out of this fair immediately after 
 this proclamation upon pain of imprisonment 
 and further correction, that His Majesty's 
 subjects may be the more quiet and the 
 Queen's peace the better performed." We 
 believe that tolls in kind still survive at 
 Guildford, where a pint of corn is taken 
 from every sack sold; at Berwick, when 
 one egg in thirty is taken, and at Dun- 
 gannon where the toll-board requires that 
 the tongue of oxen, cows, heifers, or bul- 
 locks, killed between September 29th and 
 December 25th shall be collected "for the 
 proprietor." 
 
 The whole history and constitution of our 
 courts of justice are full of quaint usages. 
 Court -leets and court - barons, which are 
 incident to every manor in the kingdom, and 
 are presided over by the steward of the 
 manor, are still held, when the freeholders 
 and tenants of the lord of the manor assemble, 
 and the affairs of the manor are duly trans- 
 acted. 
 
 The names of the courts of justice are 
 
 21 I 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 sometimes curious. The Court of Ex- 
 chequer, which once concerned itself only 
 with the king's revenues, is so called from 
 the chequed cloth, resembling a chessboard, 
 which covered the table, and on which, when 
 certain of the king's accounts were made 
 up, the sums were marked and scored with 
 counters. 
 
 Some systems of tenures are very remark- 
 able, notably the custom of Borough English, 
 which prevails in several cities and ancient 
 boroughs in different parts of the kingdom, 
 principally in the North. According to this 
 custom, the land descends from the father on 
 his death to the youngest son only, to the 
 exclusion of all the other children. Authori- 
 ties differ with regard to the origin of this 
 peculiar rule of descent. Some suppose that 
 it arose from the idea that the younger son, 
 by reason of his tender age, is not so capable 
 as the rest of his brethren to help himself. 
 Others attribute its origin to the ancient 
 right of concubinage which the lord of the 
 fee had with his tenant's wife on her wedding 
 night, and imagine that the tenement de- 
 scended to the youngest, and not to the eldest, 
 as the former would more certainly be the 
 offspring of the tenant. But it is not known 
 that this custom ever prevailed in England, 
 though it did in Scotland and France. Most 
 probably it arose from the usual habits of 
 212 
 
Borough English 
 
 Northern nations, the eldest sons usually 
 migrating from their father's house, and the 
 youngest remaining with him, and thus be- 
 coming his heir. It would thus be a remnant 
 of the pastoral habits of our Saxon ancestors, 
 and not a memorial of a hideous right of 
 feudal slavery. 
 
 " Borough English " is sometimes known 
 as Cradle-land tenure, and prevails at Mere 
 Down, Wilts, in the manors of Lambeth, 
 Hackney, St. John of Jerusalem in Islington, 
 Heston, Edmonton, and Fulham. 
 
 Gavelkind is another peculiar system of 
 tenure, which exists almost universally in 
 Kent. At the Conquest the men of Kent 
 obtained certain concessions from the Con- 
 queror, and were allowed to retain their 
 ancient liberties. It is evident, therefore, 
 that the custom of gavelkind before the 
 Norman conquest was the general custom of 
 the country. According to this usage the 
 land is divided after the decease of the father 
 amongst all the sons, and in default of them 
 amongst all the daughters. This is in ac- 
 cordance with the custom of the Germanic 
 races described by Tacitus, Teutonibus priscis 
 patrios succedit in agros mascula stirps 
 omnis ne foret ulla potens^ and was doubt- 
 less introduced to this country by our Saxon 
 forefathers. Gavelkind also prevents the 
 forfeiture of the estates in case of an attain- 
 213 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 der for felony, the following rhyme explain- 
 ing this peculiar privilege : 
 
 " The father to the bough, 
 The son to the plough." 
 
 The Duke of Buccleuch has revived an 
 ancient custom which dates back to feudal 
 times, and, in his capacity as Lord of the 
 Hundred and Liberty of Knightlow, War- 
 wickshire, holds his Court-leet and Court- 
 baron at the old posthouse, the Dun Cow 
 Hotel, Dunchurch, near Rugby. The court 
 is presided over by the steward. The jury 
 are duly sworn in by the bailiff, who ad- 
 ministers an oath, couched in quaint terms, 
 binding them to make a true presentment 
 of such things as would be given them in 
 charge, and " to conceal and keep secret the 
 Queen's counsel and your own and your 
 fellows'." The business of the court, which 
 consists of receiving the reports of the bailiff 
 and the reports of the stewards to the effect 
 that several parishes had failed in their hom- 
 age to the court by the non-payment of 
 " essoign pence," " charge rent," is gravely 
 proceeded with, and after the various matters 
 have been discussed the jury make their 
 presentment, with the formal proclamation. 
 The court then rises. Subsequently the 
 jury and the others concerned in the busi- 
 214 
 
Heriots 
 
 ness of the court are entertained to dinner 
 by the Duke of Buccleuch. 
 
 The custom of heriots is also remarkable, 
 and is a relic of villein tenure when the goods 
 and chattels of the tenant belonged to the 
 lord and were liable to seizure by him. 
 Under this custom the lord of the manor is 
 entitled to the best beast, or in some cases 
 the best personal possession, such as a jewel or 
 piece of plate, on the property of the tenant 
 at the time of his death. This is justly con- 
 sidered as one of the most oppressive customs 
 which attend the modern law of tenures, and 
 usually a customary composition in money 
 is agreed upon in lieu of a heriot. But this 
 arrangement is not universal. A few years 
 ago the tenant of the lord of a Sussex manor 
 died, and among his possessions was a very 
 valuable Shire horse. This horse was claimed 
 by the lord as a heriot ; the law upheld his 
 claim, and the horse was duly conveyed to 
 his stables. A curious circumstance fol- 
 lowed. The horse died a fortnight after its 
 transference to its new quarters, and the 
 cause of its death aroused sundry suspicions. 
 
 The frequenters of our courts of justice 
 have observed the judge wearing a black cap 
 when pronouncing sentence of death. The 
 origin of this custon has been variously ex- 
 plained. The covering of the head has been 
 a sign of mourning among many nations. 
 215 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Jews, Greeks, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, all 
 used to adopt this mode of signifying sorrow 
 for death; but we must look elsewhere for 
 an explanation of the origin of the use of 
 the judge's black cap. The judges were 
 usually clerics, and all members of the cleri- 
 cal orders had the crown of the head shaved. 
 The bare patch on a judge's or barrister's 
 wig is a remnant of the tonsure. Now this 
 tonsure on the crown of his wig the judge in 
 passing sentence of death covers with a black 
 cap, to show that for the time he lays aside 
 his clerical office, it being against the primi- 
 tive canons for a churchman to have anything 
 to do with the death of a fellow-creature. 
 
 Gray's Inn clings tenaciously to tradition. 
 Within its walls may still be heard the 
 " mootings " at which some knotty point of 
 law is discussed in the presence of an emi- 
 nent Queen's Counsel. The students still 
 drink " to the glorious, pious, and immortal 
 memory of good Queen Bess," whose por- 
 trait hangs in the place of honour over the 
 Benchers' table. On grand nights there is 
 still the offering of wine with a morsel of 
 bread upon a silver plate an almost sacra- 
 mental observance. And now the honour- 
 able Society seeks to restore, in modified 
 measure, that reputation for revels which 
 Queen Elizabeth acknowledged when she 
 praised Gray's Inn as " an house she was 
 216 
 
Gray's Inn Customs 
 
 much indebted to, for it always studied for 
 some sports to present to her." Three or 
 four years ago there was a masque, such as 
 Burleigh, the great minister, delighted to 
 witness, and recently there was a revival of 
 "The Comedy of Errors," as it was doubtless 
 presented three hundred and one years ago. 
 With the Middle Temple, Gray's Inn shares 
 the glory of being the only existing place in 
 which plays of Shakespeare saw light. In 
 " Gesta Grayorum " occurs the earliest re- 
 ference to " The Comedy of Errors," which 
 was produced amid some tumult, owing to 
 the overcrowding of the hall, for we are told 
 that the night " began and continued to the 
 end in nothing but confusion and errors ; 
 whereupon it was ever afterwards called the 
 night of errors." No finer setting could be 
 imagined than the bare boards of the beauti- 
 ful hall, beneath the hammer-beam roof with 
 a background of a richly-designed oak screen, 
 to which age had given a burnished lustre. 
 The costumes were faithful reproductions of 
 the dresses of the period. Serving-men held 
 torches to light the play, as in 1594, and at 
 the close of the play the actors, kneeling in 
 a row, delivered that curious supplication, 
 known as the " Queen's Prayer," from the 
 play of " Ralph Roister Doister," which Her 
 Majesty's servants were wont to speak at the 
 conclusion of their performance. Supper was 
 217 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 eaten to the music of lutes, viols, and vir- 
 ginals from the minstrels' loft. The whole 
 spectacle was a delightful revival of the 
 drama of ancient times. 
 
 A peculiar survival of ancient observance 
 is annually witnessed at the royal courts of 
 justice. Certain quit-rent services to the 
 Crown are rendered before the Queen's Re- 
 membrancer by the Secondary of the City of 
 London and the City Solicitor. According 
 to records which can be traced back to the 
 thirteenth century, Walter le Brun, farrier in 
 the Strand, occupied a site in St. Clement 
 Danes for a forge, he rendering yearly six 
 horse-shoes and sixty-one nails. A piece of 
 land in the county of Salop was held by 
 Nicholas de Mora, who was to cut two 
 faggots, one with a hatchet and the other 
 with a billhook. The ceremony has been 
 performed for more than six hundred years 
 without intermission. Originally rendered 
 to the King in person, the service was 
 subsequently undertaken before the Barons 
 of the Exchequer, and afterwards before 
 the Cursitor Baron, which office was abol- 
 ished in 1860. Since then the proceedings 
 have been conducted before the Queen's 
 Remembrancer. The ceremonial commences 
 with the reading of two warrants under 
 seal, one for the appearance of the late 
 Sheriffs to give account, and the other 
 218 
 
City Customs 
 
 appointing the Attorney to account on 
 behalf of those officers. The Secondary 
 asks that the warrants may be filed and 
 recorded, which is done. The Queen's 
 Remembrancer then directs the following 
 proclamation to be made : " Oyez, Oyez, 
 Oyez, Tenants and occupiers of the piece 
 of waste ground called the Moors, in the 
 county of Salop, come forth and do your 
 service upon pain and peril that shall fall 
 thereon." The City Solicitor thereupon, as 
 agent of the Corporation, cuts one faggot 
 with a hatchet and another with a billhook, 
 as was formerly done at Westminster by the 
 senior alderman below the chair. The next 
 proclamation invites tenants and occupiers 
 of a certain tenement, called the Forge, in 
 the parish of St. Clement Danes, in the 
 county of Middlesex, to come forth and 
 do their service. The City Solicitor then 
 counts first six horse-shoes, and afterwards 
 sixty-one nails, to which the Queen's Re- 
 membrancer replies "Good number" after 
 each counting. With this the ceremony 
 concludes, and the horse-shoes, nails, and 
 faggots are distributed among the spectators. 
 The most singular part of the matter, how- 
 ever, is that all trace of the property referred 
 to has been lost for two centuries, and the 
 forge above mentioned was pulled down in a 
 riot in the reign of King Richard II. 
 219 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Civic customs Lord Mayors Show Former 
 splendour of civic processions Livery Com- 
 panies of London Civic banquets Loving-cup 
 Election of Master of Girdlers Company 
 Skinners' Company Fintners' Company Swan- 
 uppingand the Dyers' Company The Salt-cellar 
 of the Innholders' Company Silver cradle 
 Colchester Oyster Feast Huntingdon and the 
 ox's skull Preston Guild York and Mayoress' 
 chain Freemasons. 
 
 1HE City of London is still the home of 
 many remarkable old customs, in spite of 
 modern innovations ; and the ancient consti- 
 tution of the City, with all its time-honoured 
 institutions, has not yet fallen a prey to 
 Progressist ideas, nor been absorbed by the 
 London County Council. The old Livery 
 Companies of London are some of the most 
 ancient and honoured of our English institu- 
 tions; they recall to our minds the past 
 glories of our civic life, and retain some of 
 the old manners and customs of our fore- 
 fathers, which otherwise must inevitably have 
 been lost. 
 
 The Lord Mayor's Show is a familiar 
 220 
 
Lord Mayor s Show 
 
 sight to Londoners, the sole survival of the 
 old pageants which delighted our forefathers 
 when England's heart was young. The Lord 
 Mayor still rides in his chariot of state, and 
 a few of the Companies send pageants cars 
 elaborately decorated, and made to represent 
 the particular craft with which the Company 
 is associated.- Masses of fruit and flowers 
 adorn the car of the Fruiterers' Company. 
 A band of neatly-dressed maidens show the 
 skill of the Framework Knitters. But these 
 are only the relics of the grand spectacles 
 that once graced the streets of the City on 
 great occasions, when a king returned from 
 a victorious campaign, or a queen was wel- 
 comed by the loyal citizens. Resplendent 
 with gowns and hoods of divers hues, well- 
 mounted and gorgeously horsed, with rich 
 colours and great chains, the civic dignitaries, 
 attended by the Companies, used to march in 
 procession through the streets to attend the 
 services at St. Paul's Cathedral, and then 
 entertained in their festal halls nobles and 
 princes, and the mighty " baron " made the 
 table groan, and frumenty, with venison, 
 brawn, fat swan, boar, conger, sea-hog, and 
 other delicacies, crowned the feast. A de- 
 scription of two of the pageants of the 
 Mercers' Company will serve as examples of 
 the nature of the shows which were formerly 
 in vogue. One pageant was a rock of coral 
 221 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 with seaweeds, with Neptune mounted on a 
 dolphin at the summit on a throne of mother- 
 of-pearl, and accompanied by tritons, mer- 
 maids, and other marine attendants. Another 
 pageant was a triumphal chariot adorned with 
 a variety of paintings, enriched with gold and 
 silver and rare jewels, and figures bearing the 
 banners of kings and mayors and of the Com- 
 panies, with the arms of the founder, Richard 
 II. A Virgin (the arms of the Company) sat 
 upon a high throne, dressed in a robe of white 
 satin, decked with gold and gems ; her long 
 dishevelled flaxen hair was adorned with 
 pearls and gems, and crowned with a rich 
 coronet of gold and jewels. Her buskins 
 were of gold, laced with scarlet ribbons, and 
 she bore a sceptre and a shield with the arms 
 of the Mercers. Her attendants were Fame 
 blowing her trumpet, Vigilance, Wisdom, 
 and other personified virtues, and the nine 
 Muses, while eight pages of honour walked 
 on foot, and Triumph acted as charioteer. 
 Nine white Flanders horses drew the huge 
 machine, each horse being mounted by some 
 emblematical figure, such as Asia, America, 
 Victory, &c. Grooms and Roman lictors in 
 crimson garb, and twenty savages or " green 
 men," throwing squibs and fireworks, com- 
 pleted the pageant. On the river, too, the 
 scene was equally animated, for there the 
 state barges, echoing with flutes and trumpets, 
 222 
 
Pageants 
 
 adorned with streamers and banners, passed 
 along ; and one barge, called the Bachelors' 
 Barge, " garnished and apparelled passing all 
 other, wherein was ordeyned a great red 
 dragon spowting flames of fyer into the 
 Thames; and many other gentlemanlie 
 pageants, well and curiously devised, to do 
 Her Highness sport and pleasure therein." 
 
 Such were the pageants of ancient days, 
 somewhat different from the less magnificent 
 displays which the utilitarian spirit of the 
 age grudgingly sanctions. It is satisfactory 
 at least that the Lord Mayor's show, the 
 sole relic of the old City " ridings," has not 
 quite passed away; indeed, the last show 
 was more magnificent than usual, and the 
 crowds that assemble to witness the pageants 
 as they pass show that the English people 
 have not yet lost their ancient love of the 
 pleasure which a spectacle affords, and are 
 still amused by the sights and sounds which 
 delighted our forefathers in ancient days. 
 
 In the City Companies' Halls, where the 
 great banquets take place, it is the custom 
 to pass round the loving-cup. It is usually 
 a very handsome goblet made of silver. 
 After the dinner and grace, the Master and 
 Wardens drink to their guests a hearty 
 welcome, and as each person drinks, his 
 neighbour on each side stands in order to 
 guard him. The custom originated in the 
 223 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 precaution which was formerly necessary to 
 protect a man from being stabbed while his 
 hands were employed in holding the cup, 
 and to assure him that he was in no fear of 
 treachery, like that practised by Elfrida on 
 King Edward the Martyr at Corfe Castle, 
 who was slain while drinking. The same 
 custom prevails at the Oxford Colleges when 
 the " Gaudies " are being celebrated, and the 
 grace-cup is passed round by the assembled 
 guests. 
 
 The City Companies have many ancient 
 customs. The Master and three Wardens 
 of the Girdlers' Company are each crowned 
 on the day of election. After the usual 
 dinner, the beadle carries round the crowns, 
 which are placed by the clerk of the Com- 
 pany on the heads of the officers, and the 
 Master drinks the health of the Company. 
 A little more ceremony is introduced at the 
 election of the Master of the Skinners' Com- 
 pany. The Master's crown is tried on the 
 heads of various members present, and the 
 verdict of the assembly is pronounced that 
 the crown does not fit ; until at length it 
 is placed on the head of the Master-elect, 
 and the members at once declare it to be 
 an " excellent fit," and the Master is duly 
 elected. In some companies they have the 
 custom of election by whisper. The renter- 
 warden goes round the room, and each 
 224 
 
City Companies 
 
 member whispers into his ear the name of 
 the Master-elect. 
 
 The Vintners* Company are accustomed at 
 their dinners to drink the toast of " Prosperity 
 to the Vintners' Company " with five cheers, 
 in memory of the occasion of the visit of five 
 crowned heads to their hall. These were 
 Edward III., King of England, David, King 
 of Scotland, John, King of France, the King 
 of Denmark, and the King of Cyprus, who, 
 with many other nobles and princes, honoured 
 Sir Henry Picard, Master Vintner, by their 
 presence at a splendid feast. 
 
 The same Company and the Dyers enjoy 
 the privilege of keeping swans upon the 
 River Thames, and swan-upping is a custom 
 practised every year by the swan herdsman of 
 the Vintners in conjunction with the officers 
 appointed by Her Majesty and the Dyers 1 
 Company. The young birds are marked by 
 the swan-markers with the particular marks 
 of their respective owners. 
 
 The old custom of dividing different classes 
 of society by means of the salt-cellar is still 
 retained by the Innholders' Company. They 
 possess a very fine salt-cellar of the time of 
 James I., which is applied to the special pur- 
 pose of dividing the Court and the Livery at 
 the Livery dinners. The latter literally " sit 
 below the salt," as the retainers used to do 
 in the baron's hall. 
 
 225 p 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Municipal customs exist in many of our 
 English towns, several of which we have 
 already recorded. One general custom seems 
 to prevail in municipal corporations of pre- 
 senting a small silver cradle to the mayor if 
 his wife gives birth to a child during his year 
 of office. 
 
 Colchester is famous for its oysters, and also 
 for its Oyster Feast, which has been main- 
 tained for well-nigh four centuries. Indeed, 
 this town was remarkable for its numerous 
 dinners, and the lives of its municipal gov- 
 ernors must have been extremely jovial. 
 And, moreover, it was all done at the ex- 
 pense of the town. Nearly all the revenues 
 of the place were consumed in eating and 
 drinking, and the chief duty of the corpora- 
 tion was to feast. It would be tedious to 
 enumerate the number of these civic ban- 
 quets, but conspicuous among them was the 
 feast at the opening and closing of the 
 oyster -dredging. The Municipal Reform 
 Act of 1835 abolished municipal banqueting 
 at the cost of the boroughs, but shortly 
 afterwards the Colchester Oyster Feast was 
 revived, and has ever since been celebrated 
 with much magnificence. The oyster fishery 
 has always been a valuable privilege, which 
 was granted to the town by Richard I. 
 There is a Court of Conservancy specially 
 appointed to preserve the fishery, and try 
 226 
 
Huntingdon Customs 
 
 all offences against the rules of the Court, 
 and once a year they make a proclamation 
 declaring the Colne to be shut, and for- 
 bidding all persons from dredging. This 
 is called "Setting the Colne." 
 
 The strangest and most remarkable muni- 
 cipal custom is that which prevails at Hunting- 
 don. 1 The whole of the freemen of the 
 borough assemble in the market-place on the 
 morning of September I5th. The skull of 
 an ox, borne on two poles, is placed at the 
 head of a procession composed of the free- 
 men and their sons, a certain number of 
 them bearing spades and sticks. Three cheers 
 having been given, the procession moves out 
 of the town, and proceeds to the nearest point 
 of the borough boundary, where the skull is 
 lowered. The procession then moves along 
 the boundary-line of the borough, the skull 
 being dragged along the line as if it were a 
 plough. The boundary-holes are dug afresh, 
 and a boy thrown into each hole and struck 
 with a spade. At a particular point called 
 Blackstone Leys refreshments are provided, 
 and the boys compete for prizes. The skull 
 is then raised aloft, and the procession returns 
 to the market-place, and then disperses after 
 three more cheers have been given. There 
 are no allusions to this strange custom in any 
 of the topographical books of reference, and 
 
 1 Antiquary, 1892. 
 227 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 it is an instance of the strange and curious 
 customs which linger on in the obscure cor- 
 ners of our land. 
 
 The old Guild-life of England has almost 
 completely died away, with the exception of 
 the Livery Companies of London to which 
 we have referred. But in one town the 
 Guild exists in all its splendour. Every 
 twenty years at Preston, Lancashire, it re- 
 vives, and celebrates the occasion with much 
 splendour and magnificence. The charter of 
 the town obliges the corporation so to ob- 
 serve this function, otherwise the inhabitants 
 would lose their franchises and right as bur- 
 gesses. During a fortnight the town is en 
 fete. The following proclamation is issued 
 by the Mayor: "The Guild Merchant for 
 the Borough of Preston will be opened with 
 the usual solemnities in the Town Hall, on 
 the first Monday after the Feast of the 
 Decollation of St. John the Baptist, when all 
 persons claiming to have any right to free- 
 dom or other franchise of the same borough, 
 whether by ancestry, prescription, or pur- 
 chase, are to appear by themselves or their 
 proxies, to claim and make out their several 
 rights thereto, otherwise they will, according 
 to ancient and immemorial usage, forfeit the 
 
 same." 
 
