THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE
BRITISH POPULAR CUSTOMS
PRESENT AND PAST
GEORGE BELL AND SONS, LTD.
LONDON : PORTUGAL ST., KING SWAY
CAMBRIDGE : DEIGHTON, BELL AND CO.
NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN CO.
BOMBAY : A. H. WHEELER AND CO.
BRITISH
POPULAR CUSTOMS
PRESENT AND PAST
ARRANGED
ACCORDING TO THE CALENDAR OF THE YEAR
BY THE RLV.
T. F. THISELTON-DYER, M.A.
//i
PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXON.
LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS, LIMITED
1911
o
[Reprinted from Stereotype plates.]
PREFACE.
IN presenting the following pages to the Public I do
not lay claim to any originality, my object simply
having been to collect together, into a readable and
condensed form, from various sources within my
reach, accounts of Customs which, if not already obso-
lete, are quickly becoming so.
With regard to the general plan of the book, it
speaks for itself. It should, however, be stated that
the movable feasts are placed under the earliest days
on which they can fall.
In conclusion, I would only add that I am much
indebted to Mr. James Britten, of the British Museum,
for s the valuable help and suggestions which he has
given me whilst passing the proof-sheets through the
v Press.
T. F. THISELTON DYEB.
September 15th, 1875.
CO
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POPULAR CUSTOMS.
JAN. i.J NEW YEAR'S DAY.
NEW Year's Day has always been a time of general rejoicing
and festivity, its observance being characterised by many <i
curious custom and superstitious practice. History tells us
how on this day the Druids were accustomed, with much
pomp and ceremony, to distribute branches of the sacred
mistletoe amongst the people; those precious gifts having
the night before been cut from the oak-tree in a forest
dedicated to the gods. Among the Saxons of the northern
nations the new year was ushered in by friendly gifts, and
celebrated with such extraordinary festivity that people
actually used to reckon their age by the numbers of annual
merry-makings in which they had participated. Fosbroke,
in his Encyclopedia of Antiquities, notices the continua-
tion of the Roman practice of interchanging gifts during
the middle and later ages ; a custom which prevailed
espec'ally amongst our kings, queens, and the nobility.
According to Matthew Paris, Henry III., following tlio
discreditable example of some of the Roman emperors, even
extorted them from his subjects.
In Rymer's Foedera (vol. x. p. 387) a list is given of tho
gifts received by Henry VI. between Christmas Day and
February 4th, 1428, consisting of sums of 40., 20s., 13s. 4J.,
10*., 6*. 8d.. and 3s. 4d.
In the reign of Henry VII. the reception of the New
Year's gifts presented by the king and queen to each other
2 NEW YEAR'S DAT. [JAN. t.
and by their household and courtiers, was reduced to a
solemn formula.
Agnes Strickland, in her Lives of the Queens of England
(1864, vol. ii. p. 83), quotes the following extract from a
MS. of Henry VII.'s Norroy herald, in possession of Peter
Le Neve, Esq. : " On the day of the New Year, when the
king came to his foot-sheet, his usher of his chamber-
door said to him, ' Sire, here is a New Year's gift coming
from the queen ; ' then the king replied, ' Let it come
in.' Then the king's usher let the queen's messenger come
within the yate" (meaning the gate of the railing which
surrounded the royal bed, instances of which are familiar
to the public in the state bedrooms at Hampton Court
to this day, and it is probable that the scene was very
similar), " Henry VII. sitting at the foot of the bed in
his dressing-gown, the officers of his bed-chamber having
turned the top sheet smoothly down to the foot of the bed
when the royal personage rose. The queen,* in like manner,
sat at her foot-sheet, and received the king's New Year's
gift within the gate of her bed-railing. When this formal
exchange of presents had taken place between the king and
his consort, they received, seated in the same manner, the
New Year's gifts of their nobles. ' And,' adds the herald,
assuming the first person, ' I shall report to the queen's
grace and them that be about her, what rewards are to
be given to them that bring her grace New Year's gifts, for
I trow they are not so good as those of the king.' "
There is in the possession of the Marquis of Bath,
Longleat, a manuscript, which contains a list of moneys
given to King Henry VIII. in the twenty-fourth year of his
reign, as New Year's gifts. They are from archbishops,
bishops, noblemen, doctors, gentlemen, &c. The amoufci
which the king's grace complacently pocketed on this
occasion was 792Z. 10s. Wd.N. &. Q. 4.th S. vol. xi. p. 8.
Honest old Latimer, however, says Hone (Every Day
Book, 1836, vol. i. p. 7), instead of presenting Henry VIII.
with a purse of gold, put into the king's hand a New
Testament, with a leaf conspicuously doubled down at
Hebrews xiii. 4, which, on reference, will be found to havo
* Elizabeth of York.
JAN. I.] NEW YEAll's DAY. 3
bcon worthy of all acceptation, though not, perhaps,
accepted.
A manuscript roll of the public revenue of the fifth year
cf Edward VI. has an entry of rewards given on New Year's
Day to the king, officers, and servants, amounting to 155Z. 5s.,
and also of sums given to the servants of those who presented
New Year's gifts to the king.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the custom of
presenting New Year's gifts to the sovereign was carried to
an extravagant height. Indei d, Dr. Drake is of opinion
that the wardrobe and jewelry of Queen Elizabeth were
principally supported by these annual contributions on
New Year's Day. He cites lists of New Year's gifts pre-
sented to her from the original rolls published in her
" progresses " by Mr. Nichols ; and from these it appears that
the presents were made by the grext officers of state, peers
and peeresses, bishops, knights and their ladies, gentlemen
and gentlewomen, physicians and apothecaries, and others
of lower grade, down to her Majesty's dustman. The
presents consisted of sums of money, costly articles of
ornament for the queen's person or apartments, caskets
studded with precious stones, valuable necklaces, bracelets,
gowns, embroidered mantles, smocks, petticoats, looking-
glasses, fans, silk stockings, and a great variety of other
articles. The largest sum given by any of the temporal
lords was 20Z. ; but the Archbishop of Canterbury gave 40L,
the Archbishop of York 30Z., and the other spiritual lords,
20Z. and 10Z. Dr. Drake says, that although Elizabeth made
returns to the New Year's gifts, in plate and other articles,
yet she nevertheless took sufficient care that the balance
should be in her own favour.
In the reign of James I. the money gifts seem to have
been continued for some time, but the ornamental articles
presented seem to have been few and of small value. No
rolls, nor, indeed, any notices of New Year's gifts presented
to Charles I. seem to have been preserved, though probably
there were such. The custom, no doubt, ceased entirely
during the Commonwealth, and was never afterwards revived,
at least, to any extent worthy of notice. Mr. Nichols men-
tions that the last remains of the custom at court consisted
B 2
4 NEW TEAll'S DAY. [JAN. I.
in placing a crown-piece under the plate of each of the
chaplains in waiting on New Year's Day, and that this
custom had cea<ed early in the nineteenth century.
The New Year's gifts, says Chambers (Book of Days,
vol. i. p. 31), presented by individuals to each other were
suited to sex, rank, situation, and circumstances. From
Bishop Hall's Satires (1598), it appears that the usual gift
of tenantry in the country to their landlords was a capon ;
and Cowley, addressing the same class of society says :
" Ye used in the formnr days to fall
Froatr^te to your Itmdlord in his hall,
When with low legs, and in an humMe guise,
Ye offor'd np a cnpou s-a 'lifice
Unto his worship, at a New Year's tide."
Ben Jonson, in his Christmas Masque, among other cha-
racters introduces " New Year's gift in a blue coat, serving-
man like, with an orange, and a sprig of rosemary on
h:'s head, his hat full of brooches, with a collar of ginger-
bread, his torch-bearer carrying a marchpane, with a
bottle of wine on either arm." An orange stuck with cloves
was a common present, and is explained by Lupton, who
pays that the flavour of the wine is improved, and the wine
itself preserved from mouldiness, by an orange or lemon stuck
with cloves being hung within the vessel, so as not to touch
the liquor.
When pins were first invented, and brought into use
about the beginning of the sixteenth century, they were
a New Year's gift very acceptable to ladies, instead of
the wooden skewers which they had hitherto used. Some-
times, however, in lieu of pins, they received a composition
in money, called pin money, an expression which has been
extended to a sum of money secured by a husband on
his marriage for the private expenses of his wife.
Gloves, too, were customary New Year's gifts. They were
far more expensive than nowadays, and occasionally a sum
of money was given instead, which was called glove money.
A hundred years ago, the Poet Laureate not only wrote
a New Year's ode, by way of salutation to the sovereign and
royal family, but those illustrious personages sat in state
JAN. i.] NEW YE \u's EAT. 5
at St. James's, and heard it, as it was sung by celebrated
vocalists, for whom it had been composed by some expert
in music. Now that the Laureate's song would be worth
the listening to, we have none written especially for the
New Year. This musical festival has ceased to be. N. &
Q. th S. vol. xi. p. 8.
Latterly, New Year's Da? has been celebrated with but
little public festivity, the only open joyous demonstration
being the sound of merry peals from the church bells, us
they ring out the Old and ring in the New Year.
Many persons make a point of wearing new cl ithes ou
this day, and consider any omission of the kind unluckv.
At court it is one of the twelve Ojferinj Days. Med. 2Evi
Kulend. Hampson, 1841, vol. i. p 33.
In the North of England it is considered unlucky for
any inmate to go out of the house until some one from with-
out has entered it ; and the first foot across the threshold
is watched with great anxiety, the good or bad luck of the
house during the year, depending on the first comer being a
man or a woman. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. xi. p. 244.
Opening the Bible on this day is a superstitious practice
observe! in some parts of the country, and much credit is
attached to it. It is usually set about with some little
ceremony on the morning, before breakfast, as it must
be performed fasting. The Bible is laid on the table
unopened, and the parties who wish to consult it are then
to open it in succession. They are not at liberty to choose
any particular part of the book, but must open it at random.
Wherever this may happen to be, the inquirer is to place his
finger on any chapter contained in the two open pages, but
without any previous perusal or examination. It is believed
tliat the good or ill fortune, the happiness or the misery, of
the consulting party, during the ensuing year, will bo in
some way or other described and foreshown by the contents
of the chapter. The custom is called dipping. Pop. Antiq.
Brand, 1849, vol. i. p. 20 ; N. & Q. 2nd S. vol.xii. p. 303.
It is customary in some places for persons to carry about
decorated apples, and present them to their friends. The
apples have three skewers of wood stuck into them, so as to
form a tripod foundation ; and their sides are ornamented
6 NEW YEAR'S DAT. [JAN. i.
with oat grains, while various evergreens and berries adorn
the top. A raisin is occasionally fastened on each oat
grain, but this is probably an innovation. N. & Q. 1st S.
vol. i. p. 214.
In some parts of the county of Nottingham, on the first
day of the New Year, troops of little children might be seen
a few years ago, each bearing an orange, an apple, or a
nutmeg, sometimes gilded, and stuck with cloves or rose-
mary, which they were carrying to their friends to ask their
blessing; the present thus given was generally carefully
reserved. Jour, of the Archaeological Association, 1853, vol.
viii. p. 231.
BUOKINGHAMSHIEE.
It appears from a MS. in the British Museum (Stntua
Scliolce Etonensis, A.D. loGO. MS. Brit. Mus. Donat. 4843.
fol 423), that the boys of Eton School used, on the day of
the Circumcision, to play for little New Year's gifts before
and after supper ; and that boys had a custom on that day,
for good luck's .--ake, of making verses, and sending them
to the provost, masters, &c., as also of presenting them to
each other.
CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND.
Early in the morning the common people assemble together,
carrying stangs and baskets. Any inhabitant, stranger, or
whoever joins not this ruffian tribe in sacrificing to their
favourite saint-day, if unfortunate enough to be met by any
of the band, is immediately mounted across the staug ( f a
woman, she is basketed), and carried shoulder high to the
nearest public house, where the payment of sixpence im-
mediately liberates the prisoner. None, though ever so in-
dustriously incliiu'd. are permitted to follow their respective
avocations on that day. Gent. Mag. 1791, vol. Ixi. p. 1169.
ESSEX.
Formerly the bailiffs of Maldon sent on the first day of
the year, to the k ug's vice- admiral of Essex a present of
oysters and wild fowl. Sir John Brain stun notices the arrival
of the gift on New Year's Day (March 26), 1688, in his
Autobiography, printed for the Camden Society in 1845.
JAN. T.] NEW YEAtt's DAY.
IlERKFOUDSHinE.
A.t Emmyard and its neighbourhood, as twelve o'clock
on the 31st of December draws near, and the last of the
Christmas carols are heard without doors, and a pleasurable
excitement is playing on the faces of the family around the
last Christmas log within, a rush is made to the nearest
spring of water, and whoever is fortunate enough to first
bring in the " cream of the well," as it is termed, and those
who first taste of it, have " prospect of good luck through
the fortbcotning year." Also, in the early hours of the
New Year, alter a funeral service has been said over " Old
Tom " as the old year is called, at the public-houses and
ale and cider stores, the streets are filled with boys and
men, singing in the loudest tones possible :
* 1 wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year,
A pcK ket full of money,
And a t-ellar full of beer,
And a good fat pi
To serve you all the year.
Ladies and gentL meu
Sat (fie) by the fire,
Pity we poor boys
Out in the iuire."
The Antiquary, 1873, vol. iii. p. 7.
In the neighbourhood of Boss, it is deemed most un-
fortunate for a woman to enter the house first, and therefore
an inquiry is generally made whether a male has previously
been there. It is customary for the peasantiy to send about
on this day a small pyramid, made of leaves, apples, nuts,
&c. Fosbroke, Sketches o/ Boss, 1822, p. 58.
LANCASHIRE.
Should a female, or a light-haired male, be the first to
enter a house on the morning of New Year's Day, it is
supposed to bring bad luck for the whole of the year then
commencing. Various precautions are taken to prevent
this misfortune : hence many male persons with black or
8 NEW YEA.'l's DAT. [JAN. I.
dark Lair are in the habit of going from house to house, on
that day, to take the New Year in; for which they are
treated with liquor, and presented with a small gratuity.
So far is the apprehension carried, that some families Avill not
open the door to any one until satisfied by the voice that he is
likely to bring the house a year's good luck by entering it.
The most kindly and charitable woman in a neighbour-
hood will strongly refuse to give any one a light on the
morning of New Year's Day, as most unlucky to the one who
gives it away. Harland and Wilkinson's Lancashire Folk-
lore, 1807, p\ 214.
ISLE OF MAN.
On this day an old custom, says Train in his History
of the Isle of Man (1845, vol. ii. p. 115), is observed called
the tiuaaltagli. In almost every parish throughout the island,
a party of young men go from house to house singing the
following rhyme :
" Agnin we assemble, a merry New Year
To w'sh to ea'-li one of the family hire,
Wh thi r m n, woman, or girl, or boy,
'\ h'-'t long life, and hnppiness, all may enjoy,
May they o! potatoes and herrings have pl> nty,
AViih butter and cheese, and each other dainty ;
An I may their sleep never, by night or day,
Disturbed be by even the tooth of a flea ;
Until at the Quaaltagh again we appe: r,
To wish you, as now, all a happy New Year."
When thesn lines are repeated at the door, the whole party are
invited into the house to partake of the best the family can
afford. On these occasions a person of dark complexion
always enters first, as a light-haired male or female is
deemed unlucky to be the first-foot or quaaltagh on New
Year's morning. The actors of the quaalta/jh do not assume
fantastic habiliments like the mummers of England, or the
gu:sards of Scotland, nor do they, like these rude performers
of the Ancient Mysteries, appear ever to have been attended
by minstrels playing on different kinds of musical instru-
ments.
JAN. I.] KEW YEAIl's DAT. 9
NoilTHUMBEKLAND.
The following extract, relating to Newcastle-on Tyne, is
taken from the North of Emjland Adccrtiser of January 4th,
1873:
The children on New Year's morn are busy begg'ng their
New Year's gifts, saying, " Old Year out, New Year in ; ple;ise
give us my New Y( ar's gift ;" or ' A merry Christmas and a
happy New Year ;" followed by the usual appeal for a present.
The first-foot is an important personage. If he should be a
dark man, it is a sign of good luek ; if a light one not so
lucky ; but alas ! if a woman, the worst luck will bt-fall the
household. Similar to the first hearing of the cuckoo, it is
of the greatest importance whether or not you have money
in your pocket and your cupboard full on New Year's Day.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
In this county it is considered unlucky to remove anything
from a house until something has been brought in, and there-
fore, early in the morning, each member of the family carries
some trifling thing in. In the neighbourhood of Newark,
this rhyme is sung :
" Take out, and take in,
Bad lu 'k is sure to Ix gin ;
But take in and take out.
Good luck will come about."
Jour, of Arch. Assoc. 18f>3, vol. viii. p. 231.
Brand, in his Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 15), alludes to
this custom as existing in Lincoln and its neighbourhood.
The rhyme he quotes is slightly different from the above :
" Take out, then take in,
Bad luck will beiiin ;
Take in, then take out,
Good luck comes in."
OXFORDSHIRE.
Pointer, in his Oxoniemis Academia (1749, p. 71), alludes
to a custom, observed at Brasenose College, Oxford, of
the Bachelors of Arts and Undergraduates belonging to the
10 NEW YEAR-S DAT. [JAN. I.
college going in a body on New Years Day to their Prin-
cipal, and each presenting him with an epistle by way of a
New Year's gift, wishing him a happy New Year.
We learn from the same writer, that it was formerly the
practice at Queen's College to give a needle and thread
to the Fellows, being a rebus on their founder's name,
Eglesfield, aiguille in French signifying a needle, and fil
a thread (p. 38).
STAFFORDSHIRE.
A grotesque manorial custom is described as being kept
up in the reign of Charles II., in connection with Hilton.
There existed in that house a hollow brass image, about a
foot high, representing a man kneeling in an indecorous
position. It was known all over the country as Jack of
Hilton. There were two apertures ; one very small at the
mouth, another about two-thirds of an inch in diameter at the
back, and the interior would hold rather more than four
pints of water, which, says Plot (History of Staffordshire,
1686, p. 433), ' when set to a strong fire, evaporates in the
same manner as in an ^Eolopile, and vents itself at the mouth
in a constant blast, blowing the fire so strongly that it is
very audible, and makes a sensible impression in that part of
the fire where the blast lights.'
The custom was this. An obligation lay upon the lord
of the adjacent manor of Essingt >n, every New Year's Day,
to bring a goose to Hilton, and drive it three times round
the hall-fire, which Jack of Hilton was all the time blowing
by the discharge of his steam. Ho was then to carry the
bird into the kitchen and deliver it to the cook ; and when
it was dressed he was to carry it in a dish to the table of
his lord paramount, the lord of Hilton, receiving in return
a dish of meat for his own mess.
An annual payment, called Moseley's Dole, was formerly
made by the corporation, consisting of a penny a piece to all
the inhabitants of Walsall, and of the adjoining parish of
Rushall, which is supposed to have anciently formed part of
that of Walsall.
Three persons were employed to make the distribution,
JAN. I.] NEW lEAlt's DAT. 11
who began on New Year's Day, and went through tlie
parishes, giving a penny to each inmate of every house,
whether permanently or accidentally abiding there.
It is stated by Plot (History of Staffordshire), that the
earliest mention of this dole is in the 36th Henry VEIL,
when 71. 10. Qd. discharged it. The first trace of it, how-
ever, that is found in the documents of the corporation is in
1632, when its amount was 14Z. 9s. 4d. The amount increased
gradually till 1799, when it was 60Z., and until the time of
its cessation in 1825, it remained yearly about the same.
There are many traditions respecting the origin of this
dole, but they all concur in attributing it to one Thomas
Moseley, from whom an estate at Ba?cott in Warwickshire
was derived. The donor, in granting this estate to the
Corporation, charged it with the annual payment of nine
marks to the Abbot of Hales Owen, " who should keep one
mark for his labours in distributing the remaining eight
marks, at the obit of the sa-'d Thomas Mcseley at Walsall,
for the souls of the said Thomas and Margary his wife, and
others; and this by the oversight of the Vicar of Walsall,
and of all the chaplains of the Guild of St. John the Baptist,
of the church of Walsall."
The eight marks above named were no doubt the origin of
the dole, and would, before the Reformation, be amply
sufficient to supply a penny a piece to all the parishioners,
or at least to all who repaired to the church on the obit day,
to pray for the donor and his wife a superstitions custom
which caused the estate to be seized by Henry VIII., when
he suppressed the monasteries. History of Staffordshire,
White, 1857, p. 645 ; Old English Customs and Charities,
1842, p. 55.
At Hastings, apples, nuts, oranges, &c., as well as money,
are thrown out of the windows to be scrambled for by the
fisher-boys and men. The custom is not kept up with the
spirit of former days.
12 NEW YKAtt's DAT. [JAN. I.
WARWICKSHIRE.
In the city of Coventry a sort of cake known by the name
of God-cakes is scut. They are used by all classes, and
vary in price from a halfpenny to one pound. They are
invariably made in a triangular shape, an inch thick, and
filled with a kind of mincemeat. So general is the use of
them on the first day of the New Year, that the cheaper sorts
are hawked about the streets as hot cross buns are on Good
Friday in London. This custom seeins peculiar to Coventry.
N.& Q. 2nd S. vol. ii. p. 229.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
A belief exists in this county, that if the carol singer who
first comes to the door on New Year's morning be admitted
at the front door, conducted through the house, and let out
at the back the inmates will have good luck during the
year. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. iii. p. 3i3.
YORKSHIRE.
The following quaint account of a whimsical custom
formerly observed on New Year's Day is taken from Blount's
Fragmenta Antiquitatie, 18] 5, p. 555 :
Near Hutton Conyers there is a large common, called
Hutton C.myers Moor, whereof William Aislabie, Esq., of
Studley lioyal (lord of the Manor of Hutton Couyers),
is lord of the soil, and on which there is a large coney-
warren belonging to the lord. The occupiers of messuages
and cottages within the several towns of Hutton Conyers,
Baldersby, Kaiuton, Dishforth, and Hewick, have right of
estray for their sheep to certain limited boundaries on the
Common, and each township has a shepherd.
The lord's shepherd has a pre-eminence of tending his
sheep on every part of the common ; and wherever he herds
the lord's sheep, the several other shepherds are to give
way to him, and give up their lioofmg-place so long as he
pleases to depasture the lord's sheep thereon. The lord
holds his court the first day in the ^e.ir, to entitle those
JAN | NEW y::\irs DAY. 13
several townships to such right of estray ; the shepherd of
e.ich township attends the court, and does fealty, by bring-
ing to the court a large apple-pie, and a twopenny sweetcake
(except the shepherd of Hewick, who compounds by paying
eixteen-peuce for all, which is drunk as after mentioned,)
and a wooden spoon; each pie is cut in two, and divided
by the bailiff, one half between the steward, bailiff, and the
tenant of the coney-warren before mentioned, and the other
half into six parts, and divided amongst the six shepherds
of the above mentioned six townships In the pie brought
by the shepherd of Kainton an inner one is made, filled with
prunes. The cakes are divided in the same manner. The
bailiff of the manor provides furmenty and mustard, and
delivers to each shepherd a slice of cheese and a penny roll.
The fuimenty, well mixed with mustard, is put into an
earthen pot, and placed in a hole in the ground, in a garth
belonging to the bailiff's house ; to which place the steward
of the court, with the bailiff, tenant of the warren, and six
shepherds, adjourn with their respective wo( den spoons.
The bailiff provides spoons for the stewards, the tenant of
the warren, and himself. The steward first pays respect to
the furmenty, by taking a large spoonful ; the bailiff has the
next honour, the tenant of the warren next, then the shep-
herd of Button Conyers, and afterwards the other shepherds
by regular turns; then each person is served with a glass
of ale (paid for by the sixteen-pence brought by the He wick
shepherd), and the health of the lord of the manor is drank ;
then they adjourn back to the bailiff's house, and the further
business of the court is proceeded with.
Each pie contains about a peck of flour, is about six-
teen or eighteen inches diameter, and as large as will go
into the mouth of an ordinary oven. The bailiff of the
manor measures them with a rule, and takes the diameter ;
and if they are not of a sufficient capacity, he threatens to
return them, and fine the town. If they are large enough,
he divides them with a rule and compasses into four equal
parts ; of which the steward claims one, the warrener
another, and the remainder is divided amongst the shep-
herds. In respect to the furmenty, the top of the dish in
which it is put is placed level with the surface of the
14 NEW YEAR'S DAT. [JAN. I.
ground; all persons present are entitled to eat of it, and
those who do not, are not deemed loyal to the lord. Every
shepherd is obliged to eat of it, and for that purpose is to
take a spoon in his pocket to the court ; for if any of them
neglect to carry a spoon with him he is to lay him down
upon his belly, and sup the furmenty, with his face to the
pot or dish ; at which time it is usual, by way of sport, for
some of the bystanders to dip his face into the furmenty ;
and sometimes a shepherd, for the sake of diversion, will
purposely leave his spoon at home.
In the North Riding of Yorkshire, those who have not the
common materials for making a fire, generally sit without
one on New Year's Day ; for none of their neighbours,
although hospitable at other times, will suffer them to light
a candle at their fires. If they do, it is believed that one
of the family will die within the year. Gent. Mag. 1811,
vol. Ixxxi. p. 424.
Subjoined is all that appears to have survived of the York-
shire Hagmena song :*
u To-night it is the New Year's night, to-morrow is the day,
And we are come for our right and for onr ray,
As we used to do in old King Henry's day
Sing fellows, sing, h::g man, ha!
If you go to the bacon-flick, cut me a good bit ;
Cut, cut, and low, beware of your maw ;
Cut, cut, and round, beware of your thumb,
That me and my merry men may have tome.
Sing fellows, sing, hag-man, ha!
If you go to the black ark, bring me ten marks ;
Ten marks, ten pound, throw it down upon the ground,
That me and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, sing, hag-man, ha !"
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1870, voL i. p. 11.
SCOTLAND.
In the Memoirs of Lord Langdale by Sir T. D. Hardy,
1852, vol. i. p. 55, occurs the following :
" Being in Scotland, I owght to tell you of Scotch customs ;
and really they have a charming one on this occasion (i.e.
New Year's Dr/y). Whether it is meant as a farewell
* See ' New Year's Eve.'
JAN. I.] NEW YEAB'S EAT. 15
ceremony to the old one, or an introduction to the New
Year, I can't tell ; but on the 31st of December, almost
every body has a party, either to dine or sup. The company,
almost entirely consisting of young people, wait together
till twelve o'clock strikes, at which time every one begins to
move, and they all fall to work. At what? why, kiss ; ng.
Each male is successively locked in pure Platonic embrace
with each female ; and after this grand ceremony, which of
course creates infinite fun, they separate and go homo.
This matter is not at all confined to these, but wherever
nan meets woman it is the particular privilege of this hour.
The common people think it necessary to drink what they
call hot-pint, which consists of strong beer, whisky, eggs,
&c. ; a most horrid composition ; as bad, or worse than that
infamous mixture called fig-one,* which the English people
drink on Good Friday."
The letter from which this is an extract is signed Henry
Beckersteth, and dated Edinburgh, January 1st, 1802.
Till very few years ago, in Scotland (says a correspondent
of Chambers' Book of Days, vol. i. p. 28), the custom of
first-footing was practised on New Year's morning.
On the approach of twelve o'clock of the last night of the
old year, a hot-pint f was prepared that is, a kettle or flagon
full of warm, spiced, and sweetened ale, with an infusion
of spirits. When the clock had struck the knell of the
departed year, each member of the family drank of this
mixture, " and good health, and a happy New Year, and many
of them, to all the rest," with a general hand-shaking, and
perhaps a dance round the table, with the addition of a song
to the tune of Hey tuttie taitie :
" Weel may we a' be,
HI may we never see.
Here's to the king
And the gude companie !" &0.
The elders of the family would then most probably
gaily out with the hot kettle, and bearing also a competent
provision of buns and short-bread, or bread-and-cheese, with
* DmiKtless a nvsprint for fi'i-sve. See under Good Friday,
t Called also a hct-piitt. 7 iute' '1 eltscope, 1824, p. 3
16 NE\V YEAU'S DAY. [JAN. I.
tlie design of visiting tlicir neighbours, and iuterehanging
with them the same cordial greetings. If they met by the
way another party similarly bent whom they knew, they
would stop, and give and take sips from their respective
kettles. Beaching the friend's house, they would enter with
vociferous good wishes, and soon send the kettle circulating.
If they were the first to enter the house since twelve o'clock
they were deemed as the first-foot ; and as such it was most
important for luck to the family in the coming year, that
they should make this entry not empty-handed, but with
their hands full of cakes, and bread-and-cheese ; of which,
on the other hand, civility demanded that each individual in
the house should partake.
To such an extent did this custom prevail in Edinburgh,
in the recollection of persons still living, that according
to their account, the principal streets were more thronged
between twelve and one in the morning than they usually
were at mid-day. Much innocent mirth prevailed, and
mutual good feedings were largely promoted. An unlucky
circumstance which took place on the 1st January, 1812,
proved the means of nearly extinguishing the custom. A
small party of reckless boys formed the design of turning
the innocent festivities of first-footing to account for purposes
of plunder. They kept their counsel well. No sooner had
the people come abroad on the principal thoroughfares
of the Old Town than these youths sallied out in small
b mds, and commenced the business which they had under-
taken. Their previous agreement was to look out for the white
neckcloths, such being the best mark by which they could
distinguish in the dark individuals likely to carry any
property worthy of being taken. A great number of gentle-
men were thus spoiled of their watches and other valuables.
The least res 'stance was resented by the most brutal
maltreatment. A policeman and a youug man of the rank
of a clerk in Leith died of the injuries they had received.
An aifair so singular, so uncharacteristic of the people among
whom it happened, produced a widespread and lasting
feeling of surprise. The outrage was expiated by the
execution of three of the youthful rioters on the chief scone
of their w 'ck dness ; but from that time it was observed that
. NEW YEAH'S DAT. 17
tlio old custom of going about with the hot pint the ancient
wassail fell off.
There was in Scotland also a first-footing independent of
the hot-pint. It was a time for sonic youthful friend of
the firmly to steal to the door, in the hope of mooting there
the young maiden of his fancy, and obtaining the privilege
of a kiss as her first-foot. Great was the disappointment on
his part, and great the joking among the family, if, through
accident or plan, some half-withered aunt or ancient grand*
dame came to receive him instead of the blooming Jenny.
Boole of Days, vol. i. p. 29.
In the south of Scotland, as soon as the clock has struck the
midnight hour, one of a family goes to the well as quickly
as possible, and carefully skims it ; this they call getting the
scum or ream (cream) of the well :
" Twall struck twa neebour Lizzies raise,
An' liltifi gaod a sad gate ;
The flower o' the well to our house gaes
An* I'll the boimiest lad get."
The flower of the well signifies the first pail of water, and
the girl who is so fortunate as to obtain the prize is sup-
posed to have more than a double chance of obtaining the
most accomplished young man in the parish. Med. j?Eci
Kalend. vol. i. p. 129.
As soon as the last night of the year sets in, it is the
signal with the Strathdown Highlander for the suspension of
his usual employment, and he directs his attention to more
agreeable callings. The men form into bands, with tethers
and axes, and shaping their course to the juniper bushes, the}
return home laden with mighty loads, which are arranged
round the fire to dry until morning. A certain discreet
person is despatched to the dead and living ford to draw a
pitcher of water in profound silence, without the vessel
touching the ground, lest its virtue should be destroyed, and
on his return all retire to rest. Early on New Year's morn-
ing the usque-cashrichd, or water from the dead and living
ford, is drunk, as a potent charm until next New Year's Day,
against the spells of witchcraft, the malignity of evil eyes,
and the activity of all infernal agency. The qualified High-
c
18 KEW YEAR'S DAY. [JAN. i.
lander then takes a large brush, with which he profusely
asperses the occupants of all beds ; from whom it is not uu-
usual for him to receive ungrateful remonstrances against
ablution. This ended, and the doors and windows being
thoroughly closed, and all crevices stopped, he kindles piles
of the collected juniper in the different apartments, till the
vapour from the burning branches condenses into opaque
clouds, and coughing, sneezing, wheezing, gasping, and other
demonstrations of suffocation ensue. The operator, aware
that the more intense the " smuchdan " the more propitious
the solemnity, disregards these indications, and continues,
with streaming eyes and averted head, to increase the fumiga-
tion, until in his own defence he admits the air to recover the
exhausted household and himself. He then treats the
horses, cattle, and other bestial stock in the town with
the same smothering, to keep them from harm throughout
the year. When the gude wife gets up, and having ceased
from coughing, has gained sufficient strength to reach the
bottle dhu, she administers its comfort to the relief of
the sufferers; laughter takes the place of complaint, all thei
family get up, wash their faces, and receive the visits
of their neighbours, who arrive full of congratulations
peculiar to the day. Mu nose choil orst, " My Candlemas
bond upon you," is the customary salutation, and means,
in plain words, " You owe me a New Year's gift." A point
of great emulation is, who shall salute the other first,
because the one who does so is entitled to a gift from
the person saluted. Breakfast, consisting of all procurable
luxuries, is then served, the neighbours not engaged are
invited to partake, and the day ends in festivity. Popular
Superstitions of the Highlanders of Scotland, Stewart, 1851.
Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland (1790, vol. i. p. 206),
say B that on New Year's Day the Hi gli landers burn juniper
before their cattle.
FORFARSHIRE.
At the commencement of the New Year* the opulent
burghers of Montrose begin to feast with their friends, and
to go a round of visits, which takes up the space of many
* Also at Christinas.
JAN. I.] HANDSEL MONDAY. 19
weeks. Upon such occasions, the gravest is expected to be
merry, and to join in a cheerful song. Stat. Ace. of Scot-
land, Sinclair, 1793, vol. v. p. 48.
ORKNEY ISLES.
At Lady, companies of men go to the houses of the rich,
and awake the family by singing the New Year's song, in
full chorus. When the song is concluded, the family enter-
tain the musicians with ale and bread, and give them a
smoked goose or apiece of beef. Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1815,
vol. xvr-pr1r$2r^x
At the parishes^ of Cross, Burness, &c., New Year's gifts,
under the title of " Christmas presents," are given to maid-
servants by their masters. Stat. Account of Scotland, Sin-
clair, 1793, voL vii. p. 488.
HANDSEL MONDAY.
SCOTLAND.
THE first Monday of the year is a great holiday among
the peasantry of Scotland aud children generally, as being
the day peculiarly devoted in that country to the giving
and receiving of presents. It is on this account called
Handsel Monday, handsel being in Scotland the equivalent
of a Christinas-box, but more especially implying a gift at
the commencement of a season or the induing of some new
garment. The young people visit their seniors in expecta-
tion of tips (the word, but not the action, unknown in the
north). Postmen, scavengers, and deliverers of newspapers
look for their little annual guerdons. Among the rural
population, Auld Handsel Monday, i.e. Handsel Monday old
style, or the first Monday after the twelfth of the month,
is the day usually held. The farmers used to treat the
whole of their servants on t^at morning to a liberal break-
fast of roast and boiled, with ale, whisky, and cake, to their
c 2
20 EVE OF THE EFIPJIANT. [JAN. 5.
utmost contentment, after which the guests went about
teeing their friends for the remainder of the day. It was
also the day on which any disposed for change gave up their
places, and when new servants were engaged. Even now,
when most old fashions are much decayed, Auld Handsel
Monday continues to be the holiday of the year to the class"
of farm-labourers in Scotland. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 52.
Co. OF EDINBUKGH.
At Currie the annual fair and Old Handsel Monday are the
only periodical holidays for the working classes ; on which
latter occasion the servants enjoy the pleasure of return-
ing to the bosom of their families, and spending the close
of the day with their friends. The early part is generally
observed in the less innocent amusement of raffles, and
shooting with fire-arms, which, being often old and rusty,
as well as wielded by inexperienced hands, have occasioned
some disagreeable accidents. Stat. Ace. of Scotland 1845,
vol. i. p. 550.
JAN. 5.] EVE OF THE EPIPHANY.
FORMERLY itinerant minstrels used to bear a bowl of spiced
wine to the houses of the gentry and others, from whom they
expected a hospitable reception, and calling their bowl a
wassail-bowl, they drank wassail to their entertainers.
In ancient kalendars is an observation on the 5th day of
January, the Vigil of the Epiphany, "Kings created by
beans," and the sixth day is called " Festival of Kings," with
another remark, that " the ceremony of electing kings was
continued with feasting for many days." Med. JEvi Kalend,
vol. i. p. 134.
DEVONSHIEE.
At Kingsbridgc and Salcombe it was formerly customary
for the ciderist, attended by his workmen with a large can
or pitcher of cider, guns charged with powder, &c., to
JAN. 5.] EVE OF THI! EPIPHANY. 21
repair to the orchard, and there at the foot of one of the
best-bearing apple-trees, drink the following toast three
times repeated, (discharging the fire-arms in conclusion :
u Here's to thee, old apple tree,
AVh nee thou may's! bud,
And whence thou may'st blow !
And whence thou inay'st b ar apples enow !
Hats full ! caps full !
Bushel bushel - sa< ks full !
And my po, kuts full t o ! Huzza !"
The pitcher being emptied, they returned to the house, th&
doors of which they were certain to find bolted by the females ;
who, however bad the weather might be, were inexorable to
all entreaties to open them, till some one had divined what
was on the spit. This was generally not easily thought of,
and if edible was the reward of him whe first named it.
The party were then admitted. Kingsbridge and Salcombe
Historically Depicted, 1819, p. 71. Vide Gent. Mag. 17 l Jl,
vol. Ixi. p. 403.
Brand, on the authority of a Cornishman, relates it also as
a custom with the Devonshire people to go after supper iiit >
the orchard with a large milk-pan full of cider, having
roasted apples pressed into it. Out of this each person in
company takes what is calle;! a dome i.e. earthenware cup,
full of liquor, and standing under each of the more fruitful
apple-trees, passing by those that are not good bearers, ho
addresses them in the J oH > -ving words :
" Health to thee, jrood appL- tr.,
"\\Y1I to bear po -kct-fu Is, hat-fulls,
Peck-fulls, bushel bag-fulld;"
and then drinking up part of the contents, he throws the
rest, with the fragments of the roasted apples, at the tree.
At each cup, the company set up a shout. Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 29.
Herrick thus alludes to this custom and the superstition
attached to it :
"Wassail the trees, that they may bear
"You m:iny a plum and many pear;
For more or less fruit th y will b ing,
As you <!o give them wnssail.ng."
22 EVE OF THE EPirHANY\ [JAN. 5.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
In the parish of Pauntley, and the surrounding neigh-
bourhood, the servants of each farmer formerly assembled
together in one of the fields that had been sown with
wheat. At the end of twelve lands, they made twelve
fires in a row with straw, around one of which, much larger
than the rest, they drank a cheerful glass of cider to their
master's health, and success to the future harvest; then,
returning home, they feasted on cakes soaked in cider, which
they claimed as a reward for their past labours in sowing
the grain. Fosbrookc, Hist, of Gloucestershire, 1807, vol. ii.
p. 232.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
At the approach of the evening, the farmers with their
friends and servants meet together, and about six o'clock
walk out to a field where wheat is growing. In the highest
part of the ground, twelve small fires and one large one,
are lighted up.* The attendants, headed by the master of
the family, pledge the company in old cider, which circulates
freely on these occasions. A circle is formed round the
large fire, when a general shout and hallooing takes
place, which you hear answered from all the adjacent
villages and fields. Sometimes fifty or sixty of these fires
may be seen all at once. This being finished, the company
return home, where the good housewife and her maids are
preparing a good supper. A large cake is always provided,
with a hole in the middle. After supper, the company all
attend the bailiff (or head of the oxen) to the wain -house,
Avhere the following particulars are observed : The master, at
the head of his friends, fills the cup (generally with strong
ale), and stands opposite the first or finest of the oxen. He
then pledges him in a curious toast, the company follow his
example with all the other oxen, addressing ea h by his
name. This being finished, the large cake is produced, and,
with much ceremony put on the horn of the first ox, through
the hole abo\e mentioned.
* These fires represented our Lord and the twelve Apostles.
JAN. 5.] EVE OF THE EPI1 IIANY. 23
The ox is then t ; okl< d, to make him t< ss his head: if he
throw the cake behind, it is the mistre>s's perquisite; if
before (in what is termed the boosyj the bailiff himself
claims the pr.ze. The company then return to the house,
the doors of which they find locked, nor will they be opened
until some joyous songs are sung. On their gaining ad-
mittance a scene of mirth ensues, which lasts the greater
part of the night. Gent. Mag. 1791, vol. Ixi. p. 116.
STAFFORDSHIBE.
According to Blount the inhabitants of this county at one
time made a fire on the eve of the Epiphany, in memory
of the blazing star that conducted the three Magi to the
manger at Buthlehem.
YORKSHIRE.
In the neighbourhood of Leeds, families formerly invited
their relations, friends, and neighbours to their houses,
for the purpose of playing at cards, and partaking of a
supper of which mince pies were an indispensable ingre-
dient. After supper was over the wassail-cup or wassail-
bowl was brought in, of which every one partook, by
taking with a spoon out of the ale a roasted apple and
eating it, and then drinking the healths of the company
out of the bowl, wishing them a merry Christmas, and a
happy New Year. The festival of Christmas used in this
part of the country to be held for twenty days, and some
persons extended it even to C audlernas.
The ingredients put into the bowl, viz., ale, sugar, nut-
meg, and roasted apples, were usually called lambs' wool,
and the night on which it was drunk was commonly called
Wassail Eve. Gent. Mag. 1784, vol. liv. p. 98.
IEELAND.
In Ireland " on Twelve Eve in Christmas, they use to set
up as high as they can a sieve of oats, and in it a dozen of
caudles set round, and in the centre one larger, all lighted.
24 TY/ELFTH-DAY. [JAN. 6.
This in memory of our Saviour and his Apostles, lights, of
the world." Sir Henry Piers' Description of the County \of
Westmeath, 1682, in Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebus Hiber-
nicis, vol. i. No. 1, p. 124.
. 6.] TWELFTH DAY.
THE EPIPHANY.
IN its character as a popular festival. Twelfth Day stands
only inferior to Cbr'stmas. The leading object held in view
is to do honour to " the three wise men," or, as they areTmore
generally denominated, " the tliree kings." It is a Christian
custom, ancient past memory, and probably suggested by a
pa<jran custom, to indulge in a pleasantry called the Election
of kings by beans. Some, however, maintain it to have been
derived from the custom observed by the Roman children,
who, at the end of their saturnalia, drew lots with beans, to
see who would be king.
In England in later times, a large cake was made, with a
bean or silver penny inserted, and this was called Twelftli-
calte. The family and friends being assembled, the cake was
divided by lot, and whoever got the piece containing the
bean was accepted as the king for the day, and called King
of the Bean. It appeal's also that there was always a queen as
well as a king on Twelfth-Night. A writer, speaking of the
celebration in the South of England in 1774, says : " After
tea a cake is produced with two bowls containing the fortu-
nate chances for the different sexes. The host tills up the
tickets, and the whole company, except the king and queen,
are to be ministers of state, maids of honour, or ladies of the
bed-chamber. Often the host and hostess, more by design
than accident, become king and queen. According to
Twelfth Day law, each party is to support his character till
midnight."
In the sixteenth century it would appear that some pecu-
liar ceremonies followed the election of the king and queen.
Baruaby Googe, in his paraphrase of the curions poem of
Jan. 6.J TWELFTH DAT. 25
Naogeorgus, The Popish Kingdom, 1570, states that the king,
on being elected, was raised up with great cries to the ceiling,
where with chalk he inscribed crosses on the rafters to pro-
tect the house against evil spirits. Book of Days, 18G3,
vol. i. p. 62. See also Every Day BooJc, 1827, vol. i. p. 51.
Herrick, the poet of our festivals, has several allusions to
the celeb: ution of this day of our ancestors, as may be seeu
in the subjoined poem :
*TWELFE-NIGHT, OR KING AND QUEENE.
" Now, now the mirth comes
With the cake full of plums,
Where beane's the king of the sport here;
Besides, we must kuow,
The pea also
Host revel), as queene, in the court here.
Begin then to chuse
(This night as ye use)
Who shall for the present delight here,
Be a king be the lot,
And who shall not
Be Twelfe-day queene for the nuiht hereu
Which knowne, let us make
Joy-sops wrh the cake ;
And let not a man then be scene here.
Who unurg'd will not drinke,
To the base from the brink,
A health to the king and queene here.
Next crowne the bowle full
With gentle lamb's- wool I :
Adde sugar, nutnu g, and ginger,
With btore of ale too ;
And thus ye must doe
To make the wassaile a swinger.
Give them to the king
And queene wassailing ;
And though with ale yc be whet here?
Vet pail ye from lumci-,
As free from offence,
As when ye innocent met here.**
Tn the last century Twelfth Night Cards represented minis-
ters, maids of honour, and other attendants of a court, and
26 TWELFTH DAT. [JAN. 6.
the characters were to be supported through the night. John
Britton, in his Autobiography tells us " he suggested and
wrote a series of Twelfth Night characters, to be printed
on cards, placed in a bag, and drawn out at parties on the
memorable and merry evening of that ancient festival. They
were sold in small packets to pastrycooks, and led the way
to a custom which annually grew to an extensive trade. For
the second year my pen-and-ink characters were accompanied
by prints of the different personages by Cruikshank (father
of the inimitable George), all of a comic or ludicrous kind."
Such characters are still printed. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 64.
Formerly the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and the Guilds
of London, used to go to St. Paul's on Twelfth Day to hear a
sermon. This is mentioned as an old custom in the early
part of Queen Elizabeth's reign.
Twelfth Day and its customs appear to have been observed
by royalty almost from time immemorial. At the English
court in the eighth year of the reign of Edward III., the majes-
tic title of King of the Bean was conferred upon one of the
king's minstrels, as appears by a Compotw of that date,
which states that sixty shillings were given by the king on
the day of the Epiphany to Regan, the trumpeter, and his
associates, the court minstrels, in the name of the king of the
bean. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, 1801, p. 255.
The grand state of the sovereign on Twelfth Day, and the
manner of keeping festival at court, in the reign of King
Henry VII., are set forth in Le Neve's MS., called The
Boyalle Book, to the following effect :
As for Twelfth Day, the king must go crowned in his
royal robes, kirtle, surcoat, his furred hood about his neck,
his mantle with a long train, and his cutlas before him ;
his armills upon his arms, of gold set full of rich stones ;
and no temporal man to touch it but the king himself ; and
the squire for the body must bring it to the king in a fair
kerchief, and the king must put them on himself; and he
must have his sceptre in his right hand, and the ball with
the cross in the left hand, and the crown upon his head.
And he must offer that day gold, myrrh, and sense ; then
mnst the dean of the chapel send unto the Archbishop of
Canterbury by clerk or priest the king's offering that day ;
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAT. 27
and then must the Archbishop give the next "b-eneficc that
falleth in his gift to the same messenger. And then the
king must change his mantle when he goeth to meat, and
take off his hood and lay it about his neck, and clasp it
before with a great rich ouche; and this must be of the
same colour that he offered in. Aud the queen in the same
form when she is crowned.
The same day that he goeth crowned he ought to go to
matins ; to which array belongeth his kirtle, surcoat, tabard,
and his furred hood slyved over his head, and rolled about
his neck ; and on his head his cap of estate, and his sword
before him.
At even-song he must go in his kirtle and surcoat, and
hood laid about his shoulders, and clasp the tippet and hood
together before his breast with a great rich ouche, and his
hat of estate upon his head.
. As for the void on the Twelfth Night, the king and the
queen ought to have it in the hall. And as for the wassail,
the steward, the treasurer, and the controller, shall come for
it with their staves in their hands ; the king's sewer and the
queen's having fair towels about their necks, and dishes in
thuir hands, such as the king and queen shall eat of; the
king's carvers and the queen's shall come after with chargers
or dishes, such as the king or the queen shall eat of, and with
towels about their necks. And no man shall bear anything
unless sworn for three months. And the steward, treasurer,
comptroller, and marshall of the hall shall ordain for all the
hall. And, if it be in the great chamber, then shall the
chamberlain and ushers ordain, after the above form ; and if
there be a bishop, his own squire, or else the king's, such as
the officers choose to assign, shall serve him; and so of all
the other estates, if they be dukes or earls ; and so of
duchesses and countesses. And then there must come in the
ushers of the chamber, with the pile of cups, the king's cups
and the queen's, and the bishop's with the butlers and wino
to the cupboard, and then a squire for the body to bear the
cup, and another for the queen's cup, such as is sworn for
hire.
The singers [of the chapel] may stand at the one side of
the hall, and when the steward couieth in at the hall-door,
23 TWELFTH DAY. [JAN. 6.
with tlic wassail, he must cry thrice " Wassaile," &c., and
then shall the chapel answer it anon with a good song, and
thus in likewise, if it please the king to keep the great
chamber. And then when the king and queen have done,
they will go into the chamber. And there belongeth for the
king, two lights with the void, and two lights with the cup ;
and for the queen as many. Antiq. Rep. 1807, vol. i. p. 328.