 A Court is formed consisting of the Mayor, 
 the three Senior Aldermen, who are called 
 228 
 
Preston Guild 
 
 Seneschals or Stewards, four other Aldermen, 
 called Aldermen of the Guild, and the Clerk. 
 Before this Court all who desire to be en- 
 rolled as freemen of the Guild have to 
 appear and make good their claim. In 
 olden days this was an important and valu- 
 able privilege ; otherwise he could not carry 
 on his trade in the town; now it is an 
 honourable distinction. The companies of 
 the trading fraternities assemble early in the 
 morning, and accompanied by the noblemen 
 and gentry of the county they wend their 
 way to the Parish Church. After the ser- 
 vice a grand procession is formed, and the 
 companies, decorated with the insignia of 
 their trades, parade the town. First march 
 the tanners, skinners, curriers, and glovers ; 
 then follow the weavers and spinners, the 
 cordwainers, carpenters, butchers, vintners, 
 tailors, plasterers, smiths, gardeners, printers, 
 and bookbinders, freemasons, &c. The ladies 
 also take a prominent part in the functions 
 of the Guild, and march in procession, headed 
 by the Mayoress, accompanied by the ladies 
 of the leading county families. Banquets, 
 balls, plays, concerts, follow each other in 
 rapid succession, and during the whole fort- 
 night the town keeps high festival. At the 
 conclusion of the Guild the Masters and 
 Wardens of the Companies attend upon the 
 Guild Mayor in the Guildhall. The Com- 
 229 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 panics have their Guild orders sealed and 
 regularly entered in the books. Proclama- 
 tion is made, and the name of each inhabitant 
 burgess called over, when the Grand Seneschal, 
 or Town -Clerk, affixes the corporation seal 
 upon the Guild-book, and, holding it in his 
 hand, says, "This is your law." The ser- 
 jeants then make proclamation: "This Grand 
 Guild Merchants' Court is adjourned for 
 twenty years, until a new Guild Merchants' 
 Court be held and duly proclaimed." Such 
 is the relic of olden times which has come 
 down to us. Every twenty years since 
 1329 A.D. the festival has been held, except 
 on two occasions during the Wars of the 
 Roses and the troubles of the Reformation, 
 and it may be confidently expected that in 
 the year 1902 the Preston Guild will again 
 be duly celebrated with accustomed honours, 
 if all good institutions have not quite passed 
 away before that distant date. 
 
 An examination of the insignia of office 
 belonging to the ancient corporations of 
 England opens out a wide field for antiqua- 
 rian investigation, and swords of state, maces, 
 and staffs of office are connected with many 
 old customs. At York the Lady Mayoress 
 has the privilege of wearing a chain as well 
 as her husband, but she has to tolerate the 
 indignity of having it weighed on its delivery 
 to and return by the wearer. This custom 
 230 
 
York Custom 
 
 arose from the discovery, made in some period 
 of remote antiquity, that on the return of 
 the emblem of office by a lady mayoress it 
 was found to be short of a few links. 
 
 There is one society whose proceedings 
 are replete with ancient customs and time- 
 honoured observances. The Freemasons are 
 accustomed to ... But that is a sealed book, 
 into which the uninitiated are forbidden to 
 look, and its secrets we may not disclose. 
 
 231 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 Bell-ringing customs Dervsbury Pancake- bell 
 Bells as guides Pudding-bell Harvest-bell 
 Gleaning-bell Curfew Passing-bell Eight- 
 hours' bell at Geddington, fyc. Calling servants 
 at Fulham Palace Auction by candle at Alder- 
 maston, Corby, Warton Market Drayton 
 Coventry and Lady Godiva Pack Monday fair 
 Rockland Guild Mock mayors Statute fairs 
 Gingerbread fairs Tonm-criers call Relic 
 of feudalism at Dalton-in-Furness Survival of 
 old charm Colting at Appleby Brixton market 
 custom Raffling for Bibles Witches' obelisk 
 Gipsy custom Ploughing custom. 
 
 SEVERAL bell-ringing customs have al- 
 ready been mentioned. At Dewsbury there is 
 the Old Lad's or Devil's Passing-bell, when on 
 Christmas Eve, after the last stroke of twelve 
 o'clock, the age of the year is tolled, as on 
 the death of a person. The old year is 
 tolled out and the new year ushered in with 
 a gladsome peal at Kirton-in-Lindsey, West 
 Houghton, and many other places. We have 
 noticed the "Spur-peal," which is rung in 
 the Northern counties. 1 At Swineshead on 
 
 1 Elsham and Searby may be mentioned as places where the 
 custom prevails. 
 
 232 
 
E ell-Ringing Customs 
 
 " Oak Apple Day " a merry peal is rung in 
 memory of King Charles's escape at Boscobel. 
 Pancake-bell may still be heard at several 
 places, notably at Navenby, when it used to 
 be rung by the oldest apprentice in the town. 
 It is also rung at Culworth. Pancake-bell 
 was originally the bell which summoned the 
 people to confession, and not to eat pancakes. 
 At Daventry it is known as " Panburn-bell," 
 and at Maidstone as "Fritter-bell." In 
 Bedfordshire there are several surviving pan- 
 cake-bells. At St. Paul's, Bedford, the fifth 
 bell is rung at 1 1 A.M. ; at Cranfield, the third 
 bell ; at Toddington, the sixth ; at Turvey 
 the first and second are chimed together at 
 noon, making a most unmelodious noise, 
 which is supposed to indicate the approach 
 of the gloomy season of Lent. Church- 
 bells were very useful in guiding the people 
 home on dark winter evenings in the days 
 when lands were unenclosed and forests and 
 wild moors abounded. Hence charitable 
 folk sometimes left money to pay the sexton 
 for his labour in ringing at suitable times 
 when the sound of the church-bells might 
 be of service to some belated traveller. At 
 Wokingham, Berks, there was a bequest left 
 for this purpose by Richard Palmer in 1664. 
 At Kirton-in-Lindsey during November and 
 December the custom is still kept up ; also 
 at Hessle, near Hull, where a lady who had 
 233 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 lost her way on a dark night, and was guided 
 safely by the bells, left a bequest to the 
 parish clerk on condition that the church-bell 
 should be rung every evening. At Wood- 
 stock John Carey left a bequest of ten 
 shillings to be paid for the ringing of a bell 
 for the guidance of travellers. At the con- 
 clusion of the morning service on Sundays 
 a peal of bells is sometimes rung. This is 
 sometimes called " Pudding-bell," but was 
 originally intended to announce that there 
 would be another service in the afternoon. 
 This custom prevails at Kirkleatham. The 
 Harvest-bell is rung at the parish church of 
 Driffield at 5 A.M. and 8 P.M. every day dur- 
 ing harvest, according to ancient custom. At 
 Culworth the Gleaning-bell is rung during 
 harvest at 8 A.M., and also at the ancient 
 town of Great Wakering, Essex ; at Driffield, 
 Yorkshire ; at Swalcliffe and Tadmarton, 
 Oxon ; Churchdown and Sandhurst, Glou- 
 cestershire ; Aldeby, Gillingham, and Tiben- 
 ham, Norfolk ; and at Beccles, Suffolk. 
 There are no less than twenty places in 
 Hertfordshire where the gleaning-bell is still 
 rung, and a large number in Leicestershire. 
 
 In the same county the curfew is also rung 
 at many places. The curfew may still be 
 heard throughout England, not always at the 
 authorised hour of eight o'clock, but some- 
 times at seven, and in some places at nine. 
 234 
 
Curfew Bell 
 
 Sandwich has just decided that it is better 
 to save eight pounds a year than to preserve 
 an ancient custom at that cost. But it would 
 be rash to say that no one will ever again 
 " hear the far-off curfew sound " over the 
 " wide-watered shore " of East Kent ; for it is 
 not the first time that Sandwich has come to 
 this decision. After an unbroken career of 
 700 years, the Sandwich curfew was threatened 
 with extinction, first about 1833, and again in 
 1853. But on both occasions public opinion 
 was aroused, and saved the curfew ; and who 
 knows that the history of Sandwich may not 
 again repeat itself? 
 
 The vitality of the curfew bell is especially 
 remarkable in face of the equal vitality of the 
 legend which seeks to discredit it. We have 
 most of us learned from the history books of 
 our youth how William the Conqueror, the 
 tyrant who destroyed so much good arable 
 land to make the New Forest, invented the 
 " couvre-feu " in order to oppress his con- 
 quered subjects. But the New Forest legend 
 has recently been exploded, and the curfew 
 story is almost as false. It is true that when 
 William " introduced " the rule that, at the 
 sounding of the curfew, all fires and lights 
 were to be extinguished, and no person was 
 to stir abroad, he had an eye to the Saxon 
 beer clubs, where he had every reason to anti- 
 cipate the hatching of treason. But it was 
 
 235 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 not a new idea of William's own. The cur- 
 few was early to be found all over France, 
 Italy, and Spain, and it is said that its ringing 
 at Carfax, in Oxford, was instituted by Alfred 
 the Great. Alfred is also said to have pre- 
 sented Ripon with a horn, which was blown 
 in the streets at the same time as the curfew 
 bell rang ; or rather the careful people of 
 Ripon kept Alfred's horn in a safe place, and 
 blew a less distinguished one in the streets. 
 These Alfred stories are probably untrue, but 
 they point to a curfew institution older than 
 the Conqueror. 
 
 In 1103 the compulsory curfew was abo- 
 lished, but it lingered on as a custom almost 
 everywhere, and it is really surprising to 
 find in how many places it still exists, or at 
 any rate was existing at some time during 
 the latter half of the present century. From 
 Penrith, Newcastle, Morpeth, Alnwick, Kirby 
 Stephen, and Durham, in the north, to Win- 
 chester, Exeter, Bodmin, and Newport (Isle 
 of Wight) in the south, there is hardly 
 anywhere a district of twenty miles square 
 where the curfew could not be discovered. 
 Eastward its area extends to Cambridge and 
 Bury St. Edmund's, and westward to New- 
 port and Carnarvon, at which latter town 
 it was so cherished that, when the old Guild- 
 hall was replaced by a new one, special orders 
 were given for the erection of a suitable 
 236 
 
Curfew Bell 
 
 place for the curfew bell. In some counties, 
 such as Cheshire and Oxfordshire, the num- 
 ber of curfew bells recorded as still, or until 
 lately, existing is quite startling. In the 
 Scottish Lowlands, again, it is far from un- 
 common, and here again there is a tradition 
 which ascribes it to the tyranny of Edward I., 
 though the truth is as doubtful as in the 
 case of the Conqueror. And a rather touch- 
 ing case is that of many American towns, 
 especially in the New England States, which 
 have retained it as a legacy from their Pilgrim 
 founders, who were so unwilling to abandon 
 any of the customs of their home-land. In 
 1851, at any rate, two bells rang every even- 
 ing at Charleston, at eight and ten in summer, 
 at seven and nine in winter. At the first the 
 young children said " Good night," and went 
 to bed ; at the second the watch for the 
 night was set, and after that no servant 
 might step outside of his master's house 
 without a special permit. 
 
 Of course, all these instances are not cases 
 of pure survival. Sometimes the ringing of 
 the curfew bell was retained on account of 
 special bequests for the purpose. That was 
 the case at Kidderminster, where the bell was 
 ordered to be rung on a particular night for 
 one hour. The testator had upon one occa- 
 sion gone to Bridgenorth Fair, and lost his 
 way upon his return. In his wanderings he 
 237 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 had strayed just to the edge of a very steep 
 descent, and in a moment more he would 
 have been over it, when suddenly Kidder- 
 minster curfew rang out, and showed him 
 his direction. In gratitude for what he re- 
 garded as his providential escape, he left his 
 bequest to provide for the ringing of the 
 curfew at that hour to all time. In other 
 cases, it is a pure revival due to antiquarian 
 interest, as at Minster in Kent, where the 
 curfew bell proper is supplemented by a 
 treble bell, which rings as many times as 
 there are days so far in the month. This 
 ringing of the day of the month is found at 
 other places, as at Chertsey, Waltham-on- 
 the- Wolds in Leicestershire, Bromyard in 
 Herefordshire, and many more. 
 
 But it is contended by some that many of 
 these so-called curfew bells are not curfew 
 bells at all, but the old Catholic Angelus, 
 rung in the early morning, at noon, and in 
 the evening. As we find that at many of 
 the churches which keep up the " curfew " 
 ringing there is also an early morning bell, 
 there may be a good deal in this view. Nun- 
 eaton, for instance, joins to its curfew bell 
 a " matins bell," rung at 6 A.M. between 
 Michaelmas and Lady Day, and 5 A.M. 
 between Lady Day and Michaelmas. At 
 Pershore, besides the curfew, which for some 
 curious reason was confined to the time 
 
 238 
 
Curfew Bell 
 
 between November 5 and Candlemas, there 
 used to be a bell at 5 A.M., until on one 
 occasion the sexton made a mistake, and rang 
 the bell some five hours too early. The 
 steady sequence of early morning bells was 
 broken, and perhaps the people of Pershore 
 thought it well to bury a scandal like that 
 in oblivion ; at any rate, there was no more 
 5 A.M. bell. They had omitted to look 
 after their sexton in the careful manner pre- 
 scribed by the Faversham Articles, where 
 the sexton is directed to " lye in the church 
 steeple " so as to be at his post at the proper 
 time. It was a matter of some consequence 
 in some places where the early morning bell 
 was the signal to rise ; and no doubt it was 
 for this latter purpose in many cases that 
 the early bell remained after its religious 
 signification had dropped out of sight. The 
 evening curfew has in the same way served, 
 especially in Scotland, as a signal for the 
 cattle to be driven home. 
 
 The Passing-bell is as old as the time of 
 Bede, and, together with the Soul-bell, has 
 already been alluded to. At Culworth three 
 tolls are given for a man, two for a woman. 
 In Somerset and Staffordshire a muffled peal 
 is often rung on Holy Innocents' Day in 
 memory of the slaughter of the earliest 
 Christian martyrs. 
 
 At Geddington the "eight-hours' bell" 
 
 239 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 has for centuries been rung at 4 A.M., at 
 noon, and at 8 P.M. The early bell was 
 intended to call up the horsekeepers and 
 cowmen. A few years ago a slight change 
 was made in the hour. From Plough Mon- 
 day to Lady Day the first bell was rung at 
 
 5 A.M., instead of at 4 A.M., but now, owing 
 to the infirmities of the sexton, it has been 
 discontinued. At Culworth the tenor bell 
 is tolled in case of a fire. The third bell 
 is sounded after a celebration of Holy Com- 
 munion as the communicants are leaving the 
 church, and a peal is rung at 5 A.M. on 
 the four Mondays in Advent, to remind the 
 listeners that " now it is high time to awake 
 out of sleep." 
 
 In Yorkshire every old market-town fol- 
 lows the ancient practice of having a bell 
 rung at early morning and in the evening, 
 though the hours differ. At Kirkham the 
 bell rings during the summer at 5 A.M. and 
 
 6 P.M. ; in winter, at 6 A.M. and 8 P.M. The 
 evening bell is called the angelic bell. At 
 Crewkerne, Somerset, the curfew is rung at 
 
 7 P.M., and the morning bell at 5 A.M. The 
 tenor bell of Great St. Mary's, Cambridge, 
 is always rung from 9 P.M. until 9.15, and a 
 smaller bell is rung at 6 A.M. The former 
 was probably for " compline," the latter for 
 "prime." At Oxford " Great Tom/' at 
 Christ Church, tolls a hundred and one 
 
 240 
 
Waking Servants 
 
 times every night at five minutes past nine 
 o'clock. The number was chosen in accord- 
 ance with the number of students on the 
 foundation of the College. At Epworth a 
 bell is rung at 6 A.M., 12 noon, and 6 P.M., 
 to call the labourers to work, to dinner, and 
 to rest. A similar custom prevails in the 
 surrounding villages. Certainly the sound of 
 the church-bells is preferable to the steam- 
 whistles of our large factories. The early 
 bell was originally a summons to attend 
 matins. 
 
 A quaint practice exists at the Bishop of 
 London's Palace at Fulham, and this consists 
 in what appears to be a time-honoured cus- 
 tom of waking up the episcopal domestics 
 by means of a long pole. At Fulham the 
 Palace lodge-keeper has a regular morning 
 duty to perform in knocking up certain of 
 the servants at successive hours, beginning at 
 about half-past five. The pole he uses is 
 not employed, however, like the old church 
 " rousing-staves," which came in handy in 
 churches in the case of inattentive or dozing 
 members of the congregation to bring them 
 to a proper sense of their position. The 
 venerable man is provided with a slender rod 
 some 1 5 feet in length, and with this he raps 
 on the antique casements of the servants' bed- 
 rooms in the quadrangle within the massive 
 wooden gates of the large western archway, 
 241 Q 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 and he continues his attention until the 
 sleeper gives a more or less grateful answer. 
 
 At Aldermaston, Berks, the curious cus- 
 tom prevails of letting land by means of a 
 lighted candle. The villagers assemble in 
 the schoolroom on the occasion of the letting 
 of the " Church Acre," a piece of meadow 
 land which was bequeathed some centuries 
 ago to the vicar and churchwardens of the 
 parish for the expenses of the church. The 
 custom of letting the land is as follows : 
 A candle is lighted, and one inch below the 
 flame is duly measured off, at which point a 
 pin is inserted. The bidding then commences, 
 and continues till the inch of candle is con- 
 sumed and the pin drops out. Every three 
 years this ancient ceremony is performed, and 
 it is a relic of the custom of selling by candle 
 which was once prevalent in England. Pepys 
 refers in his Diary to this in the follow- 
 ing extract (September 3, 1662): " After 
 dinner we met and sold the Waymouth, Suc- 
 cesse, and Fellowship hulks, when pleasant 
 to see how backward men are at first to bid ; 
 and yet, when the candle is going out, how 
 they bawl and dispute afterwards who bid 
 the most first. And here I observed one 
 man cunninger than the rest, that was sure 
 to bid the last man, and to carry it ; and 
 inquiring the reason, he told me that just 
 as the flame goes out the smoke descends, 
 242 
 
Auction Customs 
 
 which is a thing I never observed before ; 
 and by that he do know the instant when to 
 bid last." 
 
 Aldermaston is not "the only village where 
 this old custom exists. At Tatworth, near 
 Chard, a sale by lighted candle takes place 
 every year, and at Chedzoy the " Church 
 Acre " is let every twenty-one years by this 
 means. The land belonging to the parish 
 charities in the village of Corby, near Ket- 
 tering, is let every eight years by the sale of 
 candle, and the procedure is similar to that 
 which has already been described. Also in 
 Warwickshire, where old customs die hard, 
 the grazing rights upon the roadside and 
 on the common lands at Warton, near Poles- 
 worth, have been annually let by the same 
 means. This custom has been observed 
 since the time of George III., when an old 
 Act of Parliament was passed directing that 
 the herbage should be sold by candle-light, 
 and that the last bidder when the flame had 
 burned itself out should be the purchaser. 
 The surveyor presides at the auction, and 
 produces an old book containing the record 
 of the annual lettings since the year 1815. 
 An ordinary candle is then cut into five 
 equal portions, about half-an-inch high, one 
 for each lot. At the last auction the sur- 
 veyor drew attention to the fact that the 
 sporting rights over an old gravel-pit were 
 
 2 43 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 included in Lot i, but regretted to say that 
 there were no fish in the pond. " Get on, 
 gentlemen, please ; the light's burning," was 
 a frequent exhortation. The sales in former 
 years used sometimes to be attended by 
 much disturbance, but recently the utmost 
 decorum has characterised the proceedings. 
 
 Fairs have degenerated during recent 
 years, and are very different from the great 
 assemblies of merchants and pedlars, monks, 
 knights, and squires, who flocked to Stour- 
 bridge or Southwark in former times. Some 
 are still held under the warrant of ancient 
 charters granted by the sovereigns of Eng- 
 land to favoured bishops or burgesses. At 
 Market Drayton there are several fairs held 
 by right of ancient charter. One great one, 
 called the " Dirty Fair," is held about six 
 weeks before Christmas, and another is called 
 the " Gorby Market," at which farm-servants 
 are hired. These are proclaimed according 
 to ancient usage by the ringing of the church- 
 bell, and the court-leet procession marches 
 through the town, headed by the host of the 
 " Corbet Arms," representing the lord of the 
 manor, dressed in red and black robes, and the 
 rest of the court carrying silver-headed staves 
 and pikes, one of which is mounted by a large 
 elephant and castle. At the court several 
 officers are appointed, such as the ale-conner, 
 scavengers, and others. The old standard 
 2 44 
 
Fairs 
 
 measures, made of beautiful bell-metal, are 
 produced, and a shrew's bridle, and then 
 there is a dinner and a torchlight procession. 
 
 Coventry Fair, in ancient times one of the 
 largest in England, is remarkable for the 
 procession of Lady Godiva. The lady still 
 " rides forth clothed on with chastity," but 
 the garb of a modern burlesque actress seems 
 scarcely in keeping with the close observance 
 of ancient custom. 
 
 Pack Monday Fair is still held at Sher- 
 borne, Dorset, on the first Monday and 
 Tuesday after October loth. It was for- 
 merly ushered in by the ringing of the tenor 
 bell in the church ; but thirty or forty years 
 ago the bell was cracked, and its voice is no 
 longer heard. On the eve of the fair a crowd 
 of boys go about the streets after midnight 
 blowing cow horns and beating tin trays, 
 making night hideous. " However hideous, 
 many would regret to see the old custom 
 abolished," writes the vicar of Sherborne. 
 The traditional origin of the custom is that 
 when the builders and workmen had finished 
 the church, they packed up their tools (hence 
 Pack Monday), and held a fair in the church- 
 yard, blowing cows' horns in their rejoicing. 
 
 A curious country fair is held in the parish 
 of Rockland, Norfolk, on May i6th, which 
 is known as the " Guild," locally called the 
 " Guile." Anciently village guilds were uni- 
 
 245 ' 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 versal, and this is evidently a degenerate relic 
 of the Guild of St. John the Baptist held in 
 St. Peter's Church before the Reformation. 
 A Mayor of the Guild is elected, usually some 
 half-witted fellow or sot. Having been made 
 drunk, he is clothed fantastically, chaired, and 
 carried through the parish. 
 
 " Mock Mayors " were until recent years 
 quite an institution in several towns. He 
 exists in Newbury, Berks, in a part of the 
 town called " the city." Why this not very 
 aristocratic portion of the borough is so 
 called is not quite evident. The historian 
 of Newbury, Mr. Walter Money, thinks that 
 it is connected with the limits of the fair 
 granted by King John (1215 A.D.) to the 
 Hospital of St. Bartholomew. The profits 
 of the fair, which is opened by the town- 
 clerk with all the quaint and ancient for- 
 mality, still are given to the brethren and 
 sisters of King John's Almshouses attached 
 to the hospital. From time out of mind 
 it has been the custom to elect annually with 
 burlesque formalities a " Mayor of the City." 
 For the last few years no fresh election has 
 taken place, but the custom is not thought 
 to be dead by the " citizens," but only in a 
 state of suspended animation. His correct 
 title is " Mayor of Barthlemas." St. Anne's 
 Day, July 26th, was formerly the day of the 
 election, but it has recently been changed to 
 246 
 
Fairs 
 
 November 9th, in compliment perhaps to the 
 mayor of another city somewhat greater than 
 that of Newbury. A "Justice" is also chosen, 
 and after the official banquet, at which beans 
 and bacon formed the principal dish, a pro- 
 cession was formed, accompanied by a band 
 of music, the town officials carrying in lieu 
 of a mace a cabbage on a stick and other 
 emblems of civic dignity. This procession 
 has now been discontinued. " Mock Mayors " 
 used to exist at Aldershot and Farnham. 
 
 A fair which is known by the designation 
 " Onion Fair " is still held at Chertsey, 
 Surrey, on September 25, Holy Rood Day 
 (old style). It is so called from a number 
 of onions which are displayed for sale at 
 the fair. 
 
 Statute fairs are held in Lincolnshire and 
 some other counties for the purpose of 
 hiring servants. In Yorkshire and Derby- 
 shire they used to be very common, and 
 were accompanied by much dissipation. The 
 servants used to stand in rows, the males 
 together and the females together, and 
 masters and mistresses walked down the 
 lines and selected those whom they considered 
 suitable. The custom seemed to savour of 
 slave-dealing, and the mingling of so many 
 youths and maidens in a strange town with- 
 out guardianship was not conducive to good 
 morals. Stratford-on-Avon mop, or ancient 
 247 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 statute, fair takes place annually in October, 
 several thousand persons being present from 
 all parts. While other statute fairs have 
 declined, and several become extinct, that at 
 Stratford-on-Avon has increased to an enor- 
 mous extent, and is said to be the largest 
 in England. Five oxen and ten porkers were 
 on the last occasion roasted in front of large 
 fireplaces constructed in the middle of the 
 streets, and there were the usual holiday 
 attractions. The men in Cumberland who 
 desired to be hired stood in the fair with 
 a straw in their mouth, according to the 
 old dialect poem : 
 
 " Suin at Carel (Carlisle) I stuid wid a strae i' my 
 
 mooth, 
 An' they tuik me, nae doubt, for a promisin' youth." 
 
 Statute fairs are fast dying out, and none 
 but the commoner sort of servants now 
 present themselves for engagements after this 
 fashion. 
 
 Two gingerbread fairs survived in Bir- 
 mingham until a few years ago, originally 
 granted in 1251 to William de Bermingham 
 by Henry III., to be held at Whitsuntide 
 and Michaelmas. Long lines of market- 
 stalls, loaded with various sorts of ginger- 
 bread, clustered round St. Martin's Church, 
 and attracted crowds of buyers. No ginger- 
 bread was on sale at any other times. 
 248 
 
Fairs 
 
 The town-crier still rings his bell and 
 calls out, " O yes, O yes," before proclaiming 
 the object which he is commissioned to 
 announce. This is, of course, a corruption 
 of the old Norman word oyez, and signifies 
 " Hear ye." 
 
 As a relic of feudalism we may quote the 
 following, which, according to ancient custom, 
 is read on every 24th day of October at the 
 market-cross at Dalton-in-Furness in the 
 presence of a few javelin-men: "Thomas 
 Woodburn, steward unto the most noble the 
 Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, lord 
 of the late dissolved monastery and manor 
 of Furness and liberty of the same, strictly 
 chargeth and commandeth all manner of 
 persons repairing to the fair, of what estate 
 or degree soever he or they may be, that 
 they and every of them keep the Queen's 
 Majesty's peace, every knight upon payment 
 of ^10, every esquire and gentleman upon 
 pain of ^5, and every other person upon 
 pain of 405. And that no person or persons 
 have or bear any habiliment of war, steel 
 coats, bills, or battle-axes, but such as are 
 appointed to attend upon the said steward 
 during the present fair. And that none do 
 buy or sell any wares but by such yards and 
 wands as are, or shall be, delivered unto 
 them by the bailiff of the town of Dalton. 
 And the fair to last three days, whereof this 
 249 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 is the second ; and if any wrong be done 
 or offered to any person or persons, he or 
 they may repair to the said steward to have 
 justice ministered unto them according to 
 law. God save the Queen and the lord of 
 this fair." Subsequently a meeting is held 
 at the castle, and the juries are appointed 
 for various purposes, and amongst them 
 two gentlemen are selected as " ale-tasters." 
 They are bound to visit all the public- 
 houses in Dalton and taste the ale; their 
 omission of any house being met with a 
 fine. They make a report, and those having 
 the best ale are awarded a red ribbon, the 
 second best obtaining a blue ribbon. During 
 the fair red and blue ribbon ale are in great 
 demand. It is said that this custom dates 
 from the time when the Abbot of Furness 
 was supplied with ale fron Dalton, and this 
 was regularly tasted by specially appointed 
 ale-tasters. 
 
 During the present year, when the writer 
 was inspecting a village-school in Berkshire, 
 he met with the following old charm, which 
 was recited by one of the children as his 
 usual form of daily prayer : 
 
 " Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
 Bless the bed that I lie on : 
 Four corners to my bed, 
 Four angels round me spread, 
 250 
 
Old Charm 
 
 One to sing, and one to pray, 
 
 And two to carry my soul away : 
 
 So if I die before I wake, 
 
 I pray to God my soul to take, 
 
 For Jesus Christ our Saviour's sake." 
 
 These words are very ancient, and pro- 
 bably date from a period long anterior to 
 the Reformation. A somewhat similar charm 
 is known in France, and used by the people 
 in Poitou. It commences : 
 
 " Saint Luc, Saint Marc, et Saint Mathieu, 
 Evange'listes du bon Dieu, 
 Gardez les quatre coins de mon lit, 
 Pendant toute cette nuit. Ainsi soit-il." 1 
 
 Dr. Lee writes that more than a dozen 
 different, and sometimes very obscure and 
 rugged, forms of this prayer were current in 
 the county of Bucks, and that a horn-book 
 with one rude version was found in one of 
 the churches there. 
 
 Old-time punishments, with their various 
 forms of barbarity, are happily things of 
 the past. The pillory, stocks, scold's bridle, 
 and ducking-stool are usually seen in local 
 museums ; but it appears that some relics of 
 a form of pillory remain. A few years ago 
 the old-fashioned custom of " coking " was 
 revived at Appleby, 2 when the proprietor of 
 
 1 La Revue des Traditions Populaires, November 1889. 
 3 Westmorland Gazette, June 18, 1887. 
 
 251 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 an entire horse incurred the displeasure of 
 the inhabitants by declining to pay the ac- 
 customed charges. He was therefore duly 
 haltered, and kept in durance for a couple 
 of hours at one of the ancient hostelries of 
 the town, where for the time he figured as 
 " the observed of all observers," and formed 
 a fund of amusement for the many country- 
 folks attending the market. 
 
 The curious custom of wiping the shoes 
 of a person who visits a market for the first 
 time is observed at Brixham, where a few years 
 ago the late Prince Henry of Battenberg, 
 when watching the sale of some smoked fish, 
 had his shoes wiped by a fishwoman with her 
 apron. He was then required to " pay his 
 footing." The same custom prevails in the 
 cornfields and hop-gardens of Kent, where 
 the women, after wiping the visitor's shoes 
 with a wisp of straw, a hop-bind, or an 
 apron, require him to pay his footing. If 
 a gentleman refuses to comply with the 
 custom, he is seized by the enraged Amazons 
 and deposited in a hop-basket, where he is 
 left to meditate upon the iniquity of some 
 old-established usages and the unwisdom of 
 refusing to comply with them. 
 
 Raffling for Bibles continues still in the 
 
 parish church of St. Ives, Huntingdonshire. 
 
 In the year 1675 Dr. Wilde bequeathed the 
 
 sum of ^50 for the purpose of providing 
 
 252 
 
Raffling for Bibles 
 
 Bibles for poor children, to be raffled for in 
 church. A piece of land, still called " Bible- 
 orchard," was purchased with the money, 
 with the rent of which the books are bought, 
 and a small sum paid to the vicar for preach- 
 ing a special sermon. The vicar directs the 
 proceedings, and twelve children cast dice for 
 the six Bibles awarded. We believe that 
 owing to the action of the Charity Com- 
 missioners a similar custom in a London 
 church has just been discontinued. 
 
 Belief in witchcraft and in the power of 
 the evil-eye is not yet dead in England, and 
 numerous instances might be given of strange 
 credulity and lingering superstitions which 
 School Boards and modern enlightenment 
 have not yet eradicated. But charms and 
 omens and popular superstition belong to 
 the study of folk-lore, and can scarcely be 
 classed with existing customs. We may men- 
 tion, however, the Witch's Obelisk in Delaval 
 Avenue, Northumberland, round which boys 
 are accustomed to run in the hope of " raising 
 the witch." It is believed that if any one 
 succeeds in running round the obelisk seven 
 times without drawing breath, the witch will 
 appear. But as the seven circles mean a 
 distance of a hundred yards, her chances of 
 being disturbed are somewhat remote. 
 
 A curious gipsy custom is worthy of 
 record. When a gipsy dies, it appears that 
 253 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 his effects should be burnt ; at least such 
 was the custom performed at Withernsea on 
 1 2th September 1894. A member of the 
 party of gipsies known as Fiddler Jack died 
 amidst much lamentation of his comrades. 
 After their return from the funeral they 
 proceeded to burn his effects. Waggon, 
 clothes, bedding, a set of china and his 
 fiddle, were all consumed in the flames. This 
 strange custom, which is of great antiquity, 
 is said to have originated in order to prevent 
 quarrelling among the relatives, and also that 
 the widow might not be wooed for the 
 property she might possess. It is also stated 
 that the widow must, for a period of three 
 months, depend entirely upon herself for 
 sustenance, and in no way participate in any 
 of the earnings of her relatives. The same 
 custom of burning the effects of defunct 
 gipsies was observed in the case of the 
 dead queen of a gipsy band encamped near 
 Elizabeth, NJ. All her belongings were 
 burnt in June 1884, which included silk 
 and satin dresses, jewellery, lace, a waggon, 
 and other possessions which were valued at 
 2500 dollars. 
 
 A very pleasing custom exists in some 
 places, showing a true kindly disposition and 
 that good-nature which usually characterises 
 country-folk in their dealings with each 
 other. When a farmer takes a new farm 
 254 
 
Ploughing Custom 
 
 on lease, his neighbours give him the com- 
 pliment of a day's ploughing. Seventy or 
 a hundred ploughmen would appear on a 
 certain day, and turn over the stubble for 
 the new tenant. This was done recently at 
 Mouldshaugh, Felton, and at Bartlehill and 
 Kingsrigg. This is probably a revival, and 
 not a survival of primitive usages. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Court customs Epiphany customs Maundy 
 custom Coronation customs Royal births 
 Royal funerals. 
 
 1 HE ceremonial of courts still preserves 
 many interesting and ancient customs, some 
 of which date back to remote antiquity. In 
 memory of the Magi's offering, on the Feast 
 of the Epiphany in the Chapel Royal, St. 
 James's, the monarch of England presents 
 at the altar the customary gifts of gold, 
 frankincense, and myrrh. For many cen- 
 turies this was done by the sovereign himself, 
 George III. being the last king who appeared 
 in person ; now the offerings are presented 
 by two officers of the Lord Chamberlain 
 attended by the yeomen of the guard or 
 4 'beefeaters." While the offertory sentences 
 are being read, the representatives of royalty 
 bring up three purses and lay them on the 
 alms-dish held by the celebrant, who pre- 
 sents them on the altar. Formerly the 
 purses contained gold in the leaf, frank- 
 incense and myrrh, which were deposited in 
 a round box covered with silk. The box 
 
 256 
 
Court Customs 
 
 is no longer used, and instead of the gold 
 leaf there are thirty pounds in gold, which 
 are given to the poor of the parish. This is 
 an interesting survival of a very ancient 
 custom. 
 
 In memory of the lowly act of the 
 Saviour of mankind in stooping to wash the 
 feet of the disciples at the Last Supper, on 
 Maundy Thursday the sovereigns of Eng- 
 land used to wash the feet of several poor 
 people with much solemn pomp and re- 
 ligious observance. Although the actual 
 washing has been discontinued, some portion 
 of the custom is still observed. A special 
 service is held in Westminster Abbey. 1 A 
 procession is formed in the nave, consisting 
 of the Lord High Almoner, representing 
 Her Majesty, attended by his officials, the 
 yeomen of the guard, and the clergy of the 
 Abbey. During the course of the service 
 two distributions of alms are made to a 
 company of old men and women, the num- 
 ber of each sex corresponding to the age 
 of the sovereign. The first distribution in 
 lieu of clothing consists of 355. to each 
 woman and 455. to each man. The second 
 distribution is of red and white purses, the 
 red containing i, and i, ics. in gold, 
 
 1 The service was formerly held in the Chapel Royal, 
 Whitehall ; since the abolition of that chapel it has been held 
 at Westminster. 
 
 257 R 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 an allowance in lieu of provisions formerly 
 given in kind. The white purses contain 
 as many pence as Her Majesty is years of 
 age, the amount being furnished in silver 
 pennies, twopences, threepences, and four- 
 pences. These purses are carried in baskets 
 on the heads of the beefeaters in procession, 
 and then distributed by the Lord High 
 Almoner. Some of the officials wear white 
 scarves in memory of the linen towel with 
 which our Lord girded Himself when He 
 stooped to perform His lowly act of washing 
 His followers' feet. The minor bounty and 
 royal gate alms are distributed at the Royal 
 Almonry to upwards of a thousand aged, 
 disabled, and meritorious people. 
 
 In Vienna the same ceremony is performed 
 with much elaborate detail. It is known as 
 the Fusswaschung^ or the washing the feet 
 of twelve poor men by the Emperor. This 
 takes place in full state at the Imperial 
 Palace on Maundy Thursday. "Apart from 
 its religious aspect, the ceremony is of most 
 imposing interest. At ten o'clock the doors 
 leading into the hall were opened to admit 
 a most remarkable procession. Twelve old 
 men, bent and worn, the youngest of whom 
 was 89 and the oldest 96, tottered into the 
 hall, supported and guided each by two 
 relatives (mostly women), who assisted the 
 poor old creatures to mount the one step 
 
 258 
 
Epiphany Customs 
 
 leading to the dais, and conducted them to 
 their allotted seats. It was almost pathetic 
 to watch the old men glancing timidly at 
 the brilliant throng of officers facing them. 
 The next act in this remarkable spectacle 
 was the entry of some twenty Knights of 
 the Teutonic Order of ' Deutsche Herren,' 
 headed by their Master, the Archduke Eugen. 
 Each was attired in white, with a long black 
 cross woven on the breast of the doublet, 
 and another black cross on the white cloak 
 hanging down from the shoulders. These 
 Crusaders having lined the middle of the 
 hall, made way for the Ministers and the 
 Emperor's general staff. Then followed 
 the Primate of Austria, with priests and 
 acolytes bearing incense and candles, and 
 lastly the Emperor Francis Joseph. The 
 Emperor, who wore the white tunic of an 
 Austrian general, walked to the table where 
 the old men remained seated, and addressed 
 a few words to them. Twelve guardsmen 
 advanced through the hall, each bearing a 
 tray on which was piled the first course of 
 a sumptuous repast. The Emperor, giving 
 his helmet to an officer, himself unloaded 
 each tray as he passed down the line of 
 guards, and with the deftness of a practised 
 waiter arranged the dishes of cold viands 
 before each of his guests. When this task 
 was accomplished, the^ guards formed up 
 259 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 again with the empty trays, and twelve 
 Archdukes advanced to the table and re- 
 moved the untouched dishes from before 
 the eyes of the old men. Eventually the 
 tables were removed to make room for 
 the Fusswaschung. The slippers which en- 
 cased the old men's feet were taken off, 
 and a priest came forward bearing a golden 
 basin filled with water and a towel. The 
 Emperor then knelt down before the oldest 
 of his guests, applying the moistened towel 
 to his feet, and, still kneeling, passed on to 
 the next in order and down the whole line 
 till all had been ministered to. It was a 
 strange sight, and one never to be forgotten, 
 that of the ruler of a mighty empire on his 
 knees before the humblest of his subjects, 
 and surrounded by all the pomp and circum- 
 stance of a brilliant court. The last act 
 of the ceremony was the placing round the 
 neck of each old man by the Emperor of a 
 chain, to which was attached a small white 
 bag containing thirty pieces of silver." 
 
 In former times it was not sovereigns only 
 who observed this custom. Cardinal Wolsey 
 in 1530 made his Maund in Our Lady's 
 Chapel, having first washed the feet of fifty- 
 nine poor men; and the Earl of Northum- 
 berland gave gifts of clothing to as many 
 poor men as he was years of age, as well 
 as a platter with meat, an ashen cup filled 
 260 
 
Coronation Customs 
 
 with wine, and a purse containing as many 
 pennies as he was years old. 1 
 
 Court customs in connection with the 
 coronation of the sovereign were formerly 
 numerous and remarkable. How many will 
 be retained when our beloved Queen shall 
 have passed away and her successor comes 
 to the throne, it is impossible to foretell. 
 Her loyal subjects trust that that day may 
 be long deferred ; but when our future 
 sovereign is crowned, it is to be hoped that 
 at least all the accustomed ceremonies will 
 be observed which graced the coronation of 
 Queen Victoria. Some of them we will 
 now enumerate. 
 
 The form of words used in the summons 
 addressed to the peers of the realm ordering 
 them to attend the coronation is worthy of 
 record. " Right trusty and right entirely 
 beloved cousin, we greet you well, and com- 
 mand you to appear, &c. ... all excuses 
 set apart." Each rank of nobility has its 
 own title of greeting, such as " cousins and 
 councillors ; " the barons are " councillors " 
 but not cousins. Recollections of the ancient 
 days of chivalry are revived by the words of 
 homage which the spiritual peers are required 
 to use : " I, Bishop of , will be faith- 
 ful and true, and faith and truth will bear 
 unto you, our Sovereign Lady and Queen, and 
 
 1 Cf. Notes and Queries^ 7th Series, xi., June 6, 1891. 
 26l 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 your heirs, kings and queens of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; and 
 I will and do acknowledge the service of the 
 lands which I hold of you as in right of the 
 Church." The peers show their homage by 
 kissing the hand of the sovereign, touching 
 the crown, and repeating the words : " I, of 
 
 , do become your liegeman of life and 
 
 limb, and of earthly worship ; and faith and 
 truth I will bear unto you, to live and die 
 against all manner of folks. So help me 
 God." 
 
 By hereditary right many persons have 
 special dignities and duties at the coronation 
 of a sovereign, and a special Court of Claims 
 is appointed to investigate these ancient 
 rights and privileges. 
 
 The Duke of Norfolk is entitled to hold 
 the honoured office of Earl Marshal, which 
 allows him the attendance of an escort of 
 cavalry in all state functions. Hi's privilege 
 as lord of the manor of Worksop is to pre- 
 sent a glove and support the sovereign's arm 
 when holding the sceptre, and also to hold 
 the office of chief butler, which entitles him 
 to receive a cup of pure gold. The Duke of 
 Newcastle, we believe, now holds the manor 
 of Worksop, and would therefore be entitled 
 to support the sovereign's arm at the next 
 coronation. 
 
 The Lord Mayor of London claims to 
 262 
 
Coronation Customs 
 
 present a gold cup of wine to the sovereign, 
 which he is empowered to keep, and also the 
 Mayor of Oxford receives a similar gift. 
 
 The Dean and Chapter of Westminster 
 claim the right to instruct the sovereign in 
 the ceremonial duties, and have charge of the 
 regalia. The huge stage-coach is used on 
 these occasions. Special robes of state are 
 preserved in St. James's Palace under the 
 charge of the keeper of the robes, and are 
 worn by the sovereign at the coronation. 
 
 The ceremony of enthroning is called 
 " lifting to the throne," derived from the 
 manner of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, who, 
 when their king was enthroned, lifted him 
 from the ground. There are several royal 
 crowns among the regalia in the Tower of 
 London, but at the last coronation only one, 
 the Imperial crown, was used and placed 
 upon the head of the sovereign. The royal 
 sceptre is placed in the right hand, and the 
 rod of equity, adorned with a dove, is held 
 in the left hand of the enthroned monarch. 
 The sword of state l is placed on the altar 
 and redeemed for one hundred shillings. 
 This is carried before the sovereign on all 
 state functions. The orb, the ancient en- 
 sign of the Roman emperors, surmounted 
 
 1 In addition to this sword there are three other swords of 
 state that of spiritual justice, that of temporal justice, and the 
 pointless sword of mercy or cttrtana. 
 263 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 by a cross, is delivered with these words : "As 
 is this orb set under the cross, so the whole 
 world is subject to the power and empire 
 of Christ our Lord." An ancient relic made 
 of gold, St. Edward's staff, which is said to 
 contain a portion of the true cross, is car- 
 ried in the procession. The most solemn 
 function of all is the anointing, during which 
 ceremony four Knights of the Garter hold a 
 canopy over the sovereign, while the Arch- 
 bishop pours the anointing oil with a spoon, 
 which is the most ancient of all the regalia, 
 and with which many monarchs have been 
 anointed. A ruby ring is placed on the 
 sovereign's fourth finger of the right hand, 
 signifying that the monarch is thus wedded 
 to the nation. Certain offerings are made, 
 among which are an ingot of gold and an 
 altar pall " composed of ten yards of gold 
 barred, gold frosted flowered brocade, lined 
 with rich sarsenet, and with deep gold fringe." 
 The oaken chair on which the sovereign 
 is seated has been in use since the time of 
 Edward II., and beneath it is the Coronation 
 Stone which was conveyed to Westminster 
 from Scotland by Edward I. ; a wild legend 
 declares it to be the stone on which Jacob laid 
 his head when he slept at Bethel. Amongst 
 the curious claims of service may be mentioned 
 that of the Barons of the Cinque Ports to 
 hold a canopy over the sovereign ; the Baron 
 264 
 
Coronation Customs 
 
 Grey de Ruthyn to carry the great spurs; the 
 Duke of Athol to present a cast of falcons ; 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, in right of 
 holding the manor of Addington, to make a 
 mess of pottage called Dillegrout. But the 
 strangest survival of all is the claim of the 
 Dymoke family to the office of King's Cham- 
 pion. His duty is to appear on horseback 
 in full armour at the royal banquet after the 
 coronation, accompanied by the Earl Marshal 
 and the Lord High Constable. The cham- 
 pion then makes the following challenge : 
 " If any person, of what degree soever, high 
 or low, shall deny or gainsay our Sovereign 
 Lord . . . to be rightful heir to the Imperial 
 crown of the United Kingdom, or that he ought 
 not to enjoy the same, here is his champion, 
 who saith he lieth sore and is a false traitor, 
 being ready in person to combat with him." 
 The champion then, after the ancient manner, 
 throws down his gauntlet. The challenge 
 not being accepted, the sovereign drinks the 
 health of the champion in a silver cup, which 
 is presented to the brave defender of English 
 monarchy, who then backs his horse out of 
 the hall. It is impossible to say how many 
 of these old customs will be retained at the 
 next coronation, but it may be allowed to a 
 lover of ancient ceremonial to hope that old 
 forms and rites consecrated by time will not 
 be abandoned. 
 