On Twelfth Day, 1563, Mary Queen of Scots celebrated
the French pastime of the King of the Bean at Holyrood,
but with a queen instead of a king, as more appropriate, in
consideration of herself being a female sovereign. The lot
fell to the real queen's attendant, Mary Fleming, and the
mi stress good-naturedly arrayed the servant in her own robes
and jewels, that she might duly sustain the mimic dignity in
the festivities of the night. The English resident, Randolph,
who was in love with Mary Beton, another of the queen's
maids of honour, wrote in excited terms about this festival
to the Earl of Leicester. " Happy was it," says he, " unto
this realm, that her reign endured no longer. Two such
sights, in. one state, in so good accord, I believe was nevor
seen, as to behold two worthy queens possess, without envy,
one kingdom, both upon a day. I leave the rest to your lord-
ehip to be judged of. My pen staggereth, my hand faileth,
further to write. The Queen of the Bean was that day in a
gown of cloth of silver ; her head, her neck, her shoulders,
the rest of her whole body, so beset with stones, that more
in our whole jewel-house were not to be found. The cheer
was great. I never found myself so happy, nor so well
treated, until that it came to the point that the old Queen
(Mary) herself, to show her mighty power, contrary unto the
assurance granted me by the younger Queen (Mary Fleming),
drew me into the dance ; which part of the play I could with
good will have spared unto your lordship as much fitter for
the purpose." Lives of the Queens of Scotland, Strickland,
vol. iv. p. 20.
Down to the time of the Civil Wars, the feast of the
Epiphany was observed with great splendour, not only at
court, but at the Inns of Court, and the Universities (where
it was an old custom to choose the king by the bean in a
cake), as well as in private mansions and smaller households.
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAT. 2
We read, too, of our nobility keeping Twelfth Niglit by the
diversion of blowing up pasteboard castles; letting claret
flow like blood out of a stag made of paste ; the castle bom-
barded from a pasteboard ship, with cannon, in the midst of
which the company pelted each other with egg-shells filled
with rose-water ; and large pies were made, filled with live
frogs, which hopped and flew out upon some curious person
lifting up the lid. Twelfth Night grew to be a court
festival, in which gaming was a costly feature. Evelyn tells
us that on Twelfth Night, 1662, according to custom, His
Majesty (Charles II.) opened the revels of that night by
throwing the dice himself in the privy chamber, where was
a table set on purpose, and lost his 100Z. Book of Days,
vol. i. p. 63.
CUMBERLAND.
In Cumberland, and other northern parts of England,
on Twelfth Night, which finishes the Christmas holidays,
the rustics meet together in a large room. They begin
dancing at seven o'clock, and finish at twelve, when they
sit down to lobscouse and ponsondie ; the former is made of
beef, potatoes, and onions, fried together ; and in ponsondie
we recognise the wassail or waes-hael of ale, boiled with
sugar and nutmeg, into which are put roasted apples ;
the anciently admired lambs'-wool. The feast is paid for
by subscription ; two women are chosen, who with two
wooden bowls placed one within the other, so as to leave
an opening and a space between them, go round to the female
part of the society in succession, and what one puts into the
uppermost bowl the attendant collectress slips into the b'jwl
beneath it. All are expected to contribute something, but
not more than a shilling, and they are best esteemed who
give most. The men choose two from themselves and follow
the same custom, except that as the gentlemen are not sup-
posed to be so fair in their dealings as the ladies, one of the
collectors is furnished with pen, ink, and paper, to set down
the subscription as soon as received. Time's Telescope,
1825, p. 13.
In many of the small towns they partake of scalded field-
peas, and a hare or some other kind of game. The peas are
30 TWELFTH DAT. [JAN. 6.
brought to table with, the hare, and are scalded in water
with the husks on, after which a lump of butter is put in
the middle, and they are picked out as they are eaten. The
supper concludes with a tharve-cake, a large, flat, oaten cake,
baked on a girdle, sometimes with plums in it. Dancing
and drinking then occupy the remainder of the evening.
Tar barrels are common at all their festivals, and scarcely
a town is without them. Ibid. 1821), p. 11.
DERBYSHIRE.
The morris-dancers who go about from village to village
about Twelfth Day, have their fool, their Maid Marian
(generally a man dressed in woman's clothes, and called
" the fool's wife)," and sometimes the hobby-horse ; they ere
dressed up in ribbons and tinsel, but the bolls are usually
discarded. Jour, of Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 201.
DORSETSHIRE.
The rector of Piddle Hinton gives away on Old Christinas
Day a pound of bread, a pint of ale, and a mince pie, to
every poor person in the parish. This distribution is regu-
larly made by the rector to upwards of three hundred
persons. Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, 1842,
p. 6.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
Anciently the Mowbrays had great possessions in and
about the Isle of Axholme, and a seat, at which they princi-
pally resided, and were considered the greatest folks in
that part of the country. It so happened that on Old
Christmas Day, while a young lady (the daughter of the then
Mowbray) was riding over the Meeres to the church by
an old road (at that time the principal one across the village)
a gale of wind blew off her hood. Twelve farming men who
were working in the fields saw the occurrence, and ran to
gather up the hood, and in such earnest were they that the
lady took so much amusement at the scene she forbade her
own attendants joining in the pursuit. The hood being
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAY. 31
captured, and replaced on the lady's head, she expressed her
obligation to the men, giving them each some money, and
promised a piece of land (to be vested in certain persons in
trust) to throw up a hood annually on Old Christmas Day.*
She also ordered that the twelve men engaged to contest the
race for the hood should be clothed (JJTO temp.) in scarlet
jerkins and velvet caps : the hood to be thrown in the same
place as the one where she lost hers. The custom is yet
followed ; and though the Meeres on which she was riding has
long ago been brought into a state of cultivation, and the
road through been diverted, yet an old mill stands in the
field where the road passed through, and is pointed out as
the place where the original scene took place, and the hood is
usually thrown up from this mill. There is generally a great
concourse of people from the neighbouring villages who also
take part in the proceedings ; and when the hood is thrown
up by the chief of the boggons, or by the officials, it becomes
tlie object of the villagers to get the hood to their own
village, by throwing or kicking it, similar to the foot-ball.
The other eleven men, called boggons, being stationed at
the corners and sides of the field to prevent, if possible, its
being thrown out of the field ; and should it chance to fall
into any of their hands it is "boggoned," and forthwith
returned to the chief, who again throws it up from the mill
as before. Whoever is fortunate enough to get it out of
the field, tries to get it to his village, and usually takes it to
the puhlic house he is accustomed to frequent, and the land-
lord regales him with hot ale and rum.
The game usually continues until dusk, and is frequently
attended by broken shins and bruised heads. The next day
is occupied by the boggons going round the villages, singing
as waits, who are regaled with hot furmcnty ; from some
they get coppers given them, and from others a smull
measure of wheat, according to the means of the donor.
The day after that they assume the character of plough
Villocks, and at a certain part of West Woodside they
* smoke the fool ;" that is, straw is collected by those who
like, and piled on a heap, a rope being tied or slung over
* The qtiant ty of land given by Ludy Mowbray was forty acrea,
known by the name of the Uoodlaod*
32 TWELFTH DAY. [JAN. 6.
the branches of the tree next the pile of straw ; the other
end of the rope is fastened round the waist of the " fool,"
and he is drawn up, and fire is put to the straw, the " fool "
being swung to and fro through the smoke, until he is well
nigh choked ; after which he goes round with his cap, and
collects whatever the spectator thinks proper to give. The
performance is then at an end until the following year.
Sec N. <& Q. 2nd S. vol. v. p. 94. Peek's History of Axholme,
1815, vol. i. p. 277.
In the History of Lincolnshire (vol. ii. p. 214) is the
following account of this custom, differing but little from
the notice already given. At Haxey, Old Twelfth Day is
devoted to throwing the hood, an amusement, which according
to tradition, was instituted by one of the Mowbrays. A roll
of canvas, tightly corded together, from four to six pounds
in weight, is taken to an open fiold. and contended for by
the rustics. An individual appointed casts it from him, and
the first person who can convey it into tlie cellars of any
public house receives the reward of one shilling, paid by the
plough-bullocks or hoggins. A new hood being furnished
when the others are carried off, the contest usually continues
till dark. The next day the plough-bullocks or hoggins go
round the town collecting alms, and crying " Largess." They
are dressed like morris-dancers, and are yoked to and drag
a small plough. They have their farmer, and a fool called
Billy Buck, dressed like a harlequin, with whom the boys
make sport. The day is concluded by the bullocks running
with the plough round the cross on the green ; and the man
that can throw the other down, and convey the plough into
the cellar of a public house, receives one shilling for his
agility. See N. & Q. th S. vol. ix. p. 158.
MIDDLESEX.
In London on Twelfth Night, in former days, boys as-
sembled round the inviting shops of the pastrycooks, and
dexterously nailed the coat-tails of spectators who ven-
tured near enough to the bottoms of the window frames,
or pinned them strongly together by their clothes. Sometimes
eight or ten persons found themselves thus connected. The
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAY. S3
dexterity and force of the nail-driviug was so quick and
sure that a single blow seldom failed <,f doing tlie business
effectually. Withdrawal of the nail without a proper
instrument was out of the question, and consequently, the
person nailed was forced either to leave part of Ids coat as a
cognisance of his attachment, or quit th<! spot with a hole in
it. At every nailing and pinning shouts of laughter arose
from the perpetrators, yet it often 'happened to one who
turned and smiled at the duress of another, that he also
found himself nailed. Efforts at extrication increased mirth ;
nor was the presence of a constable, who was usually em-
ployed to attend and preserve free " ingress, egress, and
regress," sufficiently awful to deter the offender. Every Day
Book, vol. i. p. 50.
A curious custom of mediaeval origin is observed at the
Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, on the festival of the
Epiphany. After the reading of the sentence at the offertory,
" Let your light so shine before men," &c., while the organ
plays, two members of her Majesty's household, wearing the
royal livery, descend from the royal pew and advance to the
altar rails, preceded by the usher, where they present to one
of the two officiating clergymen a red bag, edged with gold
lace or braid, which is received in an offertory basin, and
then reverently placed on the altar. This bag or purse is
understood to contain the Queen's offering of gold, frank-
incense, and myrrh, in commemoration of the gifts of the
Magi to the infant Saviour. Echo, Jan. 7th, 1869.
In the Lady's Mag. for 1760, is the following :
Sunday Jan. 6th, being Twelfth Day, and a collar and
offering day at St. Jarnes', his Majesty, preceded by the
heralds, pursuivants, &c., and the knights of the Garter,
Thistle, and Bath, in the collars of their respective orders,
went to the Royal Chapel at St. James', and offered gold,
myrrh, and frankincense, in imitation of the Eastern Magi
offering to our Saviour.
ISLE OF MAN.
In this island there is not a barn unoccupied on tlso
whole twelve days after Christmas, every parish hiring
fiddlers at the public charge. On Twelfth Day tho fiddler
34 TWELFTH DAY. [JAN. 6.
lays hifl head in the lap of some one of the wenches,
arid the maimtyr fiddler asks who such a maid, or such a
maid, naming all the girls one after another, shall marry,
to which he answers according to his own whim, or agree-
able to the intimacies he has taken notice of during the
time of merriment, and whatever he says is absolutely
depended on as an oracle ; and if he happen to couple two
people who have an aversion to each other, tears and
vexation succeed the mirth; this they call "cutting off the
tiddler's head," for after this he is dead for a whole year.
Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, 1859, p. IDG.
SOMERSETSHIRE.
A friend of mine, says Mr. C. W. Bingham in N. & Q. (3rd S.
vol. ix. p. 33), met a girl on Old Christmas Day, in a village
of North Somerset, who told him that she was going to
see the Christmas thorn in blossom. He accompanied
her to an orchard, where he found a tree, propagated
from the celebrated Glastonbury thorn, and gathered from
it several sprigs in blossom. Afterwards the girl's mother
informed him that it had been formerly the custom for
the youth of both sexes to assemble under the tree at mid-
night on Christmas Eve, in order to hear the bursting of the
buds into flower, and she added, " As they corned out, you
could hear 'um liaffer."
Jennings, and after him Halliwcll, give this word Tiaffer
for to crackle, to patter, to make repeated loud noises.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
At Paget's Bromley a curious custom went ottt in the
seventeenth century. A man came along the village with
a mock horse fastened to him, with which he danced, at the
same time making a snapping noise with a bow and arrow.
He was attended by half a dozen fellow-villagers, wearing
mock deers' heads, and displaying the arms of the several
landlords of the town. This party danced (he Hays, and
olher country dances, to music, amidst the sympathy and
applause of the multitude. There was also a huge pot of
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAT. 35
ale with cakes, by general contribution of the village, out
of the very surplus of which " they not only repaired their
church, but kept their poor too ; which charges," quoth
Dr. Plot, "are not now, perhaps, so cheerfully borne."
Plot's Nat. Hist, of Sta/ordsUre, 1680, p. 434.
WESTMORELAND.
Twelfth Night, or Holly Night, was formerly celebrated
at Brough, by carrying through the town a holly-tree with
toivhes attached to its branches. The procession set out at
8 o'clock in the evening preceded by music, and stopped at
the town-bridge, and again at the cross, where it was greeted
each time with shouts of applause. Many of the inhabitants
carried lighted branches as flambeaux ; and rockets, squibs,
&c., were discharged on the joyful occasion. After the tree
had been carried about, and the torches were sufficiently burnt,
it was placed in the middle of the town, when it was again
cheered by the surrounding crowd, and then was thrown
nmong them. The spectators at once divided into two
parties, one of which endeavoured to take the tree to one
of the inns, and the other to a rival inn. The innkeeper
whose party triumphed was expected to treat his partisans
liberally. Hone's Table Book, 1838, p. 26 ; Handbook for
tile Lakes, Murray, 1866, p. 113.
WALES.
In some parts of Pembrokeshire, the following practice is
observed. A wren is secured in a small house made of
wood, with door and windows, the latter glazed. Pieces
of ribbon of various colours are fixed to the ridge of the
roof outside. Sometimes several wrens are brought in the
same cage, and oftentimes a stable lantern, decorated as
above mentioned, serves for the wren's-house. The proprietors
of this establishment go round to the principal houses in
their neighbourhood : where, accompanying themselves with
some musical instrument, they announce their arrival by
singing the ' Song of the Wren.' The wren's visit is a
source of much amusement to children and servants, aud the
2
86 BT. DISTAFF'S DAT. ROCK DAT. J_JAX. 7.
wren's men, or lads, are usually invited to have a draught
from the cellar, and receive a present in money. The ' Song
of the Wren ' is generally encored, and the proprietors very
commonly commence high life below stairs, dancing with the
maid-servants, and saluting them under the kissing bush,
where there is one. The following is the ' Song of the
Wren : f
M Joy, health, love, and peace,
Be to you in this plat-e.
By your leave we will sing,
Concerning our king:
Our king is well drest;
In silks of the best ;
With his ribbons so rare,
No king ran compare.
In his coach lie does ride,
With a great deal of pride ;
And with four footmen
To wait upon him.
We were four at watch,
. And all niuh of a match ;
And wi'.h powder and ball
We fired at his hall.
We have tiavelFd many miles,
Over hedgrs and stiles,
To find you this king,
Which we now to you bring.
Now Chijstmas is past,
Twelfth Day is the last.
Th' Old Year bids adieu;
Great joy to the New."
It would appear from the ninth line of {he song that the
wren at one time used to occupy a coach, or that her house
was placed upon wheels. N. & Q. '3rd S. vol. v. p. 109.
JAN. 7.] ST. DISTAFF'S DAY. EOCK DAY.
THB day after Twelfth Day was called Rock Day* and
St. Distaffs Day, because on that day women resumed their
spinning, which had been interrupted by the sports of
* See ' Things not generally known,' by John Timhs, 1859, pp. 1-6.
JAN. 7.] PLOUGH MONDA*. 37
Christmas : for our ancestors, it seems, returned to their
work in a very leisurely manner. From Herrick's Hesperides
(p. 374) we learn that the men, in boisterous merriment,
burned the women's flax, and that they in retaliation dashed
pails of water upon the men :
** Partly work, and partly play
Ye must on St. Distaff s Day :
From the plough soone free your teams,
Then home and fotlier them ;
If the maiiles a spinning jjoe
Burn the flax and fire the tovr.
* * *
Bring in pails of water, then
Let the maides bt-wash the men;
Give St. Distaff all the night,
Then bid Christmas sport good night;
Then next morning, every one
To his own vocation."
Med. Mot Kalend. vol. i. p. 138.
PLOUGH MONDAY.
THIS was the name of a rustic festival, held the first
Monday after Twelfth Day, formerly of great account in
England, bearing in its first aspect, like St. Distaffs Day,
reference to the resumption of labour after the Christmas
holidays. In Catholic times, the ploughmen kept lights
burning before certain images in churches to obtain a
blessing on their work ; and they were accustomed on this
day to go about in procession, gathering money for the
support of these plough lights, as they were called. The
Reformation put out the lights, but it could not extinguish
the festival. The peasantry contrived to go about in pro-
cession, collecting money, though only to be spent in
conviviality in the public-house. It was at no remote date
a very gay and rather pleasant-looking affair. A plough
was dressed up with ribbons and other decorations the
Fool plough. Thirty or forty stalwart swains, with their
shirts over their jackets, and their shoulders aud huts
88 PLOUGH MONDAY. [JAN. 7.
flaming with ribbons, dragged it along from house to house,
preceded by one in the dress of an old woman, but much
bedizened, bearing the name of Bessy. There was also a
fool, in fantastic attire. In some parts of the country
morris-dancers attended the procession ; occasionally, too,
some reproduction of the ancient Scandinavian sword-dance
added to the means of persuading money out of the pockets
of the lieges. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 94.
In Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Husbandry, under the
account of the Ploughman's Feast Days, are the following
lines :
" Plough Munday, next after that twelf-tide is past,
Bids out with the plough : the worst husband is last.
If plowman get hatchet or whip to the skrene,
Maids loseth their cocke, if no water be seen."
Which are thus explained in Tusser Bedivivus (1744, p. 79) :
" After Christmas (which formerly, during the twelve days,
was a time of very little work), every gentleman feasted
the farmers, and every farmer their servants and task-men.
Plough Monday puts them in mind of their business.
In the morning, the men and the maid-servants strive
who shall show their diligence in rising earliest. If the
ploughman can get his whip, his ploughstaff, hatchet, or
anything that he wants in the field, by the fireside, before
the maid hath got her kettle on, then the maid loseth her
shrove-tide cock, and it wholly belongs to the men. Thus
did our forefathers strive to allure youth to their duty, and
provided them with innocent mirth as well as labour. On
this Plough Monday they have a good supper and some
strong drink." See also Every Day Book, 1826, vol. i.
p. 71.
In the British Apollo (fol. 1710, ii. 92), to an inquiry why
the first Monday after Twelfth Day is called Plough Monday,
answer is given : " Plough Monday is a country phrase, and
only used by peasants, because they generally used to meet
together at some neighbourhood over a cup of ale, and feast
themselves, as well as wish themselves a plentiful harvest
from the great corn sown (as they call wheat and rye), as
also to wish a God-speed to the plough as soon as they begin
JAN. 7.] PLOUGH MONDAY. 39
to break the ground, to sow barley, and other corn, which
they at that time make a holiday to themselves as a finishing
stroke after Christmas, which is their master's holiday time,
as 'prentices in many places make it the same, appropriated
by consent to revel among themselves."
Formerly the following custom prevailed in the northern
counties of England on Plough Monday. If a ploughman
came to the kitchen-hatch, and could cry, " Cock in the pot,"
before the maid could cry " Cock on the dunghill," he was
entitled to a cock for Shrove Tuesday. N. & Q. 2nd S.
vol. i. p. 386.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Plough Monday is observed at Cambridge by parties
g >ing about the town variously dressed in ribbons, etc.;
soinu with a female among them, some with a man in women's
clothes, some with a plough : they dance and collect money
which is afterwards spent in a feast. Time's Telescope,
1816, p. 3.
DERBYSHIRE.
On Plough Monday the "Plough bullocks" are occa-
sionally seen ; they consist of a number of young men
from various farmhouses, who are dressed up in ribbons,
their shirts (for they wear no coats or waistcoats) literally
covered with rosettes of various colours and their hats bound
with ribbons, and decorated with every kind of ornament
that comes in their way ; these young men yoke themselves
to a plough, which they draw about, preceded by a band
of music, from house to house, collecting money. They
are accompanied by the Fool and Bessy ; the Fool being
dressed in the skin of a calf, with the tail hanging dowu
behind, and Bessy generally a young man in female attire.
The Fool carries an inflated bladder tied to the end of a
long stick, by way of whip, which he does not fail to apply
pretty soundly to the heads and shoulders of his team.
When anything is given a cry of " Largess 1" is raised, and a
dance performed round the plough. If a refusal to their
application for money is made they not unfrequently plough
up the pathway, door-stone, or any other portion of the
40 PLOUGH MONDAY. [J.O. 7.
premises they happen to be near. Jour, of Arch. Assoc. 1852,
vol. vii. p. 202.
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
Plough Monday is observed in this county. The
mummers are called "Plough-Witchers." and their cere-
mony, " Plough-Witching." N. & Q- 2nd S. vol. ix. p. 381.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
Macaulay (History of Claybroolc, 1791, p. 128,) says : On
Plough Monday I have taken notice of an annual display i,f
morris-dancers at Claybrook, who come from the neigh-
bouring villages of Sapcote and Sharnford.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
A correspondent of the Book of Days, vol. i. p. 94, giving
the following interesting account as to how Plough Monday
was, in days gone by, celebrated in the county, says :
Kude though it was, the Plough procession tluevv a life
into the dreary scenery of winter, as it came winding
along the quiet rutted lanes, on its way from one village
to another ; for the ploughmen from many a surrounding
hamlet and lonely farmhouse united in the celebration of
Plough Monday. It was nothing unusual for at least a
score of the " sons of the soil " to yoke themselves with
ropes to the plough, having put on clean smock frocks
in honour of the day. There was no limit to the number
who joined in the morris-dance, and were partners with
" Bes.sy," who carried the money-box ; and all these had
ribbons in their huts, and pinned about them wherever
there was room to display a bunch. Many a hardworking
country Molly lent a helping hand in decorating out her
Johnny for Plough Monday, and finished him with an
admiring exclamation of " Lawks, John ! thou does look
smart, surely." Some also wore small bunches of corn in
their hats, from which the wheat was soon shaken out by
the ungainly jumping which they called dancing. Occasion-
ally, if the winter was severe, the procession \\ as joined by
J.\N. 7.] PLOUGH MONDAY. 41
threshers carrying their flails, reapers bearing their sickles,
and carters with their long whips, which they were cracking
to add to the noise, while even the smith and the miller
were among the number, for the one sharpened the plough-
shares and the other ground the corn ; and Bessy rattled
his box, and danced so high that he showed his worsted
stockings and corduroy breeches ; and very often, if there
was a tliaw, tucked up his gown skirts under his waistcoat,
and shook the bonnet oif his head, and disarranged the long
ringlets that ought to have concealed his whiskers. For
]i ssy is to the procession of Plough Monday what the
leading figurante is to an opera or ballet, and dances about
as gracefully as the hippopotami described by Dr. Living-
stone. But their rough antics were the cause of much
laughter, and rarely do we ever remember hearing any
coarse jest that would call up the angry blush to a modest
cheek.
No doubt they were called " plough-bullocks," through
drawing the plough, as bullocks were formerly used, and are
still yoked to the plough in some parts of the country. The
rubbishing verses they recited are not worth preserving,
beyond the line, which graces many a public-house sign,
" God spied the plough." At the large farmhouse, besides
money they obtained refreshment, and through the quantity
of ale they thus drank during the day managed to get what
they called " their load by night." Even the poorest cot-
tagers dropped a few pence into Bessy's box.
But the great event of the day was when they came
before some house which bore signs that the owner was well-
to-do in the world, and nothing was given to them. Bessy
rattled his box, and the ploughmen danced, while the country
lads blew the bullocks' horns, or shouted with all their
might ; but if there was still no sign, no coming forth of
either bread-and-cheese or ale, then the word was given,
the ploughshare driven into the ground before the door or
window, the whole twenty men yoked pulling like one, and
in a minute or two the ground before tlie house was as brown,
barren, and ridgy as a newly-ploughed field. But this was
rarely done, for everybody gave something, and were it but
little the men never murmured, though they might talk
42 PLOUGH MONDAY. [JAN. 7.
about the stinginess of the giver afterwards amongst them-
selves, more especially if the party was what they called
*' well off in the world." We are not aware that the plough-
men were ever summoned to answer for such a breach of the
law, for they believe, to use their own expressive language,
" they can stand by it, and no law in the world can touch
'era, 'cause it's an old charter ;" and we are sure it won LI
spoil their " folly to be wise."
One of the mummers generally wears a fox's skin in the
form of a hood ; but beyond the laughter the tail that hangs
down his back awakens by its motion as he dances, we are
at a loss to tind a meaning. Bessy formerly wore a bullock's
tail behind, under his gown, and which ho held in his hand
while dancing, but that appendage has not been worn of
late.
NORFOLK.
Hone's Tear Book, p. 29, gives a quotation from a Brief e
Relation, &c., 1646, wherein the writer says, that the Monday
after Twelfth Day is called " Plowlick Monday " by the
husbandmen in Norfolk, " because on that day they doe first
begin to plough."
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
In the northern and eastern parts of the county Plough
Monday is more noticed than in the neighbourhood of
Northampton. The pageant varies in different places;
sometimes five persons precede the plough, which is drawu
by a number of boys with their faces blackened and reddled.
Formerly, when the pageant was of a more important cha-
racter than now, the plough was drawn by oxen decorated
with ribbons. The one who walks first in the procession is
styled the Master, and is grotesquely attired, having on a
large wig ; two are gaily bedizened in women's clothes ; and
two others have large hunches on their backs, on which is
sewed the knave of hearts. These two are called Eed Jacks,
or fools. Each of the five carries a besom, and one of them
a box, which he rattles assiduously among the spectators to
obtuin their donations, which are spent at night in con-
viviality and jollification. lu some instances they plough up
JAN. 12.] SCOTCFI LOCAL CUSTOM. 43
the soil in front of the houses of such persons as refuse their
contributions. Before the iiiclosure of open fields, there
was another custom in connection with the day. Wheu the
ploughman returned from his labours in the evening, tho
servant-maid used to meet him with a jug of toast and alu ;
and if he could succeed in throwing his plough-hatchet into
the house before she reached the door, lie was entitled to a
cock to throw at Shrovetide ; but if she was able to present
him with the toast and ale first, then she gained the cock.
(See page 38.) Baker's Northamptonshire Words and Phrases,
1854, ii. 1257.
YORKSHIRE.
On the Monday after Twelfth Day, says Clarkson (Hist.
of Richmond, 1821, p. 293), a number of young men from
the country, yoked to a plough, drag it about the streets,
begging money, in allusion to the labours of the plough
having ceased in that severe weather. In like manner tlie
watermen in London, when the Thames is covered with
m i i hard frosts, haul a boat about tlie streets, to show that
they are deprived of the means of earning their livelihood.
JAN 10.] OXFORDSHIRE.
Pointer, in his Oxoniensis Academia (1749, p. 96), alludes
to a practice observed at St. John's and Corpus Christ!
Colleges, Oxford, of having a speech spoken on this day, in
laudem Laudi Archiepisco^n.
JAN. I2.J SCOTLAND.
This day is observed by the people of Halkirk, as New
Year's Day, a time when servants arc too apt to spend their
hard-earned penny in drink and other equally useless
purposes. Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1845, vol. xv. p. 75.
44 IIALLAUD NIGHT. [JAIL 14.
JAN. 13.] ST. HILAEY'S DAY.
ST. Hilary is memorable in the annals of Eichmond, in
the county of York, as on the anniversary of his festival the
mayor is chosen for the ensuing year, which causes it to be
observed as a jubilee-day among the friends, and those con-
cerned in corporation matters.
St. Hilary likewise gives name to one of the four seasons
of the year when the courts of justice are opened. Clark-
son's, Hist, of Richmond, 1821, p. 293.
JAN. 14.] MALLAED NIGHT.
OXFORDSHIRE.
THIS day was formerly celebrated in All Souls College,
Oxford, in commemoration of the discovery of a very
large mallard or drake in a drain, when digging for the
foundation of the college ; and though this observance no
longer exists, yet on one of the college " gaudies " there
is sung in memory of the occurrence a very old song called
" The swapping, swapping mallard."
"THE MEKRY OLD SONG OF THE ALL SOULS
MALLAED.
" Griffin, bustard, turkey, capon,
Let other hungry mortals gape on;
And on the bones their stomach fall hard.
But let All Souls' men have their Mallard.
Oh ' by the bloo:l of King Edward,*
Oh ! by the blood of King Edward,
It was a swapping, swapping Mallard.
* The allusion to King Edward is surely an anachronism, ns King
Henry VI. was reigning at the time of the foundation of the collugo.
Hook of Days, vol. i. p. 114.
JA.\. 1 7.] SEPTUAGESIMA. 45
The Romans once admired a gander
More than they did their chief commander;
Because he saved, if some don't fool us,
The place that's called th' 'head of Tolus.'
Oh ! by the blood of King Edward, &o.
The poets feign Jove turned a swan,
But let them prove it if t:.ey c;m ;
As for our proof, tis not at all hard,
For it was a swapping, swapping Mallard.
Oh ! by tl.e blood of King Edward, &o.
Therefore let us sing and danoe a g"lliard.
To the remembrance of the Mallard ;
And as the Mallard dives in pool,
Let us dabble, dive, and duck in bowL
Oh ! by the blood of King Edward,
Oh ! by the blood of King Edward,
It was a swapping, swapping Mallard."
When Pointer wrote his Oxonicnsis Academia (1749), he
committed a grave offence by insinuating that this immor-
tal: sod mallard was no other than a goose. The insinuation
produced a reply from Dr. Buckler, replete with irresistible
irony ; but Pointer met a partisan in Mr. Bilson, chaplain
of All Souls, who issued a folio sheet entitled ' Proposals
for printing by subscription the History of the Mallar-
dians,' with the figure of a cat prefixed, said to have been
found starved in the college library. Hist, of Co. of Oxford,
1852, p. 144.
JAN. 17.] SEPTUAGESBtA.
SEPTUAGESIMA occurs between this day and February the
22ud, according as the Paschal full moon falls. It was
formerly distinguished by a strange ceremony, denominated
the Funeral of Alleluia. On the Saturday of Septuagesima,
at nones, the choristers assembled in the great vestiary of
the cathedral, and there arranged the ceremony. Having
finished the last benedicamus, they advanced with crosses,
torches, holy waters, and incense, carrying a turf in the
46 ST. AGNES' EVE. [JAN. 20.
manner of a coffin, passed through the choir, and went
howling to the cloister as far as the place of interment ;
and then having sprinkled the water and censed the place,
returned by the same road. Fosbroke's British Monachism.
1843, p. 56.
JAN. 20.] ST. AGNES' EVE.
THIS night was formerly much venerated by young maidens
who wished to know when and whom they should marry.
It was required that on this day they should not eat, which
was called "fasting St. Agnes' fast." Keats has made this
custom the subject of one of his poems. The following
are a few stanzas from it :
* St. Agnes's Eve ! All, bitter chill it wns!
The owl, for all his feathers, was o-cold;
The hare limp'd trembling through the frozen grass,
And silent was the nock in woolly fold.
******
They told me how, upon St. Agnes's Eve
Young virgins miglit have visions of delight;
And soft a'loringtj from their loves receive,
Upon the honey'd middle of the night,
If ceremonies due they did aright;
As snpperlcss to bed they nm.-t retire,
And couch supine their beauties, lilywhite;
Nor look behind, nor sideways, but require
Of Heaven, with upward eyes, for all that they desire.
******
Her vespers done,
Of all its wretched pearls her hair she frees ;
Unclasp'd her warmed jewels one by one;
Loosens her fragrant bodice ; by degrees
Her rich attire creeps rustliug to her knees:
Hulf hidden, like a mermaid in sta-weed,
Pensive awhile she dreams awake, and sees,
In fancy, fair St. Agnes in her bed,
But dares not look behind, or all the charm is fled."
SCOTLAND.
Formerly on the eve of St. Agnes' Day the following
custom was, and perchance still is observed in the northern
JAN. 24.] ST. PAUL'S EVE. 17
parts of Scotland by the mountain peasantry. A number
of young lads and lasses meeting together on the eve of St.
Agnes, at the hour of twelve, went one by one to a certain
cornfield, and threw in some grain, after which they pro-
nounced the following rhyme :
u Agones swoet and Agnes fair.
Hither, hither, now repair;
Bnny Agues, let me see
Tlie lad who is to marry me."
The prayer was granted by their favourite saint, and the
shadow of the destined bride or bridegroom was seen in a
mirror on this very night. Time's Telescope, 1832, p. 15.
JAN. 21.] ST. AGNES' DAY.
SINCE the Reformation, St: Agnes has by degrees lost her
consequence in this country as superstition has subsided ;
though our rural virgins in the north are yet said to practise
some singular rites, in keeping " what they call St. Agnes'
Fast, for the purpose of discovering their future husbands."
Clavis Calendaria, Brady, 1815, vol. i. p. 170. See Mother
Bunch's Closet NeicJy Broke Open, 1825 (?). Anatomy of
Melancholy, Burton, 1660, p. 538.
JAN. 24.] ST. PAUL'S EVE.
CORNWALL.
THE first red-letter day in the Tinner's Calendar is St.
Paul's Pitcher-day, or the Eve of Paul's Tide. It is marked
l>y a very curious and inexplicable custom, not only among
tin-streamers, but also in the mixed mining and agricultural
town and neighbourhood of Bodmin, and among the sea-
faring population of Padstow. The tinner's mode of observ-
ing it is as follows : On the day before the Feast of St.
Paul, a water-pitcher is set up at a convenient distance,
48 ST. PAUL'S DAT. [JAN. 25.
and pelted with stones until entirely demolished. The men
then leave their work, and adjourn to a neighbouring ale-
house, where a new pitcher bought to replace the old one is
successively filled and emptied, and the evening is given up
to merriment and misrule.
On inquiry whether some dim notion of the origin and
meaning of this custom remained among those who still keep
it up, it was found to be generally held as an ancient festival
intended to celebrate the day when tin was first turned into
metal in fact, the discovery of smelting. It is the occasion
of a revel, in which, as an old streamer observes, there is an
open rebellion against the water-drinking system which is
enforced upon them whilst at work.
The custom of observing Pauls Pitcher Night is probably
half-forgotten even in Cornwall at the present time, where
many of the ancient provincial usages have been suffered to
die out. It was, however, in full vigour so recently as 1859.
The boys of Bodmin parade the town with broken pitchers,
and other earthenware vessels, and into every house, where
the door can be opened, or has been inadvertently left so,
they hurl a " Paul's pitcher," exclaiming,
" Paul's Eve,
And here's a heave."
According to custom, the first " heave " cannot be objected
to ; but upon its repetition the offender, if caught, uiay be
punished. Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1870, vol. i. p. 23 ; N. & Q.
1st S. vol. iii. p. 239 ; 2nd S. vol. viii. p. 312.
JAN. 25.] ST. PAUL'S DAT.
STRYPB, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. part i.
p. 331), says : On the 25th of January (1554), being St.
Paul's Day, was a general procession of St. Paul by every
parish, both priests and clerks, in copes, to the number of an
hundred and sixty, singing Salve festa dies, with ninety
crosses borne. The procession was through Cheap unto
Leadenhall. And before went two schools ; that is, first, all
JAN. 25.] ST. PAUL'S DAT. 49
the children of the Gray Friars, and then those of St. Paul's
Hchool. There were eight b shops, and the Bishop of
London, mitred, bearing the Sacrament, with many torches
burning, and a canopy borne over. And so about the
churchyard, and in at the West door, with the Lord Mayor
and Aldermen, and all the Companies in their best liveries.
And within a while aftur, the King came, and the Lord
( Cardinal, and the Prince of Pieuiont, and divers lords and
knights. At the foot of the steps to the choir, as the King
went up, kneeled the gentlemen lately pardoned, offering
him their service. After mass, they returned to the court to
d-nner. And at night bonfires, and great ringing of hells in
every church. And all this joy was for the conversion of the
realm.
It was on this day that the husbandmen of old used to
make prognostics of the weather, and of other matters f >r the
whole year, a custom which Baurne (Antiquitatcs Vulrjares,
chap, xviii. p. 159) has tried to unravel. New Curiosities of
Literature, Soanc, 1847, p. 42.
St. Paul's Cathedral. One of the strangest of the old
ceremonies in which the clergy of St. Paul's Cathedral used
to figure was that \vhich was performed twice a year, namely,
on the day of the Conversion, and on that of the Com-
memoration of St. Paul. On the former of these festivals
a fat buck, and on the latter a fat doe, was presented to
the church by the family of Baud, in consideration of
some lauds which they held of the Dean and Chapter
at West Lee in Essex. The original agreement made wit'i
Sir William Le Baud, in 1274, was that he himself should
attend in person with the animals ; but some years afterwards
it was arranged that the presentation should be made by a
servant, accompanied by a deputation <.f part of the family.
The priests, however, continued to perform their part in
the show. On the aforesaid days, the buck and doe were
brought by one or more servants at the hour of the precession,
and through the midst thereof, and offered at the high altar
of St. Paul's Cathedral ; after which the persons thai brought
tjie buck received of the Dean and Chapter, by the hands ^ f
their chamberlain, twelvepence for their entertainment ;
50 EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. [JAN. 31.
but nothing when tliey brought the doe. The buck being
brought to the steps of the altar, the Dean and Chapter,
apparelled in copes and proper vestments, with garlands of
roses on their heads, sent the body of the buck to be baked,
and had the head and horns fixed on a pole before the dross
in their procession round about the church, till they issued
at the West door, where the keeper that brought it blowed
the death of the buck, and then the horns that were about the
city answered him in like manner ; for which they had each
of the Dean and Chapter three and fourpence in money,
and their dinner ; and the keeper, during his stay, meat,
drink, and lodging, and five shillings in money at his
going away; together with a loaf of bread, having on it
the picture of St. Paul. This custom was continued till
the reign of Elizabeth. Beauties of England, Brayley and
Britton, 1803, vol. v. p. 486.
JAN. 31.] EXECUTION OF CHAELES I.
THE anniversary of the execution of King Charles I. was
formerly celebrated, and a special form of prayer made use
of, which was removed from the Prayer Book by an Act ot
Parliament (22 Viet. c. 2, March 25, 1859).
The following extract is taken from the Courier, of the
30th of January, 1826 :
" This being the anniversary of King Charles' Martyrdom
(in 1649), the Royal Exchange gates were shut till twelve
o'clock, when they were opened fur public business."
There is a story told regarding a Miss Russell, great grand-
daughter of Oliver Cromwell, who was waiting-woman to the
Princess Amelia, daughter of George II., to the effect that,
while engaged in her duty one 30th of January, the Prince
of Wales came into the room, and sportively said, "For
shame, Miss Russell ! why have you not been at church,
humbling yourself with weepings and wailings for the sins
on this day committed by your ancestor ?" To which Miss
JAN. 31.] NEWAUK RAFFLING DAY. 51
Russell answered, " Sir, for a descendant of the great Oliver
Cromwell, it is humiliation sufficient to be employed, as I
am, in pinning up the tail of your sister!" Rede's Anec-
dotes, 1799, quoted in Book of Days, vol. i. p. 192.
JAN. 31.] ISLE OF
On the eve of the 1st of February a festival was for-
merly kept, called in the Manks language Laa'l Breeshey,
in honour of the Irish lady who went over to the Isle of
Man to receive the veil from St. Mnughold. The custom
was to gather a bundle of green rushes, and standing
with them in the hand on the threshold of the door, to
invite the holy Sa - 'nt Bridget to come and lodge with them
that night. In the Manks language, the invitation ran
thus : " Brede. Brede, tar gys my thie, tar dyn thie ayms
noght. Foshil je yn dorrys da Brede, as Ihig da Brede e
heet staigh." In English, " Bridget, Bridget, come to my
house, come to my house to-night open the door for Bridget,
and let Bridget come in." After these words were repeated,
the rushes were strewn on the floor by way of a carpet or
bed for St. Bridget. Train's History of the Isle of Man,
1815, vol. ii. p. 116.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRB.
The following extract from the Newark Advertiser of
Feb. 2nd. 1870, describes a custom that existed for a lor^
time at Newark :
" For many years past the last day in January has been
observed in Newark as a raffling day for oranges in the
market-place. On Monday last application was made to Mr.
Superintendent Riddcll, at the Post Office, as to whether the
practice would be allowed this year as usual. He advised
thorn to apply to the sitting magistrates, and upon doing so
Mr. Wallis (deputy clerk) read to them the Act of Parlia-
ment, which state 1 that they would be liable to three months'
hard labour if they raffled. The applicants said they believe.l
Uicre was some old charter which gave them the privilege
2
52 CANDLEMAS EVE. [FEU. I
in Newark for raffling on that day, but they were told the
Act of Parliament made no exceptions, and the magistrates
said they could not give them permission to break the law.
On Monday, therefore, no raffling took place, and we may
regard the practice as finally put an end to, which will be a
matter of great satisfaction to many. See, Every Day Book,
vol. ii. p. 161.
OXFORDSHIRE.
By the common people, the Saturday preceding Shrove
Tuesday is called Egg Saturday. This name is employed as
a date by Anthony h Wood : " One hundred and ninety-two
bachelors to determine this Lent, but twenty-three or there-
abouts were not presented on Egg Saturday." Med. JEvi
Kalend. vol. i. p. 158. Lives of Leland, Mearne, and Wood,
1772, vol. ii. p. 297.
FEB. i.J CANDLEMAS EVE.
ON Candlemas Eve was kindled the yule-brand, which was
allowed to burn till sunset, when it was quenched and care-
fully laid by to teend (i.e. light) the Christmas clog or log at
the next return of the season. Thus Herrick, Hesperides,
p. 337, says :
4< Kindl<' the Christmas Brand, and then
Till sunne-set let it burne :
Which quencl.t, then lay it up agen
Till Christmas next returne.
Part must bo kept wherewith to teend
The (Jhristmas Log next yeare ;
And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend
Can do no mischiefe there."
The rosemary, the bay, the ivy, the holly, and the mistletoe,
the Christmas decorations of hall and cottage, were now
FEB. I.] CANDLEMAS EVfi. 53
pulled down, when, according to the popular superstition,
not a branch, nor even a leaf, should be allowed to remain.
** Down with the Rosemary and so
Down with the Bates and the Misleto:
Down with the Holly, Ivie, all
Wherewith ye drtss the Christmas BaUt
That so the superstitious find
No one least branch there left behind !
For look, how many leaves there be
Negkcted there (maids trust to me),
So many goblins you shall see.''
Herrick (Besperides, p. 361),
In the place, however, of the Christmas decorations, the
"greener box was upraised," and Christmas now was posi-
tively at an end. Some indeed, considered this to have been
the case on Twelfth Night, and old Tusser, in his Fice
Hundred Points of good Husbandry, strongly contends for
it ; but then his head was more full of the cart and plough
than of regard for old customs ; and like any other master, he
.vas naturally anxious that the holidays should be ended, and
the labourers should get to work again as soon as possible ;
and merry-making, however agreeable it may be, will not
help to dig the land or sow the grain. But in spite of these
wise saws, the truth of which nobody would contest, human
feelings are stronger than human reason, and customs, when
they tend to pleasure, will maintain their ground till they
are superseded, not by privations, but by other forms of
amusement. New Curiosities of Literature, Soane, 1847 t
vol. i. p. 52.
The following is from Herrick's Hesperides, p. 337.
* Down with the Rosemary and Bayes,
Down with the Misleto ;
Instead of Holly, now tip-i aise
The greener Box for show.
The Holly hitherto did sway,
Let Box now domineere,
Until the dancing Easter Day,
Or Easter's Eve appeare.
Then youthful Box, which now hath grace
Your houses to renew,
Grown old. surrender must his place
Unto the crisped Yew.
54 CANDLEMAS DAT. [FEB. 2.
When Yew is out, then Birch com; s in,
And many flowers beside ;
Both of a fresh and flagrant kiune
To honour Whit&oatide.
Green Bushes then, and sweetest Bents,
With coolt-r Oaken boughs,
Come in for comely ornaments
To re-adoru the house.
Thus times do shift; each thing his turne does hold;
New things succeed, as former things grow old."
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
It was at one time customary, in the villages bordering
on the Trent, to decorate not only churches but houses
with branches of box, and to light up a number of candles
in the evening, as being the last day of Christmas rejoicings.
" On Candlemas Day throw candles away " is a popular
proverb for the following day. Jour. Arch. Assoc. 1853,
vol. viii. p. 231.
FEB. 2.] CANDLEMAS DAY.
THIS day, the festival of the " Purification of the Blessed
Virgin Mary," is sometimes called Christ's Presentation, the
Holiday of St. Simeon, and The Wives' Feast. The ceremony
of candle-bearing (which continued in England till it was
repealed for its Popish tendency by an order in council in
the second year of King Edward VI.) is generally considered
to refer to what Simeon said when he took the infant Jesus
in his arms, and declared that he was a light to lighten the
Gentiles.
Pope Innocent, in a sermon on this festival quoted in Pa-
gano Papismus, in reply to the question " Why do we (the
Catholics) in this feast carry candles ?" says, " Because the
Gentiles dedicated the month of February to the infernal
gods; and as at the beginning of it Pluto stole Proserpine,
and her mother, Ceres, sought her in the night with lighted
. 2.J CANDLEilAS DAY. 55
candles, so they in the beginning of thJs month, walked
nbitnt the city with lighted candles. Because the holy fathers
could not utterly extirpate this custom, they ordained that
Christians should carry about candles in honour of the
blessed Virgin Mary ; and thus what was done before to
the honour of Ceres is now done to the honour of the
Virgin."
From whatever cause, however, the ceremony originated,
it acquired many additional rites in the process of time,
according to the manners and habits of those who adopted it.
We are told in Dunstan's Concord of Monastic Rules that "the
monks went in surplices to the church for candles, which
were to be consecrated, sprinkled with holy water, and
incensed by the abbot. Every monk took a candle from the
sacrist and lighted it. A procession was made, thirds and
mass were celebrated, and the candles, after the offering,
were presented to the priest. The monks' candles signified
the use of them in the parable of the wise virgins."
According to some authorities, there was on this day a
general consecration of all the candles to be burnt in the
Catholic churches throughout the whole year ; and it should
also be mentioned that from Candlemas the use of tapers at
vespers and litanies, which had continued through the whole
winter, ceased until the ensuing All Hallow Mass, which will
serve to explain the old English proverb in Bay's collec-
tion:
" On Candlemas Day,
Tlirow candle and candlestick away."
New Curiosities of Literature, voL i p. 25.
*v
DORSETSHIRE.
Formerly at Lyme Regis the wood-ashes of the family
being sold throughout the year as they were made, the
person who purchased them annually sent a present on this
day of a large candle. When night came, this candle was
lighted, and, assisted by its illumination, the inmates regaled
themselves with cheering draughts of ale, and sippings of
punch, or some other animating beverage, until the candle
Lad burnt out. The coming of the Candlemas Caudle was
56 CANDLEMAS DAY. [FEB. 2.
looked forward to by the youug ones as an event of some
importance ; for of usage they had a sort of right to sit up
that night, and partake of the refreshment, till all retired to
rest, the signal for which was the sell-extinction of the
Candlemas Candle. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 206.
YORKSHIRE.
Formerly at Ripon, on the Sunday before Candlemas
Day, the collegiate church was illuminated with candles.
Gent Mag. 1790, vol. Ix. p. 719.
SCOTLAND.
At grammar schools it is, or was, an universal custom
for the children attending schools to make small presents
of money to their teachers. The master sits at his desk or
table, exchanging for the moment his usual authoritative
look for one of bland civility, and each child goes up in
turn and lays his offering down before him, the sum being
generally proportioned to the abilities of the parent. Six-
pence and a shilling are the usual sums in most schools, but
some give half, and whole crowns, and even more. The boy
and girl who give most are respectively styled king and
queen. The children being then dismissed for a holiday
proceed along the streets in a confused procession, carrying
the king and queen in state, exalted upon that seat, formed
of crossed hands, which, probably from this circumstance, is
called "the king's chair." In some schools it used to be cus-
tomary for the teacher, on the conclusion of the offerings, to
make a bowl of punch, and regale each boy with a glass to
drink the king and queen's health, and a biscuit. The latter
part of the day was usually devoted to what was called the
Candlemass bleeze or blaze, namely, the conflagration of any
piece of furze which might exist in their neighbourhood,
or, were that wanting, of an artificial bonfire.
According to Sinclair the king's power lasted for six
weeks, and during his reign he was not only entitled to
demand an afternoon's play for the scholars once a \veuk, but
B. 2.] .COLLOP MONDAT. 57
had also the royal privilege of remitting punishments. B >k
of Days, vol i. p. 214. Stat. Ace. of Scotland, Sinclair, 17 ( J4,
vol. xiii. p. 211.
It was formerly customary in Scotland to hold a football
match, the east end of a town against the west, the unmarried
men against the married, or one parish against another.