 265 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 At the birth of a member of the royal 
 family it is customary for the Lord Mayor 
 of London, the City authorities, and the 
 chief officers of state to attend to testify to 
 the actuality of the event. The partaking 
 of caudle at the palace by all distinguished 
 visitors is also an ancient custom, which was 
 practised when the Prince of Wales was born. 
 
 It is but a step from the cradle to the grave, 
 and royal funerals are celebrated with some 
 strange customs. They used to be performed 
 at night, while the torches of the soldiers 
 shed a weird light around. The titles of the 
 royal dead are recited by the Garter King- 
 at-Arms, and the officers of the household 
 break their rods of office, and lay them on 
 the coffin before it is lowered to its last 
 resting-place. However, we believe that these 
 ceremonies have not been performed on the 
 occasion of recent royal funerals ; nor has 
 the caudle-cup been used in the palace since 
 the birth of the present heir-apparent. 
 
 266 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Parliamentary customs Searching the House 
 Introducing new member Hat ceremony " Who 
 goes home ? " Royal assent to Bills Ceremony 
 of opening Parliament Installation of Speaker 
 Introduction of new Peers in House of Lords 
 Woolsack. 
 
 1 HE House of Commons is usually sup- 
 posed to be the most modernised of all insti- 
 tutions, and flatters itself upon being a very 
 " up-to-date " assembly. Still many quaint 
 and curious customs linger which are worthy 
 of record. 
 
 On the morning that Parliament is to 
 begin business, and at half-past ten, there 
 assemble in the Prince's Chamber of the 
 Palace of Westminster a military officer, four 
 marshalmen, and ten " beefeaters " or yeomen 
 of the guard. These last, with their quaint 
 Tudor costume, are familiar to every visitor 
 to the Tower of London. The marshalmen, 
 with their frock-coats and tall hats (of the 
 pattern Leech has immortalised in his various 
 pictures of the metropolitan police), are known 
 only to those who have admission by the 
 peers 1 entrance to the House of Lords, inside 
 267 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 which two of them stand during each sitting, 
 or who attend state functions at Buckingham 
 and St. James's Palaces, whereat they likewise 
 do duty. With this band of fifteen are joined 
 the resident engineer of the palace of West- 
 minster, the chief inspector of the parlia- 
 mentary police, and the attendants upon the 
 House of Lords; and, after a lantern has 
 been served to each, there comes to them the 
 Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, or, as is 
 now more usual, the Yeoman Usher, with 
 the secretary to the Lord High Chamberlain, 
 the high official who has charge of this royal 
 palace. " Prepare for a search," is the order 
 given by the Lord Chamberlain's secretary; 
 and, in full remembrance that it was under 
 the peers' chamber that Guy Fawkes was 
 found, but utterly ignoring the electric light 
 which is now ablaze throughout the building, 
 the procession moves from the Prince's Cham- 
 ber to the House of Lords. With their 
 lanterns dimly burning, the beefeaters scan 
 each corner and peer under every bench, the 
 chief inspector looking on meanwhile with 
 the serene satisfaction of knowing that the 
 men under his orders have kept the place 
 secure from explosive intrusion. From the 
 House of Lords the procession wends its way 
 through the central hall to the House of 
 Commons, and then, by way of the steps 
 at the back of the chair, to the first floor, 
 268 
 
Parliamentary Customs 
 
 and next to the basement. Room after 
 room in the most intricately arranged build- 
 ing ever devised is there searched until 
 those beneath the House of Lords have 
 been dealt with; and then, with a parting 
 inspection of the huge Victoria Tower, the 
 marshalmen and beefeaters find their way 
 once more into the courtyard, and there 
 disperse. 
 
 The Members' lobby and the central hall 
 alike grow filled as two o'clock approaches, for 
 that is always the hour fixed for the opening 
 ceremony. Greetings are cordially exchanged 
 between those who have not met for months ; 
 the resemblance of the scene to a school re- 
 assembling after the holidays strikes as a fresh 
 inspiration every journalist who happens to 
 be present for the first time ; and the roar of 
 cheery voices rises higher and higher until, a 
 few minutes before two, the deep voice of 
 a constable is heard from the library corri- 
 dor to exclaim " Speaker ! " with the second 
 syllable indefinitely prolonged. Then a hush 
 falls upon all, and, at the police direction, 
 " Hats off, strangers," each visitor to the 
 lobby (including the constables themselves, 
 and virtually every member) doffs his head- 
 gear as, preceded by the sergeant-at-arms 
 bearing the mace, and followed by his chap- 
 lain and his private secretary, the Speaker, in 
 full wig and robes, and with cocked-hat in 
 269 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 hand, sweeps by through the lobby into the 
 House. 
 
 When a new member is admitted, he is 
 escorted to the table by two members. This 
 immemorial custom originated in a distant 
 past, when it was necessary to avoid persona- 
 tion. This precaution is, of course, now 
 entirely unnecessary, but the custom still 
 remains. 
 
 The use of the hat is an important feature 
 of parliamentary observance and ceremonial, 
 and a breach of custom is always hailed with 
 loud cries of " Order, order." Contrary to 
 the manners of ordinary individuals, members 
 of Parliament are required to put on their 
 hat when seated in the House, and to take it 
 off when they rise up to speak or to leave the 
 assembly. When a member retires from par- 
 liamentary life, he is called upon to accept 
 the nominal office of the Stewardship of the 
 Chiltern Hundreds. The ceremony at the 
 close of each sitting reminds one of the dark 
 lanes and dangerous corners of Old London, 
 when the journey homewards was attended 
 with some difficulty and danger. The mo- 
 ment the House adjourns its sittings, the 
 messengers and policemen shout " Who goes 
 home?" For centuries this cry has been 
 heard, and recalls the time when the members 
 were obliged to go home in parties because 
 of the footpads who infested the London 
 270 
 
Parliamentary Customs 
 
 streets, and who were not much alarmed by 
 the presence of the City watchmen. The 
 question is still heard, but no one answers. 
 
 There are few things more impressive or 
 instructive in their way than the manner of 
 the clerks in the House of Lords when going 
 through the ceremony of giving the royal 
 assent to Bills. Standing at either side of 
 the table, one clerk reads out the names of 
 the Bills, The other, first bending low to 
 the Royal Commissioners, half turns his head 
 towards the Speaker and the Commons 
 assembled at the Bar, and almost flings at 
 them the phrase, La Reyne le veult. Then 
 turning again to the Royal Commissioners, 
 he reverentially bows with implied apology 
 for having held even such slight communica- 
 tion with commoner people. The formula, 
 gone through precisely in the same way a 
 score or a hundred times, according to the 
 number of Bills receiving the assent, becomes 
 in the end exasperatingly comical. 
 
 The ceremonial prescribed by ancient usage 
 at the opening of a new Parliament is both 
 picturesque and significant, and the forms of 
 election and installation of the Speaker have 
 most historical impressiveness. Struggles 
 between the Crown and the rights of the 
 people have long since passed away, but the 
 results of long centuries of contest are em- 
 bodied in the assurance conveyed to the 
 271 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 representative of the Commons by the Lord 
 Chancellor in the words, " That Her Majesty 
 does most readily confirm all the rights and 
 privileges which have ever been granted to 
 the Commons by any of her royal pre- 
 decessors, and that as regards the Speaker 
 himself, Her Majesty will ever be pleased to 
 place the most favourable construction on 
 his words and actions." 
 
 The usual form adopted for the regular 
 installation of the Speaker is worthy of re- 
 cord. The Speaker-elect enters the House 
 of Commons attired in court dress, wearing 
 a barrister's wig, accompanied by the ser- 
 geant-at-arms bearing the mace over his 
 shoulder. The mace is then deposited on 
 the table. Then the yeoman-usher of the 
 black rod is announced, who bows and 
 advances to the clerk's table, and requests 
 the attendance of "the Honourable House 
 in the House of Peers." All the members 
 present rise to their feet, and the Speaker- 
 elect descends from the chair, and, preceded 
 by the sergeant-at-arms, carrying the mace 
 in the hollow of his arm, walks to the House 
 of Lords. Here he addresses the Royal 
 Commissioners, and says : " My Lords, I 
 have to acquaint your Lordships that, in 
 obedience to the royal commands, Her 
 Majesty's faithful Commons, in the exercise 
 of their undoubted rights and privileges, 
 272 
 
Parliamentary Customs 
 
 have proceeded to the election of a Speaker. 
 Their choice has fallen upon myself. I 
 therefore present myself at your Lordships' 
 Bar, and humbly submit myself to Her 
 Majesty's gracious approbation." The Lord 
 Chancellor answers : " We are commanded 
 to assure you that Her Majesty is so fully 
 sensible of your zeal for the public service, 
 and of your undoubted efficiency to execute 
 the arduous duties which her faithful Com- 
 mons have selected you to discharge, that 
 she most readily confirms the choice they 
 have made." The Speaker then says : " I 
 humbly submit myself to Her Majesty's 
 gracious commands, and it is now my duty, 
 in the name and on behalf of the Commons 
 of the United Kingdom, to lay claim, by 
 humble petition to Her Majesty, to all their 
 undoubted rights and privileges, especially 
 to freedom of speech in debate, to freedom 
 from arrest, and, above all, to free access to 
 Her Majesty whenever occasion may require 
 it, and that the most favourable construction 
 may be put upon all their proceedings ; and, 
 for myself, I pray that if, in the discharge of 
 my duties, I inadvertently fall into any error, 
 the blame may be imputed to me alone, and 
 not to Her Majesty's faithful Commons." 
 The Lord Chancellor replies : " Mr. 
 Speaker, we have it further in command 
 to assure you that Her Majesty does most 
 273 s 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 readily confirm all the rights and privileges 
 which have ever been granted to the Com- 
 mons by any of her royal predecessors ; and 
 that, with respect to yourself, sir, though 
 you do not stand in need of any such assur- 
 ance, Her Majesty will ever be pleased to 
 place the most favourable construction on 
 your words and actions." The Speaker, 
 having made the customary obeisance to the 
 Royal Commissioners, then withdraws, and 
 announces to the Commons the approval by 
 Her Majesty of the selection of himself as 
 Speaker of the House, and of the granting 
 of the ancient rights and privileges to her 
 faithful Commons which had been granted 
 and conferred by Her Majesty, or by any of 
 her royal predecessors. Thus the important 
 ceremony ends. 
 
 The ceremony attending the formal intro- 
 duction of new peers into the House of 
 Lords is not devoid of interest. They enter 
 the House in procession with their sponsors, 
 all wearing their robes of scarlet and ermine, 
 and being preceded by Garter King-at- 
 Arms and the Duke of Norfolk, Hereditary 
 Earl Marshal, in their official robes. Each 
 presents his patent and writ of summons to 
 the Lord Chancellor, kneeling before the 
 woolsack, and each patent and writ are read 
 by the reading clerk. After taking the 
 oath of allegiance and subscribing the roll, 
 274 
 
Parliamentary Customs 
 
 they are conducted to the seats of their re- 
 spective ranks, when they salute the Lord 
 Chancellor three times, and are afterwards 
 formally introduced to him. 
 
 The origin of the woolsack is said to date 
 from the time of Elizabeth, when an Act of 
 Parliament was passed to prevent the expor- 
 tation of wool. In order to keep in mind 
 this source of our national wealth, wool- 
 sacks were placed in the House of Lords, 
 whereon the judges sit. 
 
 275 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Curious doles Plums at Christmas Dorsetshire 
 custom Gloves for the parson Bread and cheese 
 for all Scrambling charity Figs and ale 
 Pork and petticoats Old love- feasts Bull- 
 baiting Poor seamen Lamps in London 
 Washing Molly Grime Predilection for colours 
 Tombstone chanty Priso?iers at Newgate 
 Redeeming English slaves Maid-servants 
 Musical bequest " Lion Sermon " Pax Cake 
 National events Dancing round John KniWs 
 tomb Dole at Hospital of St. Cross at Win- 
 chester. 
 
 IN no other way is the eccentricity of human 
 nature more clearly manifested than in the 
 peculiar methods which men have devised 
 for benefiting mankind. We have already 
 noticed some strange bequests and remarkable 
 charities, and now propose to record others. 
 The Charity Commissioners have in recent 
 years diverted several charities from their 
 original applications, and, in some cases, the 
 wishes of the donor have not always been re- 
 garded with punctilious exactness; but the 
 lapse of time and the wants of other genera- 
 tions have necessitated a change in the mode 
 276 
 
Curious Doles 
 
 of application of many charities, and several 
 old customs have therefore been doomed to 
 destruction. 
 
 Very numerous are the old charities for 
 providing beef, bread, coals, strong beer, ale, 
 and even tobacco, snuff, plums, and mince- 
 pies. At Forebridge, Staffordshire, the chil- 
 dren in ancient times complained that they 
 had no plums for a pudding at Christmas. 
 So the chamberlain of the corporation of 
 Stafford was enabled, by the bounty of some 
 kind individual, to expend an annual sum at 
 Christmas for purchasing plums to be dis- 
 tributed among the inhabitants of certain old 
 houses in the liberty of Forebridge. The 
 Rector of Piddle Hinton, Dorset, according 
 to ancient custom, gives away on old Christ- 
 mas Day a pound of bread, a pint of ale, 
 and a mince-pie to every poor person in the 
 parish. Nor is the feast of Lent forgotten. 
 John Thake, in 1537, left his property with 
 the condition that a barrel of white herrings 
 and a cade of red herrings be given to the 
 poor of Clavering, Essex ; and a similar be- 
 quest was made by Richard Stevenson, of 
 Dronfield, Derbyshire, Lord Rich of Felsted, 
 Essex, and David Salter of Farnham Royal, 
 Bucks, who also ordered that two shillings 
 be laid out for the buying of a pair of kid 
 gloves for the parson on the first Sunday in 
 Lent. Bread and cheese was provided for 
 277 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 every person who slept in the parish of West- 
 bere, Kent, three nights previous to the first 
 Saturday after old Midsummer Day ; and at 
 Paddington bread and cheese were thrown 
 down and scrambled for by the people assem- 
 bled in the churchyard. At Witney, Oxon, 
 after the morning service on Sundays, a 
 loaf of bread is given to the poor, and at 
 Easter each person is presented with a 
 sixpence. 
 
 Figs and ale were provided for the poor 
 scholars of the Free School in Giggleswick 
 on St. Gregory's Day by the will of William 
 Clapham in 1603, and at Harlington, Mid- 
 dlesex, the ringers received a leg of pork for 
 ringing on November 5th. White peas, rye, 
 oatmeal, malt, barley, appear in other bequests. 
 A small piece of land, called Petticoat Hole, 
 at Stockton, Yorks, is held subject to an 
 ancient custom of providing a petticoat for 
 a poor woman of Stockton. In the same 
 county there is an ancient payment of 33. 4d. 
 as the value of a pound of pepper, due from 
 the occupier of a farm at Yaptam for taking 
 care of the parson's horse, which he is bound 
 to do whenever the parson goes there to 
 do duty. 
 
 The Weavers' Company, London, pay ten 
 shillings a year to the churchwardens of 
 St. Clements, Eastcheap, to provide two 
 turkeys for the parishioners, to be eaten 
 
 278 
 
Curious Doles 
 
 at their annual feast, called " the reconcil- 
 ing or love feast," formerly held on Maundy 
 Thursday. 
 
 To establish bull-baiting seems a curious 
 form of charity ; but George Staverton in 
 1 66 1 gave the sum of 6 yearly to buy a 
 bull to be baited at Wokingham, enjoining 
 that the flesh, hide, and offal was to be sold 
 and bestowed upon poor children in stockings 
 of the Welsh and shoes. The bull was baited 
 until 1823, and since that period has been 
 put to death in a more merciful manner, and 
 the meat given to the poor. 
 
 Charities for the benefit of poor distressed 
 soldiers and seamen abound, notably the 
 famous one connected with Bamborough 
 Castle. There is a special bequest, under 
 the control of the minister of St. Mary's, 
 Dover, for the widows of drowned men. 
 
 The streets of London in the days of can- 
 dles and oil-lamps were dark and dangerous. 
 One John Wardall bequeathed to the Grocers 1 
 Company a sum for the maintenance of a 
 good and sufficient iron and glass lantern for 
 the direction of passengers to go with more 
 security to and from the waterside all night 
 long, to be fixed at the north-east corner of 
 St. Botolph's Church. John Cooke in 1662 
 did a like service for the corner of St. 
 Michael's Lane, near Thames Street, and 
 also for the cleaning and sweeping the aisle 
 279 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 of St. Michael's Church, Crooked Lane, 
 London, called Fishmongers' Aisle. We 
 have already noticed several bequests for 
 bell-ringing at night for the guidance and 
 direction of travellers. 
 
 The washing of Molly Grime is a curious 
 bequest. Seven old maids of Glentham, 
 Lincolnshire, received for many years until 
 1832 a small sum for washing a tomb in 
 the parish church, called Molly Grime, with 
 water brought from Newell Well. 
 
 Sometimes donors have striven to im- 
 mortalise their names by showing a whimsi- 
 cal predilection for colours. Thus Henry 
 Greene in 1679 bequeathed money to pro- 
 vide four green waistcoats for four poor 
 old women, lined with green galloon 
 lace ; and Thomas Gray left money for 
 grey waistcoats and coats of the same 
 colour. 
 
 Leonard Dare in 1 6 1 1 ordered the wardens 
 of South Pool, Devonshire, to lay on his 
 tombstone four times a year threescore 
 penny loaves of good and wholesome bread 
 for the poor of the parish. There is a 
 notable charity in the custody of the Vicar 
 of St. Sepulchre's Church, London, for the 
 purpose of causing a bell to be tolled pre- 
 vious to every execution at Newgate, and 
 certain words of exhortation delivered to 
 the condemned prisoners. The prescribed 
 280 
 
Curious Bequests 
 
 words are curious, and commence with the 
 rhyme 
 
 " You prisoners that are within, 
 Who for wickedness and sin," &c. 
 
 The redeeming of English Christian slaves 
 from captivity is not now a very useful object 
 for the bequests of the charitable. In 1655 
 Alicia, Duchess Dudley, left money for this 
 purpose, and there is also the famous Belton's 
 charity for the redemption of British slaves 
 in Turkey and Barbary. These charities have 
 now been diverted to other uses. 
 
 Very numerous are the bequests for the 
 encouragement of maid-servants, and a not 
 infrequent method of bestowing the charity 
 is as follows : Two or three candidates are 
 selected and these have to throw dice or 
 cast lots for the amount specified in the 
 bequest. This was the method adopted at 
 Guildford according to the will of John 
 How, made in 1674, and at Reading, where 
 John Kendrick, John Blagrave, and others 
 left money for the benefit of maid-servants. 
 The throwing of dice has, however, now 
 been discontinued. 
 
 One widow of Westbury, Wilts, named 
 Elizabeth Townsend, was so impressed with 
 the merits of an anthem composed by her 
 late husband's grandfather, that she left a 
 bequest to the vicar and choir singers for 
 281 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 the singing of it every year on the Sunday 
 preceding the 24th day of June. 
 
 The annual " Lion Sermon " at St. Katha- 
 rine Cree Church, Leadenhall Street, founded 
 by Sir John Gayer, Lord Mayor of London 
 some two and a-half centuries ago, is preached 
 every year in commemoration of an episode 
 in Sir John's life. Sir John Gayer was a 
 merchant venturer, and accompanied an ex- 
 pedition to the East, when, getting separated 
 from the caravan at night, he found himself 
 confronted by lions, prayed the prayer of 
 Daniel for deliverance, and his life was saved. 
 That night was the i6th of October the 
 date commemorated by this annual sermon. 
 Another notable episode in the life of Sir 
 John Gayer as Lord Mayor was his com- 
 mittal to the Tower, with four Aldermen, 
 for refusing to comply with the demand 
 which Parliament, in 1647, when it no longer 
 represented the nation, made upon the Cor- 
 poration of London for a subsidy for the 
 troops. That incarceration probably hastened 
 Sir John's death. He died in the good old 
 faith in which he had lived, and left money 
 for the maintenance of the " Lion Sermon," 
 which records his memory and his wonderful 
 deliverance. 
 
 The old custom of the " Pax Cake " is 
 still kept up in the united parishes of Sellack 
 and King's Capel, Herefordshire. On Palm 
 282 
 
cc Pax Cake" Custom 
 
 Sunday plain cakes are distributed in church, 
 the intention being that those who have 
 quarrelled should break the cake together, 
 and say " Peace and good will," thus making 
 up their differences in preparation for the 
 Easter Communion. At some period glasses 
 of beer were introduced, and the present vicar 
 remembers seeing the beer handed round in 
 the church ; but this part of the ceremony 
 has long been discontinued, and was not 
 originally part of the custom. The cost of 
 the cakes is defrayed by a rent-charge on a 
 farm in the parish. In the same church 
 another custom prevails which may be here 
 noted. At the celebration of Holy Com- 
 munion the altar rails are always covered with 
 white linen. This is probably the pre-Refor- 
 mation " Houseling Cloth," which has never 
 been discontinued in this church. At Foy 
 Church, in the same county, a similar custom 
 exists. 
 
 Charities have been founded and still exist 
 for the preaching of sermons on the defeat 
 of the Spanish Armada, the discovery of the 
 Gunpowder Plot, to commemorate the pre- 
 servation of the donors in the Great Fire of 
 London, the victory of Nelson at the battle 
 of Trafalgar, the victories of Wellington, 
 the commemoration of the ascension of 
 George IV., and other national events. And 
 we have bequests for the encouragement of 
 283 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 matrimony and horse-racing, providing por- 
 tions for poor maids, catechising children, 
 buying Bibles, for repeating the Lord's 
 Prayer, Apostles' Creed, and Ten Command- 
 ments, strewing the church with rushes, to 
 awaken sleepers, and whip dogs out of church, 
 to dress graves with flowers, to plant rose- 
 trees in churchyards, to promote peace and 
 goodwill among neighbours, and to en- 
 courage many other desirable and excellent 
 objects. If all these bequests founded by 
 pious benefactors had been successful in secur- 
 ing the attainment of the object for which 
 their charity was bestowed, our nation would 
 have long since become a happy, prosperous, 
 and contented people. 
 
 One of the strangest of strange bequests 
 is that of John Knill, who died in 1 8 1 1 , and 
 had a building called Knill's Mausoleum 
 erected near St. Ives. He left sundry be- 
 quests of a useful nature, but ordered that 
 every five years five pounds should be divided 
 among the girls, not exceeding ten years of age, 
 who should between ten and twelve o'clock 
 in the forenoon of St. James's Day dance for 
 a quarter of an hour at least on the ground 
 near the Mausoleum, and after the dance 
 sing Psalm C. of the old version to " the 
 fine old tune " to which the same was then 
 sung in St. Ives Church. He provided also 
 white ribbons for breast-knots for the girls, 
 284 
 
Pilgrim s Dole 
 
 a cockade for the fiddler, and divers other 
 matters, which reveal painfully the vanity 
 that lurks in human nature. Mr. Knill's 
 will is a long one, and need not be further 
 recorded. 
 
 We must not omit to record the old- 
 fashioned pilgrim's dole of bread and ale 
 which is offered to all wayfarers at the 
 Hospital of St. Cross at Winchester. Tra- 
 vellers who partake of this refreshment at 
 the gate of this fine old almshouse may re- 
 flect that they are thus enjoying the bounty 
 of William of Wykeham. Emerson once 
 made a pilgrimage to the hospital, claimed 
 and received the victuals, and triumphantly 
 quoted the incident as proof of the majestic 
 stability of English institutions. 
 
 285 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Army customs Keys at the Tower 12 th Lancers 
 and hymn-tunes Scotch traditions of the 1st 
 Regiment of Foot Royal Welsh Fusiliers and 
 St. David's Day Inkerman Day Royal Berks 
 Scots' Greys 7th Hussars 8th Hussars 
 Regimental nicknames 14th Hussars Cold- 
 stream Guards The Buffs Northumberland 
 Fusiliers Suffolk Regiment Lancastrian Fusi- 
 liers Relics of American War Royal Canadians 
 Cheshire Regiment 7th Fusiliers Duke of 
 Cornwall's Light Infantry Black Watch. 
 
 1HE army is so conservative an institu- 
 tion that old established customs live long 
 therein. The esprit de corps which a soldier 
 feels for his regiment makes him eager to 
 retain the special observances which have 
 been handed down from past ages, and which 
 serve to commemorate some brilliant feat 
 of arms or honourable association connected 
 with the regimental history. A few of these 
 customs are here recorded. 
 
 Every night at the Tower of London the 
 
 warder locks the doors and gates, and then 
 
 approaches the guard -house. The guard 
 
 with his assistants turns out at the approach 
 
 286 
 
Army Customs 
 
 of the party, and the following curious 
 dialogue takes place : 
 
 Sentry (challenging) " Halt ! who goes 
 there ? " 
 
 Warder (halting)" The keys." 
 Sentry" Whose keys ? " 
 Warder " Queen Victoria's keys." 
 Sentry " Pass, Queen Victoria's keys." 
 The warder and party advance; then he 
 halts and cries aloud, "God save Queen 
 Victoria." The guard present arms, and 
 officers and men say in chorus three times 
 " Amen, amen, amen." This is a very curi- 
 ous relic of the manners and customs of 
 ancient times. 
 
 It is difficult to account for a custom 
 which prevails in the I2th Lancers, in which 
 regiment, at ten o'clock each night outside 
 the officers' quarters, the band plays one 
 or two hymn-tunes. A similar custom was 
 introduced in the loth Hussars in 1866 by 
 the late Colonel Valentine Baker ; and as 
 he exchanged from the I2th Lancers to that 
 regiment, he probably copied the idea from 
 them. In the loth Hussars to this day the 
 band plays two hymns every evening between 
 the first and second post of watch-setting, 
 followed by " God Save the Queen." A 
 bequest was left for this purpose, and it 
 is an example of the close observance of 
 
 1 " London Letters," by George W. Smalley. 
 
 287 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 tradition existing in the British army. 
 Other examples are not wanting to enforce 
 the same truth. After mess, or at the close 
 of any function, the band of the Norfolk 
 Regiment is accustomed to play the familiar 
 strains of " Rule Britannia " before the 
 National Anthem. The figure of Britannia 
 is the distinguishing badge of the regiment, 
 and was bestowed upon it by Queen Anne 
 for its distinguished conduct at the battle 
 of Almanza, during the war of the Spanish 
 succession. The regiment thus upheld the 
 honour of Great Britain, and was rewarded 
 for it by Queen Anne allowing them to wear 
 the figure of Britannia on their breastplates. 
 The Royal Berks Regiment also have the 
 same custom. The Wiltshire Regiment 
 greatly distinguished itself at the defence of 
 Carrickfergus Castle in 1760 when the French 
 invaded Ireland. Their bullets being all ex- 
 pended, the men used bricks, stones, and 
 even their coat buttons in lieu thereof, and 
 for this reason are allowed to have a " splash 
 on the buttons." 
 
 A body of Scottish infantry proceeded 
 from Scotland to France in the reign of 
 James VI. to assist Henry IV. in his wars 
 with the Leaguers, and was constituted in 
 January 1633 a regiment, afterwards the ist 
 on Royal Regiment of Foot, now known as 
 the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). Many 
 288 
 
Army Customs 
 
 Scottish traditions are kept up in the regi- 
 ment, and amongst them the custom of 
 " first-footing." A correspondent in Folk- 
 Lore^ writes that at midnight on New 
 Year's Eve he was startled by the uproar 
 in the neighbouring barracks, the shouts 
 and the beating of drums, while the band 
 played a lively tune as it marched up and 
 down the barrack square. The daughters 
 of the old sergeant with whom the writer 
 lodged brought in cakes and wine and 
 claimed to be " first-foot," and thus the 
 Royals had preserved the old custom which 
 flourished so much in Scotland for more 
 than two centuries and a half. 
 
 The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, formerly the 
 2 jrd, and the Welsh Regiment (formerly 
 the 4 ist), patriotically observe St. David's 
 Day, and the wearing of the leek is an 
 important part of the ceremonial. The 
 origin of this peculiar Welsh custom is un- 
 certain. Some say that the practice arose 
 in consequence of a victory obtained by 
 them under Caedwalla over the Saxons on 
 St. David's Day, A.D. 640, when the Welsh 
 adopted the leek as a distinguishing badge. 
 Shakespeare alludes to the custom in his 
 play of Henry V., act iv. scene 7, when 
 Fluellen thus addresses the king : 
 
 1 The writer speaks of the custom as a recollection, but we 
 doubt not that it is still maintained by the Royals. 
 
 289 T 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 " Your grandfather of famous memory, an't please 
 your Majesty, and your great uncle Edward the 
 plack prince of Wales, as I have read in the 
 chronicles, fought a most prave pattle here in France. 
 
 " K. Henry. They did, Fluellen. 
 
 " Flu. Your Majesty says very true. If your 
 Majesty is remembered of it, the Welshmen did 
 goot service in a garden where leeks did grow, 
 wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps ; which, your 
 Majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable padge 
 of the service ; and I do believe your Majesty takes 
 no scorn to wear the leek on Saint Tavy's Day." 
 
 This is at least conclusive that the wearing 
 of the leek by Welshmen on St. David's Day 
 was practised in Shakespeare's time, and this 
 custom is still preserved by the Welsh Regi- 
 ment and the Welsh Fusiliers. All the men 
 in the regiment wear a leek in their busby, 
 and their goat, an important member, is 
 decked with rosettes and red and blue 
 ribbons. At the officers' mess the drum- 
 major, accompanied by the goat, marches 
 round the table after dinner, carrying a 
 plate of leeks. Every officer, or guest, 
 who has never eaten one before, is obliged 
 to do so, standing on his chair with one foot 
 on the table, while the drummer beats a roll 
 behind his chair. He is then considered a 
 true Welshman. All the toasts are coupled 
 with the name of St. David, and the memory 
 of a certain Toby Pur cell, major of the regi- 
 290 
 
Army Customs 
 
 ment, who was killed in the Battle of the 
 Boyne, is duly honoured. This regiment is 
 remarkable in having what is called the 
 flash on the back of the neck of the coats 
 of the officers and staff sergeants. Every 
 regiment wore pig-tails till about the year 
 1807, and the supposition is that the Royal 
 Welsh Fusiliers, having retained them after 
 other regiments had officially discarded them, 
 were eventually allowed to retain the flash 
 on the coat-collars as a distinction. 
 
 Inkerman Day is observed on November 
 5th, and crowds assemble at St. James's Palace 
 to witness the relieving of the guard. On 
 the last anniversary of this famous victory 
 the 3rd Grenadiers were relieved by the ist 
 Coldstream, the Queen's colours of both 
 battalions, borne by lieutenants, being deco- 
 rated with bunches of laurel in memory of 
 their deceased comrades. 
 
 The Royal Berks Regiment wear a black 
 band on their arm on the 2yth day of July, 
 in remembrance of the slaughter of their 
 comrades of the second battalion at the 
 fatal Battle of Maiwand in the Afghan War. 
 There the gallant soldiers of brave Berkshire 
 were mowed down by their fierce foe, but 
 the regiment nobly maintained their ground. 
 The monument in the Forbury Gardens at 
 Reading was erected in memory of the death 
 of so many heroes. 
 
 291 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 The 2nd Dragoons, or Royal Scots Greys, 
 wear grenadier caps or bearskins instead 
 of helmets. This custom is by some be- 
 lieved to have originated at the Battle of 
 Ramilies in 1706, but it is far more probable 
 that the regiment wore grenadier caps from 
 the time it was raised. 
 
 The yth (Queen's Own) Hussars was origi- 
 nally a Scotch regiment. Although it has 
 long since severed its connection with Bonnie 
 Scotland, the memory of its original home is 
 kept up by the custom of its band playing 
 "The Garb of Old Gaul" when marching 
 past, and " Hieland Laddie " when trotting. 
 
 The 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars pre- 
 serve the memory of the brave deeds of the 
 regiment by a peculiar mode of wearing the 
 sword-belt. The soldiers were permitted to 
 wear the sword-belt over the right shoulder, 
 instead of round the waist, as is usual in dra- 
 goon regiments, on account of the gallant 
 conduct of their regiment at the battle of 
 Saragossa when they captured the belts of the 
 Spanish cavalry. The 8th Hussars were nick- 
 named " Cross-belts " in consequence of this 
 peculiar privilege. The nicknames of the 
 different regiments are full of interest, and 
 often recall the memory of some gallant feat of 
 arms performed in ancient days, though some 
 of the titles are not always complimentary. 
 For example, the i ith Hussars, called Prince 
 292 
 
Army Customs 
 
 Albert's Own, because they formed the escort 
 of the Prince on his arrival in England, were 
 usually called "The Cherry Pickers," from 
 their wearing cherry-coloured overalls unlike 
 any other cavalry regiment. 
 
 The anniversary of the battle of Ramnug- 
 gur, fought in 1848, when the regiment of 
 the 1 4th (King's) Hussars defeated an enor- 
 mously superior force of the Sikh army, is 
 still observed as a great night, and the 
 regiment is still known as " The Ramnuggur 
 Boys." 
 
 The scarlet plume in the busby of the 1 5th 
 (King's) Hussars is assumed in memory of the 
 battle of Villiers-en-Couche, fought in 1794, 
 when the regiment charged together with the 
 Austrian Hussars, and defeated a very large 
 company of the enemy. After a review in 
 1799, the king granted the troopers the 
 honour of decking their helmets with scar- 
 let feathers. They well earned the title of 
 "The Fighting Fifteenth." 
 
 The Coldstream Guards preserve by their 
 name the memory of the famous march of 
 General Monck from Coldstream in January 
 1 6 60, to restore King Charles II. to the throne 
 of England. 
 
 The Buffs enjoy the time-honoured privi- 
 lege of marching through the City of Lon- 
 don with drums beating and colours flying. 
 The origin of the custom is curious. It 
 
 2 93 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 appears that it was first called the Holland 
 Regiment, and was raised in the time of Queen 
 Elizabeth to aid the Dutch in their war with 
 Spain. The regiment was formed in 1572 by 
 the London Guilds, who mustered 3000 men, 
 and it was the peculiar privilege of the trained 
 bands of the city to march through London 
 streets in the manner already described. 
 
 The Northumberland Fusiliers are accus- 
 tomed to wear red and white roses in their 
 caps on St. George's Day. The origin of 
 this custom is doubtless connected with the 
 arms of the regiment, St. George and the 
 Dragon, and the roses emblazoned on their 
 banner. The Fusilier caps were given them 
 for their bravery in defeating the French at 
 Wilhelmstahl in 1762, and a white plume 
 was added for their gallantry at St. Lucia in 
 1778. The men plucked the white feathers 
 from the hats of the dead Frenchmen and 
 put them in their own headgear. 
 
 The Suffolk Regiment wear roses in their 
 caps on August 1st, in commemoration of 
 the battle of Minden, fought in 1759. The 
 Lancashire Fusiliers have a similar custom, 
 which arose from the fact that the regiment 
 was posted near some gardens, from which the 
 men took roses to adorn their hats during 
 the battle. 
 
 The East Yorkshire and Loyal North 
 Lancashire Regiments fought in the Ameri- 
 294 
 
Army Customs 
 
 can War, and in memory of General Wolfe's 
 death wear a black worm in their lace. 
 
 The ist Battalion, Prince of Wales' Lein- 
 ster Regiment (Royal Canadians), was raised 
 in Canada from the colonial population under 
 extraordinary circumstances in 185 8, and was 
 designated the looth, or Prince of Wales's 
 Royal Canadian Regiment. Whilst in that 
 country it took part in the celebration of the 
 Confederation of Canada, known as " Domi- 
 nion Day," July ist, 1867, and ever since 
 the anniversary is regularly observed by all 
 ranks of the regiment wearing Canadian 
 maple leaves in their headgear; the regi- 
 mental colours as well as the officers' mess 
 table being also decorated. These leaves are 
 specially selected and sent from Canada to 
 the regiment wherever it may be serving. 
 Special athletic sports and a ball are held. 
 When practicable the colours are trooped. 
 The regiment, which has for its badge the 
 maple leaf, is the only regiment in the army 
 having a colonial title. 1 Its nicknames are 
 curious, and are as follows : " The Crusa- 
 ders," so called by the Canadians from the 
 fact of its having been raised to assist in 
 the suppression of the Mutiny in the East 
 Indies ; " The Wild Indians," owing to the 
 
 1 I am indebted to Captain Dickinson for this information ; 
 he tells me that the custom has never been recorded before in 
 any other work. 
 
 295 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 idea that it was recruited from the back- 
 woodsmen of North America ; " The Beav- 
 ers," from its original badge ; " The Old 
 Hundredth," on account of its rank and file 
 being much older men than in other regi- 
 ments, at the time it was first raised ; and 
 from its being the " looth Foot" it was 
 named " The Centipedes," which title is said 
 to be the invention of some witty Spaniards 
 when the regiment was stationed at Gibraltar. 
 These distinctive names are preserved by the 
 regiment with much veneration and pride. 
 
 The 2nd Battalion of this regiment was 
 originally the 3rd Bombay European In- 
 fantry of the East India Company's Forces, 
 and then the iO9th (Bombay Infantry) Regi- 
 ment. It observes with much ceremony 
 April 3rd, known as "Jhansi Day," in re- 
 membrance of the storm and siege of Jhansi 
 (Central India) in 1858, when the regiment 
 greatly distinguished itself. A ball takes 
 place, and the colours are hung and deco- 
 rated with a large laurel wreath. This regi- 
 ment is called the " Steel " or " Brass Heads," 
 on account of the splendid manner in which 
 they stood the terrible exposure to the sun 
 in their campaign in Central India. Its con- 
 nection with the old East India Company 
 is preserved by the painting of their old 
 colours on the drums of the battalion in 
 conjunction with the " Queen's Colours." 
 296 
 
Army Customs 
 
 The Cheshire Regiment wear oak-leaves 
 in their caps on parade. The origin of this 
 custom is unknown. The opinion of some 
 members of the regiment when questioned 
 upon the subject is worthy of record. One 
 speaker stated that no other regiment was 
 allowed to wear the oak leaf, and " that was 
 good enough for him." Another stated that 
 the regiment saved the life of King Charles 
 II. at the battle of Dettingen, and stood 
 around the tree in which the King was hid- 
 den. A little historical instruction in the 
 army might not be altogether wasted. 
 
 The line battalions and the Tyrone 
 Militia battalion of the Royal Inniskilling 
 Fusiliers continue to use the old Irish war 
 pipes. The- Gloucestershire Regiment pos- 
 sesses a unique distinction. It wears the 
 badge of the sphinx at the back as well as 
 on the front of their caps, in memory of their 
 bravery when engaged to the front and rear 
 at once at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. 
 
 One regiment, the yth Fusiliers, do not 
 drink the Queen's health at mess. The story 
 is that on one occasion some king of Eng- 
 land was dining with the officers of the regi- 
 ment, and said after dinner that the loyalty 
 of the 7th was sufficiently well assured 
 without their drinking the Sovereign's health. 
 They are extremely proud of this peculiar 
 distinction. 
 
 297 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 The brass feather and red cloth of the 
 helmet of the Duke of Cornwall's Light 
 Infantry tell a tale of the American War. 
 They defeated a strong party of their foes, 
 who vowed vengeance on this particular 
 corps. They informed the Americans that 
 they had stained their feathers red, so that 
 they could be distinguished in the fight, and 
 that others might not suffer on this account. 
 
 The Black Watch for their bravery at the 
 battle of Guildermalsen, Holland, in 1794, 
 won the " red heckle/' which is still worn in 
 the men's bonnets. 
 
 There are doubtless many other old army 
 customs which exist, and few who are ac- 
 quainted with their meaning and significance. 
 The new Commander-in-Chief of the British 
 Army strongly advocates the cultivation of 
 esprit de corps by the soldiers. The know- 
 ledge of the meaning of these old customs, 
 recalling the brave deeds of the regiments in 
 former days, would tend greatly to encourage 
 the feeling which Lord Wolseley so wisely 
 advocates, and inspire the men to emulate 
 the valour of their sires. 
 
 298 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 Curious tenures Modern customs Conclusion. 
 
 I HE study of law-books to a layman is 
 not usually exhilarating, but the subject of 
 tenures presents some features of interest, 
 and is not destitute of amusement. So 
 curious are some of these tenures, that one 
 can but " smile at the inoffensive mirth both 
 of our kings in former times, and lords of 
 manors in creating them." l Most of them 
 have fallen into disuse, or have since been 
 converted into rent. Petit Serjeanty have 
 been abolished by Act of Parliament as long 
 ago as the reign of Charles II. ; but several 
 of the customs pertaining to manors have 
 lingered on to our times, and the honorary 
 services of Grand Serjeanty, relating to per- 
 sonal services discharged to the Sovereign, 
 remain in full force. Most of these have 
 already been mentioned in a preceding chap- 
 ter 2 in connection with the Coronation of the 
 King, and we will briefly refer to a few other 
 tenures of land and customs of manors which 
 
 1 Blount's Fragment a Antiquitatis. 
 
 2 Cf. " Court Customs," Chapter xvi. p. 256. 
 
 299 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 are remarkable, though they have for the 
 most part ceased to be required. 
 
 Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, is held 
 by the Duke of Marlborough by the tenure 
 of presenting a banner yearly at Windsor 
 Castle, on the 2nd of August, in memory of 
 the battle of Blenheim, fought in 1704. 
 The honour of Woodstock was given to the 
 Duke by Queen Anne for the victory he 
 gained on that day. The Duke of Wellington 
 holds the manor of Strathfieldsaye by a like 
 tenure, and is required to present a banner to 
 the Sovereign yearly in memory of Waterloo. 
 
 The Isle of Man was granted to the Stan- 
 leys by Henry IV., who required them to 
 render to the Sovereign two falcons on the 
 day of his coronation. The Barons Furnival 
 of Farnham-Royal, Bucks, had to provide a 
 glove for the right hand of the king on 
 Coronation Day, and to support his right 
 arm while he held the sceptre. To serve 
 the king with a towel and basons, to provide 
 water for the king's hands, to make one mess 
 in an earthen pot in the royal kitchen, to 
 provide five wafers, to carve, to serve the 
 king with a cup, to provide two white cups, 
 to take charge of the napery, to be chief 
 larderer,to keep the door of the pantry, these 
 and many other services on Coronation Day 
 are attached to the holding of various manors 
 and baronies. 
 