The " Candlemas ha'," as it was called, brought the whole
community out in a state of high excitement. On one oc-
casion when the sport took place in Jed burgh, the contend-
ing parties, after a struggle of two hours in the streets,
transferred the contention to the bed of the river Jed, and
tliere fo.ight it out amidst a scene of fearful splash and
dabblcment, to the infinite amusement of a multitude looking
on from the bridge. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 214.
WESTERN ISLES or SCOTLAXD.
As Candlemas Day comes round, the mistress and servants
of each family taking a sheaf of oats, dress it up in woman's
apparel, and after putting it in a large basket, beside which
a wooden club is placed, they cry three times, " Briid is come !
Briid is welcome 1" This they do just b-ii re going to bed,
and as soon as they rise in the morning, (bey look among
the ashes, expecting to see the impression of Briid's club
there, which if they do, they reckon it a true presage of
a good crop and prosperous year, and the contrary they
take as an ill-omen. Description of the Western Isles of
Scotland, Martin, 1703, p. 119.
COLLOP MONDAY.
THE Monday before Shrove Tuesday is so called because
it was the last day of flesh-eating before Lent, and our an-
cestors cut their fresh meat into collops or steaks, for salting
or hanging up until Lent was over ; and heuce in many
places it is customary to have eggs and collops, or slices of
bacon at dinner on this day. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 241.
58 COLLOP MONDAY. [FliU. 2.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
At Eton it was the custom for the scholars to write verses
either in praise or dispraise of Father Bacchus, poets being
considered as immediately uader his protection. He was
therefore sung on this occasion in all kinds of metres, and
the verses of the boys of the seventh and sixth, and some of
the fifth forms, were affixed to the inner doors of the college.
Verses are still written and put up on this day, but the
young poets are not confined to the subject of writing eu-
logiums on the God of Wine. It retains, however, the
name of Bacchus. Brand's Pop. Antiq., vol. i. p. 62. Status
Scholce Etonensis, A.D. 1560, fol. 423.
CORNWALL.
On the day termed Hall' Monday, which precedes Shrove
Tuesday, about the dusk of the evening it is the custom
for boys, and in some cases for those who are above the
age of boys, to prowl about the streets with short clubs, and
to knock loudly at every door, running off to escape detection
on the slightest sign of a motion within. If, however, no
attention be excited, and especially if any article be discovered
negligently exposed, or carelessly guarded, then the things
are carried away ; and on the following morning are dis-
covered displayed in some conspicuous place, to expose the
disgraceful want of vigilance supposed to characterise the
owner. The time when this is practised is called " Nicka-
nan night ;" and the individuals concerned are supposed to
represent some imps of darkness, who seize on and expose
unguarded moments.
On the following eve (Shrove Tuesday), the clubs are
again in requisition ; but on this occasion the blows on the
door keep time to the following chant :
** Nicka, nicka nan ;
Give me some pancake, and then Fll be gone.
But if you give me none,
I'll throw a great stone,
And down your doors shall come."
Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall for 1842;
A. & Q. 1st S. vol. xii. p. 297.
FEB. 2.1 COLLOP MONDAY. 59
DEVONSHIEE.
In the neighbourhood of Bridestow, Okehampton, the
children go round to the different houses in the parish on
the Monday before Shrove Tuesday, generally by twos aiid
threes, and chant the following verses, by way of extracting
from the inmates sundry contributions of eggs, flour, butter,
halfpence, &c., to furnish out the Tuesday's feast :
** Lent Crock, give a pancake,
Or a fritter, for my labour,
Or a dish of flour, or a piece of bread,
Or what you please to render.
I see, by the latch,
There's something to catch;
I see, by the string,
There's a good dame within.
Trap, trapping throw,
Give me my mumps, and I'll be go " (gone)t
The above is the most popular version, and the one
indigenous to the place; but there is another set, which
was introduced some years ago by a late schoolmistress,
who was a native of another part of the country, where her
version was customary :
* Shrovetide is nigh at hand,
And we are come a-shroving ;
Pray. Dame, give something,
An apple, or a dumpling,
Or a piece of crumple cheese,
Of your own making,
Or a piece of pancake.
Trip, trapping throw ;
Give me my mumps, and 111 be go."
This custom existed also in the neighbourhood of Salis-
bury. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. v. p. 77. Pop. Antiy. 1849, vol i,
p. 62.
60 ST. BLAIZE'S DAt. [FEB. 3.
FEB. 3.] ST. BLAIZE'S DAY.
ST. Blasius was Bishop of Sebaste, a city of Cappadocia,
in the Lesser Asia, and is said to have suffered martyrdom
in the persecution of Licinus in 316. The fact of iron
combs having been used in tearing the flesh of the martyr
appears to be the reason for his having been adopted by
the wool-combers as their patron saint. The large flourish-
ing communities engaged in this business in Bradford, and
other English towns, are accustomed to hold a septennial
jubilee on the 3rd of February, in honour of Jason of the
Golden Fleece and St. Blaizo; and not many years ago the
fete was conducted with considerable state and ceremony.
Book of Days, vol. i. p. 219.
In 1825 the procession was drawn up in .the following
order :
Herald bearing a flng.
Woolstnplrrs on horseback, ea^h horsu ca; >arisoned with a fleece.
Worsted Spinners awl manufacturers on horseback, in whit- stuff
waistcoats, with each a sliver over the shoulder, and a white stuff sa4i ;
the hordes' necks covered with nets made of thick yarn.
Merchants on horseback, with coloured sashes.
Time guards. Masters' Colours. Three guards.
Apprentices and Masters Sons, on horseback, with ornamented caps,
scarlet stuff coats, white stuff waistcoats, and blue pantaloons.
Bradford and Keighley Hands.
Mace-bearer, on foot.
Six guards. Kinir. Queen. Six guards.
Guards. Jason. Princess Medea. Guards.
Bishop's Ch;i plain.
Bishop Blaao.
Shepherd and Shepherdess.
Shepherd Swains.
Wodlsorters, on horseback, with ornamented caps, and various
coloured falivers.
Comb Makers.
Charcoal Hur/iers.
Combers' Colours.
Baud.
Woolcombers, witli wool wigs, &C.
Band.
J)yere, with red cockades, blue aprons, and crossed slivers of red and
blue.
FEU. 3.] ST. BLAIZE'S DAT. 61
Before the procession started it was addressed by Kichurd
Fawcett, Esq., in the following lines :
Hail to the day, whose kind auspicious raya
Deign VI first to smile on famous Bishop Blase I
To the great author of our Combing tra<le,
This day's devoted, and due honour's paid
To him whode fame thro' Britain's isle resounds,
To Lim whose goodness tn the poor abounds.
Long shall his name in British annals shine,
And grateful agfs offer at his shrine !
By this our trade are thousands daily fed,
By it supplied with means to earn their bread,
In various frms bur trade its work imparts,
In different methods, and by different arts :
Preserves from starving indigents distress'd,
As Combersi. Spinners, Weavers, and the rest.
\Ve boast no g'-ms, or cosily garments vain,
Borrow'd from India or the coast of Spain ;
Our native .soil with wool our trade supplies,
While foreign countries envy us the prize.
Jo foreign broil our common good annoys,
Our country's product all our art employs ;
Our fli-i cy rlo.-ks abound in every vale,
Our bleating lambs proclaim the joyful tale.
So let not Spain with us attempt to vie,
Nor India's wenltli pretend to soar so high;
Nor Ja.->on pride him in his Colchian spoil,
By hard-hips gain'd, and enti-rj ri.-ing toil ;
Since Britons all with ease attain the prize,
And every hill resounds with golden cries,
To celebrate our founder's great renown.
Our shepherd and our shepherdess we crown.
For England's commerce and for George's sway
Each loyal subject irive a loud Huzza.
Huzza 1
Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 209. See also Northampton*
shire Words and Phrases, ii. p. 416.
Minpheu, in his Ductor in Linguas, (1617, p. 236), under
the word Hock-tide speaks of S. Blase his day, about Can-
dlemas, when countrywomen goe about and make good cheere ;
:ind if they finde any of their neighbour women a spinning
tliat day, they burne and make a blaze of fire of the distaffe,
and thereof called S. Blaze his day.
Dr. Percy, in his Notes to the Northumberland Household
Book (1825, pp. 833-435), tells us that the anniversary of
62 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. J.
St. Blasius is the 3rd of February, when it is customary
in many parts of England to light fires on the hills on St.
Blayse night : a custom anciently taken up, perhaps, for no
better re ason than the jingling resemblance of his name to
the word " blaze."
Candles offered to St. Blaze. In honour of St. Blaze
there formerly were offered to him candles, which after
receiving benediction were considered holy, and became
highly serviceable to all pious uses.
Clavis Calendaria, Brady, 1812. vol. i. p. 299. Beauties of
England and Wales, Brayley and Britton, 1809, vol. ii. p. 418.
SHEOVE TUESDAY.
SHROVE Tuesday derives its distinctive epithet in English,
from the custom of the people in applying to the priest to
shrive them, or hear their confessions, before entering on the
great fast of Lent the following day. Its Latin and Con-
tinental names have all a reference to the last time of
eating flesh. After the people had made the confession
required by the ancient discipline of the Church, they were
permitted to indulge in festive amusements, though re-
stricted from partaking of any repasts beyond the usual
substitutes for flosh ; hence the name carnaval, etymologi-
cally signifying, Flesh, fare thee well. From this cause
originated the custom of eating pancakes at Shrove-
tide, which began on the Sunday before the first in Lent.
Med. Mvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 158.
That none, however, might plead forgetfulness of the
ceremony of confessing and being shriven, the great bell
was rung at an early hour in every parish, and in after
times this ringing was still kept up in some places, though
the cause of it ceased with the introduction of Protestantism ;
it then got the name of the Pancake Bell.
Taylor, the water poet (in his Jacke-a-Lent WorTc.es, 1630,
vol. i. p. 115), gives the following curious account as to the
way in which Shrove Tuesday was celebrated in olden times :
FEB. 3.] SHUOVE TUESDAY. G3
" Always before Lent there comes waddling a fat, grosse
groome, called Shrove Tuesday, one whose manners show
he is better fed than taught, and indeed he is the only
monster for feeding amongst all the dayes of the yeere,
for he devoures more flesh in fourteene houres than this old
kingdom doth (or at least should doe) in sixe weekes after.
Such boyling and broyling, such roasting and toasting, such
stewing and brewing, such baking, frying, mincing, cutting,
carving, devouring, and gorbellied gurmondizing, that a man
would thinke people did take in two months' provision at
once. Moreover it is a goodly sight to see how the cookes
in great men's kitchins doe frye in their master's suet, that if
ever a cooke be worth the eating, it is when Shrove Tuesday
is in towne, for he is so stued and larded, basted, and alm< st
over-roasted, that a man may eate every bit of him and never
take a surfet. In a word, they are that day extreme
cholerike, and too hot for any man to meddle with, being
monarchs of the marrow-bones, marquesses of the mutton,
1< rds high regents of the spit and kettle, barons of the
gridiron and sole commanders of the frying-pan. And all
this hurly burly is for no other purpose than to stop the
mouth of the land-wheale, Shrove-Tuesday, at whose entrance
in the morning all the whole kingdome is in quiet, but by the
time the clocke strikes eleven which by the help of a
knavish sexton is commonly before nine, then there is a
l>ell rung called the Pancake-Bell, the sound whereof makes
thousands of people distracted and forgetful either of manner
or humanitie. Then there is a thing cal'd wheat'n flowre,
which the sulphory, necromanticke cookes doe mingle with
water, eggs, spice, and other tragicall, magicall inchant-
ments, and then they put it little by little into a frying-pan
of boyling suet, where it makes a confused dismal hissing
like the Lernean snakes in the reeds of Acheron, Stix, or
Phlegeton until at last by the skill of the cooke it is trans-
formed into the forme of a flap-jack, which in our transla-
tion is call'd a pancake, which ominous incantation the
ignorant people doe devoure very greedily having for the
most part well dined before but they have no sooner swal-
lowed that sweet candied baite, but straight their wits
forsake them, and they runne starke mad, assembling in
64 SHROVE TUE3DAY. [FEB. 3.
routs and throngs numberlesse of ungovernable numbers,
with uncivill civil commotions.
" Then Tim Tatters a most valiant villaine with an
ensign made of a piece of a baker's maukiu fixed upon a
broomstaffe, lie displaies his dreadful colours, and calling the
rasped regiment together, makes an illiterate oration, stnft
with most plentiful want of discretion, the conclusion whereof
is. that somewhat they will doe, but what they know not; until
at List comes marching up another troupe of tatterdemalions,
proclayming wars against no matter uho, so they may be
doing. Then these youths arm'd with cudgels, stones,
hammers, rules, trowels, and handsawse. put play-houses to
the sacke, and * * * to the spoyle, in the quarrel
breaking a thousand quarrels of glasse, I mean making
ambitious brickbats breako their neckes, tumbling from the
tops of lofty chimnies, terribly uutyliug houses, ripping up
the bowels of feather beds, to the inriching of upholsters, the
profit of plaisterers and dirt-dawhcrs. the gaine of glasiers,
joyners, carpenters, tylers and bricklayers ; and, what is
worse, to the contempt of justice; for what avails it for a con-
stable with an army of reverend rusty bill-men to command
peace to these beastes ? for they with their pockets, instead of
pistols, well charged with stone-shot, discharge against the
image of authority whole volleys as thicke as hayle, which
robustious repulse puts the better sort to the worst part, making
the band of unscowered halberdiers retyre faster than ever they
come on, and show exceeding discretion in proving tall men
of their heels. So much for Sltrove Tuesday, Jacke-a-Lent's
gentleman usher ; these have been his humours in former
times, but I have some better hope of reformation in him
hereafter, and indeed I wrote this before his coming th's
yeere, 1G17, not knowing how hee would behave himselfe;
but tottering betwixt despaire and hope I leave him."
In connection with the custom of eating pancakes on this
day, Fosbroke in his Encyclopaedia of Antiquities (vol. ii.
p. 572) says that " Pancakes, the Norman Crispellce, are
taken from the Fornacalia, on Feb. 18th, in memory of the
practice in use before the goddess Fornax invented ovens."
The Saxons called February " Solmonath," which Dr. F.
Sayers, in his Disquisitions, says is explained by Bcde's
FEB. 3.] SHROVE THE DAT. 65
" Mensis Placentarum," and rendered by Speluian, in an
inedited MS., " Pancake month," because in the course of it
cakes were offered by the Pagan Saxons to the Sun.
Our most usual name of this Tuesday, sajs Hampson
(Med. JEvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 158), is originally Swedish :
pankaka, an omelette ; but, it has been absurdly derived
from the Greek TTO.V and KO.KOL, all bad, in reference to the
penitents at confession.
At one time Shrove Tuesday was the great holiday of the
apprentices. Why it should have been so, says Hone (Every
Day Book, 1826, vol. i. p. 258), is easy to imagine, on re-
collecting the sports that boys were allowed on that day at
school. The indulgences of the ancient city apprentices
were great, and their licentious disturbances ?taud recorded in
the annals of many a fray. The old plays make us aware of
a licence which they took on Shrove Tuesday to assail
houses of dubious repute, and cart the unfortunate inmates
tli rough the city. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 239 ; See Dekker's
Seven Deadly Sinnes, 1606, p. 35.
Coch-Fiyhting. Cock-fighting was a very general amuse-
ment up to the end of the last century. It entered into the
occupations of the old and young. Schools had their cock-
fights. Travellers agreed with coachmen that they were to
wait a night if there was a cock-fight in any town through
which they passed. A battle between two cocks had five
guineas staked upon it. Fifty guineas, about the year 1760,
depended upon the main or odd battle. This made the
decision of a " long-main" at cock-fighting an important
matter. The church bells at times announced the winning
of a " long-main." Matches were sometimes so arranged as
to last the week. When country gentlemen had sat long at
table, and the conversation had turned upon the relative
merits of their several birds, a cock-fight often resulted, as
the birds in question were brought for the purpose into the
d ; ning-room. Roberts, Social History of S. Counties of
England, 1856, p. 421.
Formerly cock-fighting was practised on Shrove Tuesday
to a very great extent ; and in the time of King Henry VI I.
this diversion seems to have been practised within the pre-
cincts of the court. In a royal household account, occurs
I
66 SHIIOVE TUESDAY. [F^B. 3.
tb? following :" March 2,7 Hen. VII. Hera, to Master
B: ay for rewards to them that brought Cokkes at Shrovetide,
at Westm r . xx 8 ."
The earliest mention of cock-fighting in England is by
FitzStephens, who died in 1191. He mentions it as one of
the amusements of the Londoners, together with the game of
foot-ball. He says ; " Yearly at Shrove-tide the boys of
every school bring fighting-cocks to their masters, and all
the forenoon is spent at school, to see these cocks fight
together. After dinner all the youth of the city goeth to
play at the ball in the fields ; the scholars of every study
have their balls : the practisers also of the trades have every-
one their ball in their hands. The ancienter sort, the fathers,
and the wealthy citizens, come on horseback to see these
youngsters contending at their sport, with whom, in a manner,
they participate by motion ; stirring their own natural heat
in the view of the active youth, with whose mirth and
liberty they seem to communicate." Cock-fighting is now
happily by law a misdemeanour, and punishable by penalty.
Throwing at Cocks. In days not very long gone by, the
inhuman sport of throwing at cocks was practised at Shrove-
tide, and nowhere was it more certain to be seen than at the
grammar-schools. The poor animal was tied to a stake by a
short cord, and the unthinking men and boys who were to
throw at it took their station at the distance of about twenty
yards. Where the cock belonged to some one disposed t>
make it a matter of business, twopence was paid for three
sines at it, the missile used being a broomstick. The
sport was continued till the poor creature was killed out-
right by the blows. Such outrage and tumult attended this
inhuman sport a century ago that it was sometimes dan-
gerous to be near the place where it was practised. Book of
Days, 1863, vol. i. p. 238.
The following extract is taken from the Daily London
Advertiser, Wednesday. March 7th, 1759 : Yesterday, being
Shrove Tuesday, the orders of the justices in the City and
Liberty of Westminster were so well observed that few
cocks were seen to be thrown at, so that it is hoped this
barbarous custom will be left off.
In Men-Miracles (by M. Lluclliu, student of Christ
FKB. 3.] SHROVE TUESPAY. 67
Church, Oxon, 1679, p. 48), quoted by Brand, Pop. Antiq.,
1849, voL i. p. 78, is the following ironical song on cock-
throwing:
" Cocke a doodle doe, 'tis the bravest game,
Take a cock from his dame,
And bind him to a stake :
Bow he struts, how he throwea,
How he staggers, how he ciowea,
As if the day newly brake.
** How his mistress cackles,
Thus to fiud him in shackles.
And tied to ;i pncke-tliread giirter.
Oli, the beards ami the bulb
Aie t>ut coipulcrit gulLs
To the valiant Shrove- tide martyr."
SJiying at Leaden Cocks. This was probably in imitation of
the barbarous custom air ady described of "shying" or
throwing at the living animal. The " cock " was a repre-
sentation of a bird or beast, a man. a horse, or some device,
with a stand projecting on all sides, but principally behind
the figure. These were made of lead cast iu moulds. They
were shyed at with, dumps from a small distance agreed upon
by the parties, generally regulated by the sizo or weight of
the dump, and the value of the cock. If the thrower overset
or knocked down the cock, he won it ; if he failed, hu lost
his dump.
Shy for Slnj. This was played at by two boys, each
having a cock placed at a certain distance, generally tit about
four or five feet asumler, the players standing behind thu!r
cocks, and throwing alternately ; a bit of stone or wood was
generally used to throw with ; the cock was won by him who
knocked it down.
Corks and dumps were exposed for sale on the butchers'
shambles on a small board and were the perquisites of the
apprentices who made them ; and many a pewter plate, and
many an alc-ln iuse pot, were melted at this season for shying
at cocks, which was as soon as fires were lighted in the
autumn.
These games, and all others among the boys of London,
had their particular times or seasons ; and when any game
v 2
68 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
was out, as it was termed, it was lawful to steal the thing
played with ; this was called smugging, and it was expressed
l>y the boys in a doggrel air.
" Tops are in, spin 'em agin.
Tops are out, smugging about."
or,
" Tops are in, spin 'em agin.
Dumps. are out, c."
The fair cock was not allowed to have his stand extended
behind more than his height and half as much more, nor
much thicker than himself, and he was not to extend in
width more than his height, nor to project over the stand ; but
fraudulent cocks were made extending laterally over the side,
so as to prevent his lying down sideways, and with a long
stand behind ; the body of the cock was made thinner, and
tlie stand thicker, by which means the cock bent upon being
strack, and it was impossible to knock him over. Every Day
Book, vol. i. p. 253.
Threshing the Hen was a custom formerly practised on this
day. The following account taken from Tusser Redivivus,
1710 (8vo. June, p. 15), is curious. " The hen," says the
writer, " is hung at a fellow's back, who also has some horso-
bells about him, the rest of the fellows are blinded, and
have boughs in their hands, with which they chase this fellow
and his hen about some large court or small enclosure. The
fellow with his hen and bells shifting as well as he can, they
follow the sound, and sometimes hit him and his hen ; other
times, if he can get behind one of them, they thresh one
another well favouredly ; but the jest is, the maids are to
blind the fellows, which they do with their aprons, and the
cunning baggages will endear their sweethearts with a
peeping-hole, whilst the others look out as sharp to hinder
it. Aiter this the hen is boiled with bacon, and store of
pancakes and fritters are made."
The same writer adds that after the hen-threshing, " she
that is noted for lying a^bed long, or any other miscarriage,
hath the first pancake presented to her, which most commonly
falls to the dogs' share at last, for no one will own it their
due."
FEB. 3.] SHROVE TUESDAY^ 69
With regard to the origin of this custom, it has been
conjectured that as the fowl was a delicacy to the labourer,
it was therefore given to him on Shrove Tuesday for sport
and food. Tusser, in his Five Hundred Points of Good
Husbandry (1620), has the following lines :
" At Shrovetide to sliroving, go thresh the fat hen,
If lilmdfold can kill her, then five it thy men.
Maids, fritters, and pancakes enough see you make,
Let Slut have one pancake, for company sake."
In some places, if flowers are to be procured so early in tha
season, the younger children carry a small garland, for the
sake of collecting a few pence, saying :
" Flowers, flowers, hijrh do !
Shreeny, greeny, rino !
(Sheeny greeny, sheeny greeny,
Bum tuui fra !"
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 68.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
At Eaton, on Shrove Tuesday, as soon as ever the clock
strikes nine, all the boys in the school cry TO BAKXO, Til
BAKXO, TO BAKXO, as loud they can yell, and stamp and
knock with their sticks ; and then they doe all runne out of
the schoole. Aubrey MS., A.D. 1686, Brit. Mus.
A MS. in the British Museum already alluded to (Status
Scholce Etonensis, A.D. 1560, MS. Brit. Mus. Donat. 4843
fol.423) mentions a custom of the boys of Eton school beiu-
allowed to play from eight o'clock for the whole day ; and
of the cook's coming in and fastening a pancake to a crow,
which the young crows are calling upon, near it, at the school
door.
CHESHIRE.
Pennant, in his Journey from Chester to London, tells us of
a place at Chester without the walls, called the Rood-Eye,
where the lusty youth in former days exercised themselves in
manly sports of the ago : in archery, running, leaping, and
70 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. J.
wrestling, in mock fights and gallant romantic triumphs. A
standard was the prize of emulation.
In a pamphlet also, entitled, Certayne Collection ofAncJiiante
Times, concerninge the Anchiante and Famous Cittie of Chester,
published in Lysons' Magna Britannia (1810, vol. ii. p. 585),
is the following :
" That whereas the Companye and Corporation of Shoe-
makers within the cittie of Chester did yearely, time out of
memory of man, upon Tewsday, commonly called Shrove
Tuesday, or otherwise Goteddesse day afternoon, at the
Cross upon the Koode-Dee, before the Mayor of the said
cittie, offer unto the Company of Drapers of the same cittie ^a
ball of leather, called a foote-ball, of the value of 3s. 4d. 01
thereabouts : and by reason of the greate strife which did
arise among the younge persons of the same cittie (while
diverse parties were taken with force and strong handes to
bring the said ball to one of these three houses, that is to say,
to the Mayor's house, or any one of the two Sheriffs'
houses of the time being), much harme was done, some in
the great thronge fallingo into a trance, some having their
bodies brused and crushed ; some their arms, heades, or
logges broken, and some otherwise maimed, or in perill of
life : to avoid the said inconveniences, and also to torne and
couverte the said homage to a better use, it was thought
good by the Mayor of the saide cittie and the rest of the
Common-Council to exchange of the said footc-lall as
followeth : that in place thereof, there be offered by the
Shoemakers to the Drapers, six gleaves * of silver, the which
gleaves they appoynted to be rewards unto such men as
would come, and the same day and place, passe and overcome
on foot all others : and the said gleaves were presently de-
livered according to the runninge of every one; and this
exchange was made in the time when Henry Gee was Mayor
of Chester,f A.D. 1539, and in the thirty-firste yeare of Kiuge
Henry the Eighth.
* An obsolete word for a hand-dart.
t The following is a copy of the order for the above-mentioned
change, extracted from '' the Orders and Acts of A s.-eml ly, of the
Miuor, Aldermen, find Common Council of the City of Clu ter," in the
Town Clerb'a Office :
"Jon *0 lien. viii. HENRY GEE, MATOK." After reciting the
FKH. 3.] snnovK TUESDAY. 71
" Alsoe, whereas the Companye and occupation of the
Sellers within the Cittie of Chester did yearuly by custome,
t'me out of memorie of man, the same day, hour, and place,
before the Mayor, offer upon a truncheon, staflfe or speare, a
certaine homage to the Drapers of the cittie of Chester,
called the Sadler's ball, profitable for few uses or purposes,
as it was, beinge a ball of silk of the bigness of a bowle, was
ancient use of archery and shooting in the long bow, for the honour
and defence of the realm, and that the same is much de ayed. and
other unl iwful g;imes much m use : " Ordered by the Mayor,
Aldermen, and Common Council, with the consent of the whole
occupation of drapers, sadlers, and shoemakers, that the said occupa-
tion of shoemakers (which always have, time out of mind, ghen
and delivered yeaily, on Shrove Tuesday in the afternoon, unto
the drapers, before the Vnyor at the Cross on the Hoodee, one ball of
leath r, called a foot-hall, of the value of 3 4d., or above, to play
8t from thence to the common-ball of the said city, and further at the
pi asure of the evil-disposed persons; whereof hath arisen g;eat
inconvi niencea) shall g ve and deliver yearly to the said drapers,
b f e the Mayor at the saM time and pl-tce : six s Iver gleaves, each
of the value of 27d. or above, to be disposed of at tho pleasure
of the f-'aid Mayor and drapers, to him that shall win a foot-race
before them, that or any other day; and that the siidlers (who
have time out of inind given, and delivered yearly, at the same time
and pla<>e, e ery master of them, unto the drapers, befo:e the Mayor,
one painted ball of wood, with flowers and arms, upon the point
of a spear, being goodly arrayed upon horseback accordingly)
sh.,11 henc. forth give and deliver to the .-aid drapers, before the
M.iyor, at the same time and place upon horseback, a bell of
silvc r, to the value of 3. 4d., to be disposed of at the discretior
of the Mayor and drapers, to him that shall get the horse races
on that diy; and that every man that hnth been married in tho
said city, since throve Tuesday, then last past, shall then and
there also deliver to the said diapers before the Mayor, an arrow
of silver, tn the value of 5. or above, instead of such ball of silk
and velvet, which 8u<-h married men ought then to have given
and deliveied by the a icient custom of the said city (usi d time out
of mind), which silver arr.w ahull be disposed of by the Mayor
and drapers, for the preferment of the said feat and exercise of
dhooting in the loug-'>ow, for avoiding the said inconveniences, nny
use or prescript on to the contrary uotwith-. landing ; nnd also, the
said drapers and their successors, >hall keep yearly their recreation
nnd drinking, as they used to do, time out of mind, and that the
shoemakers and sadless, and persons hereafter to be married, shall
olcrve this order upon pain of \0l. for every offence, toties quotief, to
be forfeited to the drajers according to ancient custom."
72 SHUOVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
torned into a silver bell ; weighing about two ozs , as is
supposed, of silver : the which saide silver bell was ordayned
to be the rewarde for that horse, which with speedy run-
ninge, then should rune before all others, and there presently
should be given the daye and place. This alteration was
made the same time, and by the same mayor, like as the
Shoemakers' foote-ball was before exchanged into six silver
gleaves.
" Also, whereas of an anchant custom whereof man's
memorie nowe livinge cannot remember the original and
bcginninge, the same daye, hower and place, before the mayor
fur the time beinge, every person which is married within the
liberties of the saide cittie, dwelling wheresoever without,
and all those that dwelle within the saide cittie. for one
yeare before, and marye els where, did offer likewise a
homage to the said Companye of Drapers before the Mayor,
a ball of silke, of the like bignesse of a bowle ; the same
mayor torned the same balls into silver arrowes, the which
arrowes they tooke order should be given to those which did
shoote the longest shoote, with divers kind of arrowes : this
exchange was made as before is mentioned of the Shoemakers'
foote-ball and the Sadlers' ball. In which exchange there
appeared greate wisdom, anchent and sage senators, whoe
had great studye and regarde to torne the foresaid thinges
unto soe profitable uses and exercises; so that there is three
of the most commendable exercises and practices of war-like
feates, as running of men on foot, runninge of horses, and
shootinge of the broad arrowe, the flighte and the butt-shaite,
in the long-bowe, are yearely there used ; which is done in
a very few (if in any) citties of England, soe far as I under-
stand."
CORNWALL.
It was customary at one time to tie fowls to stakes, and
set them as marks for boys to kill with bats. Hitchius,
History of Cornwall, 1824, vol. i. p. 723.
CUMBERLAND.
Formerly the scholars of the free school of Bromfield,
about the beginning of Lent, or, in the more expressive
FEB. 3.] SHEOVE TUESDAY. 73
phraseology of the country, at Fasting's Even, used to bar out
the master, i.e., to depose and exclude him from his school,
and keep him out for three days. During the period of this
expulsion, the doors of the citadel, the school, were strongly
barricaded within ; and the boys, who defended it like a
besieged city, were armed in general with lore-tree or elder
pop-guns. The master meantime made various efforts, both by
force and stratagem, to regain his lost authority. If he
succeeded, heavy tasks were imposed, and the business of the
school was resumed and submitted to, but it more commonly
happened that he was repulsed and defeated. After three
days' siege, terms of capitulation were proposed by the
master, and accepted by the boys. These terms were
summed up in an old formula of Latin Leonine verses, stipula-
ting what hours and times should for the year ensuing be
allotted to study, and what to relaxation and play. Securities
were provided by each side for the due performance of these
stipulations, and the paper was then solemnly signed by both
master and pupils.
One of these articles, always stipulated for and granted,
was the privilege of immediately celebrating certain games
of long standing : viz. a foot-ball match and a cock-fight.
Captains, as they were called, were then chosen to manage
and preside over these games : one from that part of the
parish, which lay to the westward of the school ; the other
fr< m the east. Cocks and foot-ball players were sought for
with great diligence. The party whose cocks won the most
battles was victorious in the cock-pit ; and the prize, a small
silver bell, suspended to the button of the victor's hat, and
worn for three successive Sundays. After the cock-fight was
ended, the foot-ball was thrown down in the churchyard ;
and the point then to be contested was, which party could
carry it to the house of his respective captain, to Dundraw,
perhaps, or West Newton, a distance of two or three miles,
every inch of which ground was keenly disputed. All the
honour accruing to the conqueror at foot-ball was that of
possessing the ball.* Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland,
vol. ii. p. 322.
* AiMison is <le.-crib'd by his biographers as having been the leader
of a Larr ng tut at the Grammar School of Lichtield.
\
74 8HHOVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
Brand, Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 441), says, that the
custom of barring-out was practised in other places towards
Christmas time, e g., at the school of Houghton-le-Spring, in
the county of Durham.
Among the statutes of the grammar-school founded at
Kilkenny, in Ireland, March 18, 1684, in Vallancey's Collec-
tanea de Rebus Hibernicis, vol. ii. p. 512, is the following :
" In the number of stubborn and refractory lads, who
shall refuse to submit to the orders and correction of the
said school, who are to be forthwith dismissed, and not re-
admitted without due submission to exemplary punishment,
and on the second offence to be discharged and expelled for
ever," are reckoned, " such as shall offer to shut out the
master or usher, but the master shall give them leave to
break up eight days before Christmas, and three days before
Easter and Whitsuntide."
DERBYSHIRE.
Formerly the inhabitants of Derby had a foot-ball match
between the parishes of All Saints and St. Peter's ; the con-
flicting parties being strengthened by volunteers from tho
other parishes, and from the surrounding country. The
bells of the different churches rang their merry peals on the
morning, and gave rise to the following jingle on the five
parishes of All Saints', St. Peter's, St. Werburgh's, St.
Alkmund's, and St. Michael's :
" Pancakes and fritters,
Fay All Saints' an<l St. Peter's;
When will the ball come,
Say the bells of St. Alkmum;
At tiro they will throw,
Says Saint Werabo' ;
O ! very well,
Says little Michel."
The goal of All Saints' was the water-wheel of the nun's
mill, and that of St. Peter's, on the opposite side of the town,
at the gallow's balk, on the Normanton Road ; the ball,
which was of a very large size, was made of leather, and
stuffed quite hard with shavings, and about noon was thrown
FEB. 3.] SHSOVE TUESDAY. 75
into the market-place, from the Town Hall, into . the midst
of an assembly of many thousand people, so closely wedged
together, as scarcely to admit of locomotion. Tli; momeiifc
the ball was thrown, the " war cries" of the rival parishes
began, and thousands of arms were uplifted in the hope of
catching it during its descent. The opposing parties en-
deavoured by every possible means, and by the exertion of
their utmost strength, to carry the ball in the direction of
their respective goals, and by this means the town was
traversed and retraversed many times in the course of the
day ; indeed, to such an extent has the contest been carried,
that some years ago the fortunate holder of the ball, having
made his way into the river Derwent, was followed by the
whole body, who took to the water in the most gallant style,
and kept up the chase to near the village of Duffield, a
distance of five miles, the whole course being against the
rapid stream, and one or two weirs having to be passed ; on
another occasion, the possessor of the ball is said to have
quietly dropped himself into the culvert or sewer which
passes under the town, and to have been followed by several
others of both parties, and, after fighting his way the whole
distance under the town, to have come out victorious at the
other side where, a considerable pai-ty having collected, the
contest was renewed in the river.
On the conclusion of the day's sport the man who had the
honour of " goaling " the ball was the champion of the year ;
the bells of the victorious parish announced the conquest,
and the victor was chaired through the town. So universal
has been the feeling with regard to this game, that it is said
a gentleman from Derby having met with a person in the
backwoods of America, whom from his style and conversa-
tion he suspected to be from the Midland Counties of
England, cried out when ho saw him, " All Saints' for ever ;"
to this the stranger instantly retorted, " Peter's for ever ;" and
this satisfied them that they were fellow-townsmen. A foot-
ball match is also played at Ashborne nearly in the same
manner as at Derby. Jour. Arch. Assoc., 1852, vol. vii.
p. 203.
A custom prevailed, too, in some parts of Derbyshire which
gave licence to the young men and boys to kiss any young
76 SHKOVE TUESDAY. ("FEB. 3.
women or girls whom they chose. This, together with the
general holiday observed in the afternoon of that day, and
the customary sports then indulged in, is of course a remnant
of the mediaeval carnival.
DEVONSHIRE.
In the south-eastern part of Devon the children at th's
reason of the year visit people's houses, singing :
" Tippetty, tippetty to,
Give me a pancake and I'll be go."
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. xi. p. 244.
At Tavistock, the following lines are sung by the children
at the houses of the principal inhabitants :
" Lancrock (?) a pnncake,
A fritter tor my labour;
I see by the string .
Tne good dame's in.
Tippy tappy, toe,
Nippy? iia ppy> n
If you'll give something,
I'll be ago (i,e., gone)."
N. & Q. 4th 8. vol. v. p. 380.
DORSETSHIRE AND WILTSHIRE.
In these, if not in other counties, a practice called Lent
Crocking is observed. The boys go about in small parties
visiting the various houses, headed by a leader, who goes up
and knocks at the door, leaving his followers behind him,
armed with a good stock of potshevds the collected relics
of the washing-pans, jugs, dishes, and plates, that have
become the victims of concussion in the hands of unlucky
or careless housewives for the past year. When the door is
opened, the hero who is, perhaps, a farmer's boy, with a
pair of black eyes sparkling under the tattered brim of his
brown milking-hat hangs down his head, and, with one
FEB. 3.] SHROVE TUESDAY. 77
corner of his mouth turned up into an irrepressible smile
pronounces the following lines :
"A-shrovin, a-shrovin,
I be come a-tshrovin ;
A piece of bread, a piece of cheese,
A bit of your fat l>ac-n ;
Or a dish of dough nuts,
All of your own rnakiu I
" A-shrovin, a-shrovin,
I be come a-shrovin,
Nice meat in a pie,
My month is very dry !
I wish a wuz zoo well-a-wet,
I'de zing the louder for a nut !
Chorus. A shrovin, a-shrovin,
We be come a shrovin !"
Sometimes he gets a bit of bread and cheese, and at some
houses he is told to be gone; in which latter case he culls
up his followers to send their missiles in a rattling broadside
against the door. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 239.
The late Dr. Husenbeth in N. & Q. th S. voL ix. p. 135,
gives another version of the above rhyme :
" I'm come a shroveing,
For a piece of pancake,
Or a piece of bacon,
Or a little truckle cheese,
Of your own making.
Give me some, or give me none,
Or else your door shall have a stone."
HAMPSHIRE.
At Basingetcke, and in some other parts of this county,
the boys and girls go to the houses of the well-to-do classes
in little companies, and, knocking at the door, repeat the
following rhyme :
u Knick a knock upon the block ;
Flour and lard is very dear,
Please we come a shroving here.
Your | an's hot, and my pan's cold,
(Hunger makes ns shrovers bold)
Please to give poor shrovers something here."
They then knock again, and repeat both knocks and verses
78 SHROVE TUESDAY. [Fl2B. 3.
until they receive something. The line in brackets is not
said in Basingstoke and several other places. N. & Q. 1st S.
vol. xii. p. 100.
HERTFORDSHIRE.
At Baldock, Shrove Tuesday is long anticipated by the
children, who designate it Dough-Nut-Day; it being usual
to make a good store of small calces fried in hog's lard,
placed over the fire in a brass skillet, called dough-nuts,
with which the young people are plentifully regaled.
Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 83.
At Hoddesdon, in the same county, the old curfew-bell,
which was anciently rung in that town for the extinction
and relighting of " all five and candle-light," still exists, and
has from time immemorial been regularly rang on the morn-
ing of Shrove Tuesday at four o'clock, after which hour the
inhabitants are at liberty to make and eat pancakes until the
bell rings again at eight o'clock at night. So closely is this
custom observed, that after that hour not a pancake remains
in the town. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 242.
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
Formerly there prevailed in this county a custom called
code-running, which, though not quite so cruel as cock-
throwing, was not much inferior to it. A cock was procured,
and its wings were cut : the runners paid so much a head,
and with their hands tied behind them ran after it, and the
person who caught it in his mouth, and carried it to a certain
place or goal, had the right of claiming the bird as his own.
In this race there was much excitement, and not a little
squabbling, and the one who was lucky enough to secure the
bird frequently had his face and eyes very much pecked.
Time's Telescope, 1823, p. 40.
KENT.
At All Saints', Maidstone, the ancient custom of ringing a
bell at mid-day on Shpove Tuesday is observed, and is
known as the " Fritter-Bell." Gent. Mag. 1868, Uh S.
vol. v. p. 7G1.
FEB. 3.] SIIilOVE TUESDAY. 79
LANOASHIBE.
Part of the income of the head-master and usher of the
grammar-school at Lancaster arises from a gratuity called a
cock-penny, paid at Shrovetide by the scholars, who are suns
of freemen ; of this money the head-master has seven-
twelfths, the usher five-twelfths. It is also paid at the
schools at Hawkshead and Clithero, in Lancashire ; and
formerly was paid, also at Burnley, and at Whiteham and
Milloiu, in Cumberland, near Bootle. Brand, Pop. Antiq.,
1 49, vol. i. p. 72.
The toss'ng of pancakes (and in some places fritters) on
this day was a source of harmless mirth, and is still practised
in the rural parts of Lancashire and Cheshire, with its
ancient accompaniments :
" It is the day whereon both rich and poor,
Are chieny ft-asted on the self-s.une dish ;
Wi en every paunch, till it can hold no more,
Is fritter fill'd, as well as heart can wish ;
And every man and maide doe take their turtle,
Ami tosse th' ir pancakes up for feu re they burne
And all the kitchen < oili with Ltughter bound,
To fcO< the pancakes fall upon the "round."
ia. Harland and Wilkinson,
Lancashire Folk Lore, 18G7, p. 218.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
In the Newark, says Throsby (History of Leicester
1791, p. 356), on Shrove Tuesday is held the annual fair,
chiefly for the amusement of the ycung. Formerly, there
was -practised in its full extent the barbarous custom of
throwing at cocks, but now the amusement is confined to the
purchase of oranges, ginger-bread, &c., and to a custom
known by the name of ' : WJtipping-Toms ;" a practice no
doubt instituted by tbo dwellers in the Newark to drive away
the rabble, after a certain hour, from the fair. Two, three,
jr more men, armed with cart-whips, and with a hand-
kerchief t ed over one eye, are let loose upon the people
5o flog them, who are generally guarded with boots on
80 SHliOVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
their legs and sticks in their hands. These whip-men,
called " Whipping-Toms" are preceded by a bell-man, whose
shake of his hand-bell gives a token or authority for the
whipping the legs of those who dare to remain in the Newark.
Many arts and devices are practised by the Whipping-Toms
to take the people by surprise ; but quarrels sometimes ensue.
At Olaybrook, in the same county, a bell rings at noon,
which is meant as a signal for people to commence frying
their pancakes. Macaulay, History of Claybrook, 1791.
ISLE OF MAN.
On this occasion it was formerly customary for the Manks
to have Sollaghyn or Crowdy for dinner, instead of for
breakfast, as at other times ; and for supper, flesh meat,
with a large pudding and paneakes ; hence the Mauks
proverb :
" Ee shibber oie innid vees olty vnlg lane,
My jig laa caisht yon trnaetf, son slum."
M On Shrove Tuesday night, though thy supper be fat,
Before Easter Day thou may'st fast for that."
Train, History of the Isle of Han, 1845, vol. ii. p. 117.
MIDDLESEX.
At Westminster School, London, the following is observed
to this day. At 11 o'clock A.M. a verger of the Abbey, in his
gown, bearing a silver baton, emerges from the college kitchen,
followed by the cook of the school, in his white apron, jacket,
and cap, and carrying a pancake. On arriving at the school-
room door, he announces himself, ' The Cook ;' and having
entered the school-room, he advances to the bar which sepa-
rates the upper school from the lower one, twirls the pancake
in the pan, and then tosses it over the bar into the upper
school, among a crowd of boys, who scramble for the pancake ;
and he who gets it unbroken, and carries it to the deanery,
demands the honorarium of a guinea (sometimes two guineas)
from the Abbey funds, though the custom is not mentioned in
the Abbey Statutes : the cook also receives two guineas for his
performance. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 237.
FB. 3.] SHIiOVE TUESDAY. 81
It is customary at Norwich to eat a small bun called
cocque'els cook-eels coquilles (the name being spelt
indifferently), which is continued throughout the season of
Lent. Forby, in his Vocabulary of East Anglia, calls this
production "a sort of cross-bun," but no cross is placed upon
it, though its composition is not dissimilar. He derives the
word from coquille in allusion to their being fashioned like
an escallop, in which sense he is borne out by Cotgrave, who
has " pain coquille, a fashion of an hard-crusted loafe. some-
what like our stillyarcl bunne." A correspondent of Notes
and Queries says that he has always tak^n the word to be
" coquerells," from the vending of such buns at the barbarous
sport of " throwing at the cock " (which is still called a
cockerell in E. Anglia) on Shrove Tuesday. N. & Q.
1st S. vol. i. pp. 293 and 412.
Formerly there used to be held at Norwich on Shrove
Tuesday a most curious festivity, to which Blomefield in his
History of Norfolk (1806, vol. iii.p. 155) incidentally alludes
In 1442, he says, there was a great insurrection at Norwich,
for which the citizens were indicted, who among other things-
pleaded in their excuse :
" That John Gladman, of Norwich, who ever was, and at
thys onr is, a man of sad disposition, and trewe and feythfull
to God and to the Kyng, of disporte, as hath been acustomed
in ony cite or burgh thorowe alle this reame, on Tuesday in the
last ende of Crestemesse, viz. Fastyngonge Tuesday, mado
a disport with his neighbours, havyng his hors trappy d witli
tynnsoyle, and other nyse disgisy things, corouned as Kyng
of Crestemesse, in tokyn that seson should ende with the
twelve monethes of the yere : aforn hym [went] ychernoneth,
disgnyscd after the seson requiryd, and Lenfonclad in whyte
and red heryngs skinns, and his hors trappyd with oystyr-
shells after him, in token that sadnesse should folowe, and an
holy tyme ; and so rode in diverse stretis of the cite, with
other people with hym disguyssd, and makyng rayrth,
disportes, and plays.'*
82 SH1SOVE TUES1 AY. [FEB. 3.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
In many parts of this county the church bell is rung about
noon, as the signal for preparing pancakes. At Daventry the
bell which is rung on this occasion is muffled on one side
with leather, or buffed, as it is termed, and obtains the name
of Pan-burn-bell. Jingling rhymes in connection with this
day are repeated by the peasantry, varying in different
districts. The following are the most current :
" Pancakes and fritters,
Says the bells of St. Peter's.
"Where must we fry 'em ?
Says t!-e bells of Cold Hicham.
In yonder land thin-row [furrow],
Says the bells of Wellingborough.
You owe me a shilling,
Says the bells of Great Billing.
"When will you pny me ?
Says the bells at Middleton Cheney.
When I nm able,
Says the bells at Dunstable.
That will never be,
Says the bells at Coventry.
Oh, yes it will,
Says Northampton Great BelL
White bread and sop,
Says the bells at Kingsthrop.
Trundle a lantern,
Says the bells at Northampton. 1 *
That the bells of the churches of Northampton used also
to be rung on this day may be inferred from the following
similar doggerel :
" Roast beef nnd marsh-mnllows,
Says the bells of All Hallow's, t
Pancakes and fritters.
Says the bells of St. Peter's.
Roast beef and boil'd,
Siiys the bells of St. Giles'.
Poker and tongs,
Says the bells of St. John's.*
St. John's Hospital.
FEB. 3.] SHROVE TUESDAY. 83
Shovel, tongs, and poker,
S:iys the bells of St. Pulrhre's.*"
Baker, Northamptonshire Words and Phrases, vol. ii. p. 92.
At Earls Barton the custom of making " leek pasties " is
observed. A party of shoemakers, after procuring a chaff-
cutter and a quantity of leeks, proceed to the green, where
they publicly chop the vegetable to the amusement of the
spectators. See Gent. Mag., 1867, 4.th S. vol. iv. p. 219.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Formerly at Alnwick the waits belonging to the town used
to come pluying to the Castle every year on Shrove Tuesday
at two o'clock P.M., when a foot-ball was thrown over the
Castle walls to the populace. Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849,
voL i. p. 92.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
At Aspley Old Hall, in days gone by, butter and lard, fire
and frying-pans were provided for all the poor families of
Wollaston, Trowell, and Cossall, who chose to come and eat
their pancakes at this mansion. The only conditions attached
to the feast were, that no quarrelling should take place, and
that each wife and mother should fry for her own family, and
that when the cake needed turning in the pan, the act should
be performed by tossing it in the air and catching it again in
the pan with the uncooked side downwards. And many were
the roars of laughter which took place among the merry groups
iu the kitchen, at the mishaps which occurred in the perform-
ance of this feast, in which his Honour and Madam joined.
In addition to the pancakes, each man was allowed a
qnart of good ale, women a pint, and children a gill.
Sutton, Nottingham Date Book, 1852, p. 75.
There is a curious tradition existing in Mansfield, Wood-
house, Bulwell, and several other villages near Sherwood
Forest, as to the origin of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. The
inhabitants of any of the villages will inform the questioner
that when the Danes got to Linby all the Saxon men of the
* The church of St Sepulchre is often called "Pulchre's" in
Northampton.
G 2
84 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
neighbouringvillages ran off into the forest, and the Danes took
the Saxon women to keep house for them. This happened
just before Lent, and the Saxon women, encouraged by their
fugitive lords, resolved to massacre their Danish masters on
Ash Wednesday. Every woman who agreed to do this was
to bake pancakes for this meal on Shrove Tuesday as a kind
of pledge to fulfil her vow. This was done, and that the
massacre of the Danes did take place on Ash Wednesday is
a well-known historical fact. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. vii. p. 450.