 300 
 
Curious Tenures 
 
 Nor were these Grand Sergeanties restricted 
 only to Coronation Day. Many noble lords 
 held manors by the service of carving for the 
 king at annual feasts, or serving him, or 
 bearing a rod before him, or guarding his 
 person (as at Shrewsbury when he lay there), 
 or holding the head of the king when he 
 should cross the seas and was troubled with 
 mat de mer. The lord of the manor of 
 Hoton, Cumberland, was obliged to hold 
 the stirrup of the king when he mounted 
 his horse in Carlisle Castle, and the lord of 
 Shirefield had the unpleasant duty of being 
 master of the king's meritrices or laund- 
 resses, as well as dismembering condemned 
 malefactors, and measuring the gallons in 
 the king's household. To carry a hawk 
 for his Majesty, to present him with a grey 
 hood or cap, or a white ensign whenever he 
 warred in Scotland, to attend with proper 
 arms, a horse, sword, lance, or simple bow 
 and arrows whenever his services were re- 
 quired, were the duties incumbent upon other 
 manor lords. The service of cornage or 
 blowing horns was very common, especially 
 in the Border counties, where Scottish in- 
 vasions were frequent. The owner of King- 
 ston Russell, Dorset, was obliged to count 
 the king's chessmen, and to put them in a 
 bag when the king had finished the game. 
 The Bacotes or Beckets of Shrivenham, 
 301 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 Berks, had to meet the king whenever he 
 was passing through the town, and present 
 two white capons, making the speech : 
 " Ecce domine istos duos capones quos alias 
 habebitis sed non nunc" 
 
 In former times the Sovereigns used to 
 travel frequently through the country, and 
 hold their courts at divers places, to keep 
 Christmas at Reading, or Easter at Norwich ; 
 hence in order to provide for the immense 
 royal household, the lords of the neighbour- 
 ing manors were required, by virtue of hold- 
 ing their estates, to furnish various kinds of 
 food for the royal table. These services 
 come under the head of Petit Serjeanty. 
 Grand Serjeanty is a personal service ; but 
 Petit Serjeanty does not require a tenant to 
 act in person, but only to render and pay 
 yearly to the king certain things, as a man 
 pays a rent. Thus the holder of the Barony 
 of Biewell, Northumberland, had to find 
 thirty soldiers for the guard of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne. To provide a footman with 
 bows and arrows for forty days, or an esquire 
 with an haubergeon and a lance to go With the 
 king's army into Wales, was incumbent on the 
 owners of several manors. Felsted, Essex, 
 and many other manors, were held by service 
 of keeping two palfreys or one horse for the 
 king's use. Arms were also provided in the 
 same manner. The lord of Carleton had to 
 302 
 
Curious "Tenures 
 
 furnish a catapult ; the lord of Sholey a pole- 
 axe ; the lord of Pole a sword of the value 
 of three shillings and fourpence ; the lord of 
 Drakelow a bow, quiver, and twelve arrows ; 
 he of La Barr one salmon and two barbed 
 arrows. Lands at Chichester had to furnish 
 a spindle-full of raw thread to make a string 
 for the king's cross-bow ; and a manor in 
 Dorset provided a curry-comb. The variety 
 of these services is indeed remarkable. 
 Clothes and provisions for the king's house- 
 hold were supplied by various manors, litter 
 for the king's bed, rushes for the floor of 
 his chamber, gloves turned up with hare's 
 skin, scarlet hose, beside an endless supply 
 of fat capons and wine for his table. Yar- 
 mouth provided a hundred herrings, which 
 were baked in twenty-four pies, and conveyed 
 by the lord of the manor of East Carlton to 
 the king. 
 
 Hunting was ever a sport loved by kings ; 
 hence we find many manors burdened with 
 the duty of keeping the king's forests, hunt- 
 ing wolves and foxes and cats, driving all 
 vermin from the royal preserves, and pro- 
 viding dogs and hawks. Greyhounds and 
 harriers seem to have been special favourites, 
 and the prevalence of hawking is abundantly 
 exemplified by the number of manors held 
 by the serjeanty of falconry. Some manors 
 were bound to render certain religious ser- 
 303 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 vice. The lord of Coningston had to say 
 daily five Pater-Nosters and five Ave-Marias 
 for the souls of the king's progenitors ; the 
 lord of Greens-norton held his lands by the 
 service of lifting up his right hand towards 
 the king yearly on Christmas Day ; the lord 
 of Burcester, by providing a light for the 
 altar of St. Nicholas. Even the king some- 
 times provided for the supply of his own 
 offerings at the altar, for we find that when 
 he came to hear mass at Maplescaump, Kent, 
 the lord of the manor had to provide him 
 with a penny for an oblation. 
 
 Sea-coast manors and towns had to pro- 
 vide ships for the royal service, and sailors 
 to man them, and an endless variety of other 
 services existed, such as providing labourers 
 for castle-works, paying smoke-silver, fur- 
 nishing honey, or nails for the king's vships, 
 or tongs, or horse-shoes, frightening away 
 wolves, maintaining bridges, or other duties 
 which the necessities of the time, or the in- 
 genuity of the monarch suggested. 
 
 Nor were the kings the only personages 
 entitled to such services. The Counties 
 Palatine of Durham, Chester, Ely, and 
 others, had royal powers in their own terri- 
 tory, and the Bishop of Durham and other 
 Palatinate rulers were entitled to the same 
 kind of services from various manor-lords 
 in their domains which were rendered to the 
 34 
 
Curious Tenures 
 
 king in other parts of the country. More- 
 over, the Bishops of Durham were no Jess 
 partial to the chase than their royal masters, 
 and many lords had to provide them with 
 hounds and hawks, and to keep their forests 
 in the same manner as Windsor or New 
 Forest was preserved for the king. 
 
 Dunmow was not the only place in Eng- 
 land where fortunate couples were rewarded 
 with a flitch of bacon after passing their first 
 year of married life amicably. The manor of 
 Whichnor, Stafford, was held by Sir Philip 
 de Somervile by the service of providing a 
 flitch of bacon and a quarter of wheat for 
 all such happy couples. The oath which 
 the husband was obliged to take was as 
 follows : 
 
 " Hear ye, Sir Philip de Somervile, lord 
 of Whichnor, maintainer and giver of this 
 
 bacon, that I , since I wedded , 
 
 my wife, and since I had her in my keeping 
 and at my will, by a year and a day after our 
 marriage, I would not have changed for none 
 other, fairer or fouler, richer or poorer, or 
 for none other descended of greater lineage, 
 sleeping or waking, at no time. And if she 
 were sole and I sole, I would take her to be 
 my wife before all women of the world, of 
 what conditions soever they be, good or evil, 
 as help me God and His saints, and this flesh 
 and all fleshes." 
 
 305 u 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 At Chingford, Essex, an estate was held 
 by a very curious tenure. Whenever it 
 passed into new hands the owner, with his 
 wife, man-servant, and maid-servant, came 
 on horseback to the parsonage and did his 
 homage by blowing three blasts on his horn ; 
 he carried a hawk on his fist, his servant had 
 a greyhound in a slip, both for the use of the 
 rector on that day. He received a chicken 
 for the hawk, a peck of oats for his horse, 
 and a loaf of bread for his greyhound. After 
 dinner the owner blew three blasts on his 
 horn, and then with his party left the 
 vicarage. 
 
 Some other tenures were secured by the 
 presentation of one clove, horse-shoes, a horn, 
 three grains of pepper, and other strange and 
 unusual gifts. Wyfold Court is held by the 
 tenure of presenting a red rose to the king 
 whenever he should pass the house on May 
 Day. 
 
 The Castor Whip tenure is remarkable, 
 and the custom has only recently died away, 
 the last whip used being in the possession of 
 Mr. William Andrews, the Hull antiquary. 
 On Palm Sunday a servant from the Brough- 
 ton estate attended service at Castor church 
 with a new cart-whip, and after cracking it 
 three times in the porch marched with it 
 to the manorial seat. When the clergyman 
 began the second sermon he quitted his seat 
 306 
 
Modern Customs 
 
 with his gad-whip, having a purse containing 
 thirty pieces of silver fixed at the end of the 
 leash, and kneeling down on a cushion held 
 the purse suspended over the head of the 
 clergyman during the reading of the sermon. 
 Then he returned to his seat, and left the 
 purse and whip at the manor house. 
 
 Many other curious services and remark- 
 able tenures might be mentioned ; but as 
 most of them have now become obsolete 
 they can scarcely claim a record in a book 
 which deals mainly with existing customs. 
 
 Although many of our old customs have 
 died new ones have sprung into being, and 
 may be regarded as fairly established. The 
 observance of " Primrose Day," the birth- 
 day of Lord Beaconsfield, has now become 
 popular, and the universal wearing of the 
 flower on April 2ist by the members of the 
 political party to which the noble earl be- 
 longed, seems to denote that the custom will 
 not soon die, but that it has " come to stay" 
 for many years yet. 
 
 The origin of " Primrose Day " is entirely 
 due to the energy of one gentleman, Sir 
 George Birwood, of the India Office. In 
 spite of much discouragement he persevered 
 in his endeavour to induce people to mark 
 the birthday of Lord Beaconsfield by the 
 wearing of the primrose. Letters were written 
 to the Times ; advertisements inserted in all 
 307 
 
Old English Customs 
 
 the leading newspapers ; the florists' aid 
 solicited ; several noblemen set the example ; 
 the enthusiasm spread ; until at length success 
 was assured, and " Primrose Day " became 
 firmly established as a popular commemora- 
 tion of the distinguished politician. It is 
 seldom that a custom has arisen so rapidly, 
 or that the energy and enthusiasm of one 
 gentleman have been responded to so readily 
 by a large section of the people. 
 
 There are some misguided people who ad- 
 vocate the restoration of the House of Stuart 
 to the English Throne, and with much cere- 
 mony decorate each year the statues of the 
 Stuart monarchs, and drink the health of 
 "him who is over the water," as in the 
 "good old days" of the old and young 
 Pretenders. The last anniversary of the 
 martyrdom of the White King was celebrated 
 with much ceremony in one of the city 
 churches, and splendid white wreaths adorned 
 the statue of the ill-fated monarch. 
 
 Possibly many other modern customs 
 which can lay no claim to any high anti- 
 quity could be added, but which will ere 
 long be firmly established amongst us as 
 popular ceremonials. 
 
 In concluding this record we would express 
 
 a hope that no important custom has been 
 
 omitted. The collecting of those which we 
 
 have described has been no small task, though 
 
 308 
 
Conclusion 
 
 it has been a labour lightened by much in- 
 terest, and by the ready help of those who 
 have so willingly assisted us. We would ven- 
 ture to hope that those who are in a position 
 to preserve any existing custom in their own 
 neighbourhood will do their utmost to pre- 
 vent its decay. Popular customs are a heri- 
 tage which has been bequeathed to us from 
 a remote past, and it is for us to hand down 
 that heritage to future generations of English 
 folk. If this result be attained, our labours 
 will not have been in vain in endeavouring 
 to describe the quaint manners and customs 
 of the English people at the close of the 
 nineteenth century. 
 
 39 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 BERKSHIRE MUMMING PLAYS 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONM. 
 
 Molly, a stalwart man, dressed in woman's gown, shawl, and 
 bonnet, with a broom in hand. A ludicrous imitation is 
 given of a woman's voice. 
 
 King George, dressed as a knight, with helmet and clothes 
 covered with strips of coloured paper, and a sword, &c. 
 
 Beau Slasher, a French officer. 
 
 Doctor, arrayed in tail-coat, knee-breeches, &c. 
 
 Jack Vinny, a jester, with a tall fool's-cap. 
 
 Happy Jack, dressed in tattered garments. 
 
 Old Beelzebub, with a long white beard, as Father Christmas. 
 
 MOLLY enters^ flourishing her broom, and pretending to 
 sweep with it. 
 
 A room, a room, I do presume, 
 
 For me and my brave men ; 
 
 For we be come this Christmas-time 
 
 To make a little rhyme. 
 
 And 'ere we come at Christmas time, 
 
 Welcome, or welcome not, 
 Hoping old Father Christmas 
 
 Will never be forgot. 
 Last Christmas Day I turned the spit, 
 Burned my ringers, and of it yet. 
 310 
 
^Appendix 
 
 A spark flew over the stable, 
 
 The skimmer hit the ladle. 
 
 Ah ! says the gridiron, can't you two agree ? 
 
 I be the justice, bring 'em afore me. 
 
 And now we shows activity of youth, 
 
 Activity of age ; 
 Such action you never see upon 
 
 Another stage. 
 
 And if ye won't believe what I have had to say, 
 Walk in, King George, and clear the way. 
 
 Enter KING GEORGE. 
 
 King George. I be King George, a noble knight, 
 I lost some blood in English fight ; 
 I care not for Spaniard, French, nor Turk, 
 Where's the man as can do I [ = me] hurt ? 
 And if before me he dares stand, 
 I'll cut him down with this deadly hand. 
 I'll cut him and slash him as small as flies, 
 And send him to the cookshop to make mince pies 
 And so let all your voices sing 
 As I'm the royal British king. 
 
 Enter FRENCH OFFICER. 
 
 French Officer. I be a bold French officer 
 Beau Slasher is my name, 
 And by my sharp sword at my side, 
 I hope to win the game. 
 My body's lined with lead, 
 My head is made of steel ; 
 And I be come from Turkish land 
 To fight thee in the field. 
 
^Appendix 
 
 King George. Oh ! Slasher, Slasher, don't thou be 
 
 too hot, 
 
 For in this room thee'lt mind who thee has got ; 
 So to battle, to battle, let thee and I try 
 To see which on the ground first shall lie. 
 
 [ They fight, their swords dapping together 
 with great noise. After a little fighting 
 the French Officer hits King George in 
 the leg, which causes him to fall. 
 Molly. Doctor ! Doctor ! make no delay, 
 But make thee haste and come this way. 
 Doctor ! Doctor ! where be'st thee ? 
 King George is wounded in the knee 
 Ten pounds if that noble Doctor was here. 
 
 Enter DOCTOR. 
 
 Doctor. I be the noble Doctor Good, 
 And with my skill I'll stop his blood. 
 My fee's ten pounds, but only five 
 If I don't raise this man alive. 
 
 [Feels his pulse and shakes his leg. 
 This man be not quite dead ; see how his leg shakes, 
 And I've got pills as cures all ills, 
 The itch, the stitch, the palsy, and the gout, 
 Pain within and pain without, 
 And every old woman dead seven year, 
 If she's got one tooth left to crack one of these here. 
 [He holds up a box, shakes it to rattle the 
 pills, opens it, takes a large one and 
 stuffs it into the King's mouth. 
 Rise up, King George, and fight again, 
 And see which of you first is slain. 
 
 [King George jumps up and fights with the 
 French Officer still fiercer than before. King 
 George hits the Officer, who falls down flat. 
 312 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Molly. Doctor ! Doctor ! do thy part ; 
 This man is wounded to the heart. 
 Doctor, can you cure this man ? 
 
 Doctor. No, I see he's too far gone. 
 
 Molly. Then walk in, Jack Vinny. 
 
 Enter JACK VINNY. 
 
 Jack Vinny. My name is not Jack Vinny ; 
 My name is Mr. John Vinny 
 A man of fame, come from Spain, 
 Do more than any man again. 
 
 Doctor. Well, what can'st thee do, Jack ? 
 Jack Vinny. Cure a magpie with the toothache. 
 Doctor. How? 
 
 Jack Vinny. Cut his head off and throw his body 
 into the ditch. 
 
 Doctor. Well, cure this man. 
 
 Jack Vinny. If he'll take one drop out of my drug 
 
 bottle, 
 
 Which is one pennyworth of pigeon's milk 
 Mixed with the blood of a grasshopper, 
 And one drop of the blood of a dying donkey, 
 Well shaken afore taken, 
 I'll be bound he'll rise up and fight no more. 
 Give me my spectacles. 
 
 [A wooden pair of spectacles is handed to him. 
 Give me my pliers. 
 
 \A large-sized pair of pliers is handed to 
 him. He proceeds to draw out one of 
 the Officer's teeth, and exhibits a large 
 horse's tooth. 
 
 Here's a tooth enough to kill any man, 
 But I will cure this man. 
 
 313 
 
^Appendix 
 
 I come from Spain and thee from France ; 
 Give us thy hand, rise up and dance. 
 
 \French Officer rises. The two dance to- 
 gether. 
 Molly. Walk in, Happy Jack. 
 
 Enter HAPPY JACK. 
 
 Happy Jack. I be poor old Happy Jack, 
 With wife and family at my back ; 
 Out of nine I have but five, 
 And half of them be starved alive. 
 Roast-beef, plum-pudding, and mince-pie, 
 Who likes them here better than I? 
 The roads be dirty, my shoes be bad, 
 So please put something into my bag. 
 
 Molly. Come in, Father Beelzebub, 
 Who on thy shoulder carries a club, 
 Under thy arm a dripping-pan, 
 Ben't he now a jolly old man ? 
 
 Enter BEELZEBUB. 
 
 Beelzebub. Here comes I, ain't been yet, 
 With my great head and little wit j 
 My head's so big, and my wit's so small, 
 So I brings my fiddle to please ye all. 
 
 [ Commences to play on the fiddle, and all 
 dance a reel. Molly walks round and 
 collects money from spectators. 
 
 END OF PLAY. 
 
^Appendix 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Reading, at 
 Compton, and other places, a Turkish Knight 
 takes the place of the French Officer, and 
 announces himself in the following lines : 
 
 Here comes I, a Turkish Knight, 
 Come from Turkey-land to fight ; 
 I myself and seven more, 
 Fought a battle of eleven score 
 Eleven score of well-armed men \ 
 We never got conquered it by them. 
 
 King George replies : 
 
 Whoa, thou little fellow, as talks so bold ; 
 
 'Bout they other Turkish chaps I've been told. 
 
 Draw thy sword, most parfile knight, 
 
 Draw thy sword and on to fight, 
 
 For I'll have satisfaction before I goes to-night. 
 
 My head is made of iron, 
 
 My body's made of steel ; 
 
 And if ye won't believe me, 
 
 Just draw thy sword and feel. \Theyfight. 
 
 In the Steventon mummers' play King 
 George calls himself the " Africky King." 
 Beau Slasher, the French officer, fights with 
 him. At Bright-Walton, Molly is known as 
 Queen Mary, possibly a corruption of the 
 Blessed Virgin. The play in this village is 
 performed in most approved fashion, as the 
 Rector has taken the matter in hand, coached 
 the actors in their parts, and taught them 
 
 315 
 
^Appendix 
 
 some elocution. It is acted in the school- 
 room in a village entertainment, where it 
 affords great delight to the rustics, no less 
 than to the performers themselves. 
 
 The mumming play as performed at Islip, 
 Oxon, in December last, is thus reported by 
 an eye-witness and faithful recorder of old 
 customs : 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Molly, an old woman, in a sun-bonnet, carrying a broom. 
 
 King George, carries a broadsword. 
 
 Duke of Northumberland, carries a broadsword. 
 
 Doctor^ blue coat with brass buttons. 
 
 Beelzebub, black face, bludgeon in one hand, frying-pan in the 
 
 other. 
 Fat Jack, has large hump on his back, and carries thick stick. 
 
 Enter MOLLY, with broom in hand. 
 
 In comes I, old Molly, sweeping up. 
 
 Merry, merry Christmas and happy New Year, 
 
 Pocket full of money and cellar full of beer. 
 
 I had six children last night ; I bred them up in a 
 
 tinder-box. 
 I had a slice of bread and lard given me the night 
 
 before ; 
 I eat all that myself. Don't you think I am a jolly 
 
 old other mother to them all ? 
 (Shouts) Come in, next man. 
 
 Enter NORTHUMBERLAND, brandishing sword. 
 
 In come I, the Royal Duke of Northumberland, 
 With my broadsword in my hand. 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Where's the man that would dare to bid me 
 stand ? 
 
 I would cut him as small as flies, 
 
 And send him to the cookshop to make mince- 
 pies, 
 
 Mince-pies hot, mince-pies cold ; 
 
 I'd send him to the Old Man before he's nine days 
 
 old. 
 Molly. Come in, next man. 
 
 Enter KING GEORGE, brandishing sword. 
 
 Where is that man that dares to bid me stand ? 
 Although he swaggers and swears he'd cut me up as 
 
 small as flies, 
 
 And send me to the cookshop to make mince-pies, 
 Mince-pies hot, mince-pies cold, 
 And send me to the Old Man before I'm nine days 
 
 old. 
 
 Battle to battle betwixt you and I, 
 See which is on the ground first, you or I. 
 Guard your blows and guard your nose, 
 Or down on the ground you quickly goes. 
 
 [ They fight^ and Northumberland falls. 
 King. 1 Doctor ! Doctor ! I've killed a man. 
 Doctors voice from without. More like a monkey, 
 
 and stole his face. 
 
 King. Doctor ! Doctor ! do your part, 
 For King George is wounded to the heart, 
 
 1 There is an obvious blunder here. If "King George is 
 wounded to the heart," then he, and not Northumberland, 
 ought to fall, and the dialogue should be spoken by Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 3 1 ? 
 
^Appendix 
 
 From the heart to the knee ; 
 
 I'll give five shillings for a good old doctor like thee. 
 
 Doctor. I shan't come for five shillings, or nothing 
 like it. 
 
 King. Ten shillings, then. 
 
 Doctor. That's more like it. 
 
 King. Come in, Jack Spinney ! 
 
 Enter DOCTOR. 
 
 My name's not Jack Spinney, 
 My name's Mister Spinney 
 A man of great pain, 
 Do more than you or any man again. 
 King. What can you do so clever? 
 Doctor. Cure the magpie of toothache. 
 King. How should you do it ? 
 Doctor. Cut off his head and throw his body in the 
 ditch. 
 
 King. Come and serve this man the same. 
 Doctor. In comes I, old Doctor Good, 
 Whose hands are never stained with blood. 
 
 I'm not one of these quick-quack doctors. I come 
 to do the good of the country, both to ladies and 
 gentlemen. 
 
 I can cure the hip, the pip, 
 The palsy and the gout ; 
 And if the Old Man's in that man, 
 I can fetch him out. 
 I've travelled Old England, Scotland, Wales, and 
 
 Spain, 
 Take one of my soft pills and rise again. 
 
 [Gives pill) and Northumberland rises. 
 Come in, next man. 
 
 318 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Enter BEELZEBUB. 
 
 In comes I, old Beelzebub, 
 On my shoulders I carry my club ; 
 In my hand a frying-pan; 
 Don't you think I'm a jolly old man ? 
 Come in, next man. 
 
 Enter FAT JACK. 
 
 In comes I, old Fat Jack, 
 
 My wife and family at my back; 
 
 My wife's so big, my family small, 
 
 I've brought you a rattle to please you all. 
 
 \They all dance round the room. Molly 
 
 falls down and groans. 
 King. My wife Susannah looks very ill. 
 Doctor. What's her complaint ? 
 King. Toothache, I think. 
 Doctor. Fetch my horse, Jack. 
 Fat Jack. I shan't. Fetch it yourself. 
 Doctor. What ! Keep a dog and bark myself ! 
 Fetch him this minute. (Fat Jack brings up one of 
 the disengaged characters, and Doctor tries to get on 
 his back ; he plunges about.) Give us a leg up, Jack. 
 Woa ! woa ! (Doctor is thrown off.) Jack, you give 
 my horse too much corn. 
 
 Fat Jack. I only give him a bean and a half. 
 Doctor. That's a bean too much. 
 Fat Jack. Feed him yourself next time. 
 (Doctor examines Molly, and gets out a pair of 
 pincers.) Toothache, you think? 
 King. Yes. 
 Doctor. Just come and give a pull then. (Takes 
 
 319 
 
^Appendix 
 
 hold of nail which Molly has sticking out of her mouth.} 
 Pull! (Fails to draw it.) That's not got him. Pull ! 
 (Draws out nail.} That's got him. Why, here's a 
 tooth as long as a two-inch nail, and got roots like a 
 poplar tree. I'll put that in my pocket for a keepsake. 
 Bring me any old woman that's been dead 
 
 seven years, 
 
 Seven years laid in her grave, 
 She could rise up and eat bread and cheese 
 
 heartily, 
 
 Her life I am bound to save. 
 I've travelled Old England, Scotland, Wales, 
 
 and Spain, 
 Take one of my pills and rise again. 
 
 [ Molly takes pill and rises. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 At Bampton, in Oxfordshire, the follow- 
 ing play is performed at Christmas : 
 
 FATHER CHRISTMAS. 
 
 In comes I, old Father Christmas, 
 
 Welcome in, or welcome not ; 
 And I hope that I, old Father Christmas, 
 
 Will never be forgot. 
 
 There's a time for work, and a time for play, 
 A time to be merry, and a time to be gay ; 
 A time to be tipsy, a time to be free, 
 It's true enough this Christmas-time we all so jovial be. 
 King George, the Doctor, and the Turk will here 
 
 together meet, 
 
 The Doctor with his physic, and bright, sharp swords 
 set. 
 
 320 
 
^Appendix 
 
 For one will kill the other, and the Doctor will raise 
 him up. 
 
 How happy we shall be with our regious [?] Christ- 
 mas-cup. 
 
 Bold Robin Hood and Little John will pass the beer 
 pot round, 
 
 Two little jovial chaps never could be found. 
 
 Come in, King George. 
 
 Enter KING GEORGE. 
 
 In comes I, King George ; from over the sea I came ; 
 My name it is King George, and you shall hear the same. 
 First I fought in France, and then I fought in Spain, 
 Now I come to Old England to fight the rich Turk 
 
 o'er again. 
 
 I saw the rich Turk standing by, 
 He took an oath that I should die. 
 I cut him, I pierced him, and brought him to the 
 
 slaughter, 
 And by that means I married the King of Egypt's 
 
 daughter. 
 
 Enter TURKISH KNIGHT. 
 
 Turkish Knight. Here comes I, the Turkish 
 
 Knight ; 
 
 I've come from Turkish land to fight ; 
 And of King George, if he be here, 
 I'll make his heart both quake and fear. 
 King George, if you and I we can't agree, 
 Pull out your sword and fight with me. 
 
 King George. I, King George, will pull out my 
 
 sword and fight with thee ; 
 I'll pull out my purse and pay ; 
 We'll have good satisfaction before we go away. 
 321 x 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Turkish Knight. I will in with thee for life, or value 
 thee not ; thou must give up sooner or later on, or 
 else no more room for immortality. 
 
 So mind your eyes and guard your blows, 
 Or else I tap you on the nose. 
 
 [They fight, and Turkish Knight falls. 
 
 King George. Two hundred pounds would I put 
 
 down 
 
 If there's a doctor to be found. \_JVo answer. 
 
 Three hundred pounds would I put down 
 If there's a doctor to be found. [A knock is heard. 
 Who's there? 
 
 Doctor. The Doctor. 
 
 King George. Come in, Doctor. Where dost thou 
 come from, good Doctor ? 
 
 Doctor. Italy, Sitaly [Sicily], Germany, France, and 
 
 Spain ; 
 There is my home, there I return again. 
 
 King George. What sort of disease do thy pills 
 cure, good Doctor ? 
 
 Doctor. All sorts of disease. 
 The itch, the stitch, the palsy, and the gout, 
 Pains within and pains without. 
 I'll also cure the magpie of toothache. 
 
 King George. How do you do that, Doctor ? 
 
 Doctor. Why, cut his head off and throw his body 
 in the ditch. Or bring to me an old woman seventy 
 years dead, seventy-seven years laid in her grave ; if 
 she can raise up her head and crack one of my 
 wimple-pimple pills, I lay a fifty-pound bond from all 
 human ills her life to save. If there's another quack 
 doctor in the land, and can do any more than I can, 
 just let him come and raise this dead man. 
 
 Come in, Jack Finney. 
 
 322 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Jack Finney. Here comes I, as ain't been hit, 
 With my big head and little wit ; 
 My head's too big, my wit too small, 
 I will endeavour to please you all. 
 Ladies and gentlemen, my name is not Jack Finney. 
 Doctor. Then what is thy name ? 
 Jack Finney. Mr. Finney, a man of great fame ; 
 I does more work than thee or any other man. 
 Doctor. Then what can'st thou do ? 
 Jack Finney. I'll cure this man if he's not quite 
 
 dead. 
 
 So being the case as it was before, 
 My bold fellow, rise up thy head and fight once more. 
 Come in, Tom the Tinker. 
 Tom. Here comes I, old Tom the Tinker ; 
 I am no small-beer drinker. 
 I told the landlord to his face 
 The chimney-corner was his place, 
 And there he sat and dried his face, 
 Old Tom Giles and I. 
 My face is black, my beard is long, 
 My hat's tied on with a bratten thong. 
 Ladies and gentlemen, give me a copper or two to 
 get a shave and go to church on Sunday. 
 
 As I was going down a narrow, wide, straight, 
 crooked lane, I met a white pig with a long horse's 
 mane. I went a bit farther and came to a pig-sty, 
 tied up to an elder bush, built with apple-dumplings, 
 and slated with pancakes. I thought 'twas all good 
 for trade. 
 
 I knocked at the maid, 
 
 And out fled the door ; 
 
 The pig began to shake, 
 
 And the house began to grunt and roar. 
 
 323 
 
^Appendix 
 
 She asked me if I could eat a half-pint of good ale 
 and drink a crust of cheese. I said " No, thank 
 you," but " Yes, if you please." I went a bit farther, 
 and comes to two old women a snip-snopping. One 
 cut a barley-corn through a ten-foot wall, and then 
 cut the bottom out of a cast iron pot. The other 
 killed a poor dead dog. I took pity on this poor 
 dead dog. I turned him inside outwards, strap band 
 outwards ; took him on top of Buckland Hill, barking 
 backwards, throwed him in a dry ditch and drowned 
 him. 
 
 Thus ends the first part of this strange 
 performance. 
 
 The second part commences with the 
 entrance of Father Christmas. 
 
 FATHER CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Room ! a room ! a rhyme please to give me, and 
 my brave gallant comrades room to rhyme, to rhyme 
 this merry Christmas-time. Apt to the aged, apt to 
 the life, like was never seen or done upon a common 
 stage. Stage or no stage stage of King George 
 come in, thou Royal. 
 
 Enter KING OF PRUSSIA. 
 
 King. Here comes I, the Royal of Prussia King, 
 bound to defend all Christians from all harm. I care 
 for no man, neither Austrian, Spanish, French, Dutch, 
 nor Turks. I'm sure no man will do me harm. Let 
 all their voices raise the ring, I am the Royal of 
 Prussia King. 
 
 Come in, thou soldier bold. 
 324 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Enter SOLDIER. 
 Soldier. In comes I, the soldier bold, Bold 
 
 Slaughterer is my name, 
 With sword and sash hung by my side, I hope to win 
 
 the game. 
 
 Where is the man that bids me stand, 
 Who swore he'd kill me sword in hand ? 
 I'd cut him, and pierce him as small as flies, 
 And send him to Jamaica to make mince-pies, 
 Mince-pies hot, mince-pies cold, 
 I'd send the cook to fetch him before he's nine days old 
 
 Enter KING GEORGE. 
 I count myself as good as thee. 
 
 King George. So does I as good as thee. 
 So battle, to battle, let thee and I try 
 To see which on the ground dead first shall lie. 
 So mind your eyes and guard your blows, 
 Or else I'll tap you on the nose. 
 
 [They fight, and the Soldier Bold of 
 Prussia falls. 
 
 King George. Is there a doctor in the land 
 That'll cure this man that's on the ground ? 
 
 Doctor. Yes, there's a doctor in the land, 
 Capable of head and hand ; 
 And if this man has got a cough, 
 I'll cure him without cutting his head off. 
 And if this man has lost his head, 
 I'll put a donkey's on instead. : 
 And if this man will pay me well, 
 No secret will I ever tell ; 
 And if he won't, I'll leave him as a sinner, 
 And he shall eat a bunch of thistles for his Christmas- 
 dinner. 
 
 325 
 
^Appendix 
 
 Such being the case, as it were before, 
 Raise up thy head and fight no more. 
 Come in, Bold Robin Hood. 
 
 Robin Hood. Here comes I, bold Robin Hood, 
 with bended bow of yew-tree wood, my arrows 
 sharp, and for my quiver 
 I'll choose an elderly man's good fat liver. 
 Down under the greenwood tree, 
 Merrily I come to thee, 
 To hunt the deer with horn and hound, 
 And bring our joys this way. 
 And when we get the nut-brown ale, 
 We'll start the hunting day. 
 Come in, brave Little John. 
 Little John. Here comes I, brave Little John, 
 With my quarter-staff I'll play the Don ; 
 I'm not the man to cheat your cousin, 
 But knock men's brains out by the dozen. 
 Last Christmas-eve I turned the spit, 
 Burnt my ringers, and finds on't yet. 
 The skimmer run after the ladle, 
 The sparks fled over the table. 
 Ho ! ho ! said the gridiron, can't you two agree ? 
 Then, Oh, ho ! said he, I'm the Justice, come, bring 
 
 him to me. 
 
 Come all ye jolly comrades, come listen unto me, 
 It's my belief, and join with us this merry Christmas- 
 eve; 
 
 For what I've said and done will please the corum, 
 And I'll drink all your honours in a jorum. 
 
 So ends this curious piece of mummery. 
 326 
 
^Appendix 
 
 MELODIES OF THE MORRIS DANCERS 
 AT BAMPTON, OXON, 
 
 AS SUNG AT THE WHITSUNTIDE CLUB FEASTS. 
 
 GREEN GARTERS. 
 
 First for the stockings, and then for the shoes, And 
 
 jr "ff h 
 
 SEE* 
 
 %i 
 
 then for the bon - ny green gar - - ters ; A 
 pair for me, and a pair for you, And a 
 
 pair for them that come ar - - ter. 
 
 CONSTANT BILLY. 
 
 Oh, my Bil - ly, my con - stant Bil - ly, 
 
 When shall I see my Bil- ly a- gain? 
 327 
 
^Appendix 
 
 
 When the fish - es fly o - ver the mountains, Oh, 
 then you will see your Bil - ly a - gain. 
 
 THE WILLOW TREE. 
 Once they said my lips were red, 
 
 Now they're scar - let pale, When 
 
 
 
 
 like a sil - ly girl be - 
 
 liev'd his flatt' - ring tale, For he 
 
 vow'd he'd ne - ver de - ceive me, And so 
 
 
 fond - ly I be - liev'd he While the 
 
 328 
 
^Appendix 
 
 stars and the moon so sweet - ly shone, 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 i 1 1 
 
 5T J 
 
 J 
 
 ~r 
 
 i 
 
 K : 
 
 
 fn\ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 J II 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 9 \\ 
 
 O - ver the wil - low tree. 
 
 BOB AND JOAN. 
 
 
 I won't be my fa - ther's Jack, And 
 
 ^====*=*=4 
 
 I won't be my mo - ther's Jill, But 
 
 j 
 
 
 I will be some fid - dler's wife, Then 
 
 -g , Nr-nr1 
 
 
 n 
 
 we can muse it at our will ; 
 
 T'o-ther lit - tie tune, t'o-ther lit - tie tune, 
 
 Bob at night, and Bob at noon. 
 
 329 
 
^Appendix 
 
 'BACCA-PIPE JIG, OR GREENSLEEVES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 THE MAID OF THE MILL. 
 
 fcfe 
 
 There are fif - ty fair maid - ens that 
 
 
 sport on the green, I gaz'd on them well as you 
 
 
 see; . 
 
 But the Maid of the Mill, the 
 
 
 Maid of the Mill, The Maid of the Mill for 
 
 330 
 
^Appendix 
 
 me. She is straight and tall as a 
 
 pop - lar tree, Her cheeks are red as a 
 
 
 
 
 rose ; . . . . She is one of the fairest young 
 
 girls I see, h dress'd in her Sun - day clothes. 
 
 THE BOAR'S HEAD SONG 
 
 (As sung at Queen's College, Oxford], 
 
 BASS SOLO. 
 
 m 
 
 The Boar's head in hand bear I, be-deck'd with 
 
 
 bays and rose - ma - ry, And I pray you, mas - ters, be mer- 
 
 
 
 ry, Qui es - tis - in con - vi - vi - o. 
 
 33 1 
 
^Appendix 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 L _cn Lc-^L^jL^jJL^ii.yrsSiar 
 
 Ca-put a - pri de - fe - ro, Red-dens lau-des Do - mi - no. 
 
 Ca-put a - pri de - fe - ro, Red-dens lau-des Do - mi - no. 
 
 Ca-put a - pri de - fe - ro, Red-dens lau-des Do - mi - no. 
 
 
 Ca-put a - pri de - fe - ro, Red-dens lau-des Do - mi - no. 
 
 BASS SOLO. 
 
 
 The Boar's head, as I un - der - stand, Is the brav - est 
 
 r p .^^-^ f ? . & (O 
 
 g^TF P]I I] iPr 1 ]^^ 
 
 dish in all the land, When thus be-deck'd with a gay gar- 
 
 
 land, Let us ser - vi - re can - ti - - co. 
 
 [CHORUS. 
 
 332 
 
Appendix 
 
 BASS SOLO. 
 
 Our stew - ard hath pro - vi - ded this, In ho - nour 
 
 vi [1 1 . I I- I F I 
 
 of the King of Bliss, Which on this day to be ser - ved 
 
 a. 
 
 m 
 
 is In Re - gi - nen - si A - tri - o. 
 
 [CHORUS. 
 
 333 
 
INDEX 
 
 ABBOT BROMLEY, 139 
 Abbots Ann, 173 
 Aberford, 16, 29 
 Accrington, 203 
 Agganowing, 44 
 Aldeby, 234 
 Aldermaston, 242 
 Aldershot, 247 
 Allan Day, 171 
 Allerton, 131 
 All Fools' Day, 93 
 All Hallow Eve, 166 
 All Souls' Day, 28, 167 
 All Saints' Day, 166 
 Alnwick, 65, 236 
 Ambleside, 132 
 Angelus, 238 
 Anglesey, 79 
 
 Animals on Christmas night, 
 Anthem singing, 282 
 Appleby, 251 
 Apple trees, 46, 47 
 Apples, 171 
 Army customs, 286 
 Arval bread, 203 
 Ascension Day, 115, 117 
 Ashover Church, 174 
 Ashton-under-Lyne, 87, 130 
 Auction customs, 242 
 
 BAAL fires, 142 
 Bacon, 175 
 Baldon, 61 
 
 Bamborough Castle, 279 
 Bampton, 99, 124 
 Banbury, 166 
 Banffshire, 45 
 
 Barford customs, 121 
 
 Barring out, 24 
 
 Barrowden, 133 
 
 Bartlehill, 255 
 
 Basingstoke, 39 
 
 Bath, 73 
 
 Beccles, 234 
 
 Beckets, 301 
 
 Beckley, 160 
 
 Bedfordshire, 71, 233 
 
 Beehives, putting crape on, 204 
 
 Bells, 232 ; at executions, 280 ; 
 at New Year, 21, 22 ; pan- 
 cake bell, 60 ; passing bell, 
 20, 201 
 
 Beltane fires, 144 
 
 Bequests, curious, 277 
 
 Berkshire, 9, 55, 60, 155, 161, 
 179, 250 
 
 Berkshire Regiment, 288, 291 
 
 Bermondsey, 164 
 
 Berwick, 211 
 
 Bibles, raffling for, 252 
 
 Biddenden, 81, 158 
 
 Biewell, Barony of, 302 
 
 Birmingham, 248 
 
 Births, royal, 266 
 
 Biscuits, funeral, 202 
 
 Bishops Lydeard, 197 
 
 Bisley, 188 
 
 Black cap, 215 
 
 Black-Lad, riding the, 87 
 
 Blackpool, 130 
 
 Black Watch Highlanders, 298 
 
 Blenheim Palace, 300 
 
 Bletherhead bands, 14 
 
 Blue Coat School custom, 76 
 
 335 
 
Index 
 
 Boar's Head feast, 22-24 
 
 Bodmin, 236 
 
 Bolton, 105 
 
 Borough English, 212 
 
 Boston, 210 
 
 Bottle-kicking, 85 
 
 Boundary-riding, 227 
 
 Bounds, beating the, 115 
 
 Boxing Day, 35 
 
 Bradford, 13, 131 
 
 Braunceston, 138 
 
 Breast laws, 208 
 
 Bridestowe, 63 
 
 Bridgled, 183 
 
 Bridgwater, 205 
 
 Brighouse, 131 
 
 Brighton, 74, 170 
 
 Brightwalton, 103 
 
 Brindle custom, 128 
 
 Bristol, 210 
 
 Brittany, 143 
 
 Brixham, 252 
 
 Bromyard, 238 
 
 Buckinghamshire, 71, 198, 251 
 
 Buffs, the, 293 
 
 Bull-baiting, 279 
 
 Burchester, 304 
 
 Burgh ead, 30 
 
 Burial customs, 201 
 
 Bury, 69 
 
 Bury St. Edmunds, 236 
 
 Butchers serenading, 172 
 
 Buxton, 1 88 
 
 CAKES, 33, 34, 68, 166 ; Simnel, 
 
 69 
 
 Calening, 46 
 Cam borne, 172 
 Cambridge, 98, 236 
 Cambridgeshire, 17, 48, 73 
 Candle sale, 242 
 Care Sunday, 70 
 Carfax, 236 
 Carlton, East, 303 
 Carnarvonshire, 79, 236 
 Carnbrea Hill, 143 
 Cam Galver, 143 
 Cam Martle, 143 
 
 336 
 
 Carols, 1 6 
 
 Castle an Dinas, 143 
 
 Castor whip tenure, 306 
 
 Catterning, 169 
 
 Chaff scattering, 195 
 
 Chaldecote, 108 
 
 Channel Islands, 207 
 
 Charleston, 237 
 
 Charlton on Otmoor, 100 
 
 Charm, old, 250 
 
 Cheltenham, 98 
 
 Chertsey, 238 
 
 Cheshire, 26, 80, 120, 168, 237 
 
 Cheshire Regiment, 296 
 
 Chester, County Palatine of, 
 
 304 
 
 Chester-le-Street, 6$ 
 Chewidder, 30 
 Chichester, 303 
 Chiltern Hundreds, 270 
 Chimney-sweeps' customs, 99 
 Chingford, 306 
 Chorley, 129 
 Christmas, 8, 25, 277 ; boxes, 
 
 35 ; cards, 36 ; gift books, 35 ; 
 
 tree, 19 ; watching animals, 
 
 5 2 
 
 Christ's Hospital, London, 88 
 Church Calendar, 7 
 Churchdown, 234 
 Churches, clipping of, 66 
 Church Minshull, 60 
 City Companies' Halls, 223 
 Civic customs, 220 
 Claire, 30 
 
 Clameur de Haro, 206 
 Clavering, 277 
 Clayton, 131 
 Clemmening, 169 
 Clifton custom, loo 
 Clipping of churches, 66 
 Club feasts, 123 
 Clyack, 151 
 
 Coldstream Guards, 293 
 Colchester, 226 
 Coleshill, 86 
 Colne, setting the, 227 
 Common riding, 118 
 
Index 
 
 Coningston, Barony of, 304 
 
 Conservancy, Court of, 226 
 
 Coquille, 64 
 
 Corby, 243 
 
 Cornwall, 14, 17, 1 8, 20, 29, 33, 
 
 52, 53, 67, 105, 140, 142, 
 
 152, 183, 197, 200 
 Cornwall Light Infantry, 297 
 Coronation customs, 261 
 Coronation stone, 264 
 Corpse roads, 204 
 Country dances, 127 
 Court customs, 50, 72, 256 
 Court-leets, 211 
 Court of Exchequer, 212 
 Courts of justice, ceremonial at, 
 
 218 
 
 Court of pied-poudre, 209 
 Courtship customs, 198 
 Coventry, 245 
 Coychurch, 183 
 Cradle-land tenure, 213 
 Cradle presented to Mayor, 
 
 226 
 
 Cranfield, 233 
 Crewkerne, 240 
 Crowan, 197 
 
 Culworth, 60, 233, 234, 239 
 Cumberland, 25, 248 
 Curfew bell, 234 
 Curious doles, 277 
 Customs, old, decay of, I ; causes 
 
 of decay, I ; survival of, 3 ; 
 
 origin of, 5-7 
 
 DALSTON, 25 
 
 Dalton-in-Furness, 249 
 
 Dancing on Good Friday, 74 
 
 Daventry, 233 
 
 Death ride, 129 
 
 Delaval Avenue (Northumber- 
 land), 253 
 
 Denhohne, 131 
 
 Denton, 108 
 
 Derby, 183 
 
 Derbyshire, 18, 174, 186, 203, 
 247 
 
 Desford, 148 
 
 Devil's passing bell, 232 
 
 Devonshire, II, 47, 152 
 
 Dewsbury, 20, 232 
 
 Dockyard customs, 170 
 
 Donnington, 109 
 
 Doos, Yule, 33 
 
 Dorking, 66, 179 
 
 Dorsetshire, 156, 179 
 
 Drakelow, 303 
 
 Driffield, 155, 234 
 
 Dronfield, 277 
 
 Dumping, 155 
 
 Dunchurch, 214 
 
 Duncton, 46 9 
 
 Dunford, 17, 56, 107, 154 
 
 Dungannon, 211 
 
 Dunmow, 177 
 
 Dunmow flitch, 175 
 
 Duns, 66 
 
 Dunstable, 71 
 
 Durham, 236 
 
 Durham, Bishop of, 304 
 
 Durham Cathedral custom, 121 
 
 Durham, County Palatine of, 
 
 304 
 Dyers' Company, 225 
 
 EASTCHEAP, 278 
 
 Easter customs, 78 
 
 Eccles, 166 
 
 Eccleshall, 14 
 
 Eddinbury, 197 
 
 Eddlesborough, 71, 102, 120 
 
 Edinburgh, 38 
 
 Edmonton, 213 
 
 Eggs^ 78 ; clapping for, 79 ; 
 
 rolling, 80 
 Ely, 211 
 
 Ely, County Palatine of, 304 
 Enderby, 146 
 Endon, 186 
 Enfield, 164 
 Enthroning, 263 
 Epiphany custom, 256 
 Ep worth, 241 
 Essex, 30 
 