OXFORDSHIRE.
In this county children go about singing the following
rhyme, begging aj; the same time for half-pence :
" Knick, knock, the pan's hot,
And we be come a shroving :
A bit of bread, a bit of cheese,
A bit of barley dompling,
That's better than nothing.
Open the door and let us in,
For we be come a pancaking."
At Islip in the same county this version is used :
" Pit a pat ; the pan is hot,
We are come a shroving ;
A little bit of bread and cheese
Is better than nothing.
The pan is hot, the pan is cold;
Is the fat in the pan nine days old?"
Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 88.
ISLANDS OF SCILLY.
The boys celebrate the evening of this day by throwing
stones against the doors of the dwellers' houses : a privilege
which they claim from time immemorial. The terms de-
manded by them are pancakes or money to capitulate. Some
of the alder sort, exceeding the bounds of this whimsical
practice, in the dusk of the evening, set a bolted door or
window-shutter at liberty, by battering in a breach with large
pieces of rock stones, which sometimes causes work for the
surgeon, as well as for the smith, glazier, and carpenter.
FED. 3.] SHROVE lU/.SDAY. 85
The way of making reprisal, in such cases, is by a rope drawn
across the road of the mischievous, by means of which their
flight is suddenly interrupted, and themselves ignominiously
hurled to the ground with the loss of their artillery. Heath,
Account of Islands of Sc illy, 1750, p. 127.
SHROPSHIRE.
In The History and Antiquites of Lucttow, 1822 (pp.
188-189), occurs the following account of a custom formerly
observed on this day : " The corporation provide a rope, three
inches in thickness, and in length thirty-six yards, which is
given out at one of the windows of the Market-House as the
clock strikes four, when a Lirge body of the inhabitants
divided into two parties one contending for Castle Street and
Broad Street wards, and the other for Old Street and Corve
Street wards commence an arduous struggle, and as soon as
either party gains the victory by pulling the rope beyond
the pi-escribed limits, the pulling ceases, whioh is, however,
renewed by a second, and sometimes by a third contest; the
rope being purchased by subscription from the victorious
party, and given out again. Without doubt this singular
cust. m is symbolical of some remarkable event, and a remnant
of that ancient language of visible signs, which, says a cele-
brated writer, "imperfectly supplies the want of letters, to
perpetuate the remembrance of public or private transactions."
The sign, in this instance, has survived the remembrance of
the occurrence it was designed to represent, and remains a
profound mystery. It has been insinuated that the real
occasion of this custom is known to the corporation, but that
for some reason or other, they are tenacious of the secret.
An obscure tradition attributes this custom to circumstances
arising out of the siege of Ludlow by Henry VT., when two
part cs arose within the town, one supporting the pretensions
of tlie Duke of York, and the other wishing to give admittance
to the king; one of tho baililfs is said to have headed the
latter party. History relates that, in this contest, many lives
were lost, and that the bailiff, heading his party in au
attempt to opon Dinham Gate, fell a victim there."
86 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
An odd practice seems to prevail in some parts of Somerset-
shire, and also in Devonshire and Dorsetshire on Shrove
Tuesday, which is locally nick-named Sharp Tuesday. The
youngsters go about after dusk, and throw stones against
people's doors, by what is considered by them an indefeasible
right. They at the same time sing in chorus :
" I be come a slirovin
Vor a little pankiak ;
Abit o' bread o' your baikin,
Or a little truckle clu-ese o' your maikin,
If you'll gi' me a lif.tle, I'll ax no more,
If you don't gi' me nothin, I'll rattle your door."
Brand, Pop. Antiq. (Ed Hazlitt), 1870, vol. i. p. 48.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
In this county Shrove Tuesday goes by the name of
Goodish Tuesday. #. & Q. 2nd S. vol. v. p. 209,
SUFFOLK.
At Bury St. Edmund's on Shrove Tuesday, Easter Monday,
and the Whitsuntide festivals, twelve old women side off for
a game at trap-and-ball, which is kept up with the greatest
spirit and vigour until sunset. Afterwards they retire to their
homes, where
" Voice, fiddle, or flute,
No longer is mute,"
and close the day with apportioned mirth and merriment
Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 430.
SURREY.
The following ig taken from the Times of March 7th,
1862:
" Shrove Tuesday was observed, as in days of yore, at
FL-B. 3.] SHROVE TUESDAY. 87
Dorking,* first by a perambulation of the streets by the foot-
ball retinue, composed of grotesquely-dressed persons, to the
sounds of music, and in the afternoon by the kicking of the
ball up and down the principal thoroughfares of the town.
The usual number of men and boys joined in the sport, and
played, especially towards the end of the game, with a rough-
ness extremely dangerous to the limbs of the competitors.
As 6 o'clock drew near the struggle for victory became more
vehement ; the palm, however, was obtained, for the fifth year,
by the players from the west end of the town. The old
custom of tolling the ' pancake bell ' during the morning
was, on this occasion, as during the last two or three years,
dispensed with." West Surrey Times.
ISLE OP WIGHT.
At Brighstone parties of young boys, girls, and very
small children parade the village, singing the following words :
u Shroving, shroviug. I am come to shroving.
White bread and apple pie,
My mouth is very dry ;
I wish I were well a-wet,
As I could siug for a nut.
Shroving, shroving, I am come to shroving.
A piece of bread, a piece of cheese,
A piece of your fat l>ac<>n,
Dough nuts and pancakes,
All of your own making.
Shroving, shroving, I am come to shroving;." f
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. xi. p. 239.
YOBKSHIBE.
A correspondent of N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. v. p. 391, pays
tliat all the apprentices in the town of Hedon whose inden-
tures terminate before the return of the day assemble in the
* This custom prevails at Epsom. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. i. p. 439. It
seems to have been observed also at Twickenham, Bushy, Teddington,
Kingston. S<e Every l)>nj Cook, vol. i. p. 245.
t For a more detailed account of tlic Isle of Wight Shrovers, see
Halli well's Popular Rhymes, 1849, p. 246.
88 SHROVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
belfry of the church at eleven o'clock, and in turn toll the
tenor bell for an hour, at the sound of which all the house-
wives in the parish commence frying pancakes. The sexton,
who is present receives a small fee from each lad.
At Scarborough on the morning of Shrove Tuesday
hawkers parade the streets with barrows loaded with party-
coloured balls, which are purchased by all ranks of the in-
habitants. With these, and armed with sticks, men, women,
and children repair to the sands below the old town, and
indiscriminately commence a contest, one party trying to
drive the ball into the sea, and another equally zealous in
their attempts to rescue it.
WALES.
Formerly it was customary to take such hens as had not
laid eggs before Shrove Tuesday, and to thrash them to death,
as being no longer of any use. The same custom also pre-
vailed in some parts of Cornwall. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 81 ; Biiok of Days, vol. i. p. 238.
At Harding, in Flintshire, the lord of the manor, attended
by his bailiff, formerly provided a foot-ball, and after throw-
ing it down in a field near the church (called thence foot-
ball field) the young and old assembled together to play at
foot-ball. Kennett MS. British Museum.
At Tenby Shrove Tuesday was formerly a general holiday,
when the time was divided between foot-ball-kickiug and
pancake-eating. The shutters remained upon the shop-
windows, while the windows of the private houses were
barricaded with wood, or blinded with laths, bags, and sack-
ing Mason, Tales and Traditions of Tenby, 1858, pp.
17, 18.
SCOTLAND.
Fastren's E'en is celebrated annually, after the Border
fashion, in the month of February, the day being fixed by the
following antiquated couplet :
" First comes Candlemas, syne the New Moon ;
The uext Tuesday after is Fastreii's E'en."
FER. 3.] SHEOVE TUESDAY. 89
Croicdie is mentioned by Sir F. M. Eden (State of the
Poor, 1797, vol. i. p. 498) as a never-failing dinner on
Shrove Tuesday, with all ranks of people in Scotland, as
pancakes are in England ; and that a ring is put into the
basin or porringer of the unmarried folks, to the finder of
which by fair means it was an omen of marriage before the
rest of the eaters.
THE HIGHLANDS.
In the Highlands the most substantial entertainment
peculiar to the evening of Shrove Tuesday is the matrimonial
brose (pottage), a savoury dish, generally made of the bree
(broth) of a good fat piece of beef cr mutton, which being some-
t mes a good while in retentum, renders the addition of salt to
the meal unnecessary. Before the brce is put in the bicker or
plate, a ring is mixed with the meal, which it will be the aim
of every partaker to get. The first bicker being discussed,
the ring is put into two other bickers successively ; and
should any of the candidates for matrimony find the ring
more than once, he may rest assured of his marrying before
the next anniversary.
The brose. and plenty of other good cheer, being dispatched,
the guests betake themselves to another part of the night's
entertainment. Soon as the evening circle convenes, the
Bunnich Junit, or " saiity bannocks," are resorted to. The
component ingredients of those dainties are eggs and meal,
and a sufficient quantity of salt to sustain their ancient and
appropriate appellation of " sauty." These ingredients, well
mixed togeth; r, are baked or roasted on the gridiron, and
are regarded by old and young as a most delicious treat ;
and, as may be expected, they have a charm attached to
them which enables the happy Highlander to discover the
object of all his spells his connubial bedfellow. A
sufficient number of those designed for the p;ilate being
prepared, the great or matrimonial bannock is made, of
which all the young people in the house partake. Into the
ingredients of it there is some article intorm'xed, which, in
tho distribution, will fall to the lot of some happy person,
who may be sure, if not already married, to be so before the
next anniversary.
90 SHUOVE TUESDAY. [FEB. 3.
Last of all are made the Bannich Bruader, or dreaming
bannocks, to the ingredients composing which is added a
little of that substance which chimney-sweeps call soot, and
which contains some charm. In baking these last bannocks
the baker must be as mute as a stone one word would
destroy the charm of the whole concern. One is given to
each individual, who slips off with it quietly to bed, and,
reposing his head on his bannock, he will ba gratified by the
sight of his beloved in the course of his midnight slumbers.
Stewart, Popular Superstitions of the Highlanders of Scotland,
1851, p. 178.
COUNTY OF MID-LOTHIAN.
On Shrove Tuesday, in the parish of Inverness, there is
a standing match at football between the married and un-
married women, in which the former are always victorious.
Stat. Ace. of Scotland, Sinclair, 1795, vol. xvi. p. 19.
PERTHSHIRE.
Formerly, on this day, the bachelors and married men
drew themselves up at the Cross of Scone, on opposite sides.
A ball was then thrown up, and they played from two o'clock
till sunset. The game was this : He who at any time got
the ball into his hands, ran with it till overtaken by one of
the opposite party, and then, if he could escape from those of
the opposite side who seized him, he ran on; if not, he
threw the ball away, unless it was wrested from him by the
other party; but no person was allowed to kick it. The
object of the married men was to hang it, i.e., to put it three
times into a small hole in the moor, the goal or limit, on the
one hand ; that of the bachelors was to drown it, i.e., to dip
it three times into a deep place in the river, the limit of the
other. The party who could effect either of these objects
won the game. But, if neither party won, the ball was cut
into equal parts at sunset. In the course of the play, one
might always see some scene of violence between the parties ;
but, as the proverb of that part of the country expresses it,
"All was fair at the Ball of Scone." This custom is supposed
to have had its origin in the days of c'dvalry.
An Italian, it is said, came into that part of the country,
FEB. 3.] SHKOVE TUESDAY. 91
challenging all the parishes, under a certain penalty in case
of declining his challenge. All the parishes declined the
challenge except Scone, which beat the foreigner, and in
commemoration of this gallant action the game was insti-
tuted. Whilst the custom continued, every man in the
parish, the gentiy not excepted, was obliged to turn out and
support the side to which he belonged ; and the person who
neglected to do his part on that occasion was fined. -
Sinclair, Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1796, vol. xviii. p. 88.
ROXBURGHCHIRE.
On this occasion the town of Melrose presents a most
singular appearance, from the windows of the shops and
dwellings in the main streets being barricaded. This pre-
caution is necessary to prevent breakage, as football-playing
on a most indiscriminate and unlimited scale is the order of
the day. The ball is thrown up at the cross at one o'clock,
when the young men of the town and neighbourhood, with a
sprinkling of the married athletes, assemble in considerable
numbers. The foot-balls used are previously supplied by a
general public subscription, and from one o'clock the sport
is kept up with great spirit until darkness sets in and puts
a stop to the game. Business throughout the town is almost
entirely suspended during the day. Wade, History of Melrose
Abbey, 1861, p. 144.
IRELAND.
At Kilrush in the county of Clare, this is the greatest
day in the year for weddings, and consequently the Eoman
Catholic priests are generally occupied in the celebration of
matrimony from sunrise till midnight. The general fee on
this occasion is two guineas and a half ; and many thought-
less couples, under the age of sixteen, pay it with cheerful-
ness when they have not another penny in their possession.
Those who do not marry on this day must wait until Enster
Monday on account of the intervening Lent. - Muson, Siat.
Ace. of Ireland, 1814, voL ii. p. 458.
92 ASH WEDNESDAY. [FliB. 4
FEB. 4.] ASH WEDNESDAY.
AMONG the Anglo-Saxons Ash Wednesday had its ceremonial
of strewing ashes upon not merely the public penitent,
but all; and thereby spoke its a\vful teachings and warnings
unto all unto the young and old the guiltless and the
guilty. As soon as none-song was over, that is, about mid-
afternoon, the ashes were hallowed and tlien put upon each
one's forehead. From their own parish church the people-
then went in procession to some other church, and on ecnrng
back heard muss. Then, and only then, did such as were
bound and able to fast take any kind of food. D. Rock, The
Church of our Fathers, 1849-53, vol. iii. part ii. p. 63.
Formerly, on this day, boys used to go about clacking at
doors, to get eggs or bits of bacon wherewith to mako up a
foast among themselves ; and, when refused, would stop the
keyhole up with dirt, and depart with a rhymed denun-
ciation. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 240. We learn also
from. Fosbroke's British Mortacliism (1843) that in days
gone by boys used on the evening of Ash Wednesday to
run about with firebrands and torches.
In former times during the season of Lent, an officer
denominated " The King's Cock-Grower " crowed the hour
every night within the precincts of the palace, instead of
proclaiming it in the ordinary manner. On the first Ash
Wednesday after the accession of the House of Hanover, as
the Prince of Wales, afterwards George II., was sitting
down to supper, this officer suddenly entered the apartment,
bufore th chaplain said grace, and crowed " past ten o'clock."
The astonished Prince, not understanding English, and
mistaking the tremulation of the crow for mockery, con-
cluded that this ceremony was intended as sin insult, and
instantly rose to resent it; when, with some difficulty,
he was made to understand the nature of the custom,
and that it was intended as a compliment, and .according
to court etiquette. Fioni that period the custom was d.s-
coutiuued.
FlCB. 4.] ASH WEDNESDAY. 93
The intention of crowing the hour of the night was no
doubt intended to remind waking sinners of the august
effect the third crowing of the cock had on the guilty
Apostle St Peter ; and the limitation of the custom to the
season of Lent was judiciously adopted ; as, had the practice
continued throughout the year, the impenitent would become
as habituated and as indifferent to the crow of the mimic
cock as they are to that of the real one, or to the cry of the
watchmen. The adaptation to the precincts of the Court
seems also to have had a view, as if the institutor (probably
the Royal Confessor) had considered that the greater siml
more obdurate sinners resided within the purlieus of the
palace. Gent. Mag. 1785, vol. Iv. p. 341.
The beginning of Lent was at one time marked by a
custom now fallen into disuse. A figure, made up of stra\v
and cast-off clothes, was drawn or carried through the streets
amid much noise and merriment ; aftsT which it was either
burnt, shot at, or thrown down a chimney. This image was
called " Jack o'Lent," and was, according to some, intended
to represent Judas Iscariot. Elderton, in a ballad, calL d
Lenton Stuff", in a MS. in the Ashmolean Museum, thus
concludes his account of Lent :
" Then Jake a' Lent comes justlynge in,
With the hedpecce of a lierynge,
Ami say the, repent yowe of yower syn,
For shame, syrs, leve yower swerynge :
And to Palme Sunday docthu he ryde,
With sprots and herryngs by hys syde,
And makes an end of Li nton tyde !"
N. &Q.l*t S. vol. xii. p. 297.
In Ben Jonson's Tale of a Tub, occurs the following :
" On an Agh Wednesday,
When thou didst stand six weeks tho Jack o' Lent,
For boys to hurl three throws a penny at thee."
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1849, voL i. p. 101.
It was once customary for persons to wear black cloth
during Lent. Roberts in his Cambrian Pop Antiq. (1815,
112), says this usage was entirely laid aside in his time ; but
of late years it has been somewhat revived.
94 ASH WEDNESDAY. [FEB. 4.
It is observed by Mr. Fosbroke that ladies wore friars'
girdles during this season, and quoting from Camden's
Remains he tells us how Sir Thomas More, finding his
lady scolding her servants during Lent, endeavoured to
restrain her. "Tush, tush, my lord," said she, "look, here
is one step to heavenward," showing him a friar's girdle.
" I fear me," said he, " that one step will not bring you one
step higher."
In a curious tract written about 1174 by FitzStephen, a
monk of Canterbury, and entitled Dcscriptio Nobilisftimce
Civitatis Londonice, there is an interesting account of the
metropolis and its customs in Henry II. 's time. Speaking
of the season of Lent the writer says, " Every Friday
afternoon a company of young men ride out on horses fit
for war and racing, and trained to the course. Then tlie
citizens' sons flock through the gates in troops, armed
with lances and shields, and practise feats of arms ; but
the lances of the more youthful are not headed with
iron. When the king lieth near, many courtiers, and young
striplings from the families of the great, who have not yet
attained the warlike girdle, resort to these exercises. The
hope of victory inflames every one. Even the neighing ami
fierce horses shake their joints, chew their bridles, and
cannot endure to stand still. At length they begin their
race ; afterwards the young men divide their troops and
contend for mastery."
ESSEX.
At Felstead the churchwardens distribute, as the gift
of Lord Rich, seven barrels of white herrings and throe
barrels and a half of red on Ash Wednesday, and the six
following Sundays, to ninety-two poor householders of the
parish, selected by the churchwardens, in shares of eight
white herrings and four red a piece. A list is kept of the
persons receiving this donation, and they continue to receive
it during their lives, unless they misconduct themselves or
enter the workhouse. Old English Customs and Charities,
1842, p. 9.
FEE. 5.] BC AMBLING DAYS. 95
NORFOLK.
P. Le Neve Foster, Esq., who in 1835 held the rectorial
tithes of the parish of Great Witchingham, under a lease from
the warden and fellows of New College, Oxford, was bound
by a covenant contained therein, to provide and distribute
tj and amongst the poor inhabitants and parishioners, two
teams of peas, containing in all sixteen bushels. The
practice has been to give to every person \\ho happens
to be in the parish on Ash Wednesday, whether rich or
poor, one quart of peas each. Old English Customs and
Charities, 1842, p. 34.
SCAMBLING DAYS.
THE days so called were Mondays and Saturdays in Lent,
when no regular meals were provided, and the members of
our great families scambled. In the old household-book
of the tifth Earl of Northumberland there is a particular
section appointing the order of service for these days, and so
regulating the licentious contentions of them. Shakespeare,
in his play of Henry V. (act v. scene 2), makes King Henry
say : " If ever thou be'st mine, Kate, I get thee with scamlling,
and thou must therefore needs prove a good soldier-breeder."
The word scumbling is conjectured to be derived from the
Greek cn<a/>i/?o's, oblique, indirect, &c.
"The scambling and unquiet time."
Shak. Henry V. act i. sc. 1.
Med. ^vi Kalcnd. vol. ii. p. 350. Antiq. Repert. 1809,
vol. iv. pp. 87, 91, 305.
FEB. 5.] GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
In Smith's MS. Lives of the Lords of BcrJceley, in the
possession of the Earl of Berkeley (p. 49), we read that on
the anniversary of the founder of St. Augustine's, Bristol, i.e.,
96 CHALK SUNDAY. [FEB. 8.
Sir Kobert Fitzharding, on the 5th of February, " at that
monastery there shall be one hundred poore men refreshed
in a dole made unto them in this forme : Every man of them
hath a chanon's loaf of bread, called a raychc (a kind of bread),
and three hearings therewith. There shall be doaled also
amongst them t\vo bushells of peys/' Brand, Pop. Antiq.,
1849, vol., i. p. 116.
YORKSHIRE.
In Leeds and the neighbourhood they eat a sort of pancake
on the Thursday following Shrove Tuesday, which in that
part they call Fruttors (Fritters) Thursday. The Leeds
fritter, it is said in the Dialect of Leeds, 1862, p. 307. is
about one-fourth the size of a pancake, thicker, and has an
abundance of currants in it.
FEB. 8.] CHALK SUNDAY.
IRELAND.
Ix the west of Ireland nine-tenths of the marriages that
t:ike place among the peasantry are celebrated the week
before Lent, and particularly on Shrove Tuesday, on which day
the Roman Catholic priests have hard work to get through all
their duties. On the first Sunday in Lent it is usual for the
girls slyly to chalk the coats of those young men who have
allowed the preceding festival to pass without having m-icle
their choice of a partner; and ' illigible" young men strut
about with affected unconsciousness of the numerous stripes
which decorate their backs, while boys just arrived at manhood
hold their heads higher, and show tokens of great satisfaction,
if any good-natured lass affixes the coveted mark. N. & Q.
'2nd 8. vol. iii. p. 207.
FEB. ic.J ST. SCHOLASTIC A'S DAY. 97
FEB. 10.] ST. SCHOLASTICA'S DAT.
OXFORDSHIRE;.
THIS festival was formerly observed at Oxford. The
following extract is taken from The Lives of Leland, Hearne,
and Wood (1772. vol. ii. p. 312): Friday, the burghers or
citizens of Oxford appeared in their full number on St.
Scholastica's Day at St. Mary's. Alderman Wright, their
oracle, told them that if they did not appear there might
be some hole picked in their charter, as there was now
endeavouring to bo done in that of the city of London ; he
told them moreover that, though it was a popish matter, yet
policy ought to take place in this juncture of time.*
The origin of this custom was a furious contest between
the citizens of Oxford and the students. Some of the latter
being at a tavern, on the 10th of Februaiy, 1354, broke the
landlord's head with a vessel in which he had served them
with bad wine. The man immediately collected together a
number of his neighbours and fellow-citizens, who, having
for a long time waited for such an opportunity, fell upon the
students, and in spite of the mandates of the Chancellor, and
even the King himself, who was then at Woodstock, continued
their outrages for several days, not only killing or wounding
the scholars, but, in contempt of the sacerdotal order,
destroying all the religious crosses of the town. For this
offence the King deprived the city of many valuable privileges,
and bestowed them on the University, and the Bishop of
Lincoln forbade the administration of the sacraments to the
citizens. In the following year they petitioned for a miti-
gation of this sentence, but without success ; but in 1357 a
total abrogation of it was granted upon condition that the city
should annually celebrate on St. Scholastica's day, the 10th
of February, a number of masses for the souls of the scholars
killed in the conflict ; the mayor and bailifis with sixty of the
chief burgesses being bound also to swear at St. Mary's
* See ibid. p. 295.
98 ST. VALENTINE'S EVE. [FEB. 13.
Church observance of the customary rights of the University,
under the penalty of 100 marks in case of omission of this
ceremony. It wns further ordered, that the said citizens
should afterwards offer up singly at the high altar one penny,
of which sum forty pence were to be distributed to poor
scholars, and the remainder given to the curate of St. Mary's.
This offering being omitted upon the pretence that masses
were abolished, the University in Queen Elizabeth's reign
sued them for the sum of 1,500 marks due for such neglect
during fifteen years ; when it was decreed that instead of mass
there should be a sermon and a communion at St. Mary's
(which at length came only to public prayers), and that the
said offering should be made. The traditional story that the
mayor was obliged to attend with a halter round his neck,
which was afterwards, to lessen the disgrace, changed into
a silken string, has no real foundation. Ibid., p. 296.
FEB. ij.J ST. VALENTINE'S EVE.
MISSON, in his Travels in England (translated by Ozell, p.
330), describes the amusing practices of his time connected
with this day. He tells us that on the eve of the 14th
February, St. Valentine's day, the young folks in England
and Scotland, by a very ancient custom, celebi ate a little
festival. An equal number of maids and bachelors get to-
gether, and each writes their true or some feigned name upon
separate billets, which they roll up, and draw by way of lots,
the maids taking the men's billets, and the men the maids' ;
so that each of the young men lights upon a girl that he calls
his Valentine, and each of the girls upon a young man which she
calls hers. By this means each has two Valentines ; but the
man sticks faster to the Valentine that is fallen to him,
than the Valentine to whom he is fallen. Fortune having
thus divided the company into so many couples, the Valen-
tines give balls and treats to their mistresses, wear their
billets several days upon their bosoms or sleeves, and this
FEH. 13.] ST. VALENTINE'S EVE. 99
little sport often ends in love. There is another kind of
Valentine, which is the first young man or woman that chance
throws in your way in the street, or elsewhere, on that day.
In some places, says Hone (Every Day Book, vol. i. p.
226), at this time, and more particularly in London, the lad's
Valentine is the first lass he sees in the morning, who is
not an inmate of the house ; the lass's Valentine is the first
youth she sees.
Gray mentions this usage on St. Valentine's Day ; he makes
a rustic housewife remind her good man
" I early rose just at the break of day,
Before the sun had chas'd the stars away ;
A-field I went, amid the morning dew
To miik my kine (lor so should house-wives dc
Thee first I spied, and the first swain we see,
In spite of Fortune shall our true-love be."
Shakespeare bears witness to the custom of looking for
your Valentine, or desiring to be one, through poor Ophelia's
singing :
" Good morrow ! 'tis St. Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine I"
DERBYSHIRE.
At Ashborno the following custom is observed on Valen-
tine's Eve. When a young woman wishes to divine who her
future husband, is to be, she goes into the churchyard at
midnight, and as the clock strikes twelve commences running
round the church, repeating without intermission :
I sow hempseed, hempseed I sow,
He that loves me best
Come and after me mow."
Having thus performed the circuit of the church twelve
times without stopping, the figure of her lover is supposed to
appear and follow her. Jour. Arch. Assoc. 1852. vol. vii.
p. 209.
ii 2
100 BT. VALENTINE'S EVE. [FEB. 13.
DEVONSHIRE.
The peasants and others believe that if they go to the porch
of a church, waiting there till half-past twelve o'clock on the
Eve of St. Valentine's day, with some hempseed in his or her
hand, and at the time above-named, then proceed homewards,
scattering the seed on either side, repeating these lines :
" Hempseed I sow, hempseed I mow,
She (or he) that will my true-love be,
Come rake this hempseed after me,"
his or her true love will be seen behind raking up the seed
just sown, in a winding-sheet. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. v. p. 55.
NORFOLK.
As soon as it is dark, packages may be seen being carried
about in a most mysterious way ; and as soon as the coast seems
clear, the parcel is laid on the doorstep, the bell rung, and
the bearer runs away. Inside the house is all on the qui vive,
and the moment the bell is heard, all the little folks (and the
old ones too, sometimes) rush to the door, and seize the parcel
and scrutinize the direction most anxiously, and see whether it
is for papa or mamma, or one of the youngsters. The parcels
contain presents of all descriptions, from the most magnificent
books or desks, to little unhappy squeaking dolls. These
presents are always sent anonymously, and nearly always
contain a few verses, ending with the distich :
" If you'll be mine, I'll be thine,
And so good morrow, Valentine."
The last three words are for the most part written on the
wrapper also, with the address, thus :
Miss MART ISABELLA KING,
St. Giles,'
Norwich.
Good Morrow, Valentine.
ff. & Q. 1st S. vol. x. p. 5 ; 4tt S. vol. xi. p. 173.
FEB. 14.] ST. VALENTINE'S DAY. 101
At Swaffham, also, Valentines are sent on this evening.
Watching for a convenient opportunity, the door is slyly
opened, and the Valentine attached to an apple or an orange,
is thrown in ; a loud rap at the door immediately follows, and
the offender taking to his heels, is off instantly. Those in the
house, generally knowing for what purpose the amusing rap
was made, commence a search for the juvenile billet-doux : in
this manner numbers are disposed of by each youth. By
way of teasing the person who attends the door, a white oblong
square the size of a letter is usually chalked on the step of
the door, and should an attempt be made to pick it up, great
amusement is thus afforded to some of the urchins, who are
generally watching. Every Day Book, voL ii. p. 222.
FEB. 14.] ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.
THIS is a festival which lovers have observed and poets
have honoured from time immemorial. The observance is
much more than sixteen hundred years old, when the Christian
Valentine was beaten by clubs and behcadol, at the time
'f the great heathen festival of love and purification. A few
years ago the observance was dying cut; but it has lately
revived, especially in London. N. & Q. 4</t S. vol. xi. p. 129.
In that curious record of domestic life in England in the
reign of Charles II., Pepys 1 Diary, we find some notable
illustrations of the customs connected with this day.
It appears that married and single were then alike liable
to be chosen as a Valentine ; and that lady Valentines were
honoured not by anonymous verses, but by substantial gifts.
Four days after Pepys had chosen Martha Batten for his
Valentine, he took her to the Exchange, and there, " upon a
pair of embroidered, and six pair of plain white gloves, I laid
out 40*." The question of expense troubled the diarist.
When, in 1G67, he took his wife for (honorary) Valentine,
lie wrote down the fact that it would cost him 51. ; but he
consoled himself by another fact, that he must have laid out
as much " if we had not been Valentines." The outlay at the
102 ST. VALENTINE'S DAT. [FEB. 14.
hands of princes and courtiers was enormous. When the Duke
of York was Miss Stewart's Valentine, he gave her a jewel of
about 800Z. in value ; and in 1667, Lord Mandeville, being
that lady's Valentine, presented her with a ring worth 300Z.
The gifts of Pepys to his wife look small by the side of
presents made by lovers to ladies. Pepys came to an agreement
with Mrs. Pepys to be her Valentine (which did not preclude
others from being so) every year, " and this year," he remarks,
in 1668, " it is likely to cost 4.1. or 61. in a ring for her, which
she desires." In 1669, he bought more useful things fur his
cousin Turner, who told him she had drawn him for her
Valentine. Straightway he went to the New Exchange, and
bought her a pair of fashionable " green silk stockings, and
garters, and shoe-strings, and two pairs of jessimy gloves, all
coming to about 28s." London shops do not now exhibit green
silk stockings, but they tempt buyers with gallant intentions ;
and " Valentine gifts " are in windows or on counters at prices
to suit a few and terrify many.
Other old customs have not been revived, but we may learn
some of these from old makers of Notes, and specially from
Pepys, as to the old methods of choosing, or avoiding to
choose, Valentines. When he went early on Valentine's Day
to Sir W. Batten's, he says he would not go in " till I asked
whether they that opened the doors was a man or a woman ;
and Mingo who was there, answered, a woman, which, with his
tone, made me laugh ; so up I went, and took Mrs. Martha for
my Valentine (which I do only for complacency) ; and Sir W.
Batten, he go in the same manner to my wife, and
so we were very merry." On the following anniversary
the diarist tells us that Will Bowyer came to be his wife's
Valentine, " she having (at which I made good sport to myself)
held her hands all the morning, that she might not see the
painters that were at work gilding my chimney-piece and
pictures in my dining-room." It would seem, moreover, that
a man was not free from the pleasing pains of Valentineship
when the festival day was over. On Sln-ove Tuesday, March 3rd,
1663, after dinner, says Pepys, " Mrs. The. showed me my
name upon her breast as her Valentine, which," he added,
' ; will cost me 80s." Again, in 1667, a fortnight after the
actual day Pepys was with his wife at the Exchange, " and
FEB. 14."] ST. VALEXTIXE'S DAY. 103
there bought things for Mrs. Pierce's little daughter, my
Valentine (which," he says, " I was not sorry for, it easing me
of something more than I must have given to others), and so
to her house, where we find Knipp, who also challenged me for
her Valentine ;" of course, Pepys had to pay the usual homage
in acknowledgment of such choice. Then, as Pepys had a
little girl for Valentine, so hoys were welcomed to early
gallantry by the ladies. A thoroughly domestic scene is
revealed to us on Valentine's Day. 16G5 :
" This morning comes betimes Dickie Pen, to be my wife's
Valentine, and came to our bedside. By the same token, I
had been brought to my bedside thinking to have made him
kiss me ; but lie perceived me, and would not, so went to his
Valentine a notable, stout, witty boy."
When a lady drew a Valentine, a gentleman so drawn would
have been deemed shabby if he did not accept the honour and
responsibility. On the 14th February, 1667, we have thu
following :
" This morning called up by Mr. Hill, who, my wife
thought, had como to be her Valentine she, it seems, having
drawn him ; but it proved not. However, calling him up to
our bedside, my wife challenged him."
Where men could thus intrude, boys like Dickie Pen
could boldly go. Thus in 1667 :
" This morning came up to my wife's bedside little Will
Mercer, to be her Valentine ; and brought her name writ upon
blue paper, in gold letters, done by himself very pretty ; and
we were botli well pleased with it."
The drawing of names and name inscriptions were remnants
of old customs before the Christian era. Alban Butler, under
the head of " St. Valentine, Priest and Martyr," says :
" To abolish the heathens' lewd, superstitious custom of
boys drawing the names of girls in honour of their goddess,
Februata Juno, on the 15th of the month (the drawing being
on the eve of the 14th), several zealous pastors substituted
the names of saints in billets given on this day." This does
not, however, scorn to have taken place till the time of
St. Francis de Sales, who, in the beginning of the seven-
teenth century, as we are told in his Life, " severely
forbade the custom of Valentines, or giving boys in writing
104 ST. VALENTINE'S DAY. [FEB. 14.
the names of girls to be admired or attended on by them ; and
to abolish it, he changed it into giving billet* with the names
of certain saints for them to honour and imitate in a particular
manner."
To the drawing of names those of the saints gave way to
living objects of adoration was first added, in 1667, a custom
out of which has sprung the modern epistolary Valentine. In
the February of that year Pepys writes :
"I do first observe the fashion of drawing of mottoes as
well as names ; so that Pierce, who drew my wife's, did draw
also a motto, ' most courteous and most fair ;' which, as it may
be used, or an anagram made upon each name, might be very
pretty."
The Valentines of chance were those who drew names ; the
Valentines by choice .were made by those who could not open
their eyes on Valentine's morn till the one he or she most
desired to see was near. The one by chance sometimes
proved to be the one by choice also, and such were true
Valentines. N. & Q. th S. vol. xi. p. 129, 130.
Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, tells us that in
February young persons draw Valentines, and from thence
collect their future fortune in the nuptial state; and Goldsmith,
in his Vicar of Waliejield, describing the manners of some
parties, tells us they sent true-love knots on Valentine
morning.
St. Valentine's Day is alluded to by Shfkspeare and by
Chaucer, and also by the poet Lydgate, the monk of Bury
(who died in 1440). One of the earliest known writers
of Valentines was Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was taken
at the Battle of Agincourt. See Every Day Book, vol. i.
p. 215.
A singular custom prevailed many years ago in the west of
England. Three single young men went out together before
daylight on St. Valentine's Day, with a clap-net to catch an
old owl and two sparrows in a neighbouring barn. If they
were successful and could bring the birds without injury to
the inn before the females of the house had risen, they were
rewarded by the hostess with three pots of purl in honour of
St. Valentine, and enjoyed the privilege of demanding at any
house in the neighbourhood a similar boon. This was douo
FEU. 14.] ST. VALENTINE'S DAY. 105
ns an emblem that the owl, being the bird of wisdom, could
influence the feathered race to euter the net of love as mates
on that day, whereon both single lads and maidens should be
reminded that happiness could alone be secured by an early
union. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 227.
CAMBBIDGESHIEB.
In the village of Duxford and other adjoining parishes the
custom of " valentining " is still in feeble existence. The
children go in a body round to the parsonage and the farm-
houses, singing :
" Curl your looks as I do mine,
Two before and three behind,
So good morning, Valentine.
Hurra! Hurra! Hurra P*
They start about 9 A.M. on their expedition, which must be
finished by noon ; otherwise their singing is not acknowledged
in any way. In some few cases the donor gives each child a
halfpenny, others throw from their doors the coppers they
feel disposed to part with amongst the little band of choristers,
which are eagerly scrambled after. The Antiquary, 1873, vol.
iii. p. 103.
DEBBYSIIIRB.
The following customs, which have nearly died out, were
very prevalent about fifty or sixty years ago :
Valentine Dealing. Each young woman in the house would
procure several slips of paper, and write upon them the names
of the young men she knew, or those she hud a preference fur.
The slips when ready were put into a boot or slice (a man's),
or else into a hat, and shaken up. Each lassie then put in
her hand and drew a slip, which she read and retained until
every one had drawn. '1 he slips were then put back and the
drawing done over again, which ceremony was performed
three times. If a girl drew the same slip thrice, she was sure
to bo married in a short time, and to a person of the same
name as that which was written upon the thrice drawn slip.
Looking ihroii'jh the Keijhuh. On the early morn of St.
106 BT. VALENTINE'S BAT. [FEB. 14.
Valentine, young women would look through the keyhole of
the house door. If they saw only a single object or person
they would remain unmarried all that year. If they saw,
however, two or more objects or persons, they would be sure
to have a sweetheart, and that in no distant time; but if
fortune so favoured them that by chance they saw a cock and
a hen, they might be quite certain of being married before the
year was out.
Sweeping the girls was another real old Derbyshire custom.
If a girl did not have a kiss, or if her sweetheart did not
come to see her early on this morning, it was because she
was dusty, and therefore it was needful that she should be
well swept with a broom, and then afterwards equally well
kissed by the young men of the house, and those living near,
who used to go round to their intimate friends' houses to
perform this custom. N. & Q. Mh S. vol. ix. p. 135.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
In many parts the poor and middling classes of children
assemble together in some part of the town or village where
they live, and proceed in a body to the house of the chief
personage of the place, who, on their arrival, throws them
wreaths and true lovers' knots from the window, with which
they adorn themselves. Two or three of the girls then select
one of the youngest among them (generally a boy), whom
they deck out more gaily than the rest, and placing him at
their head, march forward, singing as they go along :
" Good morrow to you, Valentine;
Curl your locks us I do mine,
Two before and three behind.
Good morrow to you, Valentine."
This they repeat under the windows of all the houses they
pass, and the inhabitant is seldom known to refuse a mite
towards the merry solicitings of these juvenile serenaders.
Hone's Year Book, 1838, p. 201.
^B. 14.] BT. VALENTINE'S DAT. 107
KENT.
Tho following extract is taken from the Gentleman's
Magazine, 1779, vol. xlix. p. 137 : " Boing on a visit in a little
obscure village in Kent, I found an odd kind of sport going
forward : the girls, from eighteen to five or six years old,
were assembled in a crowd, and burning an uncouth effigy,
which they called an holly-boy, and which it seems they
had stolen from the boys, and in another part of the village
the boys were assembled together, and burning what they
called an ivy-girl, which they had stolen from the girls;
all this ceremony was accompanied with loud huzzas, noise,
and acclamation."
NOBFOLK.
Independent of the homage paid to St. Valentine on this
day at Lynn, it is in other respects a red-letter day amongst
all classes of its inhabitants, being the commencement of its
great annual mart. This mart was granted by a charter of
Henry VIII. in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, "to
begin on the day next after the feast of the purification of
the blessed Virgin Mary, and to continue six days next
following." Since the alteration of the stylo, in 1752, it
has been proclaimed on Valentine's Day. About noon, the
Mayor and Corporation, preceded by a band of music, and
attended by twelve decrepit old men, called from their dress
" Ked Coats," walk in procession to proclaim the mart, con-
cluding by opening the antiquated and almost obsolete
court of "Piepowder." Like most establishments of this
nature, it is no longer attended for the purpose it was first
granted, business having yielded to pleasure and amusement.
Formerly Lynn mart and Stour bridge (Stirbitch) fair, were
the only places where small traders in this and tlie adjoining
counties supplied themselves with their rcspect've goods.
No transactions of this nature now take place, and the only
remains to be perceived are the '' mart prices," still issued
by the grocers. Here the thrifty housewives, for twenty
miles round, laid in their annual store of soap, starch, &c.,
108 ST. VALENTINE'S DAY. [FEB. 14,
and the booth of Green, from Limehouse, was for three
generations the emporium of such articles ; but these no
longer attend. A great deal of money is however spent, as
immense numbers of persons assemble from all parts.
Neither is there any lack of incitements to unburthen the
pockets : animals of every description, tame and wild, giants
and dwarfs, tumblers, jugglers, peep-shows, &c., all unite
their attractive powers, in sounds more discordant than those
which annoyed the ears of Hogarth's " enraged musician."
In the early part of the last century, an old building,
which, before the Reformation, had been a hall belonging to
the guild of St. George, after being applied to various uses,
was fitted up as a theatre (and, by a curious coincidence,
where formerly had doubtless been exhibited, as was cus-
tomary at the guild feasts, religious mysteries and pageants
of the Catholic age, again were exhibited the mysteries and
pageants of the Protestant age) during the mart and
a few weeks afterwards, but apparently with no great suc-
cess. Every Day Boole, vol. ii. p. 223.
In the parish of Ry burgh it is customary for the children
to go round to the houses in the village for contributions,
saying :
" Ood bless the baker;
If you will be the giver,
I will be the taker."
N. & Q. 4th S. vol. v. p. 595.
NORTHAMPTONSHIBE .
In this county children go from house to house, on the
morning of St. Valentine's Day, soliciting small gratuities.
The children of the villages go in parties, sometimes in
considerable numbers, repeating at each house the following
salutations, which vary in different districts : *
"Good morrow, Valentine!
First it's yours, and then it's mine,
So please give me a Valentine."
* See History and Anti/uities of Weston Favr-tt(\827, p. 6). Brand
in his Pop. Antiq. mentions this custom as existing in Oxfordshire.
i49, vol. i. p. 60.
FEB. 14.] ST. VALENTINE'S DAT. 109
"Monow, morrow, Valentine!
First 'tis yours, and then 'tis mine,
80 please to give me a Valentine.
Holly and ivy tickle my toe,
Give me red apples and let me go."
** Good morrow, Valentine 1
Parsley grows by savoury,
Savoury grows by thyme,
A new pair of gloves on Easter day.
Good morrow, Valentine 1 "
It was formerly customary for young people to catch their
parents and each other on their first meeting on St. Valen-
tine's morning. Catching was no more than the exclama-
tion, " Good morrow, Valentine ! " and they who could repeat
this before they were spoken to, were entitled to a small
present from their parents or the elderly persons of the
family ; consequently there was great eagerness to rise early,
and much good-natured strife and merriment on the occasion.*
In Peterborough and in some of the villages in the
northern part of the county sweet plum buns were formerly
given, and I believe are still made, called Valentine buns;
and these buns, I am told, are in some villages given by
godfathers and godmothers to their godchildren on the
(Sunday preceding and the Sunday following St. Valentine's
Day. Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and
Phrases, 1854, voL ii. p. 373.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Drawing lots or billets for Valentines is a custom
observed in the neighbourhood of Mansfield, where a few
young men and maidens meet together, and having put each
their own name on a slip of paper, they are all placed
together in a hat or basket, and drawn in regular rotation.
Should a young man draw a girl's name, and she his, it is
considered ominous, and not unfreqjciently ends in real love
and a wedding. Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1853, vol. viii.
p. 231.
* The custom was observed at Norfolk. Brand, Pop. Anliq. vol. i.
p. 60.
110 ST. DAVID'S DAT. [MABCH I,
OXFORDSHIRE.
In this county tho following rhymes were used :
" Good morrow, Valentine I
I be thine, and thou be'st mine,
So please give mo a Valentine 1"
Also
" Good morrow, Valentine!
God bless you ever 1
If you'll be true to me,
I'll be the like to thee .
Old England for ever !"
Also
" Good morrow. Valentine,
First 'tis yours, then 'tis mine,
So please give me a Valentine."
The Antiquary, 1873, vol. iii. p. 107 ; Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 60.
YORKSHIRE.
" On Valentine's Day," says Clarkson (Hist, of Richmond,
1821, p. 293), " the ceremony of drawing lots called Valentines
is seldom omitted. The names of a select number of one
sex with an equal number of the other are put into a vessel,
and every one draws a name, which is called their Valentine ;
and which is looked upon as a good omen of their being
afterwards united."
MARCH. I.] ST. DAVID'S DAY.
VARIOUS attempts have been made to account for the custom
of wearing the leek. Owen, in his Cambrian Biography
(1803), considers it to have originated from the custom of
cymhortlia, or the neighbourly aid practised among farmers.
He says that it was once customary in some districts of South
Wales for all the neighbours of a small farmer without
means to appoint a day, when they all met together for the
purpose of ploughing his land, or rendering him any service
MARCH i.j BT. DAVID'S DAT. Ill
in their power. On such an occasion each individual carried
with him his portion of leeks to be used in making the
pottage for the company. Some also are of opinion that the
practice took its rise in consequence of a victory obtained by
Cadwallo over the Saxons on the 1st of March, 640, when
the Welsh, to distinguish themselves, wore leeks in their hats.
Shakespeare introduces the custom into his play of Henry V.,
act iv. sc. 7. Fluellin addressing the monarch says :
" 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 Hen. They did, Fluellin.
"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 Mouinouth
caps ; which, your majesty knows, to this hour is an honour-
able padge of the service ; and I do believe your majesty
takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day."
This allusion by Fluellin to the Welsh having worn the
leuk in a battle under the Black Prince, is not, as some
writers suppose, wholly decisive of its having originated
in the fields of Cressy or Poictiers, but shows that when
Shakespeare wrote Welshmen wore leeks. In the same play
the well-remembered Fluellin's enforcement of Pistol to eat
the leek he had ridiculed, further establishes the wearing as
a usage. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 318
A contributor to a periodical work, entitled Gazette of
Fashion (March 9th, 1822), rejects the notion that wearing
leeks on St. David's Day originated at the battle between the
Saxons and the Welsh in the sixth century ; and considers it
more probable that leeks were a Druidic symbol employed in
honour of the British Ceudven, or Ceres. In which hypo-
thesis he thinks there is nothing strained in presuming that
the Druids wore a branch of the Phoenician priesthood. Both
wore addicted to oak worship ; and during the funereal rites
of Adonis at Byblos, leeks and onions were exhibited in " pots
with other vegetables, and called the gardens of that deity."
In the fifteenth century, the celebration of St. David's Day
was honoured with the patronage of royalty ; and numerous
112 ST. DAVID'S DAT. [MARCH I.
entries of payments, such as the following, are recorded in the
"Privy Purse Expenses of Henry the Seventh," a monarch
whose liberality is not proverbial :
March 1 (1492). Walshemen on Saint David Day, 2."
"March 6 (1494). To the Walshemen towardes their
feste, 2. " Med. JBm Kalend, vol. i. p. 168.
From Poor Robin's Almanack for 1757 it appears that, in
former times in England, a Welshman was burnt in effigy on
this anniversary :
" But it would make a stranger laugh
To see th' English hang poor Taff:
A pair of breeches, and a coat,
Hat, shoes, and stockings, and what not,
All stuffed with hay to represent
The Cambrian hero thereby meant :
With sword sometimes three inches broad,
And other armour made of wood,
They drag hur to some publick tree,
And hang hur up in effigy."
To this custom Pepys probably alludes in his Diary for
1667 (Bohn's Edition, 1858, vol. iii. p. 761) :
" In Mark Lane I do observe (it being St. David's Day)
the picture of a man dressed like a Welshman, hanging by
the neck upon one of the poles that stand out at the top of
the merchant's houses, in full proportion; and very hand-
somely done, which is one of the oddest sights I have seen
a good while."
Brand, in his Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 105), thinks
that from this custom arose the practice, at one time in vogue
amongst pastrycooks, of hanging or skewering taffies or
Welshmen of gingerbread for sale on St. David's Day.
The goat has by time-honoured custom been attached to
the regiment of the Eoyal Welsh (23rd) Fusiliers, and the
following extract, taken from the Graphic (No. 171, March,
8th, 1873), shows how St. David's Day is observed by the
officers and men of this regiment :
The drum-major, as well as every man in the regiment,
wears a leek in his busby ; the goat is dressed with rosettes
and ribbons of red and blue. The officers have a party, and
the drum-major, accompanied by the goat, marches round
the table after dinner, carrying a plate of leeks, of which he
MARCH i.J SIMNEL SUNDAY. 113
offers one to each officer or guest who has never eaten one
before, and who is bound to eat it up, standing on his chair,
with one foot on the table, while a drummer beats a roll
behind his chair. All the toasts given are coupled with the
name of St. David, nor is the memory of Toby Purcell
forgotten. This worthy was gazetted major of the regiment
when it was first raised, and was killed in the Battle of the
Boyne.
MIDDLESEX.
St. David's Day is observed in London, says Hampson
(Ned. 2Evi Kalend. vol. i. p. 168), by the Charitable
Society of Ancient Britons, who were established in 1714, in
behalf of the Welsh Charity School in Gray's Inn Eoad. Ou
this occasion each man wears an artificial leek in his hat.
OXEOUDSHIBE.
Cn St. David's Day at Jesus College, Oxford, an immense
silver gilt bowl, containing ten gallons, which was presented
to the College by Sir Watkin Williams Wynne in 1732,
is filled with " swig," and handed round to those who are
invited to sit at the festive and hospitable board. Hone's
Year Book, 1838, p. 265.
WALES.
At Tenby one of the benefit clubs marched through the
town bearing the leek in their hats. In the evening a ball
took place, at which artificial leeks were worn by both sexes.
Mason, Tales and Traditions of Tenby, 1858, p. 19.
MABCH i.] SIMNEL SUNDAY.
SIMNEL SUNDAY is better known as Mid-Lent or Mothering
Sunday, and was so called because large cakes called Simnels
were made on this day.
Bailey in his Dictionary (fol. 1764, by Scott,) says, Simnel
i
114 SIMNEL SUNDAY. [MARCH I.
is probably derived from the Latin Simila, fine flour, and
means a sort of cake, or bun, made of fine flour, spice, &c.
Frequent mention is made of the Simnel in the household
allowances of Henry the First.
" Cancellarius v solidos in die et i Siminellum dominicum,
et ii salum, et i sextarium de vino claro, et i sext. de vino
expensabili, et unum grossurn cereum, et xl frusta Candell."
Libr. Nigr. Scaccarii, p. 341.
The " Siminellum Dominicum," Hearne thinks, was a
tatter kind of bread* and that " Siminellum Salum," from
yal, cibus, victus, was the ordinary bread ; if it be not the
Latin Salis (Siminellum Salinum), in which case it denotes
that more salt is contained in it than in the other. If the
derivation from Simnel be not satisfactory, perhaps the
Anglo-Saxon Fymbel, a feast or banquet, whence pimbel, ta^,
a festival day, may suffice. Med. jfivi Kalend. vol. i. p. 177.
At Bury, in Lancashire, from time beyond memory,
thousands of persons come from all parts, and eat " simnels"
on Simnel Sunday. Formerly, nearly every shop was open,
quite in defiance of the law respecting the closing during
" service," but of late, through the improved state of public
opinion, the disorderly scenes to which the custom gave rise
have been partially amended. Efforts have been repeatedly
made to put a stop to the practice altogether, but in vain.
The clergy, headed by the rector, and the ministers of all
denominations (save the Eomanists) have drawn up protests
and printed appeals against this desecration, but, as just
stated, with scarcely any visible effect.
It is not a little singular that the practice of assembling
in one town, upon one day the middle Sunday in Lent, to
eat simnel cake, is a practice confined to Bury. Much
labour has been expended to trace the origin of this custom,
* Alderman Wilkinson of Burnley, a well known able Lancashire
antiquary, some time since stated that it " originally meant the
very finest bread. Pain demain is another term for it, on account of
its having been used as Sunday bread."
In Wright's Vocabularies it appears thus: ' Hie artsecopus, a
eymnylle.' This form was in use during the fifteenth century.
In the D/'ctionarius of John de Garlande, compiled at Paris in the
thirteenth century, it appears thus: "Simeneus = placenta) = siniiiels.''
fc>uch cakes were signed with the figure of Christ, or of the Virgin.
MARCH i.] SIMNEL SUNDAY. 115
but without success. Gent. Mag. (New Series) 1866, vol. i.
p. 535 ; Baines, History of Lancashire, 1836, vol. ii. p. 77G.
Herrick in bis Hesjpcrides has the following :
"TO DIANEME.
*A CEUEJIOXIE IN GLOCESTER.
a Til to thee a Simnell bring,
'Gainst thou go'st a mothering ;
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessiug thou'lt give me." 1, p. 2787.
Again, the broad called " simnel bread" is mentioned
by Jehoshaphat Aspin, in his Pictures of Manners, &c., of
England, p. 126, who quotes from a statute of 51st of
Henry III. : A farthing symnel (a sort of small Ciike, twice
baked, and also called a cracknel) should weigh two ounces
less than the wastel (a kind of cake made with honey, or with
meal and oil).
Curious are some of the tales which have arisen to explain
the meaning of the name simnel. Some pretend that the
father of Lambert Simnel, the well-known pretender in the
reign of Henry VII., was a baker, and the first maker of
sinmels, and that, in consequence of the celebrity he gained
by the acts of his son, his cakes have retained his name.
There is a story current in Shropshire, which is more pic-
turesque. Long ago there lived an honest old couple, boasting
the names of Simon and Nelly, but their surnames are not
known. It was their custom at Easter to gather their
children about them, and thus meet together once a year
under the old homestead. The fasting season of Lent was just
ending, but they had still left some of the unleavened dough
which had been from time to time converted into bread
during the forty days. Nelly was a careful woman, and it
grieved her to waste anything, so she suggested that they
should use the remains of the lenten dough, for the basis of
a cake to regale the assembled family. Simon readily agreed
to the proposal, and further reminded his partner that there
were still some remains of their Christmas plum-pudding
hoarded up in the cupboard, and that this might form the
interior, and bo an agreeable surprise to the young people
when tbey had made their way through the less tasty crust.
i 2
116 MOTHERING SUNDAY. [MAl.CII I.
So far all things went on harmoniously ; but when the cake
was rcade, a subject of violent discord arose, Sim insisting
that it should be boiled, while Nell no less obstinately con-
tended that it should be baked. The dispute ran from words
to blows, for Nell not choosing to let her province in the
household be thus interfered with, jumped up, and threw the
stool she was sitting on at Sim, who, on his part, seized a
besom, and applied it with right good will to the head and
shoulders of his spouse. She now seized the broom, and the
battle became so warm, that it might have had a very serious
result, had not Nell proposed as a compromise that the cake
should be boiled first and afterwards baked. This Sim
acceded to, for he had no wish for further acquaintance with
the heavy end of the broom. Accordingly, the big pot was set
on the fire, and the stool broken up and thrown on to boil it,
whilst the besom and broom furnished fuel for the oven.
Some eggs, which had been broken in the scuffle, were used
to coat the outside of the pudding when boiled, which gave
it the shining gloss it possesses as a cake. This new and
remarkable production in the art of confectionery became
known by the name of the cake of Simon and Nelly, but soon
only the first half of each name was alone preserved and
joined together, and it has ever since been known as the cake
of Sina-Nel or Simnel. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 337.
Mothering Sunday. In many parts of England it was
formerly customary for servants, apprentices, and others to
carry presents to their parents on this day. This practice
was called Going a-Mothering, and originated in the offerings
made on this day at the mother-church.
In the Gent. Mag. (vol. liv. p. 98) a correspondent tells
us that whilst he was an apprentice the custom was to visit
his mother on Mid-Lent Sunday (thence called Mothering
Sunday) for a regale of excellent furmety.*
* Furmenty, Furrnity, or Frumity; still a favourite dish in the
north, consisting of hulled wheat boiled in milk and seasoned. It.
was especially a Christmas dish. In the True Gentlewoman's Delight,
1676, p. 17, the following receipt is given for making furmity :
Take a quart of sweet cream, two or three sprigs of mace, and a
nutmeg cut in half, put it into your cream, so let it boil ; then take
your French barley or rice, being first washed clean in fair water three
times and picked clean, tui n boil it iu sweet milk till it be tender,
I.J BRAGGOT SUXJXVY. 117
Another correspondent of the sume journal for May (vol.
liv. p. 343) says, " I happened to reside last year near
Chepstow, in Monmouthshire ; and there, for the first time,
heard of Mothering Sunday. My inquiries into the origin
and meaning of it were fruitless ; but the practice there-
abouts was for servants and apprentices on Mid-Lent Sunday
to visit their parents, and make them a present of money, a
trinket, or some nice eatable ; and they are anxious not to
fail in this custom."
A mothering-cake is alluded to in Collins's Miscellanies,
1762, p. 114 :
" Why, rot thee, Dick ! see Dundry's Peak
Lucks like a shuggard motlierin'-c;ike."
A sort of spiced ale called Braggot, Bragget, or Braggat,
was used in many parts of Lancashire on these visits of
relations, whence the day was called Braggot Sunday.
In Nares' Glossary (Halliwell and Wright, 1859, vol. i.
p. 102) the following receipt for making bragget is given
from the Haven of Health, chap. 239, p. 268 :
Take three or four galons of good ale, or more as you
please, two dayes or three after it is dcnscd, and put it into a
pot by itselfe ; then draw forth a pottle thereof, and piit to it a
quart of good English honey, and set them over the fire in a
vcssell, and let themboyle faire and softly, and alwayes as any
froth ariseth skumme it away, and so clarifie it, and when it
is well clarified, take it off the fire and let it coole, and put
thereto of pepper a pennyworth, cloves, mace, ginger, nut-
megs, ciuatuon, of each two pennyworth, beaten to powder,
stir them well together, and set them over the fire to boylo
flgaine awhile, then bring milke warme, put it to the reste,
and stirre alltogether, and let it stand two or three daies, and
put barme upon it, and drink it at your pleasure.
Minsheu in his Ductor in Linguas (1617, p. 50) tells ns
then put it into your crf-nm, and boil it well, nnd when it hath boiled
a good while, take the yoke of six or seven eg,'S, beat them very well
to thicken on a soft fin-, boil it, and stir it. for it will quickly burn ;
when you thi' k it ip boiled enough sweeten it to your tnste, and so
serve it in with rosewnter :md musk-sugar, in the same manner you
rn:ike it with wheat. Nnres' Glossary (.Halliwell anil Wr'ght), 1S59,
vol. i. p. 340.
118 MID-LENT SUNDAY. [MARCH 1.
that Braggot is composed of two Welsh words, Brdg, malt, and
Gots, honeycombs.
In Ben Jonson's masque of the Metamorphosed Gipsies ia
the following reference to this word :
41 And we have sorv'd there, armed all in ale,
"With the brown bowl, and charg'd in brcggat stale."
On this day also boys went about in ancient times into
the villages with a figure of death made of straw, from
whence they were generally driven by the country people,
who disliked it as an ominous appearance, while some gave
them money to get the mawkin carried off. Its precise
meaning under that form is doubtful, though it seems likely
to have purported the death of winter, and to have been only
a part of another ceremony conducted by a larger number of
boys, from whom the death carriers were a detachment, and
who consisted of a large assemblage carrying two figures to
-represent Spring and Winter. These two figures they bore
about, and fought ; in the fight, Summer or Spring got the
victory over Winter, and thus was allegorized the departure
or burial of the death of the year, and its commencement
or revival as Spring. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 358.
In the north of England, and also in the Midland Counties,
the following names are given to the Sundays of Lent, the
first of which however is anonymous :
" Tid, Mid, Misera,
Curling, Palm, Paste Egg-day."
Another version of this couplet is given in the Gent. fllag.,
1788, vol. Iviii. p. 288.
" Tid, and Mid, and Misern,
Carling. Palm, and Good-Pas-Dny."
The first three names are no doubt corruptions of some
part of the ancient Latin service or psalms used on each.
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 116; see the Festa
Anglo-Eomana, 1678.
In the Gent. Mag. (1785, p. 779) an advertisement for
the regulation of Newark fair is quoted, which mentions
that " Careing Fair will be held on Friday before Careing
MARCH I.] FIRST MONDAY IN MARCH. 119
Sunday ; " and Nichols remarks on this passage that he had
heard the following old Nottinghamshire couplet :
* Care Sunday, C;ire away,
Palm Sunday and Easter Day." Ibid. p. 113.
LANCASHIRE.
Fig-pies, or, as they are called in this country, " fag-pies,"
are, or were, eaten on a Sunday in Lent, thence known as Fag-
pie Sunday. #. & Q. 2nd S. vol. i. p. 322.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Fig-pie Wake is kept in the parish of Draycot-in-the-Moors
and in the neighbouring villages on Mid-Lent Sunday. The
fig-pies are made of dry figs, sugar, treacle, spice, etc. ; they
are rather too luscious for those who are not " to the manner
born." But yet on this Sunday, the friends of the parish-
ioners come to visit them, and to eat their fig -pies. N. & Q.
2nd S. vol, i. p. 227.
FIRST MONDAY IN MARCH.
BERKSHIRE AND HAMPSHIRE.
THE first Monday in March being the time when shoe-
makers in the country cense from working by candle-light,
it used to be customary for them to meet together in the
evening for the purpose of wetting the block. On these
occasions the master either provided a supper for his men,
or made them a present of money or drink ; the rest of the
expense was defrayed by subscriptions among themselves, and
sometimes by donations from customers. After the supper
was ended, the block candlestick was placed in the midst,
the shop caudle was lighted, and all the glasses being filled,
the oldest hand in the shop poured the contents of his glass
over the candle to extinguish it; the rest then drank the
contents of theirs standing, and gave three cheers. Tho
meeting was usually kept to a late hour.* Every Day Booh.
vol. ii. p. 470.
* In some places tliis custom took place on Easter Monday.
120 SCOTCH LOCAL CUSTOM. [MARCH 3.
FKIDAY IN LIDE.
CORNWALL.
THE first Friday in March is so called from lide, Anglo-
Saxon for March. This day is marked by a serio-comic custom
of sending a young lad on the highest mound or hillock of the
work, and allowing him to sleep there as long as he can ; the
length of his siesta being the measure of the afternoon nap
for the tinners throughout the ensuing twelve months. The
weather which usually characterizes Friday in Lide is, it
need scarcely be said, not very conducive to prolonged
sleep. In Saxon times labourers were generally allowed
their mid-day sleep ; and it has been observed that it is even
now permitted to husbandmen in some parts of East Cornwall
during a stated portion of the year. Browne appears to
allude to this practice in Devonshire, when he says in the
third song of his first book, in reference to the song-birds in
the woodland :
" Whose pleasing noates the tyred swaine have made
To ateale a nap at noontide in the shade."
Brand, Pop. Anti'i. 1870, vol. i. p. Gt.
MARCH 3.] SCOTLAND.
Sinclair, in his Statistical Account of Scotland (1795, vol.
xvi. p. 460), says, " At Sandwick the people do no work on tho
third day of March, in commemoration of the day on which
the church of Sandwick was consecrated ; and, as the church
was dedicated to St. Peter, they also abstain from working
for themselves on St. Peter's day (29th June), but they will
work for another person who employs them."
MARCH 8.1 CARE SUNDAY. 121
MARCH 5.] ST. PIRAN'S DAY.
CORNWALL.
THE tinners observe this day, says Hitcliins in his History
of Cornwall (1844, vol. i. p. 725), as a holiday, which they
call St. Piran's Day. This, by a custom established from
time immemorial, sanctions a suspension from all labour,
because St. Piran is supposed to have communicated some
important information relative to the tin manufacture.
MARCH 8.] CARE SUNDAY.
THIS day, the ancient Passion Sunday, is the fifth Sunday
after Shrove Tuesday. The word Care, which is also applied
to Christmas Cakes, has been a stumbling-block to etymolo-
gists. The following remarks respecting its derivation are
taken from Hampson's Med. ^Evi Kalend. (1841, vol. i. p.
178) : T. Marcschall observes that the day on which Christ
suffered, is called in German both Gute Frcytag and Karr
Freytag, and that Karr signified a satisfaction for a fine or
penalty. Adelung speaking of Charfreytag {Care or Carr
Friday) and Charwoche (Care or Carr-week\ observes that
the first syllable is supposed to be the old Cara, preparation
(Zubereitung), and that this week, conformably to tho
'usage of the Jews, was called Preparation Week (Zubereit-
ungswoche) because the sixth day was Preparation day
(Zubereitungstag), when the Jews prepared themselves for
Easter. Hence the Greeks called Carfriday, Dies Parasceves,
of which the Gothic Gartag, or Garfreytag is a translation.
Tatian (Cap. 58) names the Friday before Eastor " Garo-
tag fora Ostrum," and renders the phrase, " My heart is pre-
pared," " Karo ist mein herza." Schiller's opinion, however,
that Char, Kar, signifies mourning, complaint, sorrow, has
122 CAKE SUNDAY. [MARCH 8.
equal probability ; for it appears from ancient manuscripts
that Car formerly bore the signification of Care or grief, and
in Sweden, where the fifth Sunday in Lent is denominated
Kaersunnutag, the verb Kcera is actually to lament, to
complain.
Dr. Jameson, adopting the opinion of Mareschall, observes,
" This name may have been imposed in reference to the
satisfaction made by our Saviour. Some, however, understand
it, as referring to the accusations brought against him on this
day, from the Sueo-Gothic Kcera, to complain." EtymoL
Diet., Art. Care Sunday.
On this day, in the northern counties, and in Scotland, a
custom obtains of eating Cartings, which are grey peas,
steeped all night in water, and fried the next day with
butter :
' There'll be all the Inds and Isissies
Set down in the midst of the ha'.
With sybows, and ry tarts, and curlings
That are bath sodden und raw."
Kitson's Scottish Songs, vol. i. p. 211.
As to the origin of this custom, Brand (Pop. Anliq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 114) offers the following explanation: "In the
Roman Calendar, I find it observed on this day, that a dole is
made of soft beans. I can hardly entertain a doubt but that
our custom is derived from hence. It was usual among the
Romanists to give away beans in the doles at funerals; it
was also a rite in the funeral ceremonies of heathen Rome.
Why we have substituted peas I know not, unless it was
because they are a pulse somewhat fitter to be eaten at this
season of the year." Having observed from Erasmus that
Plutarch held pulse (legumina) to be of the highest efficacy
iu invocation of the Manes, he adds : " Ridiculous and absurd
as these superstitions may appear, it is quite certain that
Carlings deduce their origin from thence." This explanation,
however, is by no means regarded as satisfactory.
Hone (Every Day Book, 1826, vol. i. p. 379) says, How is
it that Care Sunday is also called Carl and Carling Sunday ;
and that the peas, or beans of the day are called Carlings ?
Carle, which means a Churle, or rude boorish fellow, was
anciently the term for a working countryman or labourer ;
MARCH 10.] OXFOUD LOCAL CUSTOM. 123
and it is only altered in the spelling, without the slightest
deviation in sense, from the old Saxon word Ceoj-1, the name
for a husbandman. The older denomination of the day, then,
may not have been Care, but Carl Sunday, from the benefac-
tions to the Carles or Carlen. A correspondent of Notes
d~ Queries (1st S. vol. iii. 449) tells us that on the north-east
coast of England, where the custom of frying dry peas on
tli is day is attended with much augury, some ascribe its
origin to the loss of a ship freighted with peas on the coast
of Northumberland. Carling is the foundation beam of a
ship, or the beam on the keel.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
In several villages in the vicinity of Wisbeach, in the Isle
of Ely, the fifth Sunday in Lent has been, time immemorial,
commemorated by the name of Wliirlin Sunday, when cakes
are made by almost every family, and are called, from the day,
Whirlin Cakes. Gent. Mag. 1789, vol. Ik. p. 491.
YOBKSHIBK.
The rustics go to the public-house of the village, and
spend each their Carling-groat, i.e., that sum in drink, for
the Carlings are provided for them gratis; and a popular
notion prevails that those who do not do this will be un-
successful in their pursuits for the following year. Brand,
Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 114.
MARCH 10.] OXFORDSHIRE.
WILLIAM HANDY, by will dated the 10th of March, 1G22,
bequeathed to the parish of St. Giles', Oxford, 40, upon con-
dition that, upon the 10th of March for ever, in the morning,
about 5 o'clock, they should ring one peal with all the bells,
and aliout 8 or 9 o'clock should go to service, and read all
the service, with the Litany and the Communion, as it is
124 PENNY LOAF DAT. [HAHCH I I,.
commanded to be read in the cathedral church, and after
that to have a sermon, and in it to give God thanks for His
great blessings in delivering and bringing the giver from
Papistry and idolatry to the light and truth of the blessed
Gospel ; and he desired that the preacher might have 10s.
for his sermon, and the minister 5s. for reading service,
and the poor to have given them in bread or money 10s.
This sum, with other money, was laid out in 1G33, in pur-
chasing a tenement, garden, and one acre of pasture ground,
situated in Corn Street, Witney, to the uses of the donor's
will ; of the rent, 15s. a year was accordingly commanded to
be paid to the minister for reading prayers and preaching a
sermon on the 10th of March, 5s. to the clerk, 5s. to the ringer,
and 15s. to be distributed at the church, witli other money
in small sums to the poor.* Old English Customs and
Charities, 1842, p. 24U.
MARCH n.] NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
FORMERLY, there lived at Newark one Hercules Clay, a
tradesman of considerable eminence, and an alderman of the
borough of Newark. During the siege, in the night of the
llth of March 1643, he dreamed three times that his house
was on fire ; on the third warning he arose much alarmed,
awoke the whole of his family, and caused them to quit the
premises, though at that time all appeared to be in perfect
safety. Soon afterwards, however, a bomb from a battery of
the Parliamentarian army on Beacon Hill, an eminence near
the town, fell upon the roof of the house, and penetrated all
the floors, and happily did little other execution. The bomb
was intended to destroy the house of the governor of the town,
which was in Stadman Street, exactly opposite Clay's house.
In commemoration of this extraordinary deliverance, Mr.
Clay, by his will, gave 200 to the Corporation in trust to
pay the interest of 100 to the Vicar of Newark, for a sermon
* There was a similar gift of the same donor fo the parish of
St. Mary Magdalen. Oxford; but since 1800 nothing has been paid in.
respect of this charity.
MAKCH 12.] ST. GREGORY'S DAT. 125
to be preached every llth of March. The interest of the
other 100 he directed to be given in bread to the poor.
Penny loaves were, accordingly given to every one who
applied, and the day on which they were distributed, was
called "Penny Loaf Day." Hone's Tear Book, 1838, p. 301.
MARCH 12.] ST. GEEGOEY'S DAY.
IRELAND.
THE feast of St. Gregory the Great, 12th of March, was
formerly observed as a holiday, and one of festivity in all
the rural schools in the baronies of Forth and Baigy (the
Strongbonian Colony), in the county of Wexford. The
manner was this: the children, for some days previous,
brought contributions, according to the means and liberality
of their parents, consisting of money, bread, butter, cream, &c.,
and delivered them to the teacher. On the morning of the
joyous day, the children repaired to the school-house in
holiday dress, where the teacher had everything prepared for
the festivity, the simple temple of learning decorated with
the richest flowers within his means of obtaining, and the
presence of two or more kind-hearted females to do the
honours and duties of the tea-table to the happy juveniles. A
" king " and a " queen " were nominated, who, of course, took
the seat of honour, and the proud and busy teacher was
everywhere all attention to his little pupils. The day passed
off in hilarity and innocent enjoyment, and the competitive
system of free offerings left, generally, something pleasing
to tell for some days in the pockets and humble cupboard
of the teacher. This custom prevailed until after the
commencement of the present century. N. & Q. 2nd S.
vol. vii. p. 392.
126 PALM SUNDAY. [MARCH 15.
PALM SATUEDAY.
MAKOH 14.] SCOTLAND.
ON the Saturday before Palm Sunday the boys belonging
to the grammar-school at Lanark, according to ancient usage,
used to parade the streets with a palm, or its substitute, a
large tree of the willow kind, (Salix caprea), in blossom,
ornamented with daffodils, mezereon, and box-tree. This day
\vas called Palm Saturday, and supposed to be a popish relic
of very ancient standing. Stat. Ace. of Scotland, Sinclair,
1795, vol. xv. p. 45.
MAHCH 15.] PALM SUNDAY.
PALM SUNDAY receives its English and the greater part of
its foreign names from the custom of bearing palm branches,
in commemoration of those which were strewn in the path of
Christ on his entry into Jerusalem. " It is a custom among
churchmen," says the author of a Normano-Saxon homily in
the reign of Henry II., or Richard I., " to go in procession
on this day. The custom has its origin in the holy pro-
cession which our Saviour made to the place where he chose
to suffer death."
The ceremony of bearing palms on Palm Sunday was
retained in England after some others were dropped, and
was one of tliose which Henry VIII. in 1536 declared were
not to be discontinued. In a proclamation in the library
of the Society of Antiquaries, dated the 26th February,
1539, " Concernyng rites and ceremonies to be used in due
fourme in the Churche of Englande," occurs the following
clause : " On Palme Sonday it shall be declared that bearing
of palmes renueth the memorie of the receivinge of Christe
in lyke maner into Jerusalem before his deathe." Again, in
Fuller's Church History (1655, p. 222), we read that " bearing
of palms on Palm Sunday is in memory of the receiving of
Christ into Jerusalem a little before his death, and that wo
may have the same desire to receive him into our hearts."
MARCH 15.] PALM SUNDAY. 127
lu Howe's edition of Stoic's Chronicle (1615, fol. p. 95),
it is stated, under the year 1548, that " this yeere the cere-
mony of bearing of palmes on Palme Sunday was left off, and
not used as before." Med. JEui Kalend. vol. i. p. 181 ; Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 124.
It is still customary with our boys, both in the south and
north of England, to go out and gather elips with the
willow-flowers or buds at this time. These seem to have
boen selected as substitutes for the real palm, because they
are generally the only things which can be easily obtained
at this season. This practice is still observed in the
neighbourhood of London. The young people go a-palmmg ;
and the sallow is sold in London streets for the whole week
preceding Palm Sunday. In the north it is called going
a-palmsoning or palmsning. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i.
p. 127.
Stow in his Survey of London (1603, p. 98) says that "in
the weeke before Easter had ye great shewes made for the
fetching in of a twisted tree or with, as they termed it, out of
the woodes into the kinge's house, and the like into every
man's house of honor or worship." Probably this was a
substitute for the palm.
An instance of the great antiquity of this practice in
England is afforded by the Domesday Survey, under Shrop-
shire, vol. i. p. 252, where a tenant is stated to have rendered in
payment a bundle of box twigs on Palm Sunday, " Terra
dimid. car unus reddit inde fascem buxi in die Palmarum."
By an Act of Common Council, 1 and 2 Phil, and Mary, for
retrenching expenses, it was ordered, " that from henceforth
there shall he no wyth fetcht home at the Maior's or Sheriff's
Houses. Neither shall they keep any lord of misrule in any
of their houses." Strype's Stow, 1720, book i. p 246.
It was formerly the custom in some of the northern parts
of England for the young men and maids who received the
sacrament to walk after dinner into the corn-fields, and
to bless th"e corn and fruits of the earth. Kennett, MS.
Brit. Mus.
128 PALM SUNDAY. [MARCH
CORNWALL.
In former days persons resorted to " Our Lady of Nants-
\vell" with a palm cross in one hand and an offering in the
other. The offering fell to the priest's share : the cross was
thrown into the well, and if it swam was regarded as an
omen that the person who threw it would outlive the year ;
if however it sank, a short ensuing death was foreboded.
Carew, Survey of Cornwall, 1811.
DERBYSHIRE.
On Palm Sunday morning, the boys go into the fields and
gather branches of the Avillow ; these are carried about
during the day, and in some churches it is customary to use
them for decoration. Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1852, vol. vii.
p. 204.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
The return of Palm Sunday has, from time immemorial,
been observed at Hentland Church in a peculiar manner.
The minister and congregation receive from the church-
wardens a cake or bun, and, in former times, a cup of beer
also. This is consumed within the church, and is supposed
to imply a desire on the part of those who partake of it to
forgive and forget all animosities, and thus prepare them-
selves for the festival of Easter. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. vii
p. 275.
HERTFORDSHIRE.
Hone, in his Tear Book (1838, p. 1593), states that at
Kempton it has long been a custom for the inhabitants to
eat figs on this day, there termed Fig Sunday, where it is
also usual for them to keep wassel, and make merry with
their friends.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
A curious and quaint custom existed for very many years
at Caistor Church, in Lincolnshire, on Palm Sunday, con-
MAKCH 15.] PALM SUNDAY. 129
nectcd with a tenure of property ; and in the particulars of
sale, circulated in 1845, is the following account of it :
" This estate is held subject to the performance, on Palm
Sunday in every year, of the ceremony of cracking a whip in
Caistor Church, in the said county of Lincoln, which has
been regularly and duly performed on Palm Sunday, from
time immemorial, in the following manner :
" The whip is taken every Palm Sunday by a man from
Broughton to the parish of Caistor, who, while the minister
is reading the first lesson, cracks it three distinct times ill
the church porch, then fulds it neatly up, and retires to a
neat. At the commencement of the second lesson, he ap-
proaches the minister, and kneeling opposite to him with the
whip in his hand, and the purse at the end of it, held per-
pendicularly over his head, waves it thrice, and continues in
a steadfast position throughout the whole of the chapter. The
ceremony is then concluded. The whip has a leathern purse
tied at the end of it, which ought to contain thirty pieces of
silver, said to represent, according to Scripture, " the price of
blood." Four pieces of weechelm* tree, of different lengths,
are affixed to the stock, denoting the different Gospels of the
holy Evangelists ; the three distinct cracks are typical of
St. Peter's denial of his Lord and Master three times : and
the waving it over the minister's head as an intended
homage to the Blessed Trinity."
In an article on this subject in the Ardt ecological Journal
(1849, vol. vi. p. 239), the writer says : " I have not been able
to trace this custom to its source. It would appear to havo
prevailed in very primitive times, and yet the circumstance
of the custom requiring the more essential part of the
ceremony to be performed during the reading of the second
lesson is scarcely reconcilable with this idea; but I am
induced to think that the custom prevailed long before our
present ritual existed, and that it has in this respect been ac-
commodated to the changes which time has effected in the
services of the Church. Unfortunately, the title-deeds do not
contain the slightest reference to the custom. I have no
means of tracing the title beyond 1675. The parish of
Broughton is a very large one, and anterior to 1G75 belonged,
* Properly AVych elm (Ulntus monlcna').
J.30 PALM SUNDAY. [MARCH 15.
with small exceptions, to the Anderson family ; but whether
Stephen Anderson, the then owner of the manor, and the
2200 acres of land sold in 1845, was owner of the other part
of Broughton, which has long been in the possession of Lord
Yarborough's ancestors, I cannot say. A partition of the
property appears to have been made between the co-heiresses,
and the manor and 2200 acres being settled in 1772 by Sir
Stephen Anderson, of Eye worth, on his niece, Frances
Elizabeth Stephens, and her issue; upon her death it became
the property of her son, Ellys Anderson Stephens, who died
in 1844, leaving four daughters and co-heiresses, and who,
in 1845, sold the property to a client of mine, Mr. John
Coupland, and who afterwards sold the manor and about 600
acres to Lord Yarborough, 982 acres to myself, and other
portions to different purchasers, reserving to himself about
200 acres. I cannot make out when this partition (above
alluded to) took place. The deed or will by which it was
effected would probably refer to the custom and provide for
the performance of it, but there is no document with the title
deeds tending to show whether the custom was due only in
respect of the manor, and 2200 acres, or in respect of Lord
Yarborough's portion of the parish as well. The fact of a
partition having taken place, rests rather upon tradition than
evidence ; but supposing it, as I do, to be a fact, it seems
strange that the title-deeds should be silent as to the obliga-
tion imposed upon the owner of the manor to perform the
service by which the whole property was held. The manor
and estate sold in 1845, were of the tenure of ancient
demesne ; a tenure which is very rare at this time of day.
at least in this part of the world. Probably a reference
to Lord Yarborough's title-deeds would clear up the
mystery, or Sir Charles Anderson may have the means of
doing so.
" I may also refer to Sir Culling Eardlcy as possibly in a
position to throw some light on the subject ; for it was to
him and his ancestors, as lords of the manor of Hundon, in
Caistor, to whom this service was due, and for whose use the
whip was deposited after the service in the pew of Caistor
Church, belonging to the lord of the manor of Hundon. All
the versions that I have sceii of the custom favour tho
MARCH 15.] PALM SUNDAY. 131
opinion that it had some reference to the subject of the
second lesson for Palm Sunday, which is the 26th chapter of
St. Matthew, and if so, it would seem likely to follow, that
the principal part of the ceremony took place at the reading
of that chapter ; hut in that case it has clearly undergone
some change, because, until the last revision of the Book of
Common Prayer, there was no proper second lesson for the
morning of Palm Sunday ; but the 2Gth chapter of St.
Matthew was part of the Gospel for that day, and had been
so from Anglo-Saxon times.
Perhaps the better opinion is, that this custom, recently
discontinued, had been so varied from time to time as to have
borne at last little resemblance to what originally took place.
I do not suppose at its commencement it was regarded as at
all irreverent, or was intended to be otherwise than most
decorous, according to the idea of a semi-barbarous age ; what
it really was at first it is now impossible to conjecture or dis-
cover. The explanation suggested in the particulars of sale
appears too much in accordance with modern notions to be
altogether correct. Some allege a tradition that it was a
self-inflicted penance by a former owner of the Broughton
estate for killing a boy with such a whip."
In May, 1836, the following petition was presented to the
House of Lords by the lord of the manor against the annual
observance of this custom ; but without effect :
" To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament
assembled.
"The petition of the undersigned Sir Culling Eardley
Smith, of Bedwell Park, in the county of Hertford, sheweth,
that your petitioner is lord of the mauor of Hundon, near
Caistor, in the county of Lincoln.
" That the lord of the manor of Broughton, near Brigg, in
the same county, yearly, on Palm Sunday, employs a person
to perform the following ceremony in the parish church at
Caistor, etc ; that the performance of this superstitious cere-
mony is utterly inconsistent with a place of Christian worship.
" That it is generally supposed that it is a penance for
murder, and that, in the event of the performance being
neglected, the lord of the manor of Broughton would bo
liable to the penalty to the lord of the manor of Hundon.
E 2
132 PALM SUNDAY. [MARCH 15.
" That your petitioner being extremely anxious for the dis-
continuance of this indecent and absurd practice, applied to
the lord of the manor of Broughtou for the purpose, who
declined entering into any negotiation until the deed should
be produced under which the ceremony was instituted, which
deed (if it has ever existed) your petitioner is unable to
produce.
"That your petitioner subsequently applied to the Bishop
of Lincoln to use his influence to prevent the repetition of
the ceremony, and offered to guarantee the churchwardens
against any loss in consequence of their refusal to permit it.
" That your petitioner believes there are no trustees of a
dissenting chapel who would permit the minister or officers of
their chapel to sanction such a desecration.
" That the ceremony took place, as usual, on Palm Sunday,
in this year.
" Your petitioner therefore prays that your Lordships will
be pleased to ascertain from the bishop of the diocese why
the ceremony took place ; that, if the existing law enables
any ecclesiastical persons to prevent it, the law may be here-
after enforced ; and that, if the present law is insufficient, a
law may be passed enabling the bishop to interfere for the
purpose of saving the national Church from scandal.
" And your petitioner will ever pray."
NoBTHAMPTONSniRE.
It is the universal custom, with both rich, and poor, to eat
figs on this day. On the Saturday previous, the market at
Northampton is abundantly supplied with figs, and there are
more purchased at this time than throughout the rest of the
year ; even the charity children, in some places, are regaled
with them.
No conjecture is offered as to the origin or purpose of this
singular custom. May it not have some reference to Christ's
desiring to eat figs the day after his triumphant entrance into
Jerusalem ? Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and
Phrases, 1854, i. p, 232.
MARCH 15.] PALM SUXDAT. 133
OXFORDSHIRE.
In some parts of this country figs aro eaten on Palm
Sunday, which is in consequence called Fig Sunday.* N. &
Q. 2nd S. vol. i. p. 227.
SURREY.
From time immemorial a fair, or wake, has been held in
the churchyard of Crowhurst on Palm Sunday. Formerly,
excesses were frequently committed on the occasion through
the sale of liquors ; but of late years the fair has been con-
ducted with great decorum. Bray ley, Topographical History
of Surrey, 1841, iv. p. 132.
WILTSHIRE.
On St. Martin's Hill, near Marlborough, at which there is
an ancient camp more than thirty acres in extent, Palm
Sunday is kept ; and persons in great numbers used to
assemble there, each carrying a hazel-nut bough with the
catkins hanging from it. N. & Q. 2nd S. v. p. 447.
YORKSHIRE.
In Yorkshire and the northern counties Palm Sunday is
a day of great diversion, young and old amusing themselves
with sprigs of willow, or in manufacturing palm-crosses,
which arc stuck up or suspended in houses. In the after-
noon and evening a number of impudent girls and young
men sally forth and assault all unprotected females whom
they meet out of doorg, seizing their shoes, and compelling
them to redeem them with money. These disgraceful scenes
are continued until Monday morning, when the girls extort
money from the men by the same means ; these depredations
were formerly prolonged till Tuesday noon. Times Tele-
scope, 1822, p. 68.
At Filey figs are also eaten on this day. Colo, Uistory of
Filey, 1820, p. 135.
* See Mid-Lent Sunday.
131 HOLT WEEK. [MARCH 1 6.
WALES.
In South Wales Palm Sunday goes by the name of Flower-
ing Sunday, from the custom of persons assembling in the
churchyards, and spreading fresh flowers upon the graves of
friends and relatives. Times, 13th April, 1868, p. 7.
MARCH 16.] LANCASHIRE.
A rural celebration used to be held at Poulton-in-the-Fylds
on the Monday before Good Friday, by young men, under the
name of " Jolly Lads," who visited such houses as were likely
to afford good entertainments, and excited mirth by their
grotesque habits and discordant noises. This was evidently
borrowed from the practice of the pace or pask eggers, of
other parts of the county, merely preceding instead of
following Easter. Baines, Hist, of Lancashire, 1836, vol.
iv. p. 436.
OXFOBDSHIBB.
Aubrey, in MS. Lansd., 231, gives the following : It is
the custom for the boys and girls in country schools in
several parts of Oxfordshire, at their breaking up in the week
before Easter, to go in a gang from house to house, with little
clacks of wood, and when they come to any door, there they
fall a-beating their clacks, and singing this song :
" Herrings, herrings, white and red,
Ten a penny, Lent's dead ;
Rise, dame, and give an egg,
Or else a piece of bacon.
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Jock a Lent's all.
Away, Lent, away ! "
They expect from every house some eggs, or a piece of bacon,
which they carry baskets to receive, and feast upon at the
week's end. At first coming -to the door, they all strike up
MAIJCH 17.] ST. PATRICK'S DAY. 135
very loud, " Herrings, herrings," &c., often repeated. As
soon as they receive any largess, they begin the chorus
" Here sits a good wife,
Pray God save her life ;
Set her upon a hod,
And drive her to God."
But if they lose their expectation and must goe away empty,
then, with a full cry,
" Here sits a bad wife.
The devil take her life ;
Set her upon a swivell,
And send her to the devil."
And, in further indignation, they commonly cut the latch of
the door, or stop the key-hole with dirt, or leave some more
nasty token of displeasure. Thorn's Anecdotes and Traditions,
1839, p. 113.
MARCH 17.] ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
IN the metropolis, says Stow in his Sports, Pastimes, and
Customs of London (1847, p. 241), this anniversary is gene-
rally observed at court as a high festival, and the nobility
crowd and pay their compliments in honour of the tutelary
saint of Ireland. It is usually selected, also, for soliciting
aid to a great national object the promotion of education.
BUCKINGHAMSHIBE.
In the Illustrated London News of 22nd March, 1862,
p. 285, is the following paragraph :
"Lord Langford, as the highest Irish nobleman in Eton
School, presented, on St. Patrick's Day, the beautifully-
embroidered badges, in silver, of St. Patrick, to the head
master, the Rev. E. Balston, and the lower master, the Rev.
VV. Carter, which were worn by the reverend gentlemen
136 ST. PATRICK'S DAT. [MARCH 17.
during the day. About twenty-four of the Irish noblemen
and gentlemen in the school were invited to a grand breakfast
with the head master, as is customary on these occasions."
IEELAND.
The shamrock is worn in all parts of Ireland on this
day. Old women, with plenteous supplies of trefoil, may
be heard in every direction, crying " Buy my shamrock,
green shamrocks;" and children have "Patrick's crosses"
pinned to their sleeves. This custom is supposed to have
taken its origin from the fact that when St. Patrick was
preaching the doctrine of the Trinity he made use of this
plant, bearing three leaves upon one stem, as a symbol of
the great mystery.*
In Contributions toicards a Cybele Hibernica (D. Moore and
A. G. More, 1866, p. 73) is the following note : " Trifolium
repens, Dutch clover, Shamrock. This is the plant still
worn as shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, though Medicago
lupullna is also sold in Dublin as the shamrock. Edward
Lhwyd, the celebrated antiquary, writing in December 1699
to Tancred Robinson, says, after a recent visit to Ireland :
' Their shamrug is our common clover ' (Phil. Trans., No.
335). Threkeld, the earliest writer on the wild plants of
Ireland, gives Seamar-oge (young trefoil) as the Gaelic
name for Trifolium pratense album, and says expressly that
this is the plant worn by the people in their hats on
St. Patrick's Day. Wade also gives Seamrog as equivalent to
* Mr. Jones in his Historical Account of the Welsh Bards (1794,
p. 13) says : When St. Patrick landed near Wioklow the inhabitants
were ready to stone him for attempting an innovation in the religion
of their ancestors. He requested to be heard, and explained unto
them, that God is an omnipotent, sacred Spirit, who created heaven
and earth, and that the Trinity is contained in the Unity; but they
were reluctant to give credit to his words. St. Patrick, therefore,
plucked a trefoil from the ground, and expostulated with the Hiber-
nians : " Is it not as possible for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as
for these three leaves to grow upon a single stalk V" Then the Irish
were immediately convinced of their error, and were solemnly baptized
by St. 1'atrick.
MAUCII 17.] ST. PATRICK'S DAY. 137
Trifolium repens, while the Gaelic name given for OxaUs
by Threkeld is Sealgan"
A correspondent of N. & Q. (4.th S. vol. iii. p. 235) says
the Trifolium filiforme is generally worn in Cork. It grows
in thick clusters on the tops of walls and ditches, and is to
be found in abundance in old limestone quarries in the south
of Ireland. The Trifolium minus is also worn.
The following whimsical song descriptive of St. Patrick is
given on Hone's authority as one often sung by the Irish :
St. Patrick was a gentleman, and he came from decent people,
In Dublin town he bni't a church, and on it put a steeple;
His father was a Wollaghan, his mother nn O'Grady,
His aunt she was a Kiuaghan, and his wife a widow Brady.
Tooralloo, tooralloo. what a glorious man our saint wasl
Tooralloo, tooralloo, O whack fal de lal, de lal, etc.
Och ! Antrim hills are mighty high, and so's the hill of Howth too :
But we all do know a mountain ihut is higher than them both too ;
Twas on the top of thnt high mount Pt. P tiick prench'd a sermon.
He drove the frogs into the bogs, and banished all the vermin.
Tooralloo, tooralloo, etc.
No wonder that we Irish lads, then, are so blythe and frisky ;
St. Patrick was the very man that taught us to drink whisky ;
Och ! to be sure he had the knack, and understood distilling,
For his mother kept a sheebeen shop near the town of Enuiskilleii.
Tooralloo, tooralloo, etc.
Every Day Boole, vol. ii. p. 387.
It is customary early in February for wealthy fanners and
landowners in Ireland to brew ale to be kept till the 17th of
March, St. Patrick's Day ; and there is a delicious cake made
this day, to bo eaten with pickled salmon. N. d Q. 3rd S.
vol. ix. p. 367.
Some years ago this day was welcomed, in the smaller
towns or hamlets, by every possible manifestation of glad-
ness and delight. The inn, if there was one, was thrown
open to all comers, who received a certain allowance of oaten
bread and fish. This was a benevolence from the host, and
to it was added a " Patrick's pot," or quantum of beer ; but
of late years whisky is the beverage most esteemed. The
138 ST. PATRICK'S DAY. [MAKCII 17.
majority of those who sought entertainment at the village
inn were young men who had no families, whilst those who
had children, and especially whose families were large, made
themselves as snug as possible by the turf fire in their own
cabins. Where the village or hamlet could not boast of
an inn, the largest cabin was sought out, and pales were
extended horizontally from one end of the apartment to
the other ; on these poles, doors purposely unhinged, and
brought from the surrounding cabins, were placed, so that
a table of considerable dimensions was formed, round which
all seated themselves, each one providing his own oaten
bread and fish. At the conclusion of the repast they sat for
the remainder of the evening over a "Patrick's pot," and
finally separated quietly. Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 386.
The following description of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
is taken from the Times Telescope (1827, p. 66) : Every one
is expected, says the writer,- to wear a sprig of shamrock in
honour of the saint and his country, and a few pence will
supply a family with plenty of this commodity. In the
morning upon the breakfast table of the " master " and " the
mistress "is placed a plateful of this herb for a memento
that it is Patrick's Day, and they must " drown the sham-
rock," a figurative expression for what the servants them-
selves do at night in glasses of punch, if the heads of the
family are so kind as to send down the plate of shamrock
crowned with a bottle of whisky, under which is also ex-
pected to be found a trifle towards a treat. While the lower
circles are, on this blessed of all Irish days, thus enjoying
themselves in the evening, the higher are crowding into that
room of the castle entitled St. Patrick's Hall, which is only
opened two nights in the year this, and the birth-night
(the 23rd of April) ; it is a grand ball, to which none can be
admitted who have not been presented and attended the
Viceroy's drawing-rooms; and of course every one must
appear in court dress, or full uniforms, except that, in
charity to the ladies, trains are for that night dispensed
with on account of the dancing. A few presentations some-
times take place, after which the ball commences, always
with a country dance to the air of " Patrick's Day," and
after this quadrilles, etc., take their turn.
MAECH 19.] MAUNDY TncnsDAY. 139
MABOH 18.] SHEELAH'S DAY.
IRELAND.
THE day after St. Patrick's Day is " Sheelah's Day," or
the festival in honour of Sheelah. Its observers are not
so anxious to determine who " Sheelah " was as they are
earnest in her celebration. Some say she was " Patrick's
wife," others that she was " Patrick's mother," while all
agree that her immortal memory is to be maintained by
potations of whisky. The shamrock worn on St. Patrick's
Day should be worn also on Sheelah 's Day, and on the latter
night be drowned in the last glass. Yet it frequently
happens that the shamrock is flooded in the last glass of
St. Patrick's Day, and another last glass or two, or more,
on the same night deluges the over-soddencd trefoil. This
is not " quite correct," but it is endeavoured to be remedied
the next morning by the display of a fresh shamrock, which
is steeped at night in honour of "Sheelah" with equal
dcvotedness. Every Day Book, voL ii. p. 387.
MARCH 19.] MAUNDY, OE CHAEE
THUKSDAY.
THE day before Good Friday is termed Maundy Thursday,
because, says the British Apollo (1709, ii. 7), on this day our
Saviour washed his disciples' feet, to teach them the great
duty of being humble ; and therefore he gave them a com-
mand to do as he had done, to imitate their Master in all
proper instances of condescension and humility. The origin,
consequently, of this custom is of very great antiquity,
and, unlike many other ceremonies connected with the
Church before the Reformation, remains in existence in a
modified form up to the present day. The original number
140 MAUNDY THURSDAY. [MARCH 19.
of poor persons whose feet were washed by the king or queen
was thirteen, but this number was afterwards extended so as
to correspond with the age of the reigning sovereign.
Matthew Paris mentions Maundy money, and the Bene-
dictional of Archbishop Robert at Rouen, a manuscript of
the 10th century, cap. xxix., contains a " Benedictio ad man-
datum ipso die" (Archceoloyia, vol. xxiv. p. 119), and Wlnothus,
Abbot of St. Alban's, ordained a daily performance of the
mandate. In other houses it was customary to wash the feet
of as many poor people as there were monks in the convent,
on Holy Thursday, and on Saturday before Palm Sunday :
the day of the latter ablution received the name of man-
datum pauperum, to distinguish it from the Mandati Dies.
During the ceremony the whole choir chanted the words
of Christ, " Mandatum novum do vobis " (" A new command-
ment I give unto you"). Du Cange quotes from the life of
St. Brigida by Chilienus :
" Proxima cnona fuit Domini, qua sancta solebat
Mandatum Christi calido complere lavacro."
(Du Gauge, Gloss., torn, iv., col. 399.)
Archdeacon Nares, however, apparently following Spelman
and Skinner whose opinion is adopted by Junius, in opposi-
tion to Minsheu, says that this day is so named from the
maunds, in which the gifts were contained, and he maintains
that maund is a corruption of the Saxon mand, a basket.
The glossographer on Matthew Paris explains the word
mandatum, to be alms, from the Saxon Mandye, charity.
Somner has no such word in his Dictionary ; and it seems
more probable that Maunday Thursday has originally been
Mandate Thursday ; Mandati Dies being the name where the
Saxon mands were totally unknown.
^Elfric, Archbishop of Canterbury, having employed the
Latin name of this day, Coena Domini, gives these directions
to the Saxon priests : " On Thursday you shall wash the altars
before you celebrate mass, otherwise you must not. After
vespers you must uncover the altars and let them remain bare
until Saturday, washing them in the interior. You shall
then fast until nones. Imple mandata Domini in conna ipsius.
1 Do on Thursday as our Lord commands you ; ' wash the feet
MAKCH 19.] MAUNDY THURSDAY. 141
of the poor, feed and clothe them ; and, with humility, wash
your feet among yourselves as Christ himself did, and com-
manded us so to do." On the whole there seems to be no
reason to doubt that the name maundy is derived from the
mandate obeyed on this day.
The bread given to the poor on Maundy Thursday was
named mandate bread, mandati panes, in the monasteries ;
as the coin given was called mandate money. Med. JEvi
Kalend. i. 183-185.
One of the earliest instances on record of a monarch
observing this custom, and which is the more curious as it
shows that the practice of regulating the amount of the dole
given on Maundy Tlmrsday by the age of the king was then
in existence, is preserved in the " Rotulus Hisce, or role of the
wardrobe expenses of the 14th year of King John," in which
there appears an item of " fourteen shillings and one penny,
for alms to thirteen poor persons, every one of whom received
thirteen pence at Rochester, on Thursday, in Coena Domini "
(Holy Thursday), John having then reigned thirteen com-
plete years.
In the wardrobe expenses of Edward I. we find money
given on Easter eve to thirteen poor people whose feet the
Queen had washed ; which latter custom is said to have been
performed by the sovereign so late as the reign of James II.
-Thorns, Book o/ the Court, 1844, p. 311.
Henry VII. gave, when thirty-eight years old, thirty-eight
coins and thirty-eight small purses to as many poor people :
" March 25. To thirty-eight poor men in almes, G Os. 4cZ.
For thirty-eight small purses, la. 8d.
There are several entries for the Maundy in the " Privy
Purse expenses " of this sovereign, as in 1496 :
" April 10. For bote hire for the Maundy and the kinges
robe, payed by John Flee, 4s."
The order of the Maundy, as practised by Queen
Elizabeth in 1579 is here given (from No. 6183, Add.
MSS. in the British Museum) :
u Order of the Maunday made at Greenwich^
19fA March 1579, 14 Elizabeth."
" First. The hall was prepared with a long table on each
142 MAUNDY THURSDAY. [MARCH IQ.
side, and formes set by them ; on the edges of which tables,
and under those formes were lay'd carpets and cushions for
her Majestic to kneel when she should wash them. There
was also another table set across the upper end of the hall
somewhat above the foot pace, for the chappelan to stand at.
A little beneath the midst whereof, and benrath the said
foot-pace, a stoole and cushion of estate was pitched for her
Majestie to kneel at during the service time. This done tho
holy water, basons, alms, and other things being brought into
the hall, and the chappelau and poor folks having taken the
said places, the laundresse, armed with a faire to well, and
taking a silver-bason filled with warm water and sweet flowers,
washed their feet all after one another and wiped the same
with his to well, and soe making a crosse a little above the
toes kissed them. After hym, within a little while, followed
the sub-almoner, doing likewise, and after him the almoner
himself also. Then, lastly, her Majestie came into the hall,
and after some singing and prayers made, and the gospel of
Christ's washing of his disciples' feet read, 39 ladycs and
gentlewomen (for soe many were the poor folks, according to
the number of the yeares complete of her Majesties age),
addressed themselves with aprons and towels to waite upon
her Majestie ; and she, kneeling down upon the cushions and
carpets under the feete of the poore women, first washed one
foote of every one of them in soe many several basons of warm
water and swecte flowers, brought to her severally by the
sa ; d ladies and gentlewomen ; then wiped, crossed, and
kissed them, as the almoner and others had done before.
When her Majestie had thus gone through the whole number
of 39 (of which 20 sat on the one side of the hall, and
19 on the other), she resorted to the first again, and gave to
each one certain yardes of broad clothe to make a gownc, so
passing to them all. Thirdly ; she began at the first, and
gave to each of them a pair of gloves. Fourthly ; to each of
them a wooden platter, wherein was half a side of salmon, as
much ling, six red herrings and lofes of cheat bread. Fifthly ;
she began with the first again, and gave to -each of them a
white wooden dish with claret wine. Sixthly ; she received
of each waiting-lady and gentlewoman their towel and apron,
and gave to each poor woman one of tho same, and after
MAF.CH 19.] MAUNDY THURSDAY. 143
this the ladies and gentlewomen waited no longer, nor served
as they had done throughout the courses before. But then
the treasurer of the chamber, Mr. Hennage, came to her
Majestic with thirty-nine small white purses, wherein were
also thirty-nine pence (as they saye) after the number of
ycares to her Majestie's saide age, and of him she received
and distributed them severally. Which done she received of
him soe many leather purses alsoe, each containing 20sA. for
the redemption of her Majestie's gown, which (as men saye) by
ancient order she sought to give some of them at her pleasure
but she to avoid the trouble of suite, which accustomablie
was made for that preferment, had changed that reward intj
money, to be equally divided amongst them all, namely, 2<M.
a piece, and she also delivered particularly to the whole
company. And so taking her ease upon the cushion of estate
and hearing the quire a little while, her Majestic withdrew
herself and the compauye departed, for it was by that time
the sun was setting."
Charles II. observed this custom, as we find in a letter
preserved in the Itawdon Letters, p. 175 :
" On Thursday last his Majesty washed poor men's feet
in the Banquetting House, an act of humility used by his
predecessors on Maundy Thursday to as many poor men as
he had lived years. To each poor man ho gave two yards
of cloth for a coat, three ells of linen for a shirt, shoes,
stockings, two purses, the one with thirty-three pence, the
other with twenty pence, one jole of ling, one jole of salmon,
a quantity of red and white herrings, one barrel with beer,
and another with wine, with which they drank his Majesty's
health. The queen did pay the same observance to several
women about one of the clock at St. James."
After .these illustrations of the ceremonies formerly ob-
served in the distribution of the royal alms on Maundy
Thursday, it becomes interesting to witness those which
obtain at the present time.
The following is taken from the Times newspaper (April
Gth, 1871):
" Those ancient and royal charities designated the Queen's
Manndy were distributed yesterday in Whitehall Chapel
during Divine service with the customary formalities, to
144 MAUNDY THURSDAY. [MAUCH 19.
fifty-two aged men and fifty-two aged women, the number
of each one corresponding with the age of her most gracious
Majesty.
At three o'clock a procession, consisting of a detachment
of the yeomen of the guard under the command of a ser-
geant-major (one of the yeomen carrying the royal alms on a
gold salver), the Eev. Dr. Jelf, D.D., Sub-Almoner, Mr.
Joseph Hanby, Secretary and Yeoman of the Royal Almonry,
and his Assistant, Mr. John Hanby, accompanied by senior
children from the National Schools in the parish of St. John
the Evangelist and St. Margaret, Westminster, who had
been selected to participate in this privilege for their good
conduct, proceeded from the Almonry office, in Scotland
Yard, to the Chapel Eoyal, Whitehall.
The arrival of the procession having been signified to the
Hon. and Very Eev the Dean of Windsor, Lord High
Almoner, and to the Sub-Dean of the Chapels Eoyal, they,
preceded by Mr. Chapman, Sergeant of the Vestry, met it
at the entrance, and took their places immediately after the
yeoman of the guard bearing the salver with the royal alms.
The whole procession then advanced in the following
order :
Boys of the Ch'ipol Koyal,
Gentlemen of the Chupel Royal,
Priests of the Chapel lioyal,
Sergeant-Major of the Yeoim n of the Guard,
'1 he Yeoman with the Salver of Alms,
The Sergea-it of the Vestry,
The Lord High Almoner,
The Sub-Almoner and Sub-Dean,
The Children of the National Schools,
The Yeoman of the Almonry mid his Assistant,
And the Yeomen of the Guard.
The procession having passed up the centre aisle to the
steps of the altar, the Lord Almoner, the Sub- Almoner, and
the Sub-Dean, and those forming the procession having taken
their assigned places on either side of the chapel, the royal
alms being deposited in front of the royal closet, the after-
noon service (a special service for the occasion) was read by
the Eev. Dr. Vivian, senior priest in waiting, commencing
M.VKC1I 19.] CHARE THURSDAY. 145
with the Exhortation, Confession, Absolution, &c. Then
followed the
41sr PSALM (THE GRAND CHANT).
FIRST LESSON, ST. MATTHEW, CHAP. xxv. 14-31.
First Anthem (Psalm xxxiv.) " O taste and see how gracious the
Lord is." Goss.
1. 15. distributed to each woman. To each mau, shoes and
stockings.
Second Anthem. " Saviour of the world." Goss
Woollen and linen clothes distiibuted to each man.
Third Anthem. " I waited for the Lord." . . . Mendelssohn
Money purses distributed to each man aud woman.
SECOND LESSON, ST. MATTHEW, CHAP. xxv. v. 31, to the end.
Fourth Anthem (Psalm xxi.) "The king shall rejoice in thy
strength." .... Greene.
Then were read two prayers composed for the occasion,
lifter which followed the prayer for the Queen, and so on to
the end."
The minor bounty and royal gate arms, &c., were, in
accordance with ancient usage, distributed at the Almonry
Office, in Scotland Yard, on Friday and Saturday in the past
week, and on Monday and Tuesday during the current week,
to aged, disabled, and meritorious persons who had been
previously recommended by the clergy of the various
parishes in and round London.
There were over four thousand persons re]i3ved.
The selections were made by the Lord High Almoner,
assisted by the Rev. Dr. Jelf, D.D. The payments were
conducted by Mr. Joseph Hanby, secretary and yeoman of
Her Majesty's Almonry in ordinary, who has officiated on
these occasions since Easter, 1812, inclusive. See also the
True Briton, 1801.
In Nares' Glossary (1859, vol. i, p. 151) occurs the
following article :
" Cliare Thursday. The Thursday in Passion week, cor-
rupted, according to the following ancient explanation, from
Sliear Thursday, being the day for shearing, or shaving, prepa-
ratory to Easter. Called also Maundy Thursday :
" ' Upon Chare Thursday Christ brake bread unto his dis-
L
146 CHARE THURSDAY. [MARCH 1 9.
ciples, and bade them eat it, saying it was his flesh and
blood.' Shepherd's Kalendar.
" ' If a man asks why Shere Tliursday is called so, ye may
say that in holy Chircheit is called Cena Domini, our Lordes
Super day. It is also in Englyshe called Shcr Thursday, for
in old faders dayes the people wolde that day shere thcyr
hedes, and clippe theyr berdes, and poll tbeyr bodes, and so
make them honest agenst Ester day. For on Good Fryday
they doo theyr bodyes none ease, but suffre penaunce in
mynde of him that that day suffred his passyon for all
mankynde. On Ester even it is time to here theyr service,
and after service to make holy daye.
"'Then, as Johan Bellet sayth, on Slier Tliursday a man
sholde so poll his here, and clype his berde, and a preest
sholde shave his crowne, so that there sholde nothynge be
between God and hym.' " Festival, quoted by Dr. Words-
wor.h, in Eccles. Biog. vol. i. p. 297.
In Brand's Pop. Antiq. (revised by Sir Henry Ellis),
London, 1841, in the chapter headed " Shere Thursday, also
Maundy Thursday," the same derivation is given ; and in
one of the notes, a passage is quoted from the Gent. Mag.
(July 1779, p. 349), in which the writer says :
" Maundy Thursday, called by Collier Shier Thursday,
Cotgrave calls by a word of the same sound and import,
Sheere Thursday. Perhaps for I can only go upon conjec-
ture as shear means purus, mundus, it may allude to the
washing of the disciples' feet (John xiii. 5., et seq.\ and be
tantamount to clean. See 10th verse, and Lye's Saxon Dic-
tionary v. Scip. If this does not please, the Saxon scipan
signifies dividere, and the name may come from the distribution
of alms upon that day, for which see Archceol. Soc. Antiq.,
vol. i. p. 7, seq. ; Spelman, Gloss, v. Mandatum ; and Du
Fresne, vol. iv. p. 400. Please to observe, too, that on that
day they also washed the altars, so that the term in question
may allude to that business. See Collier's Eccles. History,
vol. ii. p. 157."
Chare Thursday, however, says Dr. Hahn (N. & Q. 3rd S.
vol. viii. p. 389), is the correct expression, and has nothing
whatever to do with shearing or sheer, or scipan. Shere is
only a corruption of chare = char, care, or carr.
MARCH 19.] CHAEE THURSDAY. 147
In Germany Passion Week is called Chancoche, and Good
Friday Charfreitag. But in former times Clwtr was prefixed
to every day of Passion Week, and we find Charmontag
(Chare Monday), Chardienstag (Chare Tuesday), &c. The
origin of Chare Thursday is therefore evident. Char is an
old German word signifiyng luctus, solicitude ; Goth. Tear,
kara ; Old Saxon cara ; O.-H.-G. chara ; Anglo-Saxon cearu,
cam, allied to Latin cura, &c.*
The original signification chare having become obsolete, a
word of similar sound was substituted in its place, and hence
Shere Thursday.
MIDDLESEX.
Robert Halliday, by his will, dated 6lh May, 1491, gave
estates in the parish of St. Leonard, Eastcheap, London, the
rents to be applied to various purposes, and, amongst others,
five shillings to the churchwardens yearly, either to make an
entertainment among such persons of the said parish of St.
Clement, who should be at variance with each other, in the
week preceding Easter, to induce such persons to beget bro-
tlicrly love amongst them ; or if none should be fouud in the
said parish, then to make an entertainment with the said five
shillings, at the tavern, amongst the honest parishioners of
the said parish on the day of our Lord's Supper, commonly
called Shere Thursday, that they might pray more fervently
for the souls of certain persons named in his will. Edwards,
Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 146.
By indenture, bearing date llth April. 1691, John Hall,
granted a messuage, in the parish of St. Martin Ongar, to
Francis Kenton and another, in trust to pay out of the rents
thereof, amongst other sums, ten shillings a year, to the
churchwardens of the parish of St. Clement, Eastcheap,
London, on the Thursday next before Easter, to provide two
turkeys for the parishioners, to be eaten at their annual
feast, called the reconciling or love feast, usually made on
that day. The house is in the possession of the Weavers*
Company, who make the payment for the turkeys annually.
Ibid. p. 60.
* See Care Sunday, p. 121.
L 2
148 GOOD FEIDAT. [MARCH 2O.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
The Thursday before Easter is called Bloody Thursday by
some of the inhabitants of this and the neighbouring county
of Yorkshire. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. x. p. 87 ; th S. vol. v.
p. 595.
MARCH 20.] GOOD FBIDAY.
THE term Good Friday is erroneously said to be peculiar
to the English Church ; but it is certainly an adoption of the
old German Gute Freytag, which may have been a corruption
of Gottes Freytag, God's Friday, so called on the same
principle that Easter Day in England was at one period
denominated God's Day.
In a manuscript homily, entitled Exortacio in die Pasche,
written about the reign of Edward IV., we are told that the
Paschal Day " in some place is callede Esterne Day, and in
Bum place Goddes Day." Harl. MSS. Cod. id. fol. 94.
Another MS. quoted by Strutt (Horda Angel-Cynna, vol.
iii. p. 175) says it is called Good Friday, because on this
day good men were reconciled to God. The length of the
services in ancient times on this day, occasioned it to be
called Long Friday, the L&ns Fjiijtres of the Anglo-Saxons,
which they probably received from the Danes, by whom at
the present time the day is denominated Lang Freday.
Ned. &vi Kalend. 1841, vol. i. p. 186.
The old ceremony of Creeping to the Cross on Good
Friday is given from an ancient book of the ceremonial of the
Kings of England, in the Notes to the Northumberland House-
hold Book. The usher was to lay a carpet for the king to
" creepe to the Crosse upon." The Queen and her . ladies
were also to creepe to the Crosse.
In an original Proclamation, black letter, dated 26th
February, HOth Henry VIII., in the first volume of a Collection
MAUCH 20.] GOOD FRIDAY. 1-19
of Proclamations in the archives of the Society of Antiquaries
of London (p. 138), we read :
"On Good Friday it shall be declared howe creepyng
of the Crosse signifyeth an humblynge of ourselfe to Christe
before the Crosse, and the kyssynge of it a memorie of our
redemption made upon the Crosse."
Anciently it was a custom with the kings of England on
Good Friday to hallow, Aiith great ceremony, certain rings,
the wearing of which was believed to prevent the falling
sickness. The custom originated from a ring, long preserved
with great veneration in Westminster Abbey, which was
reported to have been brought to King Edward by some
persons coming from Jerusalem, and which he himself had
long before given privately to a poor person, who had asked
alms of him for the love he bare to St. John the Evangelist.
The rings consecrated by the sovereign were called " Cramp-
rings," and there was a special service for their consecration.
Andrew Boorde, in his Breviary of Health, 1557, speaking
of the cramp, says, " The Kynge's Majestie hath a great
helpe in this matter in halowyng crampe-ringes, and so
geven without money or petition."
Good Friday has now almost ceased to be considered a
fast by a great number of people. By many indeed its
solemn significance is by no means neglected; but while
these attend the churches others make high holiday. On
this day excursion trains begin running, foot-races are ad-
vertised, donkeys and gipsy drivers make their first appear-
ance for the season on heaths and commons, and Cornish and
Devonshire wrestlers struggle for muscular triumphs in the
presence of excited multitudes. N. & Q. 5th S. vol. i. p. 261.
In many parts a small loaf of bread is baked on the
morning of Good Friday, and then put by till the same
anniversary in the ensuing year. This bread is not intended
to be eaten, but to bo used as a medicine, and the mode of
administering it is by grating a small portion of it into
water and forming a sort of panada. It is believed to be
good for many disorders, but particularly for diarrhoea, for
which it is considered a sovereign remedy. Some years ago,
a cottager lamented that her poor neighbour must certainly
die of this complaint, because she had already given her two
150 GOCD FRIDAY. [MARCH 2O.
doses of Good Friday bread without any benefit. Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 155 ; see N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. iii.
pp. 262, 263 ; see also p. 157.
In London, and all over England (not, however, in
Scotland), the morning of Good Friday is ushered in with a
universal cry of Hot cross buns ! A parcel of them appears on
every breakfast-table. It is rather a small bun, more than
usually spiced, and having its brown sugary surface marked
with a cross. The ear of every person who has ever dwelt
in England is familar with the cry of the street bun-vendors :
" One a penny, buns,
Two a penny, buns,
One n. penny, two a penny,
Hot Cross buns !"
ook of Days, vol. i. p. 418.
The following lines are taken from Poor noun's Almanac
for 1733 :
" Good Friday comes this month, the old woman rung
With one or two a penny hot cross buns,
Whose virtue is, if you believe what's said,
They'll not grow mouldy like the common bread."
It seems more than probable that the cross upon the Good
Friday bun is intended to remind the devout of a Saviour's
sufferings. The following extract in illustration of the
ancient name and use of the bun is from Bryant's Analysis of
Ancient Mythology, 1807, vol. i. pp. 371-373: "The offerings
which people in ancient times used to present to the gods
were generally purchased at the entrance of the Temple,
especially every species of consecrated bread, which was
denominated accordingly. One species of sacred bread
which used to be offered to the gods was of great antiquity,
and called Bonn. Hesychius speaks of the Soun, and de-
scribes it as a ' kind of cake with a representation of two
horns.' " Julius Pollux mentions it after the same manner,
"a sort of cake with horns." It must be observed, however,
as Dr. Jamieson remarks, that the term occurs in Hesychius
in the form of ySoSs, and that for the support of the etymon
Bryant finds it necessary to state that " the Greeks, who
changed the nu final into a sigma, expressed it in the
MARCH 20.] GOOD FRIDAY. 151
nominative /Jovs, but in the accusative more truly /Sow."
"Winckelman relates this remarkable fact, that at Hercu-
laneum were found two entire loaves of the same size, a
palm and a half, or five inches in diameter ; they were
marked by a cross, within which were four other lines, and
BO the bread of the Greeks was marked from the earliest
period. Med. 2Evi Kalend. vol. i. p. 187.
The Bomans divided their sacred cakes with lines inter-
secting each other in the centre at right angles, and called
the quarters Quadra.
" Et violare manu malisque audacibus orbem
Fatalis crusti, patulis nee parcere quadris.'*
Virg. JEn. lib.vii. 114, 115.
"Nee te liba juvant, nee sect quadra placentae."
Mart. lib. iii. Jipig. 77.
In the North of England a herb-pudding, in which the
leaves of the passion-dock (Polygonum Bistort a) are a principal
ingredient, is an indispensable dish on this day. The custom
is of ancient date, and it is not improbable that this plant,
and the pudding chiefly composed of it, were intended to
excite a grateful reminiscence of the Passion, with a suitable
acknowledgment of the inestimable blessings of the Eedemp-
tion. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 150.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
A yearly contribution is made of one quarter of wheat, one
quarter of barley, and one quarter of beans, by the proprietor
of the great tithes of the parish of Eaton Bray, to be distri-
buted among the poor of the parish on Good Friday. The
great tithes of Eaton Bray are vested in the Master and
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, by whose lessee the
quantity of grain above specified is regularly supplied ; the
whole of which is distributed on Good Friday by the church-
wardens and overseers, among poor persons selected by
them, in proportion to their several wants and necessities.
Old English Customs and Charities, p. 33.
152 GOOD FRIDAY. [MARCH 2O.
BERKSHIRE.
John Blagrave, by will dated 30th June, 1611, devised to
Joseph Blagrave and his heirs a mansion-house in Swallow-
field, and all his lands and messuages in Swallowfield,
Eversley, and Eeading, on condition that they should yearly,
for ever, upon Good Friday, between the hours of six and
nine in the morning, pay 10Z., in a new purse of leather, to
the mayor and burgesses, to the intent that they should pro-
vide that the same should yearly be bestowed in the forenoon
of the same day in the following manner, viz., twenty nobles
to one poor maiden servant who should have served, dwelt,
and continued in any one service within any of the three
parishes of Eeading, in good name and fame, five years at the
least, for her preferment in marriage ; and to avoid partiality
in the choice, he ordered that there should be every Good
Friday three such maidens in election, to cast and try by lot
whose the fortune should be, and that of those three one
should be taken out of each parish, if it could be, and that
every fifth year one of the three should be chosen from
Southcote, if any there should have lived so long ; and that
there should be special choice of such maids as had served
longest in any one place, and whose friends were of least
ability to help them. That ten shillings should be given on
the same day to the preacher of St. Laurence for a sermon ;
and that afterwards there should be twenty shillings given
to threescore of the poorest householders of the same parish
who should accompany the maiden to whom the lot had
fallen home to her dwelling-place, and there leave her with
her purse of twenty nobles. That the ringer should have
three shillings and fourpence to ring a peal till the same
maiden reached home. Old English Customs and Charities,
p. 147.
DEVONSHIRE DORSETSHIRE.
In some parishes in these counties the clerk carries round
to every house a few white cakes as an Easter offering ; these
cakes, which are about the eighth of an inch thick, and of two
sizes the larger being seven or eight inches, the smaller
MARCH 20.] GOOD FIUDAT. 153
about five in diameter have a mingled bitter and sweet taste.
In return for these cakes, which are always distributed after
Divine service on Good Friday, the clerk receives a gratuity
according to the circumstances or generosity of the house-
holder. Boole, of Days, vol. i. p. 426.
ESSEX.
In the centre of Waltham Church, and suspended from the
ceiling, there formerly was a large and handsome bras-s
chandelier, which had thirty-six candles, and used to be lighted
up only on the evening of Good Friday, when the church was
thronged with persons from the surrounding parishes for
miles, who were chiefly attracted by the singing of the parish
choir, at that time deservedly in repute. The chandelier was
removed in effecting the restoration of the church. Maynard,
Tlistory of Waltham Abbey, 1865, p. 40.
LANCASHIRE.
The practice of eating fig-sue is prevalent in North Lan-
cashire on Good Friday. It is a mixture consisting of ale,
sliced figs, bread, and nutmeg for seasoning, boiled together,
and eaten hot like soup. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. p. 221.
If an unlucky fellow is caught with his lady-love on
this day in Lancashire, he is followed home by a band of
musicians playing on pokers, tongs, pan-lids, etc., unless
he can get rid of his tormentors by giving them money to
drink with. JV. & Q. 1st S. vol. ii. p. 516.
In some places in this county, Good Friday is termed
" Cracklin Friday," as on that day it is customary for chil-
dren to go with a small basket to different houses, to beg
small wheaten cakes, which are something like the Jews'
Passover bread, but made shorter or richer, by having
butter or lard mixed with the flour. " Take with thee loaves
and cracknels" (1 Kings, xiv. 3). Harland and Wilkinson,
Lancashire Folk-Lore^ 1867, p. 227.
151 GOOD FRIDAY. [MAKCII 2O.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
In Glentliam Cliurcli there is a tomb with a figure known
as Molly Grime. Formerly this figure was regularly washed
every Good Friday by seven old maids of Glentham, with
water brought from Newell Well, each receiving a shilling
for her trouble, in consequence of an old bequest connected
with some property in that district. About 1832 the custom
was discontinued. Old English Customs and Charities, 1842,
p. 100.
ISLE OF MAN.
Good Friday is in some instances superstitiously regarded
in the Isle of Man. No iron of any kind must be put into
the fire on that day, and even the tongs are laid aside, lest
any person should unfortunately forget this custom and
stir the fire with them ; by way of a substitute a stick of the
rowan tree is used. To avoid also the necessity of hanging
the griddle over the fire, lest the iron of it should come in
contact with a spark of flame, a large hammock or soddog is
made, with three corners, and baked on the hearth. Train,
History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. 2, p. 117.
MIDDLESEX.
It was for a considerable period customary on Good
Friday for a sermon to be preached in the afternoon at St.
Paul's Cross,* London, the subject generally being Christ's
Passion. The Lord Mayor and Aldermen usually attended.
* Respecting the ago of St. Paul's Cross, Stow declares himself
ignoiant. Dugdale, however, records, on the authority of Ingulphus,
that its prototype, a cross of stone, was era-ted on the same spot,
A.D. 870, to induce the passers-by to offer prayers for certain monks
slain by the Danes. St. Paul's Cross consisted of some steps, on
which was formed a wooden pulpit, covered with lead, whence sermons
were preached to the people every Sunday morning. It was not,
however, specially reserved for this purpose ; since from this place, at
times, the an&thema of the Pope was thundered forth, or the
ordinances of the reigning king were published, heresies were
recanted, and sins atoned for by penance.
iro early ns 1256, we find John Mancell calling a meeting at Poidy's
Crosse, and showing the people that it was the king's desire that
MARCH 20. GOOD FRIDAY. 155
At the church of All Hallows, Lombard Street, a sermon is
preached every Good Friday in accordance with the direc-
tions of the will of Peter Symonds, dated 1587. Gifts, also,
are distributed, consisting of a new penny and a packet of
raisins, to a certain number of the younger scholars of
Christ's Hospital. City Press, April 12th 1873.f
Just outside the church of St. Bartholomew-the-Great,
Smithfield, the rector places twenty- one sixpences on a
gravestone, which the same number of poor widows pick up.
The custom is nearly as old as the church, and originated in
the will of a lady, who left a sum of money to pay for the
sermon, and to yield these sixpences to be distributed ever
her grave. As however, her will is lost, and her tomb gone,
the traditionary spot of her interment is chosen for the dis-
tribution, a strange part of the tradition being that any one
being too stiff in the joints to pick up the money is not to
receive it. Ibid.
On Good Friday the Portuguese and South American vessels
in the London Docks observe their annual custom of flogging
Judas Iscariot. The following extract is taken from the
Times (April 5th, 1874) : " At daybreak a block of wood,
roughly carved to imitate the Betrayer, and clothed in
an ordinary sailor's suit, with a red worsted cap on its
head, was hoisted by a rope round its neck into the fore-
rigging ; the crews of the various vessels then went to chapel,
they should be " rnlyd with justyce, and that the lihertyes of the cytie
shulde be maynteyned in every poynt." In 1299 the Dean of St.
Paul's proclaimed from the Cross that all persons who searched for
treasure in the church of St. Martin-le-(irand, or consented to the
searching, were accursed; and it was here that June Shore, with a
taper in one hand, and arrayed in her ' kyi tell onelye,' was exposed
to open penance. After 1G3H, seimons were no longer preached at
the Cross, but within the cathedral; and in 1G43 it was altogether
taken down. Godwin and Britton, Churches of London, 1839 ;
Pennant, Account of f^ondon, 1793 ; Brayley, Londiniana, 1829.
t Under the same will the children of Langbonra "Wnrd Schools
who help in the clioir, and the children of the Sunday School, receive
c ach a bun, and various sums of new money, ranging from Id. to 1*.,
besides the poor of the parish, on whom it bestowed 1. each and
a loaf. The money used to be given away over the tomb of the
donor, until the railway in Liverpool Street effaced the spot.- City
Frets, April 12, 1873.
156 GOOD FRIDAY. [MARCH 2O.
and on their return, about 11 a.m., the figure was lowered
from the rigging, and cast into the dock, and ducked three
times. It was then hoisted on board, and after being kicked
round the deck was lashed to the capstan. The crew, who
had worked themselves into a state of frantic excitement,
then with knotted ropes lashed the effigy till every vestige of
clothing had been cut to tatters. During this process the
ship's bell kept up an incessant clang, and the captains of
the ships served out grog to the men. Those not engaged
in the flogging kept up a sort of rude chant intermixed with
denunciations of the Betrayer. The ceremony ended with
the burning of the effigy amid the jeers of the crowd."
There is an indorsement on one of the indentures of gift to
the parish of Hampstead stating that 40 had been given by
a maid, deceased, to the intent that the churchwardens for
the time being should provide and give to every one rich
and poor, great and small, young and old persons inhabiting
the parish, upon every Good Friday yearly for ever, one half-
penny loaf of wheaten bread. Old English Customs and
Charities, p. 16.
OXFORDSHIRE.
Formerly, at Brazen-nose College, Oxford, the scholars had
almonds, raisins, and figs for dinner on Good Friday, as
appears by a receipt of thirty shillings, paid by the butler of
the College, for " eleven pounds of almonds, thirty-five pounds
of raisins, and thirteen pounds of figs, serv'd into Brazen-
nose College, March 28th, 1662." Pointer's Oxoniensis
Academia, 1749, p. 71.
SURREY.
A custom, the origin of which is lost in the obscurity of
time, prevails in the neighbourhood of Guildford of making a
pilgrimage to St. Martha's (or Martyr's) Hill on Good Friday.
Thither from all the country side youths and maidens, old
folks and children, betake themselves, and gathered together
on one of the most beautiful spots in Surrey, in full s ! ght of
an old Norman Church which crowns the green summit of the
MAI:CU 20.] GOOD FIIIDAT. 157
h 11, beguile the time with music and dancing. Whatever
the origin of this pilgrimage to St. Martha's, it is apparently
one that commends itself to the taste of the present generation,
and is not likely to die out with the lapse of years, but to
increase in popular estimation as long as the green hill lasts
to attract tlie worshippers of natural beauty, or to furnish
the mere votaries of pleasure with the excuse and the oppor-
tunity for a pleasant holiday. Times, April 18th, 1870.
SUSSEX.
At Brighton, on this day, the children in the back streets
bring up ropes from the beach. One stands on the pave-
ment on one side, and one on the other, while one skips in
the middle of the street. Sometimes a pair (a boy and a
girl) skip together, and sometimes a great fat bathing-woman
will take her place, and skip as merrily as the grandsire
danced in Goldsmith's Traveller. They call the day "Long
Rope Day." This was done as lately as 1863. N. & Q.
3rd S. voL iii. p. 444.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
The parish church at Leigh is decked on this day with
" funereal yew." The same custom exists also at Bcl-
broughton in the same county. N. d Q. 2nd S. vol. i. p. 267.
YoRKSniBE.
In East Yorkshire it was customary to keep a hot-cross-
bun from one Good Friday to the next, as it was reputed not
to turn mouldy, and to protect the house from fire. Presents
of eggs and buns are made on this day. N. & Q. 4.th S.
vol. v. p. 595.
WALES.
At Tenby, as late as the end of the Inst century, the old
people were in the habit of walking barefooted to the church
a custom continued from times prior to the Reformation.
158 GOOD FRIDAY. [MARCH 2O.
Returning home from church they regaled themselves with
hot-cross-buns, and having tied a certain number in a big,
they hung them up in the kitchen, where they remained till
the next Good Friday for medicinal purposes, the belief
being that persons labouring under any disease had only to
eat of a bun to be cured.
About this time many young persons would meet together
to "make Christ's bed." This was done by gathering a
quantity of long reecl-leaves from the river, and weaving
them into the shape of a man ; they then laid the figure on a
wooden cross in a retired part of a field or garden, where
they left it. This custom is perhaps derived from an old
popular popish custom of burying an image of Christ on
Good Friday, which is described in Barnabe Googe's trans-
lation of Nao-Georgus :
" Another image do they get, like one but newly deade,
With leggis stretcht out at length, and hands upon his body
spread e :
And him with pomp and sacred song they beare unto his grave.*'
Mason, Tales and Traditions of Teriby, 1858, p. 19.
IRELAND.
In the midland districts of Ireland, viz., the province of
Connaught, on Good Friday, it is a common practice with
the lower orders of Irish Catholics to prevent their children
having any sustenance, even to those at the breast, from
twelve o'clock on the previous night to the same hour on
Friday, and the fathers and mothers will only take a small
piece of dry bread and a draught of water during the day.
It is a common sight to see along the roads between the
different market towns, numbers of women with their hair
dishevelled, barefooted, and in their worst garments : all
this is in imitation of Christ's Passion. Evtry Day Bouk,
vol. ii. p. 411.
MAKCH 21."] EASTER EVE. 159
MARCH 21.] EASTER EVE.
ON Easter Eve it was customary in our own country to
light in the churches what was called the Paschal Taper.
In Coates's History of Beading (1802, p. 131) is the follow-
ing extract from the Churchwarden's accounts : " Paid for
makynge of the Paschall and the Funte Taper, 5s. Sd." A
note on this observes, " The Pascal taper was usually very
large. In 1557 the Pascal taper for the Abbey Church of
Westminster was 300 pounds weight." Brand, Pop. Antiq.,
1849, vol. i. p. 158.
On the eves of Easter and Whitsunday Font-liallomn<j
was one of the very many ceremonies in early times. The
writer of a MS. volume of Homilies in the Harlcian Library,
No. 2371, says, "in the begynning of holy chirch, all the
children weren kept to be chrystened on thys even, at the font-
hallowyng ; but now, for enchesone that in so long abydynge
they might dye without chrystendome, therefore holi chirch
ordeyneth to chrysten in all tymes of the yeare, save eyght
dayes before these evenys the chylde shalle abydo till the
font-hallowing, if it may safely for perill of death, and ells
not."
CUMBERLAND, ETC.
In Cumberland and Westmoreland, and other parts of the
north of England, boys beg, on Easter Eve, eggs to play
with, and beggars ask for thorn to eat. These eggs are
hardened by boiling, and tinged with the juice of herbs,
broom-flowers, &c. The eggs being thus prepared, the boys
go out and play with them in the fields ; rolling them up and
and down like bowls upon the ground, or throwing them up
like balls into the air. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i.
p. 172.
DORSETSHIRE.
During the last century it was customary in this county,
on Easter Eve, for the boys to form a procession bearing
1GO EASTER EVE. [MARCH 21.
rough torches, and a small black flag, chanting the following
lines:
" We fasted in the light,
For this is the night."
This custom was no doubt a relic of the Popish ceremony
formerly in vogue at this season. Brand, Pop. Antiq.,
1849, vol. i. p. 160.
MIDDLESEX.
Brayley in his Londiniana (1829, vol. ii. p, 207) mentions
a custom of the sheriffs, attended by the Lord Mayor, going
through the streets on Easter Eve, to collect charity for the
prisoners in the city prisons.
YORKSHIRE.
In East Yorkshire young folks go to the nearest market-
town to buy some small article of dress or personal ornament,
to wear for the first time on Easter Sunday, as otherwise
they believe tliat birds notably rooks or " crakes" will
spoil their clothes. N. & Q. 4th S. vol. v. p. 595.
In allusion to the custom of wearing new clothes on
Easter Day Poor Eobin says :
"At Easter let your clothes be new,
Or else be sure you will it rue."
IKELAND.
The day before Easter Day is in some parts called " Holy
Saturday." On the evening of this day, in the middle parts
of Ireland, great preparations are made for the finishing of
Lent. Many a fat hen and dainty piece of bacon is put into
the pot, by the cotter's wife, about eight or nine o'clock, and
woe be to the person who should taste it before the cock
crows. At twelve is heard the clapping of hands, and the
joyous laugh, mixed with an Irish phrase which signifies "out
with the Lent." All is merriment for a few hours, when
they retire, and rise about four o'clock to see the sun dance
in honour of the Resurrection. This ignorant custom is not
confined to the humble labourer and his family, but is scru-
pulously observed by many highly respectable and wealthy
families. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 161.
MARCH 22."] EASIER DAT. id
MABCH 22.] EASTER DAY.
Easter, the anniversary of our Lord's Resurrection from the
dead, is one of the three great festivals of the Christian
year the other two being Christmas and Whitsuntide
From the earliest period of Christianity down to the present
day, it has always been celebrated by believers with the
greatest joy, and accounted the queen of festivals. In
primitive times it was usual for Christians to salute each
other on the morning of this day by exclaiming, ' Christ is
risen ;' to which the person saluted replied, ' Christ is risen
indeed,' or else, ' And hath appeared unto Simon ' a custom
still retained in the Greek Church.
The term Easter is derived, as some suppose, from Eosttre*
the name of a Saxon deity, whose feast was celebrated every
year in the spring, about the same time as the Christian
festival the name being retained when the character of the
feast was changed, or, as others suppose, from Oster, which
signifies rising. If the latter supposition be correct, Easter
is in name, as well as reality, the feast of the Resurrection.
Book of Days, vol. i. p. 423 ; see Med. JEci Kalend. vol. ii.
p. 100.
In former times it was customary to make presents of
gloves' at Easter. In Bishop Hall's Virgidemarium, 1598,
iv. 5, allusion is made to this custom
** For Easter gloves, or for a Shrovetide hen,
Which bought to give, he takes to sell again."
It was an old custom for the barbers to come and shave tho
parishioners in the churchyard on Sundays and high festivals
(at Easter, etc.,) before matins, which liberty was retained
by a particular inhibition of Richard Flemmyng, Bishop of
Lincoln, AJ>. 1422. Time's Telescope, 1826, p. 73.
Allusion is made by Mr. Fosbroke (British Monachism,
* Eoftre is perhaps a corruption of Astarte, the name under which
the Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, nnd the most ancient nations
of the east worshipped the moon, in like manner as they udored the
sun, under the name of BauL
K
1G2 EASTER DAY. [MARCH 22.
1843, p. 5G) to a custom in the thirteenth century of seizing
all ecclesiastics who walked abroad between Easter and
Pentecost, because the Apostles were seized by the Jews
sifter Christ's Passion, and making them purchase their
liberty by money.
The custom of eating a " gammon at Easter," says Aubrey
(which is still kept up in many parts of England), was
founded on this, viz., to show their abhorrence of Judaism at
that solemn commemoration of our Lord's Resurrection. Of
late years the practice of decorating churches with floweis
on this festival has been much revived.
CORNWALL.
A very singular custom prevailed at Lostwithiel on Easter
Sunday. The freeholders of the town and manor having
assembled together, either in person or by their deputies,
one among them, each in his turn, gaily attired and gallantly
mounted, with a sceptre in his hand, a crown on his head,
and a sword borne before him, and respectfully attended by
all the rest on horseback, rode through the principal street
in solemn state to the church. At the churchyard stile the
curate, or other minister, approached to meet him in rever-
ential pomp, and then conducted him to church to hear
divine service. On leaving the church he repaired, with the
same pomp and retinue, to a house previously prepared for
his reception. Here a feast, suited to the dignity he Lad
assumed, awaited him and his suite, and being placed at the
head of the table, he was served, kneeling, with all the
rites and ceremonies that a real prince might expect. The
ceremony ended with a dinner ; the prince being voluntarily
disrobed, and descending from his momentary exaltation to
mix \\iih common mortals. On the origin of this custom
but one opinion can be reasonably entertained, though it
may be difficult to trace the precise period of its commence-
ment. It seems to have originated in the actual appearance
of the prince, who resided at Restormel Castle in former
ages ; but on the removal of royalty this mimic grandeur
stepped forth as its shadowy representative, and continued
for many generations as a memorial to posterity of the
MARCH 22.] EASTER DAY. 103
princely magnificence with which Lostwithiel had formerly
been honoured. Hitching, History of Cornwall, 1824, vol. i.
p. 717.
CUMBERLAND.
At one time it was customary to send reciprocal presents
of eggs at Easter to the children of famil r es respectively
betwixt whom any intimacy existed. Fur some weeks
preceding Good Friday the price of eggs advanced consider-
ably, from the great demand occasioned by this custom.
The principal modes adopted to prepare the eggs for
presentation were the following : The eggs being immersed
in hot water for a few moments, the end of a common tallow-
candle was made use of to inscribe the names of individuals,
dates of particular events, &c. The warmth of the eggs
rendered this a very easy process. Thus inscribed, the egg
was placed in a pan of hot water, saturated with cochineal,
or other dye-woods ; the part over which the tallow had
been passed was impervious to the operation of the dye ; and,
consequently, when the egg was removed from the pan, there
appeared no discoloration of the egg where the inscription
had been traced, but the egg presented a white inscription
on a coloured ground. The colour of course depended upon
the taste of the person who prepared the egg ; but usually
much variety of colour was made use of.
Another method of ornamenting " pace eggs " was, how-
ever, much neater, although more laborious than that with
the tallow candle. The egg being dyed, it was decorated,
by means of a penknife, with which the dye was scraped off,
leaving the design white on a coloured ground. An egg was
frequently divided into compartments, which were filled up
according to the taste and skill < f the designer. Generally,
one compartment contained the name and also the age of the
party for whom the egg was intended. In another there
was perhaps a landscape, and sometimes a cupid was found
lurking in a third ; so that these " pace eggs " became very
usofnl auxiliaries to the missives of St. Valentine. Every
Day Book, vol. i. p. 42G.
The words fays, pas, pace, pase, pasce, pasJc, pasch, passJie,
formerly used in this county, and still used in the north,
u 2
1G4 EASTEE DAY. [MARCH 22.
are clearly derived from the Hebrew through the Greek
Tracr^a. The Danish Paaslce-egg, and the Swedish Paskegg,
both likewise signify coloured eggs. Brand considers this
custom a relic of ancient Catholicism, the egg being emble-
matic of the Resurrection ; but it is not improbable that it is
in its origin like many other ancient popular customs, totally
unconnected with any form of Christianity, and that it had
its commencement in the time of heathenism.
The egg was a symbol of the world, and ancient temples
in consequence sometimes received an oval form. This typifi-
cation is found in almost every oriental cosmogony. The
sacred symbol is still used in the rites of the Beltein, which
are, unquestionably of heathen origin, and eggs are pre-
sented about the period of Easter in many countries.
" Easter," says a recent tourist, " is another season for the
interchange of civilities when, instead of the coloured egg
in other parts of Germany, and which is there merely a toy
for children, the Vienna Easter egg is composed of silver,
mother-of-pearl, bronze, or some other expensive material,
and filled with jewels, trinkets, or ducats. (Sketches of
Germany and the Germans in 1834, 1835, and 1836, vol. ii.
p. 162 ; Ned. 3Zd Kalend. vol. i. p. 202. This latter custom
has lately become very popular in London.
John Troutbeck, by will, October 27th, 1787, gave to the
poor of Dacre, the place of his nativity, 200Z. the interest
thereof to be distributed every Easter Sunday on the family
tombstone in Dacre churchyard, provided the day should be
fine, by the hands and at the discretion of a Troutbeck of
Blencowe, if there should be any living, those next in descent
ha\in^ prior right of distribution ; and if none should be
living that would distribute the same, then by a Troutbeck,
as long as one could be found that would take the trouble of
it ; otherwise by the ministers and churchwardens of the
parish for the time being ; that not less than five shillings
should be given to any individual, and that none should be
considered entitled to it that received alms, or any support
from the parish. Old English Customs and Charities, p. 115.
MARCH 22.] EASTEII DAY. 1G5
DEEBYSHIRE.
On Easter Sunday the old custom of sugar-cupping at the
dripping-torr, near Tideswell, is observed ; when the young
people assemble at the torr, each provided with a cup aud a
small quantity of sugar or honey, and having caught the
required quantity of water, and mixed the sugar with it,
drink it, repeating a doggerel verse.* Jour, of the Arch.
Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 204.
KENT.
Hasted, in his History of Kent (1798, vol. vii. p. 138),
states that, in the parish of Biddenden there is an endow-
ment of old but unknown date for making a distribution
of cakes among the poor every Easter Day in the afternoon.
The source of the benefaction consists in twenty acres of
land, in five parcels, commonly called the Bread and Cheese
Lands. Practically, in Mr. Hasted's time, six hundred
cakes were thus disposed of, being given to persons who
attended service, while two hundred and seventy loaves of
three and a half pounds weight each, with a pound and a
half of cheese, were given in addition to such as were
parishioners.
The cakes distributed on this occasion were impressed
with the figures of two females side by side, and close
together.! Amongst the country people it was believed
that these figures represented two maidens named Preston,
who had left tlie endowments; and they further alleged
that the ladies were twins, who were born in bodily union,
that is, joined side to side, as represented on the cakes ;
who lived nearly thirty years in this connection, when at
length one of them died, necessarily causing the death of
the other in a few hours. It is thought by the Biddenden
people that the figures on the cakes are meant as a memorial
* It is also a general belief in this county thnt unless a person
puts on some new article of dress he will be injured by the birds,
and have no good fortune that year llrid. p. 205 ; see also p. 160.
t An engraving of one of these cakes will be found in the Every
Day liooh, 1827, vol. it \>. 443.
106 EASTER DAT. [MARCH 22.
of this natural prodigy, as well as of the charitable disposition
of the two ladies. Mr. Hasted, however, ascertained that
the cakes had only been printed in this manner within the
preceding fifty years, and concluded more rationally that
the figures were meant to represent two widows, " as the
general objects of a charitable benefaction."
If Mr. Hasted's account of the Biddenden cakes be the
true one, the story of the conjoined twins though not in-
ferring a thing impossible or unexampled must be set
down as one of those cases, of which we find so many in
the legends of the common people, where a tale is invented
to account for certain appearances, after the real meaning
of the appearance was lost. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 427 ;
see Britton and Brayley, Beauties of England and Wales,
1803, vol. viii. p. 208 ; Old English Customs and Charities,
1842, p. 60.
MIDDLESEX.
According to Lysons' Environs of London (1795, vol. iii.
p. 603) there was an ancient custom at Twickenham of
dividing two great cakes in the Church upon Easter Day,
among the young people; but it being looked upon as a
superstitious relic, it was ordered by Parliament, 1645, that
the parishioners should forbear this custom, and, instead
thereof, buy loaves of bread for the poor of the parish
with the money that should have bought the cakes. It
appears that the sum of 1 per annum is still charged
upon the vicarage for the purpose of buying penny loaves
for poor children on the Thursday before Easter. Within
the memory of man they were thrown from the church-
steeple to be scrambled for ; a custom which prevailed also
nt Paddington.
NORFOLK.
In this county it is customary to eat baked custards at
Easter, and cheesecakes at Whitsuntide. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. i.
p. 248.
22.] EASTER DAY. 1G7
OXFORDSHIRE.
At University College, Oxford, on this day, the representa-
tion of a tree, dressed with evergreens and flowers, is placed
on a turf close to the buttery, and every member there
resident, as he leaves the Hall after dinner, chops at the
tree with a cleaver. The College cook stands by holding
a plate, in which the Master deposits half a guinea, each
Fellow five shillings and sixpence. This custom is called
" chopping at the tree." N. & Q. 1st S- vol. ix. p. 468.
On Easter Day the rector of Ducklington for the time
being, as long as can be remembered, has paid 10 per
annum, which was formerly given away in the church
amongst the parishioners, in veal or apple pies : of late
years it has been given away in bread. All the parishioners
of Ducklington and Hardwick who apply, whether rich or
poor, without any distinction, partake of it according to the
size of their families. Many of the farmers take the bread
as they say, for the sake of keeping up their right. It is
stated that there is no document or record relating to this
payment, nor any tradition respecting its origin. Old
English Customs and CJiarities, p. 14.
The rector of Swerford supplies a small loaf for every
house in the parish on Easter Sunday, which is given after
evening service. It is understood that this is given on
account of a bushel of wheat, which is payable out of a field
called Mill Close, part of the glebe. Each house, whether
inhabited by rich or poor, receives a loaf. Ibid. p. 18.
YORKSHIRE.
It was customary in this country, for the young men in
the villages to take off the young girls' buckles, and, on tho
Easter Monday, the young men's shoes and buckles were
taken off by the young women. On the Wednesday they
were redeemed by little pecuniary forfeits, out of which
an entertainment called a Tansey Cake, was provided, and
the jollity concluded with dancing. At llipon, where this
custom also prevailed, it is reported that no traveller could
1G8 EASTER DAT. [MARCH 22.
pass the town without being stopped, and, if a horseman,
having his spurs taken away, unless redeemed by a little
money, which was the only means to get them returned.
This seems to bear an affinity to the custom of hocking.
Cole in his Hist, of Filey (1828, p. 136) mentions a
similar custom as practised in that place. He says, the
young men seize the shoes of the females, collecting as
many as they can, and, on the following day, the girls
retaliate by getting the men's hats, which are to be redeemed
on a subsequent evening, when both parties assemble at one
of the inns, and partake of a rural repast. Gent. Mag.
1790, vol. k. p. 719.
Two farms lying in the township of Swinton, and which
belong to Earl Fitzwilliam, every year change their parish.
For one year, from Easter Day at twelve at noon till next
Easter Day at the same hour, they lie in the parish of
Mexbrough, and then till Easter Day following at the same
hour, they are in the parish of Wath-upon-Dearne, and so
alternately. Blount's Ancient Tenures of Land.
WALES.
Easter Day is generally kept in Wales as the Sunday,
that is, with much and becoming respect to the sacredness
of the day. It is also marked by somewhat better cheer, as
a festival, of which lamb is considered as a proper constitu-
tional part. In some places, however, after morning prayer,
vestiges of the sundry sports and pastimes remain. It is
thought necessary to put on some new portion of dress at
Easter and unlucky to omit doing so, were it but a new pair
of gloves or a ribbon. This idea is evidently derived from
the custom of former times, of baptizing at Easter, when the
new dress was in some degree symbolical of the new cha-
racter assumed by baptism.
IRELAND.
The solemnity of Easter (says Bishop Kennett) was
anciently observed in Ireland with so great superstition
that they thought it lawful to steal all the year, to hoard up
provisions against this festival time. Kennett MS.
MARCH 23.] KASTEB MONDAY. 1C9
In some parts of Ireland at Easter a cake, with a garland
of meadow flowers, is elevated upon a circular board upon
a pike, apples being stuck upon pegs around the garland.
Men and women then dance round, and they who hold out
longest win the prize.* Time's Telescope, 1826, p. 37.
MABOH 23.] EASTEE MONDAY.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
In the Parliamentary Returns of 1786 a donor of the name
of Eandell is stated to have given by deed, in 1597, five
quarters of wheat and money to the poor of Edlesborough.
Forty-nine bushels of wheat were yearly sent by Lady
Bridgewater to the mill to be ground in respect of this
charity. They were ground, and the flour baked at her
expense ; the bread was made up in four-pound loaves, which
were given away by the parish officers on Easter Monday to
all the poor of the parish, in shares varying according to the
size of the families, a loaf being given to each individual.
Old English Customs and Charities, p. 18.
CHESHIRE.
Pasch eggs are begged at the farmhouses; the children
sing a short song, asking for
" Eggs, bacon, apples, or cheese,
Bread or corn, if you pic aso,
Or any good thing that will make us merry."
These eggs are in some parts of the county boiled in
vinegar, and otherwise ornamented, and hung up in the houses
until another year. In some cottages as many as a score
may be seen hanging. The custom of lifting is also ob-
served. Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1850, vol. v. p. 253.
In a pamphlet entitled Certayne Collections of AncJiiante
Times, concerning the Anchiante and Famous Cittie of Chester,
* Plutarch mentions a trial for dancing : a cake the prize.
170 EASTER MONDAY. [MABCII 23.
already referred to and published in Lysons' Magna Bri-
tannia, is the following account of a curious practice once
observed at Chester, " There is an anchant custome in this
cittie of Chester : the memory of man now livinge not
knowing the original, that upon Monday in Easter weeke,
yearely, commonly called Black Mondaye, the two sheriffes
of the cittie do shoote for a breakfaste of calves-heades and
bacon, commonly called the Sheriffes' Breakfaste, the maner
being thus : the day before, the drum soundeth through the
cittie, with a proclamation for all gentlemen, yeomen, and
good fellowes, that will come with their bowes and arrowes
to take part with one sheriff or the other, and upon Monday
morning, on the Rode-dee, the Mayor, shreeves. aldermen,
and any other gentlemen that be there, the one sherifo
chosing one, and the other sherifb chosing another, and soe
of the archers ; the one sherife shoteth, and the other sherife
he shoteth to shode him, beinge at length some twelve score,
soe all the archers on one side to shote till it be shode, and
so till three shutes be wonne, and then all the winners' side
goe up together, first with arrowes in their hands, and all the
loosers with bowes in their hands together, to the common
hall of the cittie, where the maior, aldermen, and the reste,
take parte together of the saide breakfaste in loveing manner.
This is yearely done, it beinge a commendable exercise, a good
recreation, and a lovinge assemblye."
In the year 1640 the sheriffs gave a piece of plate to be
run for, instead of the calves' -head breakfast. In 1674, a
resolution was entered in the Corporation journals that the
calves' -head feast was held by ancient custom and usage, and
was not to be at the pleasure of the sheriffs and leave-brokers.
In the month of March, 1676-7, the sheriffs and leave-
brokers were fined 10, for not keeping the calves'-head feast.
For this feast an annual dinner was afterwards substituted,
usually given by the sheriffs at their own houses on anv day
most suitable to their convenience.
DERBYSHIRE.
During a visit to the little village of Castlcton, says a
correspondent of N. & Q. (kth S. vol. v. p. 595), I noticed
MARCH 23.] EASTER MONDAY. 171
every child without exception had a bottle of elecampane the
younger ones having one tied round their necks all sucking
away at this curious compound of Spanish juice, sugar, and
water with great assiduity. I was informed by a very old
man that the custom had always obtained at Castlcton on
this day as long as he could remember.
The custom of lifting was practised in some of the northern
parts of this county. Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1852, vol. vii.
p. 205.
ESSEX.
Easter Monday was formerly appropriated to the prand
" Epping Hunt." So far back as the year 1226, King Henry
III. confirmed to the citizens of London free-warren, or
liberty to hunt a circuit about their city, in the warren of
Staines, &c. ; and in ancient times, the Lord Mayor, aldermen,
and corporation, attended by a due number of the con-
stituents, are said to have availed themselves of this right
of chase " in solemn guise." But years ago, the " Epping
Hunt " lost the Lord Mayor and his brethren in their cor-
porate capacity; the annual sport subsequently dwindled
into a mere burlesque and farcical show amongst the mob, and
even that has died away, and is now numbered " amongst the
things that were." Sports, Pastimes and Customs of London,
1847, p. 27.
The following extract illustrative of this ancient custom
is taken from the Chelmsford Chronicle (April 15th, 1805) :
" On Monday last Epping Forest was enlivened with the
celebrated stag-hunt. The road from Whitechapel to the
Bald-faced Stag, on the forest, was covered with cockney
sportsmen, chiefly dressed in the costume of the chase, in
scarlet-frock, black jockey cap, new boots, and buckskin
breeches. By ten o'clock the assemblage of civil hunters,
mounted on all sorts and shapes, could not fall short of 1,200.
There were numberless Dianas, also of the chose, from
Rotherhithe, the Minories, &c., some in riding-habits, mounted
on titups, and others by the side of their mothers, in gigs,
tax-carts, an 3 other vehicles appropriate to the sports of the
field. The Saffron Walden stag-hounds made their joyful
appearance about half after ten, but without any of the
172 EASTER MONDAY. [MARCH 23.
Melishes or Bosanquets, who were more knowing sportsmen,
than to risk either themselves, or their horses, in so
desperate a burst. The huntsmen having capped their half
crowns, the horn blew just before twelve, as a signal for the
old fat one-eyed-stag (kept for the day) being enlarged from
the cart. He made a bound of several yards, over the heads
of some pedestrians, at first starting, when such a clatter
commenced as the days of Nimrod never knew. Some of the
scarlet-jackets were sprawling in the high road a few minutes
after starting so that a lamentable return of the maimed,
missing, thrown, and thrown out, may naturally be supposed.
Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 460 ; see Long Ago, 1873,
vol. i. pp. 19, 44, 83, 146 ; also N. & Q. 4^ 8. vol. x. pp. 373,
399,460,478; xi. p. 26.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
At this season, in the neighbourhood of Eoss, the rustics
have a custom called corn-showing. Parties are made to
pick out cockle from the wheat. Before they set out they
take with them, cake, cider, and a yard of toasted cheese.
The first person who picks the cockle from the wheat has the
first kiss of the maid and the first slice of the cake. This
custom, doubtless, takes its origin from the Roman as appears
from the following line of Ovid (Fasti, i. 691) :
" Et careant loliis oculos vitiantibus agri."
* Let the fields be stripped of eye-diseasing cockle."
Foabroke, Ariconensia or Archxological SJcetches
of lioss and Archenfidd, 1822.
KENT.
At this season young people go out holiday-making in
public-houses, to eat pudding-pies, and this practice is called
going a pudding -pieing. The pudding-pies are from the size
of a teacup to that of a small tea-saucer. They are flat, like
pastrycooks' cheesecakes, made with a raised crust to hold
a small quantity of custard, with currants lightly sprinkled
on the surface. Pudding-pies and cherry-beer usually go
together at these feasts. Hone's Tear Book, 1838, p. 361.
MARCH 23.] EASTEB MONDAY. 173
LANCASHIRE.
In Lancashire, and in Cheshire, Staffordshire, and War-
wickshire, and perhaps in other counties, the ridiculous
custom of ' lifting ' or heaving ' is practised. On Easter
Monday the men lift the women, and on Easter Tuesday the
women lift or heave the men. The process is performed by
two lusty men or women joining their hands across each
other's wrists, then, making the person to be heaved sit down
on their arms, they lift him up aloft two or three times, and
often carry him several yards along a street. A grave
clergyman who happened to be passing through a town in
Lancashire on an Easter Tuesday, and having to stay an
hour or two at an inn, was astonished by three or four lusty
women rushing into his room, exclaiming they had " come to
lift him ! " " To lift him I " repeated the amazed divine ;
" what can you mean ? " " Why, your reverence, we've come
to lift you, 'cause it's Easter Tuesday." " Lift me because its
Easter Tuesday ! I don't understand you is there any such
custom here ?" " Yes to be sure ; why, don't you know ? All us
women was lifted yesterday, and us lifts the men to-day in
turn. And, in course, it's onr reights and duties to lift 'em."
After a little further parley the reverend traveller com-
promised with his fair visitors for half-a-crown, and thus
escaped the dreaded compliment. Book of Days, vol. i.,
p. 4-25.
Agnes Strickland in her Lives of tlie Queens of England
(1864, vol. i. p. 303), narrates how on the Easter Monday
of 1290 seven of Queen Eleanora's ladies unceremoniously-
invaded the chamber of King Edward (I.), and seizing their
majestic master, proceeded to " heave him " in his chair, till
he was glad to pay a fine of fourteen pounds to enjoy his
own peace and be set at liberty.
The following extract is taken from the Public Advertiser,
April 13th, 1787 : The custom of rolling down Greenwich-hill
at Easter is a relique of old city manners, but peculiar to the
metropolis. Old as the custom has been, the counties of
Shropshire, Cheshire and Lancashire boast of one of eqnal
antiquity, which they call heaving, and perform with the
174: BAST2R MONDAY. [MARCH 2$.
following ceremonies, on the Monday and Tuesday in the
Easter week. On the first day, a party of men go with a
chair into every house into which they can get admission,
force every female to be seated in their vehicle, and lift them
up three times with loud huzzas. For this they claim the
reward of a chaste salute, which those who arc too coy to
submit to m;iy get exempted from by a fine of one shilling,
and receive a written testimony which secures them from a
repetition of the ceremony for that day. On the Tuesday
the women claim the same privilege, and pursue their
business in the same manner, with this addition that they
guard every avenue to the town, and stop every passenger,
pedestrian, equestrian or vehicular."
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag., 1784, vol. xcvi. p. 96,
says that lifting was originally designed to represent our
Saviour's Resurrection.
MIDDLESEX. LONDON.
In the Easter holidays the young men, says Fitzstephen
(in his tract entitled Descriptio Nobilissimce Civitatis Lon-
donice,' circa 1174), counterfeit a fight on the water : a pole
is set up in the midst of the river, with a target strongly
fastened to it, and a young man standing in the fore part of a
boat, which is prepared to be carried on by the flowing of the
tide, endeavours to strike the target in his passage.
If he succeeds so as to break his lance, and yet preserve his
footing, his aim is accomplished ; but if he fail, he tumbles
into the water, and his boat passes away with the stream.
On each side, Ikowever, of the target, ride two vessels, wherein
are stationed several young men ready to snatch him from
the water, as soon as he appears again above the surface.
Formerly the Lord Mayors and the sheriffs were accus-
tomed to, separately, ask each of their friends as were alder-
men or governors of the hospitals, whom they saw at church, to
dine with them at their own houses. But, in process of time,
however, it was agreed that the Lord Mayor should invite all
that were at church on the first day ; and the two sheriffs, in
their turn, on the next succeeding days. Hence, by degrees,
they began to invite other of the friends, and the aldermen
bringing their ladies, other ladies were also invited, so that
23.] EASTEE MONDAY. 175
the private houses not being large enough, they began to enter-
tain at their respective halls. Brayley, Londiniana, 1829,
vol. ii. p. 28.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Formerly, at Easter and Whitsuntide, the mayor, aldermen,
and sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with a great number of
the burgesses, went yearly to the Forth, or Little Mall of the
town, with the mace, sword, and cap of maintenance carried
before them, and patronised the playing at hand-ball, dancing,
and other amusements, and sometimes joined in the ball-play,
and at others joined hands with the ladies. Every Day
Book, vol. i. p. 430.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Deering, in his Historical Account of Nottingham (1751,
p. 125), says: By a custom time beyond memory, the mayor
and aldermen of Nottingham and their wives have been used
on Monday in Easter week, morning prayer ended, to march
from the town to St. Anne's Well, having the town \\aits to
play before them, and attended by all the clothing, i.e., such
as have been sheriffs, and ever after wear scarlet g.>wns,
together with the officers of the town, and many other
burgesses and gentlemen, such as wish well to the wood-
ward this meeting being first instituted, and since continued
for his benefit.
WARWICKSHIRE.
Easter Monday and Tuesday, says a correspondent of
Brand's Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 183), were known by the
name of heaviny-days, because, on the former day, it was
customary for the men to heave and kiss the women, and on
the latter for the women to retaliate upon the men. The
women's heaving-day was the most amusing. Many a time
have I passed along the streets inhabited by the lower orders
of people, and seen parties of jolly matrons assembled round
tables on which stood a foaming tankard of ale. There they
sat in all the pride of absolute sovereignty, and woe to the
luckless man that dared to invade their prerogatives! As
sure as he was seen he was pursued ; as sure as he was pursued
17G EASTER MONDAY. [MARCH 23.
lie was taken ; and, as sure as Ii3 was taken, be was heaved and
kissed, and compelled to pay sixpence for " leave and licence "
to depart.
At one time a custom was observed at Birmingham, on the
Easter Monday, called " Clipping the Church." This cere-
mony was performed amid crowds of people and shouts of joy,
by the children of the different charity schools, who at a certain
hour flocked together for the purpose. The first comers
placed themselves hand in hand with their backs against the
Church, and were joined by their companions, who gradually
increased in number, till at last the chain was of sufficient
length completely to surround the sacred edifice. As soon
as the hand of the last of the train had grasped that of the
first, the party broke up, and walked in procession to the
other Church (for in those days Birmingham boasted but of
two), where the ceremony was repeated. Every Day Book,
vol. i. p. 431.
They have an ancient custom at Coleshill, says Blount,
(Jocular Tenures, Beckwith's Edition, p. 286), that if the
young men of the town can catch a hare, and bring it to
the parson of the parish before ten o'clock on Easter Monday,
the parson is bound to give them a calf's-head, and a
hundred eggs for breakfast, and a groat in money.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
At sunset upon Easter Monday, and at no other period
throughout the year, a game is played by the children of
Evesham called " thread-my-needle." From the season of
this observance, as well as the cry of the players while
elevating their arms arch-wise, which now is:
" Open the gates as high as the sky,
And let Victoria's troops pass by,"
it is probable, says May in his Hist, of Evesham (1845,
p. 319), that the custom originally had reference to the
great festival of the church and the triumphant language of
the Psalmist, applied to the event commemorated at this
period Psalm xxiv. 9: 'Lift up your heads, ye gates;
MARCH 23.] KASTKU MONDAY. 177
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of
glory shall come in." The accuracy of this supposition,
however, may be fairly doubted.
WALES.
In North Wales, says Pennant, the custom of heaving
upon Monday and Tuesday in Easter week is preserved ;
and on Monday the young men go about the town and
country, from house to house, with a fiddle playing before
them, to heave the women. On the Tuesday the women
heave the men.
At Tenby Easter Monday was always devoted to merry-
making; the neighbouring villages (Gumfreston especially)
were visited, when some amused themselves with the bar-
barous sport of cock-fighting, while others frequented the
two tea-parties held annually at Tenby and Gumfreston,
and known as the " Parish Clerks' Meeting." Mason's Tales
and Traditions of Tenby, 1858, p. 21.
SCOTLAND.
BERWICK-UPON-TWEED.
It is pleasurable, says Fuller in his History' of Berwick
upon-Tweed (1799, p. 445), to see what a great number of
lovely and finely-dressed children make their appearance on
Easter Monday, which is known in this neighbourhood as the
Children's Day. Being attended by a multitude of servants,
they parade and run about for many hours, amusing them-
selves in a variety of ways. This charming group is joined
more or less by the parents of the children, who, together
with such as are attracted by curiosity, form, on such
occasions, a company of a great many hundreds. They
assemble in greatest numbers behind the barracks, where the
rampart is broadest. The fruiterers attend in full display,
as well as many itinerants in various pursuits. The whpli
company may be called a sportive fair.
178 EASTEE MONDAY. [MARCH 23.
IRELAND.
In the County of Antrim this day is observed by several
thousands of the working classes of the town and vicinity
of Belfast resorting to the Cave-hill, about three miles
distant, where the day is spent in dancing, jumping, run-
ning, climbing the rugged rocks, and drinking. Here many
a rude brawl takes place, many return home with black eyes,
and in some cases with broken bones. Indeed it is with
them the greatest holiday of the year, and to not a few it
furnishes laughable treats to talk about till the return of the
following spring. On this evening a kind of dramatic piece
is usually brought forward at the Belfast Theatre, called
The Humours of the Cave-hill. T/ie Table Bock, p. 507.
Co. GLARE.
On Easter Monday multitudes go to Scattery Island for
the purpose of performing penance on their bare knees,
round the stony beach and holy well there. Tents are
generally erected on this occasion, and often times more
whisky is taken by the pilgrims than is found convenient
on their return in crowded boats. Mason, Slot. Ace. of
Ireland, 1814, vol. ii. p. 459.
Co. DOWN.
At Holywood the trundling of eggs, as it is called, is an
amusement common at Easter. For this purpose the eggs
are boiled hard, and dyed of different colours, and, when
they are thxis prepared, the sport consists in throwing or
trundling them along the ground, especially down a de-
clivity, and gathering up the broken fragments to eat them.
Formerly it was usual with the women and children to
collect in large bodies for this purpose, though nothing can
be, to all appearance, more unmeaning than this amusement.
They yet pursue it in the vicinity of Belfast. It is a curious
circumstance that this sport is practised only by the Presby-
terians. Mason, Slat. Ace. of Ireland, 1819, vol. iii. p. 207.
MARCH 24.] EASTER TUESDAY. 175
On Easter Monday several hundreds of young persons of
the town and neighbourhood of Portaffery resort, dressed in
their best, to a pleasant walk near that town, called " Tho
Walter." The avowed object of each person is to see the
fun, which consists in the men kissing the females, without
reserve, whether married or single. This mode of salutation
is quite a matter of course; it is never taken amiss, nor
with much show of coyness ; the female must be very
ordinary indeed, who returns home without having received
at least a dozen hearty kisses. Tradition is silent as to tho
origin of this custom, which of late years is on the decline,
especially in the respectability of the attendants. The
Table Book, p. 506.
MARCH 24.] EASTER TUESDAY.
MIDDLESEX.
EVERY Easter Tuesday, in pursuance of an ancient custom,
the boys of Christ's Hospital, London, pay a visit to the
Mansion House, and receive from the Lord Mayor the
customary Easter gifts. On reaching the Mansion House,
they march into tho Egyptian Hall, and on passing the
Lord Mayor, receive a gratuity in coins fresh from the mint.
To the fifteen Grecians a guinea each is given ; nine pro-
bationers, half-a-guinoa ; forty-eight monitors, half-a-crown ;
and tho ordinary scholars, one shilling each. Each boy
also before leaving receives a glass of wine and two buns.
The boys wear linen badges on their coats, on which the
words " He is risen " are inscribed. After this ceremony,
the Lord Mayor and the rest of the civic authorities go
in the customary state to Christ Church, Newgate Street,
where the second Spital sermon is preached. At this
service the whole of the Christ's Hospital boys attend.
See Daily Neics, April 12th, 1871, and April 3rd, 1872.
N 2
180 LADY DAY. [MARCH 25.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Holly-bussing, says a writer in the Newcastle Express
(April 16th, 1857), is a vernacular expression for a very
ancient custom celebrated at Netherwitton, the origin of
which is unknown. On Easter Tuesday the lads and lasses
of the village and vicinity meet, and, accompanied by the
parish clerk, who plays an excellent fiddle, the inspiring
strains of which put mirth and mettle in their heels, pro-
ceed to the wood to get holly; with which some deco-
rate a stone cross that stands in the village while others
are " bobbing around " to " Speed the Plough " or " Birnie
Bouzle."
MARCH 25.] LADY DAY.
THE Festival of the Annunciation commemorates in the
Christian world the message of the Angel to the Virgin
Mary : hence it was anciently called St. Mary's Day in Lent,
to distinguish it from other festivals in her honour :
" Seinte Marie Daye in Leynte, among
All otl>er dayes gode,
Is ryt for to holde heghe
He su [whoso] bcin vnderstode."
liarl. MS. Codex 2277, fol. i.
All the festivals of the Virgin are properly Lady Days, but
this falling in Lent, and being the first quarter day for rents
and other payments, readily became Lady Day par excellence.
Otherwise considered, it is simply an abridgment of " Our
Lady Day the Annunciation," as we find it written in the reign
of Henry the Sixth. Some old customs on paying quarterly
rents are noticed in Gascoigne's Flowers of Poesie, 4to, 1575:
And when the tenantes come to paie their quarter's rent,
They bring some fowle at Midsummer, a dish of fish in Lent,
At Chri>tmasse a capon, at Michaelmas^e a goose,
And somewhat else at New Yeare's tide for feare their lease flie loose."
Med. Mvi Kalend. vol.i. p. 206; Forster, Perenn. Calend. 1841,
P. 515.
MAUCH 25.] LADY DAY. 181
HERTFORDSHIRE.
At St. Alban's certain buns called " Pope Ladies " are sold
on Lady Day, their origin being attributed by some to
the following story : A noble lady and her attendants were
travelling on the road to St. Alban's (the great North road
passes through this town), when they were benighted and
lost their way. Lights in the clock-tower at the top of the
hill enabled them at length to reach the mon istery in safety,
and the lady in gratitude gave a sum of money to provide
an annual distribution on Lady Day of cakes, in the shape
of ladies, to the poor of the neighbourhood. As this bounty
was distributed by the monks, the " Pope Ladies " probably
thus acquired their name. See N. & Q. 4.th S. vol. x. p. 412.
Another correspondent of N. & Q. (4.th S. vol. x. 341) says
these buns are sold on the first day of each year, and that
there is a tradition that they have some relation to the
myth of Pope Joan. See also the Gent. Maj. 1820, voL xc.
p. 15.
LANCASHIRE.
The gyst-ale, or guising-fcast, was an annual festival of the
fr wn of Ashton-under-Lyne. It appears from the rental of Sir
John de Assheton, compiled A.D. 1422, that twenty shillings
were paid to him as lord of the manor for the privilege of
holding this feast by its then conductors. The persons named
in the roll as having paid 3. 4d. each are : " Mnrgret,
that was the wife of Hobbe the Kynges (of misrule) ; Hobbe
Adamson ; Roger the Baxter ; Robert Somayster ; Jenkyn of
the Wode ; and Thomas of Curtual." The meaning of the
term gyst-ale is involved in some obscurity most probably
the payments above were for the gyst, or hire, for the privilege
of selling ale and otlier refreshments during the festivals
held on the payment of the rents of the manor. These guis-
inga were frequently held in the spring, most probably about
Lady Day, when manorial rents were usually paid : and, as
the fields were manured with marl about the same period, the
term marlingg has been supposed to indicate the rough play
or ntarlocking which was then practised. This, however,
182 LADY DAY. [MARCH 2$.
must be a mistake, since the term relates to merry pranks,
- or pleasure gambols only, and has no connection with marl
as a manure. .
These gyst-ales, or guisings, once ranked amongst the
principal festivals of Lancashire, and large sums of money
were subscribed by all ranks of society in order that they
might be celebrated with becoming splendour. The lord
of the manor, the vicar of the parish, the farmer, and the
operative, severally announced the sums they intended to
give, and when the treasurer exclaimed " A largesse," the
crowd demanded " from whom ?" and then due proclamation
was made of the sum subscribed. The real amount, however,
was seldom named, but it was announced that " Lord John-
son," or some other equally distinguished person had con-
tributed "a portion of ten thousand pounds" towards the
expenses of the feast.
After the subscription lists were closed an immense garland
was prepared, which contained abundance of every flower in
season, interspersed with a profusion of evergreens and
ribbons of every shade and pattern. The framework of this
garland was made of wood, to which hooks were affixed, and
on these were suspended a large collection of watches, jewels,
and silver articles borrowed from the richer residents in the
town. On the day of the gyst this garland was borne
through the principal streets and thoroughfares, attended by
crowds of townspeople dressed in their best attire. These
were formed into a procession by a master of the ceremonies,
locally termed the king. Another principal attendant was
the Fool, dressed in a grotesque cap, a hideous grinning
mask a long tail hanging behind him, and a bell with which
he commanded attention when announcements were to be
made. In an early period of these guisings the fool was
usually mounted on a hobby-horse, and indulged in grotesque
pranks as he passed along hence we obtained the term " hob-
riding," and more recently the proverbial expression of
"riding one's hobby to death." Harland and Wilkinson,
Legends and Traditions of Lancashire, 1873, p. 86.
MARCH 29.] LOW SUNDAY. 183
NORFOLK.
On a table of benefactions in the Church at Oxburgh it
is stated that Sir Henry Bedingfield paid at Lady Day
annually 2 for lands belonging to the township of Oxburgh ;
that this was called walk money, and was given to the poor.
Old English Customs and Charities, p. 121.
ISLE OF THANET.
Evelyn in his Diary, under the date of March 25th, 1672
(Bohn's Edition, 1859, vol. ii. p. 78), says: "Observing
almost every tall tree to have a weather-cock on the top
bough, and some trees half-a-dozen, I learned that on a
certain holiday the farmers feast their servants, at which
solemnity they set up these cocks as a kind of triumph."
IRELAND.
A.t Kilmacteige, Co. of Sligo, the Lady Days are observed
with most scrupulous attention, that is to say, so far as
abstaining from all kind of daily labour, or following any
trade or calling, although their sanctity does not operate
on their minds so as to induce them to refrain from sports
and pastimes, cursing or swearing, or frequenting tippling-
houses and drinking to excess. Mason, Stat. Ace. of Ireland,
1814-19, vol ii. p. 864.
MARCH 29.] LOW SUNDAY.
THE Octave or first Sunday after Easter.
The author of Christian Sodality, a collection of discourses,
1652, says: This day is called White or Low Sunday
because in the Primitive Church those neophytes that on
Easter Eve were baptized and clad in white garments did
to-day put them off, with this admonition, that they were
to keep within them a perpetual candour of spirit, signified by
the Agnus Dei hung about their necks, which, falling down
184 ALL FOOLS' DAT. [APEIL I.
upon their breasts, put them in mind what innocent lambs
they must be, now that of sinful, high, and haughty men
they were by baptism made low, and little children of
Almighty God, such as ought to retain in their manners and
lives the Paschal feasts which they had accomplished.
Seymour in his Survey of London (1734, B. iv. p. 100)
tells us that the aldermen used to meet the Lord Mayor and
sheriffs at St. Paul's in their scarlet gowns, furred, without
their cloaks, to hear the sermon.
WALES.
Fenton in his Tour through Pembrokeshire (1811, p. 495)
alludes to the game of Knappan as being played at Pwlldu,
in the parish of Penbedw, on low Easter-day. He says the
knappan.was a ball of some hard wood, of such a size as a
man might hold in his hand, and was boiled in tallow to
make it slippery. The players at this game were very
numerous, frequently amounting to a thousand or fifteen
hundred people, parish against parish, hundred against
hundred, and sometimes county against county. When the
company assembled, about one or two o'clock in the after-
noon, entirely naked, with the exception of a light pair of
breeches, a great shout was given as the signal to begin, and
the ball was hurled bolt upright into the air by one of the
parties and at its fall he that caught it hurled it towards
the county or goal he played for. The players consisted of
horse and foot, who in the purest times of the game never
mixed, being governed by certain rules and regulations that
were never violated ; but long before this game was disused
various abuses and disorders had crept into it, so that it
served to inflame every bad passion, engender revenge, foment
private quarrels, and stimulate even to bloodshed and murder.
APBIL i.] ALL FOOLS' DAY.
ON this day a custom prevails not only in Britain, but on
the Continent, of imposing upon and ridiculing people in a
APBIL i.] ALL FOOLS' DAT. . 185
variety of ways. It is very doubtful what is the precise
origin of this absurd custom. J i France the person imposed
upon on All Fools' Day is called Poisson d'Avril, an April
Fish, which Bellingen, in his Etymology of French Proverbs,
published in 1656, thus explains. The word Poisson, he
contends, is corrupted through the ignorance of the people
from Passion, and length of time has almost totally defaced
the original intention, which was as follows : that as the
Passion of our Saviour took place about this time of the year,
and as the Jews sent Christ backwards and forwards to mock
and torment him, that is, from Annas to Caiaphas, from
Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod
back again to Pilate, this ridiculous custom took its rise from
thence, by which we send about from one place to another
such persons as we think proper objects of our ridicule.
A writer in the Gent. Mag., 1783, vol. liii. p. 578, also con-
jectures that this custom may have an allusion to the mockery
of the Saviour of the world by the Jews. Another attempt
to explain it has been made by referring to the fact that
the year formerly began in Britain on the 25th of March,
which was supposed to be the Incarnation of our Lord, and
the commencement of a new year was always, both among
the ancient heathens and among modern Christians, held as
a great festival. It is to be noted then that the 1st of April
is the octave of the 25th of March, and the close con-
sequently of that feast which was both the festival of the
Annunciation and of the New Year. Hence it may have
become a day of extraordinary mirth and festivity.
Alluding to this custom, Charles Dickens, jun. (Gent. Mag.
1869, New Series, vol. ii. p. 543), says : A prince of the house
of Lorraine, confined in one of Louis XIII.'s prisons, made his
escape on the 1st of April by swimming across the moat, and
is accordingly commemorated as a poisson d'Avril to this day.
Why this should be so is not very clear, inasmuch as the
gaolers and not the prince would have been the April fools
on the occasion. A later version of the same story would
appear to be the correct one. Here the prince and his wife,
escaping in the disguise of peasants on the 1st of April, were
recognised by a servant-maid as they were passing out of
the castle-gates. She immediately made for the guard-room,
186 ALL FOOLS' DAY. [AritlL I.
giving the alarm to a sentinel by the way, but, unfortunately
for her, yet happily for the fugitives, although she may
have forgotten that it was All Fool's Day, the soldiers on
guard had not. The information was treated with the utmost
contempt, the soldiers declining to be made game of, and
while the royal prison-breakers got clear off, it is said that
the luckless informer was soundly buffetted by the guard for
her ill-timed jocularity. This version of the story, however,
goes to prove nothing beyond the fact that the custom of
making April fools was well known in the time of Louis
XIII., but in nowise accounts for the curious expression
poisson d'Avril ; while the swimming story explains the fish,
but leads one to believe that the incident was the origin of
the dedication of the 1st of April to fools.
Another curious explanation of this peculiar custom, giving
it a Jewish origin, has also been suggested. It is said to
have begun from the mistake of Noah sending the dove out
of the Ark before the water had abated on the first day of
the Hebrew month, answering to our month of April, and to
perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought
proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to
punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand
similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was
Bent by the patriarch. Public Advertiser, April 13th, 1769.
Maurice, in his Indian Antiquities (vi. 71), says that
the custom prevailing both in England and India had its
origin in the ancient practice of celebrating with festival
rites the period of the vernal equinox, or the day when the
new year of Persia anciently began.
Addison, in the Spectator, referring to the year 1711,
remarks that " a custom prevails everywhere among us on
the 1st of April, when everybody takes it in his head to
make as many fools as he can. A neighbour of mine a very
shallow, conceited fellow, makes his boast that for these ten
years successively he has not made less than a hundred
April fools. My landlady had a falling-out with him, about
a fortnight ago, for sending every one of her children upon
some " sleeveless errand," as she terms it. Her eldest son
went to buy a halfpenny-worth of inkle at a shoemaker's ;
the eldest daughter was dispatched half a mile to see a
APRIL i.] ALL FOOLS' DAY. ; 187
monster ; and, in short, the whole family of innocent children
were made April fools. Nay, my landlady herself did not
escape him. The empty fellow has laughed upon these
conceits ever since."
In the north of England persons imposed upon on this day
are called " April Gouks." A gouk, or gowk, is properly a
cuckoo, and is used here, metaphorically, in vulgar language,
for a fool. The cuckoo is, indeed, everywhere a name of
contempt. Brand, .Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 139.
HAMPSHIRE.
In this county tho following rhyme is said after twelve
o'clock :
" April fool's gone ptist.
You're the biggest fool at last;
When April fool come-< ngnin
You'll be the biggest fool then."
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. xii. p. 100.
MIDDLESEX.
In connection with the ancient custom of making " April
fools '' on the 1st of April, the following hoax was practised
on the London public on the 1st April, 1860. Some days
previous thousands of persons received a neatly printed and
official-looking card, with a seal marked by an. inverted
sixpence at one of the angles. It was to this effect :
" Tower of London. Admit the Bearer and Friend to view
the Annual Ceremony of washing the White Lions on Sunday
April 1st, I860. Admitted at the White Gate. It is parti-
cularly requested that no gratuity bo given to the Warders
or their Assistants." The hoax succeeded remarkably well,
tvnd consequently several thousand persons were taken in-.
For many hours cabs might have been seen wending their
way towards Tower Hill on that Sunday morning ; tho
drivers asking every one they met "How they should get to
the White Gate." At last this piece of deception was found
out, and the many thousands who had been thus imposed
U|>on returned home highly disgusted.
188 HOCK, OR HOKE DAY. [APKIL 7.
SCOTLAND.
The Scotch have a custom of Hunting the Gowk, as it is
termed. This is done by sending silly people upon fools'
errands from place to place by means of a letter, in which is
written :
" On the first day of April
Hunt the (^owk another mile."
Brand, Pap. Antiq. 1849. vol. i. p. 140.
APKIL 3.] ST. EICHAED'S DAY.
AUBREY, in MS. Lansd. 231, says : " This custome is
yearly observed at Droitwich, in Worcestershire, where, on
the day of St. Eichard, they keep holyday, and dresse the
well with green boughs and flowers. One yeare in the
Presbyterian time it was discontinued in the civil warres,
and after that the springe shranke up or dried up for some
time ; so afterwards they revived their annual custom, not-
withstanding the power of the parliament and soldiers, and
the salt water returned again and ntill continues. This St.
Eichard was a person of great estate in these parts, and a
briske young fellow that would ride over hedge and ditch,
and at length became a very devout man, and after his
decease was canonized for a saint."
APRIL 7.] HOCK, OE HOKE DAY.
A POPULAR holiday mentioned by Matthew Paris and other
ancient writers. It was usually kept on the Tuesday follow-
ing the second Sunday after Easter Day, and distinguished
by various sportive pastimes, which consisted, according to
Spelman, in the men and women binding each other, and
especially the women the men, and so was called " Binding
Tuesday." Jacob (Law Dictionary, 1797J says that " Hoke-
APRIL 7.] HOCK, OR HOKE PAT. 189
day, or Hock Tuesday (T)ie Martis, quern quindenam Paschce
vocanl), was a day so remarkable that rents were reserved
and payable thereon ; and in the accounts of Magdalen
College, Oxford, there is a yearly allowance pro mulieribus
hockantibus, in some manors of theirs in Hants, where the
men hock the women on Monday, and the contrary on
Tuesday ; the meaning of it is, that on that day the women
in merriment stop the way with ropes, and pull passengers
to them, desiring something to be laid out in pious uses.
The following remarks are taken from Book of Days,
vol. i. p. 499 :
The meaning of the word hoJce or hock seems to be totally
unknown, and none of the derivations yet proposed seem to
be deserving of our consideration.* The custom may be
traced, by its name at least, as far back as the thirteenth
century, and appears to have prevailed in all parts of Eng-
land, but it became obsolete early in the last century. At
Coventry, which was a great place for pageantry, there was
a play or pageant attached to the ceremony, which, under
the title of " The old Coventry play of Hock Tuesday," was
performed before Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Kenil-
worth, in July 1575. It represented a series of combats
between the English and Danish forces, in which twice the
Danes had the better, but at last, by the arrival of the Saxon
women to assist their countrymen, the Danes were overcome,
and many of them were led captive in triumph by the
women. Queen Elizabeth laughed well at this play, and is
said to have been so much pleased with it that she gave the
actors two bucks and five marks in money. The usual
performance of this play had been suppressed in Coventry
* Some have supposed that the term hock-day is equivalent to
" dies irrisionis" or irrisiorius, a day of scorn and triumph, or, as
we now say, "a day of hoaxing" Med. Mm Kalend., 1841, vol. ii.
p. 198. Verstegan derives Hoc-tide from Heughtyde, which, he says,
in the Netherlands means a festival season.
Denne conjectures the name of this festivity to have been derived
from Uockzeit, the German word for a wodding. Skinner mentions a
derivation from the Dutch ho> fren, desidere, and adds, "mallem igitnr
deduccro ab A.S. Heah-tid.'' Keniiett (Pitrcvh. Antiq. p. 495) suggests
the Saxon lieadceg, which answeis to the French haut-jour. See
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. pp. 184-191.
190 HOCK, OR HGKE DAY." [APKIL J.
soon after tlie Reformation, on account of the scenes of riot
which it occasioned.
It will be seen that this Coventry play was founded on
the statement which had found a place in somo of our chro-
nicles as far back as the fourteenth century, that these games
of hock-tide were intended to commemorate the massacre of
the Danes on St. Brice's Day, 1002 ; while others, alleging
the fact that St. Brice's Day is the 13th of November,
suppose it to commemorate the rejoicings which followed
the death of Hardicanute, and the accession of Edward the
Confessor, when the country was delivered from Danish
tyranny. Others, however, and probably with more reason,
think that these are both erroneous explanations ; and this
opinion is strongly supported by the fact that Hock Tuesday
is not a fixed day, but a movable festival, and dependent on
the great Anglo-Saxon pagan festival of Easter, like the
similar ceremony of heaving, still practised on the borders
of Wales on Easter Monday and Tuesday. Such old pagan
ceremonies were preserved among the Anglo-Saxons long
after they became Christians, but their real meaning was
gradually forgotten, and stories and legends, like this of the
Danes, afterwards invented to explain them. It may also bo
regarded as a confirmation of the belief that this festival is
the representation of some feast connected with the pagan
superstitions of our Saxon forefathers, that the money which
was collected was given to the church, and was usually
applied to the reparation oi the church buildings. We can
hardly understand why a collection of money should be thus
made in commemoration of the overthrow of the Danish
influence, but we can easily imagine how, when the festival
was continued by the Saxons as Christians, what had been an
offering to some one of the pagan gods might be turned into
an offering to the church. The entries on this subject in
the old churchwardens' registers of many of our parishes
not only show how generally the custom prevailed, but to
what an extent the middle classes of society took part in it.
In Reading these entries go back to a rather remote date,
and mention collections by men as well as women, while they
seem to show that there the women "hocked," as the phrase
was, on the Monday, and the men on the Tuesday.
A:i::r, y-] HQCK, OB HOKE DAY. 191
In tho registers of 'the parish of St. Laurence, under the
year 1499, we have :
" Item, received of Hock money gaderyd of women, xx 9 -
Item, received of Hock money gaderyd of men, iiij 9 '"
In the parish of St. Giles, under the date 1535 :
" Hoc money gatheryd by the wyves (women), xiij 9 ' ix d- "
In St. Mary's parish, under the year 1559 :
" Hoctyde money, the mens gatheryng, iiij s-
The womens, xij s "
In the "Privy Purse Expenses" of Henry VIII. for the
year 1505, is the following entry :
" May 2. To Lendesay for the wiffs at Grenewiche upon
Hock Monday, 3s. 4d."
Higgins, in his Short View of English History, says that,
" At Hoctide the people go about beating brass instru-
ments, and singing old rhymes in praise of their cruul
ancestors." Dr. Plot says that one of the uses of the money
collected at Hoketyde was the reparation of the several parish
churches where it was gathered. This is confirmed by
extracts from the Lambeth .Boofc. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 189.
BERKSHIRE.
Some singular Hocktide customs observed at Hungerford
are thus described in the Standard of April 14th, 1874 :
These customs arc connected with the Charter for holding
by the Commons the rights of fishing, shooting, and pasturage
of cattle on the lands and property bequeathed to the town
by John O'Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Tho proceedings
commenced on Friday evening with a supper, at which the
fare was macaroni, Welsh rare-bits, watercress, salad, and
punch. To-day John 0' Gaunt's Day known in the town
as " Tuth " Day, the more important business of the season
is transacted at the Town Hull, from the window of which
the town-crier blows the famous old horn, which has done
Bcrvice on these occasions for many long years. The tything
or " tuth " men thereupon proceed to the high constable's
192 ST. GEORGE'S DAY. [APRIL 23.
residence, to receive their " tuth " poles, which are usually
decorated with ribbons and flowers. The first business of
these officials, who are generally tradesmen of the borough,
is to visit the various schools and ask a holiday for the
children ; then to call at each house and demand a toll from
the gentlemen, and a kiss from the ladies, and distribute
oranges ad libitum throughout the day, in expectation of
which a troop of children follow them through the streets,
which are for several hours kept alive by the joyous shouts
and huzzas. The high constable is elected at the annual
court held to-day, and one of the curious customs is the
sending out by that officer's wife of a bountiful supply of
cheesecakes among the ladies of the place.
APRIL 20.] WORCESTERSHIRE.
The 20th of April is the great fair-day of Tenbury, and
there is a belief in the county that the cuckoo is never heard
till Tenbury fair-day, or after Pershore fair-day, which is
the 26th of June.* N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. i. p. 429.
APRIL 23.] ST. GEORGE'S DAY.
ST. GEORGE'S DAY, though now passed over without notice,
was formerly celebrated by feasts of cities and corporations,
as we learn from Johan Bale, who, speaking of the neglect
of public libraries, has the following curious apostrophe :
" cyties of Englande, whose glory standeth more in
bellye chere then in the serche of wysdome godlye. How
cometh it that neyther you, nor your ydell masmongers, have
* Formerly there prevailed a singular custom peculiar to the county
of Shropshire, called the " cuckoo-ale," which was celebrated in the
month of May, and sometimes near the latter end of April. As soon as
the first cuckoo had been heard all the labouring classes left off work,
even if in the middle of the day, and the time was devoted to mirth
nnd jollity over what was called the cuckoo-ale. Morning Post, May
17th, 1821.
APEIL 23.] ST. GEORGE'S DAT. 193
regarded thys most worthy commodyte of your countrey ? I
moan the conservacyon of your antiquytees, and of the worthy
labours of your lerned men. I thynke the renowne of suche
a notable acte wolde have muche longar endured than of all
your belly bankettes and table tryumphes, eyther yet of your
newly purcluised hawles to kepe St. Georges feast in."
Preface to the Laboryvuse Journey and Serche of John Lyelande
for Englande's Anliquitees in Lives of Leland, Hearne, and
Wood, vol. i., sign C.
Among courtiers and people of fashion blue coats were
worn on this day. Captain Face, a character in the Earn
Alley, alludes to the custom among the knights :
" Do you bandy tropes ? By Dis I will be knight,
We ar a blue coat on gre it St. George's Day,
And with my fellows drive you all from Paul's."
Dodsley'a t,ld Plays, vol. v. p. 486.
1 n Epigram 33 of The Seconds Bowie, by Thomas Freeman,
4 to, lf>14, quoted also in Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. xii. p. 398,
it> this dibtich :
" With's eorum nomine keeping greater sway,
Thau a Court blew coat on St. George's Day."
Dr. Forster, in his Perennial Calendar (1824, p. 185), men-
tioning an allusion to this dre^s in Reed's Old Plays (vul.
xii.), observes that it was prol/ably because blue was the
fashionable colour of Britain, over which St. George presides,
and not in imitation of the clothing of the fields in blue, by
the flowering of the blue-bells, as many have supposed.
Tiie king's spurs became the fee of the choristers at Windsor
on installations and feasts on St. George's Day. In the
" Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VII." is an entry under the
year 1495 :
"Oct. 1. AtWiudesor. To the children for the spoures."
A similar disbursement occurs thrice in the Privy Purse
Expenses of Henry VIII. in ir)30. Med.^Eci Kalend. vol. i.
p. 214.
Strype, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii.
p. 3), says, "April 23rd [1557], being St. George's Day, tho
King's grace went a procession at Whitehall, through the
o
194 ST. GEORGE'S DAT. ["APRIL 23.
hall, and round about the court hard by the gate, certain
of the Knights of the Garter accompanying him, viz., the
Lord Mountagii, the Lord Admiral St. Anthony St. Leger,
the Lord Cobham, the Lord Dacre, Sir Thomas Cheyne, the
Lord Paget, the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Arundel, the
Lord Treasurer, and Secretary Petre, in a robe of crimson
velvet, with the garter embroidered on his shoulder (as Chan-
cellor of the Garter). One bare a rod of black, and a doctor
the book of records. Then went all the heralds, and then
the Lord Talb >t bare the sword, and after him the sergeant-
at-arms. An<l then came the king, the Queen's grace looking
out of a window beside the court on the garden side. And
the bishop of Winchester did execute the mass, wearing his
mitre. The same afternoon were chosen three Knights of the
Garter, viz., the Lord Fitz-Water, the deputy of Ireland ;
Lord Grey of Wilton, deputy of G uynes ; and Sir Robert
Rochester, comptroller of the Queen's house. After, the
duke of Muscovia (as that ambassador was usually termed)
came through the hall and the guard stood on a row, in their
rich coats, with halberts ; .and so passed up to the Queen's
chamber, with divers aldermen and merchants. And after
came down again to the chapel to evensong, to see the cere-
monies. And immediately came the king, (the Lord Strange
bearing the sword), and the Knights of the Garter, to even-
song, which done, they went all up to the chamber of presence.
After canie the ambassador, and took his barge to London.*
BERKSHIRE.
The following is a curious account of the expenses for
decorating a figure of St. George on this day, taken from
Coates's History of Heading, p. 221 :
" Charge of Saynt George.
"First payd for iij caffes-skyues, and ij horsc-skynnee,
iij 9 ' vj dt
" Payd for makeying the loft that Saynt George standeth
upon, vj d '
" Payd for ij plonks for the same loft, viij d '
* See also Machyn's Diary, 1848, p. 195.
APRIL 23.] ST. GEORGE'S DAT. 195
" Payd for iiij pesses of clowt letlier, ij s- ij d>
" Payd for makeyng the yron that the hors resteth upon, vj d -
" Payd for makeyng of Saynt George's cote, viij d -
" Payd to John Paynter for his labour, xlv 8 '
" Payd for roses, bells, gyrdle, sword, and dager, iy'* iiij d '
" Payd for settyng on the bells and roses, iij d<
" Payd for nay Us necessarye thereto, x d> ob."
CHESHIRE.
In a pamphlet entitled Certayne Collections of Anchiante
Times, concerninge the Anchante and Famous Cittie of Chester
(already alluded to) and published in Lysous' Magna Bri-
tannia, 1810, vol. ii. pt. ii. pp.' 588-590, is the following
account of races at one time annually held at Chester
en St. George's Day: In A.D. 1609, Mr. William Lester,
mercer, being mayor of Chester, one Mr. Robert Amerye,
ironmonger, sometime sherife of Chester (A.D. 1608), he,
with the assent of the mayor and cittie, at his own costc
chiefly, as I conceive, caused three silver cuppes of good
value to be made, the whicho saide silver cuppes were,
upon St. George's Daye, for ever to be thus disposed.
All gentlemen that would bringo their horses to the Rood-
dee that daye, and there rune, that horse which with spede
did over-rune the rest, should have the beste cuppe there
presently delivered, and that horse which came seconde, nexte
the firste, before the rest, had the secoude cuppe there
also delivered, and for the third cuppe it was to be rune for
at the ringe, by any gentleman that would rune for the same
upon the said Rood-dee, and upon St. George's Daye, being
thus decreed, that every horse putt in soe much money as
made the value of the cupps or bells, and had the money,
which horses did winno the same, and the use of the cupps,
till that day twelve month, being in bond to deliver in the
cupps that daye, soe also for the cuppe for the ringe, which
was yearly continued accordingly untill the yeare of our Lord
1623 ; John Brereton, inn-holder, being mayor of Chester, he
altered the same after this manner and caused the three
cupps to be sould, and caused more money to be gathered
and added, soe that the intereste thereof woulde make one
o 2
196 ST. GEORGE'S DAY. [APRIL 23.
faire silver cuppe, of the value of 8, as I suppose, it may
be more worth, and the race to be altered, viz., from beyonde
the New-tower a great distance, and soe to rune five times
from that place rownd about tho Hood-dee, and he that
overcame all the rest the last course, to have the cup freely
for ever, then and there delivered, which is continued to this
daye. But here 1 must not omitt the charge, and the solem-
nitie made, the first St. George's daye ; he had a poet, one Mr.
Davies, who made speeches and poetic-ale verses, which were
delivered at the high crosse before the mayor and aldermen,
with shewes of his invention,* which booke was imprinted and
* The following description of this show, written as it appears by
Mr. Amorye himself, is copie.l fiom some Cheshire collections, among
the Harleian MSS. No. 2150, f. 3:>ti. It appears that instead of three
cups, as stated by Mr. Rogers, the prizes that year were two bells and
one cup :
" The manner of the showe. that is, if God spare life and health,
shall be seene by all the bt -honlders upon St. George's Day next, bung
tht) 23rd April, 1610, and the same with more addytions to continue,
being for the kyng's crowne and dig nit ie, and the homage to the Kyng
and Prynce, with that noble victor St. George, to be continued for ever.
God save the Kyng.
" Item. Two men in greene liveries set with worke upon their other
habit, with blacke hoare, und blacke beards, very ougly to behouldc,
and garlands upon their heads, with firworks to scatter abroad, to
maintaine way for the rest of the showe.
" It. One on horseback, with the buckler and head-pc ece of St. George,
and three men to guide him, with a drum before him, for the honor of
En gland e.
" It. One on horsebacke, called Fame, with a trumpet in his hand, and
three men to guide him, and he to make an oration, with his habit iu
pompe.
" It. One called Mercury fo descend from above in a cloude, his wings
and all other matters, in pompe, and heavenly musicke with him; and
after his oration spoken, to ryde on horsebacke, with his musicke before
hym.
"It. One on horsebacke, with the Kynge's arms upon a shield, in
pompe.
"It. One called Chester, with an oration, and drums before him, his
habit in pompe.
" It. One on horsebacke, conteening the Kynge's crowne and dignity,
with an oration in pompe.
' It. One on horsebaeke with a bell, dedicated to the kynge, being
double-gilt with the kynge's armes upon it, carried upon a septer in
pompe, and before him a noise of trumpets, in pompe.
" It One on horsebacke, with au oration for the Pryuce, hi pompe.
APRIL 23.] ST. GEORGE'S DAT. 197
presented to that famous Prince Henry, eldest sonne to the
blessed King James, of famous memorie. Alsoe, he caused a
man to go upon the spire of St. Peter's steeple in Chester,
and by the fane, at the same time he sounded a drum,
and displayed a haner upon the top of the same spire. And
this was the original of St. George's race, with the change
thereof.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
At Leicester, the " Eiding of the George" was one of the
principal solemnities of the town. The inhabitants were
" It. One on horsebacke, with a bell, dedicated to the Prynce, his
arnies upon it, in pompe, and to be carried ou a septer, and before the
bell, a noyse of trumpets.
"It. One on horsebacke, with a cup for St. George, carried upon a
Bepter, in pompe.
" It. One on horeebacke, with an oration for St. George, in pompe.
" It. St. George himself on horseback, in complete armor, with hia
stag and buckler, in pompe. and before him a noyse of drums.
" It One on horsebacke, called Peace, with an oration, in pompe.
" It. One on horsebacke, called Plentye, with an oration, in pompe.
" It. One on horsebucke, culled Envy, with un oration, whom Love
will oomfort, in pompr.
" It. One on horseback, called Love, with an oration to maintaine
all, in porn; ><.
44 It. The Maior and his bretheien, nt the pentes of this citye, with
ther best npparell, and in scnrlet; and all the orations to lie made
before him. and scene at the hiirh crosse, as they passe to the Roodye,
wher by G< nt >hall be runne fr by thirr horses, for the two bells on a
double static and the eup to be runne for at the rynge in some place by
Gent and with a greater mater of the showe by armes, and shott, and
with more than 1 can recyte, with a banket after in the Pentis to make
welcome the Gent ; and when all is done, then judge what you have
seen, and so speak on your mynd, us you fynd the
" Actor for the presente
"Robert Amorye."
" Amor is love, and Amorye is his name,
That did begin this pomp and princelye game ;
The charge is great to him that all begun,
Who now is satisfied to see all so well done."
Notwithstanding Mr. Amorye had entertained the citizens so well
in 1610, it was ordered in 1612 '-that the sports and recreations used
on St. George's Day should in future be done by the direction of
the Mayor and citizens, and not of any private person." Corporation
.Record*
198 ST. GEORGE'S DAY. [APRIL 23.
bound to attend the Mayor, or to " ride against the king," as
it is expressed, or for " riding the George" or for any other
thing to the pleasure of the Mayor and worship of the town.
St. George's horse, harnessed, used to stand at the end of
St. George's Chapel, in St. Martin's Church, Leicester.
Fosbroke, Diet, of Antiq.
IRELAND.
St. George's Day was at one time celebrated at Dublin
with high veneration. In the Chain-book of the city of
Dublin are several entries to that purpose :
" Item. 1. It was ordered in maintenance of the pageant of
St. George, that the Mayor of the foregoing year should find
the Emperor and Empress with their train and followers
well apparelled and accoutered, that is to say, the Emperor
attended with two doctors, and the Empress with two knights,
and two maidens richly apparelled to bear up the train of her
gown.
" Item 2. The Mayor for the time being was to find St.
George a horse, and the wardens to pay 3s. \d. for Ids wages
that day. The bailiffs for the time being were to find four
horses, with men mounted on them, well apparelled, to bear
the pole-axe, the standard, and the several swords of the
Emperor and St. George.
" Item 3. The ehL'r master of the guild was to find a maiden
well attired to lead the dragon, and the clerk of the market
was to find a golden line for the dragon.
" Item 4. The elder warden was to find for St. George four
trumpets ; but St. George himself was to pay their wages.
" Item 5. The younger warden was obliged to find the King
of Dele and the Queen of Dele, as also two knights, to lead
the Queen of Dele, and two maidens to bear the train of her
gown, all being entirely clad in black apparel. Moreover,
ho was to cause St. George's Chapel to be well hung in black,
and completely apparelled to every purpose, and was to
provide it with cushions, rushes, and other necessaries for
the festivity of that day." Harris, History of Dublin, 1766,
p. 146.
APRIL 24.] BT. MARK'S EVK. 199
APBIL 24.] ST. MARK'S EVE.
IN Poor Robin's Almanac for 1770 is the following:
" On St. Mark's Eve, at twelve o'clock,
The fair mnid will watrh her smock,
To find her husband in the <lark,
By praying unto good St. Mark."
Ass-ridlin is another superstition practised in the northern
counties. The ashes being riddled or sifted on the hearth,
if any of the family be to die within the year the mark of
the shoe, it is supposed, will be impressed on the ashes :
and many a mischievous wight has made some of the cre-
dulous family miserable by slyly coming down stairs, after
the rest have retired to bed, and marking the ashes with the
shoe of one of the members. Jamieson, Etymol. DicL
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
On St. Mark's Eve it is customary in this county for young
maidens to make the dumb-cake, a mystical ceremony which
has lost its origin. The number of the party never exceeds
three ; they meet in silence to make the cake, and as soon as
the clock strikes twelve, they each break a portion off to eat,
and when done they walk up to bed backwards without
speaking a word, for if one speuks the spell is broken. Those
that are to be married see the likeness of their sweethearts
hurrying after them, as if wishing to catch them before they
get into bed ; but the maids being apprised of this beforehand
(by the cautions of old women who have tried it), take care to
unpin their clothes before they start, and are ready to slip
into bed before they are caught by the pursuing shadow. If
nothing is seen, the desired token may be a knocking at the
doors, or a rustling in the house, as soon as they have
retired. To be convinced that it comes from nothing else but
the desired cause, they are always particular in turning out the
cats and dogs before the ceremony begins. Those that are to
die unmarr.ud neither see nor hour anything ; but they have
terrible dreams, which are sure to be of newly-made graves,
200 ST. MARK'S DAT. [ APRIL 25.
winding-sheets, and churchyards, and of rings that will fit
no finger, or which, if they do, crumble into dust as soon as
put on. There is another dumb ceremony, of eating the
yolk of an egg in silence and then filling the shell with salt,
when the sweetheart is sure to make his visit in some way or
other before morning. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 523.
YORKSHIRE.
In Yorkshire it is usual for the common people to sit
and watch in the church-porch from eleven o'clock at
night until one in the morning. In the third year, for
this must be done thrice, it is supposed that they will see
the ghosts of all those who are to die the next year pass
into the church. When any one sickens, who is thought
to have been seen in this manner, it is presently whispered
about that he will not recover, for that such a one who has
watched St. Mark's Eve, says so. The superstition is in such
force that, if the patients themselves hear of it, they almost
despair of recovery, and many are actually said to have died
by the influence of their imaginations on this occasion.
""Tis now,' replied the village belle,
' St. Mark's mysterious Eve ;
And all that old traditions tell
I tremblingly believe.
'How, when the midnight signal tolls,
Along tlie churchyard green
A mournful train of sentenced souls
In winding-sheets are seen !
'The ghosts of all whom Death shall doom
Within the coming year,
In pale procession walk the gloom
Amid the silence drear.'"
Brand, Fop Antiq. 18i9, vol. i. p. 192; J. Montgomery,
Vigil of St. Murk.
APRIL 25.] ST. MAEK'S DAY.
THIS day is distinguished in old kalendars by a second
appellation, Litania Major, which had reference to the prayers,
and solemn processions of covered crosses on this day. It was
APRIL 25.] ST. MARK'S DAY. 201
frequently confounded with the processions of the Rogations,
which depended upon the movable feast of the Ascension,
and were also called Litanies, though it does not appear that
the processions of St. Mark were ever called Rogations. A
mistake of this kind was committed by the author of a Saxon
homily on the Litania Major, by applying to it the term
Gang Days, the Saxon name of the three davs preceding
Holy Thursday. Med. Mti Kalend. vol. i. p. 219.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
St. Mark's Day is observed at Alnwick by a ridiculous
custom in connection with the admission of freemen of the
common, alleged to have reference to a visit paid by King
John to Alnwick. It is said that this monarch, when
attempting to ride across Alnwick Moor, then called the
Forest of Aidon, fell with his horse into a bog or morass
where he stuck so fast that he was with great difficulty
pulled out by some of his attendants. Incensed against the
inhabitants of that town for not keeping the roads over the
moor in better repair, or at least for not placing some post
or mark pointing out the particular spots which were
impassable, he inserted in their charter, both by way of
memento and punisbment, that for the future all new
created freemen should on St. Mark's Day pass on foot
through that morass, called the Freemen's Well. In obe-
dience to this clause of their charter, when any new freeman
is to be made, a small rill of water which passes through
the morass is kept dammed up for a day or two previous to
that on which this ceremonial is to be exhibited, by which
means the bog becomes so thoroughly liquified that a
middle sized. man is chin deep in mud and water in passing
over it. Besides which, not unfrequeutly, holes and trenches
are dug ; in these, filled up aud rendered invisible by the
liquid mud, several freemen have fallen down and been in
great danger of suffocation. In later times, in proportion
as the new-made freemen are more or less popular the
passage is rendered more or less difficult.
Early in the morning of St. Mark's Day the houses of
the new freemen are distinguished by a holly-trco planted
202 ST. MARK'S DAY. [APRIL 25.
before each door, as the signal for their friends to assemble
and make merry with them. About eight o'clock the candi-
dates for the franchise, being mounted on horseback and
armed with swords, assemble in the market place, where
they are joined by the chamberlain and bailiff of the Duke
of Northumberland, attended by two men armed with
halberds. The young freemen arranged in order, with
music playing before them and accompanied by a numerous
cavalcade, march to the west end of the town, where they
deliver their swords. They then proceed under the guidance
of the moorgrieves through a part of their extensive domain,
till they reach the ceremonial well. The sons of the oldest
freemen have the honour of taking the first leap. On the
signal being given they pass through the bog, each being
allowed to use the method and pace which to him shall seem
best, some running, some going slow, and some attempting to
jump over suspected places, but all in their turns tumbling
and wallowing like porpoises at sea, to the great amusement
of the populace ; who usually assemble in vast numbers on
this occasion. After this aquatic excursion, they remount
their horses and proceed to perambulate the remainder of
their large common, of which they are to become free by
their achievement. In passing the open part of the common
the young freemen are obliged to alight at intervals, and
place a stone on a cairn as a mark of their boundary, till
they come near a high hill called the Twiulaw or Toun-
law Cairns, when they set off at full speed, and contest the
honour of arriving first on the hill, where the names of the
freemen of Alnwick are called over. When arrived about
two miles from the town they generally arrange themselves
in order and, to prove their equestrian abilities, set off with
great speed and spirit over bogs, ditches, rocks, and rugged
declivities till they arrive at Eottenrow Tower on the
confines of the town, the foremost claiming the honour
of what is termed " winning the boundaries," and of being
entitled to the temporary triumphs of the day. Having
completed the circuits the young freemen, with sword in
hand, enter the town in triumph,* preceded by music, and
* It appears by a traditionary account that at one time they were
met by women dressed up with ribbons., bells, and garlands of gum-
APRIL 25.] WALKING THE FAIR. 203
accompanied by a large concourse of people in carriages,
&c. Having paraded the streets, the new freemen and tlie
other equestrians enter the Castle, where they are liberally
regaled, and drink the health of the lord and lady of the
manor. The newly-created burgesses then proceed in a body
to their respective houses, and around the holly-tree drink
a friendly glass with each other. After this they proceed
to the market-place, where they close the ceremony over an
enlivening bowl of punch. Antiquarian Repertory, 1809, vol.
iv. p. 387 ; History of Alnwick, 1822, pp. 304-309 ; Gent.
Mag., 1756, vol xxvi. p. 73.
In the Lonsdale Magazine (1828, vol. iii. p. 312)
occurs the following: On Wednesday (St. Murk's Day)
twelve persons were made free of the Borough of Alnwick,
by scrambling through a muddy pool, and perambulating the
boundaries of the moor.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
At the fairs held in Wednesbury on the 25th of April and
23rd of July (old style) a custom prevailed for many years
called " Walking the Fair." The ceremonies connected with
it were conducted in the following manner : On the morning
of the fair the beadle appeared in the market-place dressed
for the occasion, and wearing as badges of his office a bell,
a long pike, &c. To him assembled a number of the prin-
cipal inhabitants of the parish, often with a band of music.
They then marched in procession, headed by the beadle,
through different parts of the town ; called at tho Elephant
and Castle, in the High Bullen. drank two tankards of ale,
and then returned into the market-place where they quenched
their thirst again with the same kind of bevi-rage. After
this they dined together at one of the public-houses. The
expenses incurred in this " Walking tho Fair " were defrayed
by the parish funds. Hist, of Wednesbury, 1851, p. 153.
flowers, who welcomed tliem with dancing and singing; they were
called timber-units, probably a c..rrupti.'ii of timbrtl-w.,itg, players on
timi.rels, waits 1 eing an old appellation for those who play on musical
instruments in the street.
204 EOGATION SUNDAY. [APRIL 26.
APRIL 26.] EOGATION SUNDAY.
EOGATION Sunday received and retains its title from the
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately following
it, which are called Rogation Days, derived from the Lat n
rogare, to beseech ; the earliest Christians having appro-
priated extraordinary prayers and supplications for those
three days, as a preparation for the devout observance of
our Saviour's Ascension on the day next succeeding to
them, denominated Holy Thursday, or Ascension Day.
So early as the year 550, Claudius Mamertus, bishop of
Vienne in France, extended the object of Eogation Days,
before then solely applied to a preparation for the ensuing
festival of the Ascension, by joining to that service other
solemnities, in humble supplication for a blessing on the
fruits of the earth at this season blossoming forth. Whether,
as is asserted by some authors, Mamertus had cause to
apprehend that any calamity might befall them by blight
or otherwise at this particular period, or merely adapted
a new Christian rite on the E ,man terminalia, is a matter
of dispute. Sidonius, bishop of Clermont, soon followed the
example, and the first Council of Orleans, held in the sixth
century, confirmed its observance throughout the Church.
The whole week in which these days happen is styled
Eogation Week ; and in some parts it is still known by the
other names of Cross Week, Grass Week, and Gang or
Procession Week : Eogation, in token of the extraordinary
praying ; Cross, because anciently that symbol was borne
by the priest who officiated at the ceremonies of this season ;
Grass, from the peculiar abstinence observed, such as salads,
green-sauce, &c., then substituted for flesh ; and Gang, or
Procession, from the accustomed perambulations. Supplica-
tions and abstinence are yet enjoined by the Eeformed
Church, and also such part of the ceremony of the pro-
cessions as relates to the perambulating of the circuit of
parishes, conformably to the regulation made in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. One of our church homilies of the day is
composed particularly for this occasion. " The people shall
ABPIL 26.] ROGATION WEEK. 205
once a year, at the time accustomed," says the injunction of
that Sovereign, " with the curate and substantial men of the
parish, walk about the parishes as they were accustomed,
aud at their return to church make their common prayers ;
provided that the curate in the said common perambulations,
as heretofore in the days of Rogations, at certain convenient
places, shall admonish the people to give thanks to God, in
tlie beholding of God's benefits, for the increase and abun-
dance of his fruits upon the face of the earth, with the
saying of Psalm civ., Benedic, anima mea, &c. : at which
time also the same minister shall inculcate this and
such like sentences, " Cursed be he which translateth the
bounds and dales of his neighbour," or such other words of
prayer as shall be hereafter appointed." The bearing of
willow wands makes part of this ceremony.
Before the Reformation, the processions in this week were
observed with every external mark of devotion ; the Cross
was borne about in solemn pomp, to which the people bowed
the ready knee ; with other rites considered of too super-
stitious a nature to warrant their continuance. Brady,
Clavis Calendaria, 1815, vol. i. p. 348.
BEDFOKDSHIRB.
A certain estate in Husborne Crawley has to pay 4Z. on
Rogation Day, once in seven years, to defray the expenses of
perambulating, and keeping up the boundaries of the parish.
Old English Customs and Charities, p. 116.
DORSETSHIRE.
On Monday in Rogation week was formerly held in the
town of Shaftesbury or Shaston a festival called the Bezant,
a festival so ancient that no authentic record of its origin
exists.
The borough of Shaftesbury stands upon the brow of a
lofty hill, and until lately, owing to its situation, was so
deficient in water that its inhabitants were indebted for a
supply of this necessary article of life to the little hamlet of
Eninore Green, which lies in the valley below. From two
206 KOGATION WEEK. [APRIL 26.
or three wells or tanks, situate in tlie village, the water with
which the town was provided was carried up the then pre-
cipitous road, on the backs of horses and donkeys, and sold
from door to door.
The Bezant was an acknowledgment on the part of the
mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough to the lord of
the manor of Mitcombe, of which Enmore Green forms a part,
for the permission to use this privilege ; no charter or deed,
however, exists among their archives, as to the commencement
of the custom, neither are there any records of interest con-
nected with its observances beyond the details of the expenses
incurred from year to year. On the morning of Eogation
Monday, the mayor and aldermen accompanied by a lord and
lady appointed for the occasion, and by their mace-bearers
carrying the Bezant, went in procession to Enmore Green.
The lord and lady performed at intervals, as they passed
along a traditional kind of dance to the sound of violins ;
the steward of the manor meeting them at the green, the
mayor offered for his acceptance, as the representative of
his lord, the Bezant, a calf's head, uncooked, a gallon of
ale, and two penny loaves, with a pair of gloves edged with
gold lace, and gave permission to use the wells, as of old,
for another year. The steward, having accepted the gifts,
retaining all for his own use, except the Bezant, which he
graciously gave back, accorded the privilege, and the ceremony
ended.
The Bezant, which gives its name to the festival is some-
what difficult to describe.* It consisted of a sort of trophy,
constructed of ribbons, flowers, and peacock's feathers,
fastened to a frame, about four feet high, round which were
hung jewels, coins, medals, and other things of more or less
value, lent for the purpose by persons interested in the
matter ;f and many traditions prevailed of the exceeding
value to which in earlier times it sometimes reached, and of
* Bezant being the name of an ancient gold coin, the ceremony
probably took its name from such a piece of money being originally
tendered to the lord of the m-mor. Booh of Days, vol. i. p. 585.
t Hutchins says this beson or byzant was so richly adorned with
plate and jewels, borrowed from the neighbouring gentry, as to be
worth no less than 1500J. History of Dorset, 1803, vol. ii. p. 425.
APRIL 26.] ROGATION WEEK. 207
the active part which persons of the highest rank in the
neighbourhood took in its annual celebration.
Latterly, however, the festival sadly degenerated, and in
the year 1830, the town and the manor passing into the hands
of the same proprietor, it ceased altogether, and is now one
of those many observances which are numbered with the past.
If this had not happened, however, the necessity for it no
longer exists. The ancient borough is no longer indebted
to the lord of the manor for its water, for, through the
liberality of the Marquis of Westminster, its present owner,
the town is bountifully supplied with the purest water from
an artesian well sunk at his expense. The Book of Days,
vol. i. p. 585 ; Hutchins, History of Dorset, 1803, vol. ii.
p. 425.
KENT.
In Rogation week, about Keston and Wickham, a number
of young men meet together and with a most hideous noise
run into the orchards, and, encircling each tree, pronounce
these words :
" Stand fast root ; hear well top ;
God send us a youling sop !
Every twig, apple liig;
Every bough, apple enow."
For this incantation the confused rabble expect a gratuity
in money, or drink, which is no less welcome ; but if they
are disappointed of both, they with great solemnity anathe-
matize the owners and trees with altogether as insignificant a
curse. It seems highly probable that this custom has arisen
from the ancient one of perambulation among the heathen,
when they made prayers to the gods for the use and blessing
of the fruits coming up, with thanksgiving for those of the
preceding year ; and as the heathens supplicated JEulns, god
of the winds, for his favourable blasts, so in this custom they
still retained his name with a very small variation : this
ceremony is called youling, and the word is often used in their
invocations. Hasted, History of Rent, vol. i. p. 109.
208 EOGATION WEEK. [APRIL 26.
OXFORDSHIRE.
At Stanlake, says Plot, the minister of the parish, in his
procession in Bogation Week, reads the Gospel at a barrel's
head, in the cellar of the Chequer Inn, in that town, where,
according to some, there was formerly a hermitage, according
to others a cross, at which they read a Gospel in former
times ; over which the house, and particularly the cellar,
being built, they are forced to continue the custom. History
of Oxfordshire, 1705, p. 207.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Among the local customs which formerly prevailed at
Wolverhampton may be noticed that which was popularly
called " Processioning." Many of the older inhabitants can
well remember when the sacrist, resident prebendaries, and
members of the choir assembled at morning prayers on
Monday and Tuesday in Eogation Week, with the charity
children bearing long poles clothed with all kinds of flowers
then in season, and which were afterwards carried through
the streets of the town with much solemnity, the clergy,
singing-men and boys, dressed in their sacred vestments,
closing the procession, and chanting, in a grave and appro-
priate melody, the Canticle, Benedicite, omnia opera, &c. This
ceremony, innocent at least, and not illaudable in itself, was
of high antiquity, taking probably its origin in the Koman
offerings of the Primitite, from which (after being rendered
conformable to our purer worship) it was adapted by the
first Christians, and handed down, through a succession of
ages, to modern times. The idea was, no doubt, that of re-
turning thanks to God, by whose goodness the face of nature
was renovated, and fresh means provided for the sustenance
and comfort of his creatures. It was discontinued about
1765.
The boundaries of the township and parish of Wolver-
hampton are in many points marked out by what are called
Gospel trees, from the custom of having the Gospel read under
or near them by the clergyman attending the parochial peram-
APRIL 29.] ASCENSION EVB. 209
bulations. Those near the town were visited for the same
purpose by the processioners before mentioned, and are still
preserved with the strictest care and attention. Shaw,
Hixtory of Staffordshire, vol. ii. part i. p. 165.
< Thus Herrick in his Hesperides says :
"Dearest, bury me
Under that Holy-Oke, or Gospel-Tree,
Where (though thou seest not) thou niay'st think upon
Me, when thou yerely go'st procession."
APRIL 29.] ASCENSION EVE.
YORKSHIRE.
The following extract is taken from the Whifby Gazette of
May 28th 1870 :
THE PENNY HEDGE. The formality of planting the penny
hedge in the bed of the River Esk, on Ascension Eve, was
performed on Wednesday last by Mr. Isaac Herbert, who has
for fifty years discharged this onerous duty. The " nine stakes,"
Ci the nine strout-stowers," and the "nine gedders" have all
been once more duly " planted." The ceremony was witnessed
by a number of ladies and gentlemen, and that highly im-
portant functionary, the bailifl' of the lord of the manor, Mr.
George Welburn, of Fylingdales, was present, and blew the
usual malediction, " Out on you ! Out on you ! Out on you !"
through the same identical horn which seventeen centuries
ago roused with its lugubrious notes, on Ascension Eve, our
ancestors from their peaceful slumbers. Whether the wood was
cut at the u stray head," and with a " knife of a penny price,"
we are not able to say, but a good hedge was planted ; and.
although each stake may not be quite " a yard from another,"
the hedge will doubtless be of such strength as to withstand
the effect of the prescribed number of tides. See Young's
History of Whitby.
Some time in the spring, says a writer in the Gent.
Mag. (1790, vol. Ix. p. 719), I think the day before Holy
Thursday, all the Clergy, attended by the singing men and
210 ASCENSION DAY. [ArRIL 30.
boys of the choir, perambulate the town (Ripon) in their
canonicals, singing hymns, and the blue-coat charity-boys
follow singing, with green boughs in their hands.
APRIL 30.] ASCENSION DAY.
In England Ascension Day has been known as " Bounds
Thursday," from beating the bounds of the parish, transferred
by a corruption of Rogation processions to this day. Kalendar
of English Church, 1865, p. 72.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
In the parish of Edgcott there was about an acre of land,
let at 8Z, a year, called " Gang Monday land," which was left
to the parish officers to provide cakes and beer for those who
took part in the annual perambulation of the parish.
At Clifton Reynes, in the same county, a bequest of land
for a similar purpose directs that one small loaf, a piece of
cheese, and a pint of ale should be given to every married
person, and half a pint of ale to every unmarried person
resident in Clifton, when they walked the parish boundaries
in Rogation Week. Old English Customs and Charities,
pp. 120, 122.
CHESHIRE.
Pennant, in his Tour from Chester to London (1811,
p. 40), tells us that on Ascension Day the old inhabitants
of Nantwich piously sang a hymn of thanksgiving for the
blessing of the Brine. A very ancient pit, called the Old
Brine, was also held in great veneration, and till within
these few years was annually on this festival decked with
flowers and garlands, and was encircled by a JQvial band of
young people, celebrating the day with song and daucc.
Aubrey (in MS. Lansd. 231) says, in Cheshire, when they
went in perambulation, they did blesse the springs, i.e. they
did read & gospel at them, and did believe the water was
the better.
Formerly there existed at Frodsham the following cus-
APRIL 30.] ASCENSION DAT. 211
torn : In the walking of the boundaries of the parish the
" men of Frodsham " passed, across the brook dividing it
from Hclsby (then in the adjoining parish of Durham), the
Frodshum banner to the " men of Helsby," who in their
turn passed over the Helsby banner.
DERBYSHIRE.
One of the prettiest customs of the county of Derby is
tliat of well-dressing on Holy Thursday or Ascension Day
at Tissington, near Dovedale. In the village are five springs
or wells, and these are decorated with flowers, arranged in
the most beautiful devices. Boards are cut into arches,
pediments, pinnacles, and other ornamental forms, and are
covered with moist clay to the thickness of about half-an-
inch ; the flowers are cut off their stems and impressed into
the clay as closely together as possible, forming mottoes,
borders, and other devices ; these are then placed over the
wells, and it is impossible to conceive a more beautiful
appearance than they present, the water gurgling from
beneath them, and overhung by the fine foliage of the
numerous evergreens and forest trees by which they are
surrounded. There is one particular variety of the double
daisy known to gardeners as the Tissiugton daisy, which
appears almost peculiar to the place, and is in much repute
for forming the letters of the texts and mottoes, with which
the wells are adorned. The day is observed as a complete
holiday, and the festival attracts a considerable number of
visitors from all the neighbouring towns and villages.
Divine Service is performed in the Church, and on its con-
clusion the minister and congregation join in procession and
visit each welL A portion of Scripture is read at each, and
a psalm or appropriate hymn is sung. The whole of the
wells being visited, and a prayer oft'ered up, the company
separate and, from the absence of public-houses in the village,
spend the rest of the day in temperate enjoyment. The
same custom was observed at Brewood and Bilbrook, in the
County of Stafford. Gent. Mag. 1794, Ixiv. pp. 115, 226 ;
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 205 ; vide Times,
May 19th, 1874.
p 2
212 ASCENSION DAY. [APRIL 30.
DEVONSHIRE.
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag. (1787, vol. Ivii, p. 718),
says : It is the custom in many villages in the neighbourhood
of Exeter " to hail the Lamb," upon Ascension morn. That
the figure of a lamb actually appears in the east upon this
morning is the popular persuasion ; and so deeply is it
rooted, that it has frequently resisted (even in intelligent
minds) the force of the strongest argument.
At Exeter, says Heath in his Account of tlie Islands of
Stilly (1750, p. 128), the boys have a custom of throwing
water, that is, of damming up the channel in the streets, at
going the bounds of the several parishes in the city, and of
splashing the watur upon the people passing by. Neighbours
as well as strangers, are forced to compound hostilities by
giving the boys of each parish money to pass without duck-
ing ; each parish asserting its own prerogative in this respect.
ESSEX.
The Oyster Fishery has always formed a valuable part of
the privileges and trading property of the town of Colchester.
Richard I. granted to the burgesses the fishery of the River
Colne, from the North Bridge as far as Westuesse ; and this
grant was confirmed to them by subsequent charters, especially
that of Edward IV. This fishery includes not merely the
plain course of the Colne, but all the creeks, &c., with which
it communicates : that is to say, the entire Colne Water, as it
is commonly called. It is, moreover, proved by records
that the burgesses of Colchester are legally entitled to the
sole right of fishing in this water, to the exclusion of all
others not licensed and authorized by them ; " and have, and
ever had, the full, sole, and absolute power to have, take,
and dispose of to their own use, all oysters and other fish
within the said river or water." There are some parishes
adjoining the water whose inhabitants are admitted, upon
licence from the mayor, to fish and dredge oysters therein,
these parishes being Brightlingsea, Wivenhoe, and East
Doniland. For the better preservation of this privilege
Courts of Admiralty or Conservancy have been customarily
APRIL 30.] ASCENSION DAT. 213
held on Colne Water ; at which all offences committed
within the limits of the aquatic royalty are presented by a
jury, and fines exacted on the offenders. In March or April
yearly, proclamation is made by the legal authorities on the
water near Mersea Stone, " that the Eiver Colne is shut, and
that all persons are forbidden to dredge, or take any oysters
out of the said river or the creeks thereto appertaining before
the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the 22ud of July." This is
called Setting (i.e. Shutting) the Colne. Cromwell, History
of Colchester, 1825, pp. 289-294.
LANCASHIRE.
Under the name of Richardson's Charity, a distribution
takes place at Ince on the feast of the Ascension, of five
loads of oatmeal, each load weighing two hundred and forty
pounds. Three loads are given to the poor of the township
of Ince, one to the poor of Abram, and the other to the poor
of Hindley. Old English Customs and Charities, p. 36.
MIDDLESEX.
In St. Magnus and other city churches in London, the
clergy are presented with ribbons, cakes, and silk staylaces.
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. ix. p. 9.
NOBTHAMPTONSHIBB.
It is customary to go in triennial processions on Holy
Thursday, to perambulate the parishes and beat the
boundaries, for the purpose of marking and retaining posses-
sion ; hence the ceremony is called possessioning. The
parochial authorities are accompanied by other inhabitants
and a number of boys, to whom it is customary to distribute
buns, &c., in order to impress it upon their memory should
the boundaries at any future period be disputed. Buker,
Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phraaeg, vol. ii.
p. 131.
In the town of Northampton the ceremony of beating
the bounds is termed " beating the cross."
ASCENSION DAT. [APRIL 30.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
On Ascension Day, says Mackenzie in his History of
Newcastle (1827, vol. ii. p. 744), every year the mayor and
burgesses of Newcastle survey the boundaries of the Kiver
Tyne. This annual festive expedition starts at the Mansion-
House Quay, and proceeds to or near the place in the sea
called Sparhawk, and returns up the river to the utmost
limits of the Corporation at Hedivin Streams. They are
accompanied by the brethren of the Trinity House and the
River Jury in their barges.
Brockett mentions the smock-race on Ascension Day, a race
run by females for a smock. These races were frequent
among the young country wenches in the north. The prize,
a fine Holland chemise, was usually decorated with ribbons.
The sport is practised at Newburn, near Newcastle. Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 210.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
In Eogation week the bounds of many of the parishes are
still beaten with as much pomp by the beadle as ever ; and it
is believed that if an egg which is laid on Ascension Day bo
placed in the roof of a house, the building will be preserved
from fire and other calamities. Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1853,
vol. viii. p. 233.
OXFORDSHIRE.
At Oxford the little crosses cut in the stones of buildings
to denote the division of the parishes are whitened with
chalk. Great numbers of boys, with peeled willow rods in
their hands, accompany the minister in the procession.
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 200.
Aubrey, in his Remains of Gentilism and Judai$m, says :
"The fellows of New College have, time out of mind,
every Holy Thursday, betwixt the hours of eight and nine,
goune to the hospital called Bart'leraevvs neer Oxford, when
they retire into the chapoll, and certaine prayers are read,
and an antheme sung, from thence they goe to the upper end
APRIL 30.] MAY EVE. 215
of the grove adjoiiring to the chapell (the way being before
them strewed with flowers by the poor people of the hospital! ),
they place themselves round about the spring there, where they
warble forth melodiously a song of three, four, or five parts ;
which being performed they refresh themselves with a morn-
ing's draught there, and retire to Oxford before sermon."
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Formerly, at Lichfield, the clergyman of the parish, accom-
panied by the churchwardens and sidesmen and followed by
a concourse of children bearing green boughs, repaired to
different reservoirs of water and there read the gospel for the
day, after which they were regaled with cakes and ale ;
during the ceremony the door of every house was decorated
with an elm bough. This custom was founded on one of the
early institutions of Christianity, that of blessing the springs
and wells. Account of JAclfield, 1818-19, p. 133.
SUFFOLK.
By his will, proved in December 1527, John Cole of
Thelnethara, directed that a certain farm-rent should be
applied yearly to the purpose of providing " a bushell and
halifc of malte to be browne, and a bushell of whete to be bake<l
to fynde a drinldnge upon Ascension Even everlastinge for ye
parislie of Thelneiham to drinke at the Cross of Trafpetes"
WORCESTERSHIRE.
At Evesham it is customary for the master-gardeners to
<*ive their work-people a treat of baked peas, both white and
grey (and pork), every year on Holy Thursday. Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1819, vol. i. p. 208.
MAY EVE.
AN old Roman kalendar, cited by Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 216), says that on the 30th of April boys go to
216 MAY EVE. [APRIL 30.
seek the May-trees (Maii arbores a pueris exquiruntur), and
in Dryden's time this early observance of May seems to
have been customary ; one of his heroines
" Wak'd, as her custom was, before the day,
To do th' observaunce due to sprightly May ;
For sprightly May commands our youth to keep
The vigils of her night, and breaks their rugged sleep."
Med. Mai Ealend. vol. i. p. 229.
CORNWALL.
At Penzance a number of young men and women assemble
together at a public-house, and sit up till the clock strikes
twelve, when they go round the town with violins, drums,
and other instruments, and by sound of music call upon
others to join them. As soon as the party is formed, they
proceed to different farm-houses within four or five miles of
the neighbourhood, where they are expected as regularly as
May morning comes ; and they there partake of u beverage
called junket, made of raw milk and rennet, or running, as it
is called, sweetened with sugar, and a little cream added.
After this they take tea, and '' heavy country cake," composed
of flour, cream, sugar, and currants, then partake of rum and
milk, and conclude with a dance. After thus regaling
themselves they gather the May. While some are breaking
down the boughs, others sit and make the " May-music." This
is done by cutting a circle through the bark at a certain
distance from the bottom of the May branches ; then, by
gently and regularly tapping the bark all round from the
cut circle to the end, the bark becomes loosened, and slips
away whole from the wood, and a hole being cut in the pipe, it
is easily formed to emit a sound when blown through and
becomes a whistle. The gathering and the " May-music "
being finished, they then " bring home the May " by five or
six o'clock in the morning, with the band playing and their
whistles blowing. After dancing throughout the town they
go to their respective employments. Although May-day
should fail on a Sunday, they observe the same practice in
all respects, with the omission of dancing in the town.
Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 561.
APRIL 30.] MAY EVE. 217
DEVONSHIRE.
On the last day of April, the proprietor of every flower-
garden in the neighbourhood of Torquay receives visits
from a great number of girls, who solicit " some flowers for
the May-dolls." This is usually complied with, and at no
great cost, as flowers are commonly very abundant. Soon
after nine o'clock on May-day, or the day following when
that falls on Sunday, the same young folk call at every
house, and stop everyone they meet, to show their May-dolls,
collecting, at the same time, such small gratuities as may be
offered. Once a Week, Sept. 24th, 1870.
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
At Great Gransden on the evening or night preceding
May-day, the young men (farmers' servants) go and cut the
May or hawthorn boughs, which they bring home in bundles,
and leave some at almost every house, according to the
numbers of young persons in it, singing what they call The
Night Song. On the evening of May-day, and the following
evenings, they go round to every house where they left a
bough, and sing the May Song. One is dressed with a shirt
over his other clothes, and decorated with ribbons, and is
called the May Lord, another in girls' clothes, is called the
May Lady, or Mary. One has a handkerchief on a pole or
stick as a flag, whose business is to keep off the crowd. The
rest have ribbons in their hats. The money collected is spent
in a feast of plum cake, bread and cheese, and tea.
LANCASHIRE.
The evening before May-day is termed " Mischief Night **
by the young people of Burnley and the surrounding district,
when all kinds of mischief are perpetrated. Formerly shop-
keepers' sign-boards were exchanged : " John Smith, Grocer,"
finding his name and vocation changed, by the sign over his
door, to " Thomas Jones, Tailor," and vice versa ; but the
police have put an end to these practical jokes. Young men
and women, however, still continue to play each other tricks
by placing branches of trees, shrubs, or flowers under each
others' windows, or before their doors. All these have a
218 MAY EVE. [AriilL 30.
symbolical meaning, as significant, if not always as compli-
mentary, as " the Language of Flowers." Thus " a thorn "
implies " scorn ;" " wicken " (the mountain ash), " my dear
chicken ;" " a bramble," for one who likes to ramble, &c.
Much ill-feeling is at times engendered by this custom.
Harland and Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk Lore, 1867,
p. 239; see N. & Q. 1st S. vol. v. p. 580; 4<A S. vol.
vii. p. 525.
While reading one evening towards the close of April
1861, says a writer in the Book of Days (vol. i. p. 546), I was
on a sudden awaro of a party of waits or carollers who
had taken their stand on the lawn in my garden.* and were
serenading the family with a song. There were four singers,
accompanied by a flute and a clarionet, and together they
discoursed most simple and rustic music. I was at a loss to
divine the occasion of this loyal custom, seeing the time
was not within any of the great festivals, Eastor, May-day,
or Whitsuntide. Inquiry resulted in my obtaining from an
old "Mayer" the words of two songs, called by the singers
themselves w May Songs," though the rule and custom are that
they must be sung before the 1st of May. My chief infor-
mant, an elderly man named Job Knight, tells me that he
went out a May-singing for about fourteen years, but has now
left it off. He says that the Mayers usually commence their
singing-rounds about the middle of April, though some
parties start as early as the beginning of that month. The
singing invariably ceases on the evening of the 30th of April.
Job says he can remember the custom for about thirty
years, and he never heard any other than the two songs which
follow. These are usually sung, he says, by five or six mon,
with a fiddle or flute and clarionet accompaniment. The
songs are verbally as recited by Job Knight, the first of
which leaves marks of some antiquity, both in construction
and phraseology. There is its double refrain the second
and fourth lines in every stanza which buth musically and
poetically are far superior to the others. Its quaint picture
of manners, the worshipful master of the house in his chain
of gold, the mistress with gold along her breast, &c., the
phrases" house and harbour," " riches and store," all seem to
* In the hamlet of Swinton, township of WorsJey, parish of Eccled.
APRIL 30.] MAY EVE. 219
point to earlier times. The last line of this song appears to
convey its object and to indicate a simple superstition that
these songs were charms to draw or drive " these cold winters
away." There are several lines in both songs, in which, the
sense, no less than the rhythm, seems to have been marred
from the songs having been handed down by oral tradition
alone, but I have not ventured on any alteration.
In the second, and more modern, song, the refrain in the
fourth line of each, stanza is again the most poetical and
musical of the whole.
OLD MAY SONG.
AU in this pleasant evening, together comers ( ? come are) we,
For Ihe summer springs so fresh, green, and g:iy;
We'll tell you of a blossom and buds on every tree,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
Rise up, the ma-ter of tliis house, put on your chain of gold,
For the summer springs so fre.-h, green, and guy ;
We hope you're not offended, (with) your house we make to bold,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
Rise up, the mistress of this house, with gold along your breast,
For the bummur springs so frosh, green, and ga\ ;
And if your body be asleep, we hope your soul's ut rest,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
Rise up, the children of this house, all in your ricli attire,
For the i-umiuer springs so fresh, green, and ga\ ;
For every hair upon your head(s) shines like the silver wire,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
God bless tnis house and harbour, your riches nnd your store,
For the summer springs so fre-h. green, and gHy ;
We hope the Lord will prosper jou. both now and evermore,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
So now we're going to leave you, in peace and plenty here,
For the summer springs so fresh, green, and gay ;
We shall not sing you May again until another year,
For to diaw you these cold winters away.
NEW MAY SONG.
Come listen awhile to what we shall Fay,
Concerning the season, ti.e month we call May;
For the flowers they are springing, nnd the birds they do sing,
And the baziers* are sweet in the morning of Mav.
* The hazier is the name given in this part of Lancashire to the
auricula, which is usually in full bloom in April.
220 MAY EVE. [APRIL 30.
When the trees are in bloom, and the meadows are greou,
The sweet-frnelling cowslips are plain to be seen;
The sweet ties of nature, which we plainly do sec,
For the baziers are sweet in the morning of May.
All creatures are deem'd, in their station below,
Such comforts of love on each other bestow ;
Our flocks they're all folded, and younj< lambs sweetly do plaj.
And the baziers are sweet in the morning of May.
So now to conclude with much freedom and love,
The sweetest of blessings proceeds from above ;
Let us join in our song that right happy may we be,
For we'll bless with contentment in the morning of May." *
LINCOLNSHIRE.
Oliver in bis Monumental Antiquities of Great Grimsby
(1825, p. 39), speaking of Holm Hill and Abbey Hill, two of
the seven hills on which the British town of Grym-by was
situated, says they were united by r.n artificial bank, called
the Ket Bank, in connection with which he relates the
following curious ceremony :
The great female divinity of the British Druids was Ket,
or Ceridwen ; a personification of the Ark of Noah ; the
famous Keto of Antiquity, or, in other words Ceres, the
patroness of the ancient mysteries. To enter into a fuil
explanation ot these mysteries is unnecessary. Suffice it to
say that the aspirant, at the conclusion of the ceremony of
initiation, was placed in a small boat, to represent the con-
finement of Noah in the Ark ; which boat was a symbol of
the helio-arkite deity, and committed to the waves with
directions to gain a proposed point of land, which was to him
a shore, not only of safety, but of triumph. On this shore
he was received by the hierophant and his attendants, who
had placed themselves there for the express purpose, and
pronounced a favourite of Ket, by -Thorn he was now said
to be purified with water, and consequently regenerated
and purged from all his former defilements. The Abbey
Hill was the place where these sacred mysteries were cele-
brated, and the designation of this bank fully corroborates
the conjecture, for whoever will attentively consider the
* TUe Cheshire May-song is very similar to this.
Al'RIL 30.] MAT EVE. 221
situation of these two hills, connected by an extended embank-
ment even at the present day, will be convinced that a more
convenient spot could not be found for the performance of the
above ceremony. The sacred rites were solemnized within
the stone circle, which doubtless existed on the Abbey Hill,
and the candidate at the highest time of the tide was com-
mitted to the mercy of the waves from the point now known
by the name of Wellow Mill, and he had to struggle against
the declining tide, until he was cast at the foot of Holm
Hill, upon the bank of Ket, the presiding deity, under whose
special protection he was ever after placed.
This ceremony always took place on May Eve, for at no
other season was the final degree of perfection conferred, and
as soon as the fortunate aspirants had succeeded in gaining
the safe landing-place of Ket, which led by an easy gradation
to the summit of the hill, fires were lighted on the apex of
this and all the neighbouring hills, and the most extravagant
joy was visible throughout the district.
ISLB OF MAN.
On May Eve, the juvenile branches of nearly every family
in the Isle of Man, used to gather primroses, and strew them
before the doors of their dwellings, in order to prevent the
entrance of fairies on that night. It was quite a novel sight
to a stranger to the custom to see this delicate flower plenti-
fully arranged at the door of every house he might pass,
particularly in the towns on the night in question or early on
the following morning. This custom is now abandoned :
indeed, it was continued to a late date more through the
habit and amusement of children than from superstition.
Persons more advanced in life congregated on the mountain
on May Eve, and to scare fairies and witches, supposed to be
roaming abroad on tliat particular night in numbers greater
than ordinary, set fire to the gorse or Koinney, and blew horns.
Many of them remained on the hills till sunrise, endeavouring
to pry into futurity by observing particular omens. If a
bright light was observed to issue, seemingly, from any house
in the surrounding village,itwas considered a certain indication
that some member of the family would soon be married j but if
222 MAY EVE. [APRIL 30.
a dim light were seen moving slowly in the direction of the
parish church, it was then deemed equally certain that a
funeral would soon pass that way to the churchyard. Train,
History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 118.
OXFORDSHIEE.
" At Woodstock," says Aubrey, " they every May Eve goe
into the parke and fetch away a number of hawthorue trees,
which they set about their dores : 'tis pity that they make
such a destruction of so fine a tree."
WALES.
At Tenby the inhabitants went out in troops, bearing in
their hands boughs of thorn in full blossom, which were
bedecked with other flowers, and then stuck outside the
windows of the houses. Maypoles were reared up in different
parts of the town, decorated with flowers, coloured papers,
and bunches of variegated ribbon. Mason's Tales and
Traditions of Ireland, 1858, p. 21.
IRELAND.
The following custom of the Irish is described in a MS.
of the sixteenth century, and seems to have been of Pagan
origin : " Upon Maie Eve they will drive their cattell upon
their neighbour's corne, to eate the same up ; they were wont
to begin from the vast, and this principally upon the English
churl. Unlesse they do so upon Maie daie, the witch hath
power upon their cattell all the yere following." N. & Q.
let S. vol. vii. p. 81.
Sir Henry Piers, in his Account of Westmeath, 1682, says :
" On May Eve, every family sets up before their door a
green bush, strewed over with yellow flowers, which the
meadows yield plentifully. In counties where timber is plen-
tiful, they erect tall slender trees, which stand high, and they
continue almost the whole year ; so that a stranger would
go nigh to imagine that they were all signs of ale-sellers,
and that all houses were ale-houses."
i.] MAY DAY. 223
MAY i.] MAY DAY.
The festival of May Day has existed in this country, though
its form has often changed, from the earliest times, and we
find abundant traces of it both in our poets and old chroni-
clers. Toilet imagines that it originally came from our
Gothic ancestors ; and certainly, if this is to be taken for
a proof, the Swedes and Goths welcomed the first of May
with songs and dance, and many rustic sports ; but there is
only a general, not a particular, likeness between our May-
day festivities and those of our Gothic ancestors. Others
again have sought for the origin of our customs in the
Floralia, or rather the Maiuma, of the Romans, which were
established at a later period under the Emperor Claudius,
and differed perhaps but little from the former, except in
being more decent. But though it may at first seem probable
that our May-games may have come immediately from the
Floralia or Maiuma of the Romans, there can be little question
that their final origin must be sought in other countries, and
f;ir remoter periods. Maurice says (Indian Antiquities, voL i.
p. 87) that our May-day festival is but a repetition of the
phallic festivals of J ndia and Egypt, which in those countries
took place upon the sun entering Taurus, to celebrate Nature's
renewed fertility. <&a\Aos (phallos) in Greek signifies a pole,
in addition to its more important meaning, of which this is
the type ; and in the precession of the Equinoxes and the
changes of the calendar we shall find an easy solution of
any apparent inconsistencies arising from the difference of
seasons.
That the May-festival has come down to us from the Druids,
who themselves had it from India, is proved by many striking
facts and