 Eton School, 87, 89 
 Ever ton, 166 
 
 337 
 
Index 
 
 Exeter, 236 
 
 Gingerbread fairs, 248 
 
 Eyam, 200 
 
 Gipsy custom, 254 
 
 
 Glamorganshire, 183 
 
 FAIRS, 244 
 
 Glaston, 54 
 
 Farnham, 247 
 
 Gleaning bell, 234 
 
 Farnham Royal, 277, 300 
 Feasten Sunday, 140 
 
 Glentham, 280 
 Gloucestershire, 68, 106 
 
 Felton, 255 
 
 Gloves in churches, 174 
 
 Felsted, 277 
 
 Gloves, kid, 277 
 
 Feist ed, Barony of, 302 
 
 Godiva, Lady, 245 
 
 Festivals, 7 
 
 Godolphin Hill, 143 
 
 Feudalism, relic of, 249 
 
 Good Friday, 72 
 
 Figs, 278 
 
 Goodening, 26 
 
 Fig Sunday, 71 
 
 Gooding, 26, 171 
 
 First-footing, 37, 288 
 
 Gosforth, 5 
 
 Fishermen's customs, 30 
 
 Goulgrave, 183 
 
 Flamborough, 174 
 
 Grasmere, 133 
 
 Flitch of bacon, 305 
 
 Gray's Inn, 216 
 
 Flower sermon, 140 
 
 Great Gransden, 27, 48, 107, 
 
 Folkstone, 164 
 
 131 
 
 Football, 64, 66 
 
 Great St. Mary's, Cambridge, 
 
 Footing, pay one's, 252 
 
 240 
 
 Forebridge, 277 
 
 Great Wakering, 234 
 
 Foy, 283 
 
 Greenham, 204 
 
 Freemasons, 23 
 
 Green's Norton, 304 
 
 Fritter-bell, 233 
 
 Guild, 245 
 
 Frumenty, 221 
 
 Guild, Preston, 228 
 
 Fulham, 213 ; Palace, 241 
 
 Guildford, 74, 209, 211, 281 
 
 Funeral customs, 201 
 
 Guisers, 14 
 
 Funerals, royal, 266 
 
 Gunpowder Plot, 160 
 
 Furmety, 17, 29, 51, 69 
 
 Guns, firing, under apple trees, 
 
 Furnival, Baron, 300 
 
 47 
 
 Furry dance, ill 
 
 Gunton, 200 
 
 Fusiliers, 7th, 297 
 
 Guy Fawkes' Day, 160 
 
 Fusswaschung, 258 
 
 
 
 HACKNEY, 213 
 
 GANG Week, 115 
 
 Hallaton, 83 
 
 Garlands, 101 
 Garlands in churches, 174 
 
 Hallering largess, 154 
 Hallowe'en, 166 
 
 Gaudies, 224 
 
 Halse, 197 
 
 Gaunt, John of, 145 
 
 Hampshire, 27, 52, 202 
 
 Gavelkind, 213 
 
 Hampstead, 163 
 
 Gawthorpe, 109 
 
 Handball, 66 
 
 Geddingham, 240 
 
 Harcake, 166 
 
 Geese-dancers, 14 
 
 Hare-hunting, 86 
 
 Geese, giving of, 158 
 
 Hare-scrambling, 83 
 
 Giggleswick, 278 
 
 Harlequinade, 35 
 
 Gillingham, 234 
 
 Harlington, 278 
 
 338 
 
Index 
 
 Haro, Clameur de, 207 
 
 Harvest customs, 149 
 
 Harvington, 29 
 
 Hats, burning, 200 
 
 Hats in Parliament, 270 
 
 Hawick custom, 103 
 
 Ha worth, 138 
 
 Haxey Hood, 50 
 
 Headington, 161 
 
 Heaving, 90 
 
 Helston, 58, ill 
 
 Hemswell, 109 
 
 Hen, threshing the, 63 
 
 Heriots, 215 
 
 Hertfordshire, 73, 155, 234 
 
 Hessle, 233 
 
 Heston, 213 
 
 Hey wood, 130 
 
 High Roding, 55 
 
 High Town, Scilly, 105 
 
 Hiring fairs, 247 
 
 Hobby ship, 103 
 
 Hockney Day, 91 
 
 Hock-tide, 90 
 
 Hogmanay, 44 
 
 Holderness, 197 
 
 Holy Rood Day, 247 
 
 Hoodening, 27 ; horse, 27 ; bull, 
 
 28 
 
 Hooset, 178 
 Horn-blowing, 155 
 Horn-dance, 139 
 Hornsea, 25 
 Horspeth Church, 24 
 Hot cross buns, 72 
 Hoton, Manor of, 301 
 Houghton-le-Spring, 174 
 Houseling cloth, 283 
 Hull, 210 
 
 Hungerford, 90, 144 
 Huntingdon, 227 
 Huntingdonshire, 48 
 Hurling-matches, 57 
 Hussars, 7th, 291 ; 8th, 292 ; 
 
 loth, 287; I4th, 292; 1 5th, 
 
 293 
 
 INN-HOLDERS' Company, 225 
 
 Inniskilling Fusiliers, 297 
 Inkerman Day, 290 
 Ireland, 30, 129, 144, 183 
 Islington, 213 
 Islip, 54 
 
 JACK in the Green, 97, 99 
 Jacobite custom, 308 
 Judas Iscariot, flogging, 76 
 
 KEMPTON, 71 
 
 Kennet Valley custom, 128 
 
 Kent, 27, 83, 194, 213, 252 
 
 Kern baby, 150, 159 
 
 Kern supper, 150 
 
 Keys of Tower of London, 287 
 
 Kidderminster, 238 
 
 Kingsrigg, 255 
 
 Kingscote, 28 
 
 Kingston Russell, 301 
 
 Kirkby Stephen, 236 
 
 Kirkham, 240 
 
 Kirk Leatham, 234 
 
 Kirton-on-Lindsay, 22, 232, 233 
 
 Kissing, 197 
 
 Kissing bunch, 18 
 
 Knack, 152 
 
 Knightlow, 214 
 
 Knill's bequest, 284 
 
 Knutsford, 194 
 
 LA BARR, 303 
 
 Lambeth, 213 
 
 Lammas Day, 149 
 
 Lancashire, 37, 69, 80, 105, 130, 
 
 165, 167, 199, 205 
 Lancashire Regiment, 294 
 Lancers, I2th, custom, 287 
 Langwathby Rounds, 180 
 Leeds, 15 
 
 Legal customs, 206 
 Leicester, 86, 146 
 Leicester, St. Mary's Parish, 
 
 116 
 Leicestershire, 51, 54, 69, 106, 
 
 138 
 
 Leigh, 22 
 Leighford, 140 
 
 339 
 
Index 
 
 Leinster Regiment, 294 
 
 Lent, 277 
 
 Lenten customs, 59 
 
 Lichfield custom, 117 
 
 Lincolnshire, 29, 49, 247 
 
 Lion sermon, 282 
 
 London, 50, 75, 119, 220, 262, 
 266, 279 ; St. Clement Dane's 
 Church, 168; St. James's 
 Church, Aldgate, 140; St. 
 Leonard's Church, Shore- 
 ditch, 140 
 
 Long Rope Day, 74 
 
 Lord Mayor's show, 220 
 
 Love feasts, 279 
 
 MADRON Well, 183 
 Magdalen College custom, 96 
 Maiden, the, 151 
 Maid-servants, bequest for, 281 
 Maidstone, 233 
 Man, Isle of, 30, 44, 154, 207, 
 
 300 
 
 Manchester, 20 
 Maplescaump, 304 
 Marbles on Good Friday, 74 
 Market Bosworth, 171 
 Market Drayton, 203, 244 
 Market Overton, 54 
 Marlborough, 116 
 Marlborough, Duke of, 300 
 Marriage customs, 190 
 Marrow bones, 172 
 Martinsell, 70 
 Marylebone, 164 
 Maundy gifts, 72 
 Maundy Thursday, 257 
 May Day customs, 95, 144 
 May Day, revival of, no 
 Mayo, 20 1 
 
 Mayoress' chain, 230 
 Maypole, 188 
 
 Maypoles still standing, 108 
 Meadow-mowing, 148 
 Mell sheaf, 150 
 Mell supper, 150 
 Mercers' Company pageant, 221 
 Mere Down, 213 
 
 Michaelmas, 158 
 
 Midsummer Eve, 141 
 
 Midsummer Day, 207 
 
 Mince-pies, 19 
 
 Minehead, 103, 194 
 
 Minster (Kent), 238 
 
 Mischief Night, 104 
 
 Mistletoe, 17, 1 8 
 
 Mock mayors, 246 
 
 Modbury, 210 
 
 Modern customs, 307 
 
 Molly Grime, washing of, 280 
 
 Montem, 89 
 
 Mop fairs, 247 
 
 Morecambe, 130 
 
 Morley, 60 
 
 Morning dew, 103 
 
 Morpeth, 236 
 
 Morris dancers, 129, 130 ; melo- 
 dies of, 327-333 
 
 Mothering Sunday, 67 
 
 Mouldshaugh, 255 
 
 Mumming, 9 ; play, plot of, 10, 
 310 
 
 Mumping, 25 
 
 Municipal customs, 226 
 
 NAVENBY, 233 
 
 Needle and thread at Queen's 
 
 College, Oxford, 41 
 Neville's Cross, 122 
 Newbury, 246 
 
 Newcastle, 183, 209, 210, 236 
 Newington by Sittingbourne, 26 
 Newport (Isle of Wight), 236 
 Newport (Monmouthshire), 236 
 Newport (Shropshire), 14 
 New Year, 38; at Edinburgh 
 
 Tron Church, 38 ; cards, 39 ; 
 
 gifts, 40 ; midnight services, 
 
 41 ; at Skipsea, 42 
 Nickanan night, 67 
 Northallerton, 181 
 Northampton, 108, 121 
 Northern Grammar School, 88 
 Northrepps, 57 
 Northumberland, 70, 80, 150, 
 
 159 
 
 340 
 
Index 
 
 Northumberland Fusiliers, 294 
 Northwich, 28 
 Norton, 22 
 Norwich, 64, 302 
 Nottinghamshire, 43, 70, 120 
 
 OAK and Nettle Day, 120 
 
 Oak Apple Day, 120, 233 
 
 Oldham, 43, 104, 130, 131, 165 
 
 Onion fair, 247 
 
 Orange blossoms, 190 
 
 Orchard customs, 46 
 
 Orwell, 108 
 
 Oundle, 26 
 
 Oxford, 96, 116, 117, 165, 224, 
 263 ; Christ Church, 240 ; 
 Jesus College, 77 ; Magdalen 
 College, 95 ; Queen's College, 
 22, 42 ; St. Mary's Parish, 117 
 
 Oxfordshire, 237 
 
 "Oyes," 249 
 
 Oyster feast, 226 
 
 PACE eggs, 78 
 
 Pack Monday fair, 245 
 
 Padiham, 203 
 
 Padstow, 1 06, 172 
 
 Pagan customs, 4 
 
 Palm Sunday, 70, 282 
 
 Pancake bell, 60, 233 
 
 Pancakes, 60-62, 283 
 
 Pantomime, 34 
 
 Parliament, opening of, 269 
 
 Parliamentary customs, 267 
 
 Passing bell, 20, 201, 239 
 
 Passion Sunday, 69 
 
 Paul Pitcher Day, 53 
 
 Peers, introduction of, 274 
 
 Pembrokeshire, 203 
 
 Penrith, 236 
 
 Penzance, 105, 171, 183 
 
 Pershore, 238 
 
 Picrous day, 29 
 
 Piddle Hinton, 277 
 
 Pies, in Cornwall, 17 ; mince, 
 
 19; fig, 68; pudding, 83; 
 
 hare, 83 
 Pie-powder, court of, 209 
 
 Pillory, 251 
 
 Pinwells, 183 
 
 Plays, mumming, 10, 310; 
 
 Plough Monday, 48 ; Easter, 
 
 81 
 
 Ploughing custom, 255 
 Plough Monday, 47 
 Plum-pudding, 19 
 Plums, 277 
 Pole, Manor of, 303 
 Polebrooke, 26, 109 
 Polperro custom, 106 
 Pontypridd, 142 
 Pop ladies, 46 
 Preston, 129, 228 
 Preston Brockhurst, 109 
 Preston Park, 80 
 Primrose Day, 307 
 Privileges, curious, 299 
 Pudding, plum, 19 
 Pudding-bell, 234 
 Pudding-pies, 83 
 Purley, 60 
 
 QUAALTAGH, 44 
 
 Queensbury, 131 
 
 RABBIT custom, 158 
 Radnorshire, 68 
 Raffling for Bibles, 253 
 Rag well, 183 
 
 Railway-smiths' custom, 170 
 Rat by, 144 
 Reading, 281, 302 
 Redmire, 109 
 Redruth, 143 
 
 Resurrection, feast of the, 78 
 Rice-throwing, 191 
 Richmond, 166 
 Ring, wedding, 193 
 Ripon, 236 
 Rochdale, 130 
 Rockland, 245 
 Rogation tide, 115 
 Rossendale, 68 
 Roundway Hill, 71 
 Royal assent to Bills, 271 
 Royal births, 266 
 
 341 
 
Inde, 
 
 Royal Oak Day, 120, 186 
 Royal Scots Greys, 291 
 Royal Scots Regiment, 288 
 Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 289 
 Rush-bearing, 131, 138 
 Rye, 164 
 
 SADDLEWORTH, 138 
 
 St. Agnes Bickaw, 143 
 
 St. Albans, 46 
 
 St. Alkmund's, 188 
 
 St. Anne's Day, 246 
 
 St. Bartholomew, 131 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Church cus- 
 tom, 75 
 
 St. Clement's Day, 168 
 
 St. Colomb, 58 
 
 St. Constantine, 76 
 
 St. Crispin's Day, 159 
 
 St. Cross, Hospital of, 285 
 
 St. David's Day, 76, 289 
 
 St. George, pageant of, 9 
 
 St. George's Day, 294 
 
 St. Gregory's Day, 278 
 
 St. Ives, 57, 171, 252, 284 
 
 St. James's Palace, 50 
 
 St. Just, 200 
 
 St. Katherine Cree Church, 
 282 
 
 St. Mark's feast, 89 
 
 St. Mary's, Leicester, 116 
 
 St. Mary Cray, no 
 
 St. Mary Woolnoth Church, 89 
 
 St. Oswald's Day, 133 
 
 St. Paul's, Bedford, 233 
 
 St. Paul's Day, 53 
 
 St. Peter's Day, 133, 138 
 
 St. Roche's Well, 183 
 
 St. Roch's Day, 149 
 
 St. Sepulchre's Church, 280 
 
 St. Stephen's Day, 31-33 
 
 St. Thomas Day, 25 
 
 St. Valentine's Day, 53-57 
 
 Saltash custom, 104 
 
 Salt cellar, 225 
 
 Sandhurst, 234 
 
 Sandin fee court, 92 
 
 Sandwich, 235 
 
 Santer, 29 
 
 Scarborough, 159 
 
 School customs, 87 
 
 Scotland, 151, 152, 155, 237, 239 
 
 Scots Greys, 291 
 
 Scrambling for bread and cheese, 
 
 278 
 
 Seamen's charity, 279 
 Searching the House, 268 
 Sedgefield, 64 
 Seighford, 140 
 Selkirk custom, 118 
 Sellack and King's Capel, 282 
 Selsby, 68 
 
 Serjeanty, Grand, 299 
 Sermons, 282 
 Sharleton, 204 
 Shellfish, gathering, 76 
 Sherborne, 245 
 Sherburn, 29 
 Shitsack Day, 1 20 
 Shoes, throwing, 193 
 Sholey, 303 
 Shooting the bride, 20 1 
 Shrewsbury, 34, 166 
 Shrivenham, 301 
 Shropshire, 67, 90, 167, 168, 
 
 201, 218 
 
 Shrove Tuesday, 59 
 Shroving, 60 
 Silbury Hill, 71 
 Simnel Sunday, 69 
 Sin-eater, 202 
 Skimmenton riding, 178 
 Skinners' Company, 224 
 Skipping on Good Friday, 74 
 Skipsea, 42 
 Skip-skop night, 172 
 Slaves, redemption of, 280 
 Somerset, 197, 239 
 Soul bell, 201, 239 
 Souling, 167 
 South Pool, 280 
 Southwark, 244 
 Speaker, installation of, 272 
 Spelsbury custom, 101 
 Spur peal, 196, 232 
 Spy Wednesday, 72 
 
 342 
 
Index 
 
 Staffordshire, 14, 26, 139, 168, 
 Stang, riding the, 180 
 Stockton, 278 
 Stoke Courcy, 194 
 Stoke Gabriel, 12 
 Stoneyhurst, 52 
 Stoulton, 26, 69 
 Stourbridge, 244 
 Stratford on Avon, 196, 247 
 Strathfieldsaye, 300 
 Straw boys, 201 
 Stuart kings, 308 
 Sturbridge fair, 209 
 Suffolk, 51, 56, 118, 153 
 Suffolk Regiment, 294 
 Superstitions, 6 
 Surrey, 47, 156 
 Sussex, 15, 74, 169, 215 
 Swalcliffe, 234 
 Swineshead, 232 
 
 TADCASTER, 29 
 
 Tadmarton, 234 
 
 Taking Day, 197 
 
 Tat worth, 243 
 
 Tennor Church, 20 
 
 Tenures, curious, 300 
 
 Thornton, 131 
 
 Thump, the, 131 
 
 Tibenham, 234 
 
 Tides, 131 
 
 Tipteerers, 15 
 
 Tissington, 184 
 
 Toddington, 233 
 
 Tolls, 210 
 
 Tolsey Court, 210 
 
 Tommying, 26 
 
 Torquay, 119 
 
 Tower of London keys, 287 
 
 Town and Gown rows, 165 
 
 Tree, Christmas, 19 
 
 Tregonan Hill, 143 
 
 Truro, 58 
 
 Turvey, 233 
 
 Tutti men, 91 
 
 Twelfth Night, 46 
 
 Tynwald Hill, 208 
 
 Ty thing men, 91 
 
 239 VALENTINES, 54 
 
 Veal on Mothering Sunday, 69 
 Vessel bones, 15 
 Veil, bride's, 193 
 Vienna, 258 
 Vintners' Company, 22 
 
 WAKE Sunday, 130, 139 
 
 Wakes, 130 
 
 Waking bees, 205 
 
 Waking servants, 241 
 
 Wales, 32, 63, 71, 79, 90, 141, 
 
 183, 200, 202 
 Walmer, 27 
 Walsingham, 188 
 Waltham on the Wolds, 238 
 Warcop, 138 
 Ware farm, 56 
 Warton, 243 
 Warwickshire, 90 
 Washing of feet, 257 
 Wassailing, 42, 46 
 Wassailing bowl, 28 
 Watford custom, 107 
 Weavers' Company, 278 
 Wedding ring, 193 
 Welford, 109 
 Well-dressing, 184 
 Wellington, 167 
 Wellington, Duke of, 300 
 Wellow, 1 08 
 Wells, 22, 182 
 Welsh Fusiliers, 289 
 Wesley box, 16 
 Westbere, 278 
 Westbury, 281 
 West Houghton, 131, 232 
 Westminster, 263 
 Westminster School, tossing 
 
 pancake at, 62 
 Westmoreland, 196 
 Wheat, funeral, 205 
 Wheatley custom, 102 
 Whichnor, Manor of, 305 
 Whitechurch Canonicorum, 180 
 White Thursday, 29 
 Whitsuntide, 123 
 Whitworth, 138 
 
 343 
 
Index 
 
 Wilmslow, 80 
 
 Wiltshire, 66, 70, 71, 120, 178 
 Wiltshire Regiment, 287 
 Winchester, 210, 236, 285 
 Wiping shoes, 252 
 Wirksworth, 183 
 Wishford custom, 12 1 
 Wishing wells, 188 
 Witch's obelisk, 253 
 Withernsea, 254 
 Witney, 100, 278 
 Wokingham, 233, 279 
 Woodchester, 22 
 Woodstock, 234 
 Woolsack, origin of, 275 
 Worcestershire, 16, 33, 51, 69, 73 
 Worksop Manor, privileges of, 
 262 
 
 Wotton-under-Edge, 68 
 
 Wren box, 32 
 
 Wren, stoning the, 30 ; hunting 
 
 the, 31 
 
 Wyfold Court, 306 
 Wyverton Hall, 49 
 
 YAPTAM, 278 
 
 Yarmouth, 210, 303 
 
 Yarmouth (Isle of Wight), 43 
 
 York, 230 
 
 Yorkshire, 13, 15, 17, 49, 52, 
 
 70, 79, 89, 150, 199, 202, 204, 
 
 240, 247 
 
 Yorkshire Regiment, 294 
 Youlgrave, 188 
 Yule, 30 ; log, 9 ; doos, 33 
 
 THE END 
 
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FICTION 
 
 
 29 
 
 The Novels of Alexandre Dumas. 
 
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FICTION 
 
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 HIS ISLAND PRINCESS. 
 
 Sergeant (Adeline). THE MASTER OF 
 
 BEECHWOOD. 
 BALBARA'S MONEY. 
 THE YELLOW DIAMOND. 
 THE LOVE THAT OVERCAME. 
 
 Sldgwick (Mrs. Alfred). THE KINS- 
 MAN. 
 
 Surtees (R. S.). HANDLEY CROSS. 
 MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 
 
 ASK MAMMA. 
 
 Walford (Mrs. L. B.). MR. SMITH. 
 
 COUSINS. 
 
 THE BABY'S GRANDMOTHER. 
 
 TROUBLESOME DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Wallace (General Lew). BEN-HUR. 
 THE FAIR GOD. 
 
 Watson (H. B. Marriott). THE ADVEN- 
 TURERS. 
 
 CAPTAIN FORTUNE. 
 
 Weekes (A. B.). PRISONERS OF WAR. 
 
 Wells (H. G.). THE SEA LADY. 
 
 White (Percy). A PASSIONATE PIL- 
 GRIM. 
 

 
 
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 LONDON AND BECCLKS. 
 
 
 
U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES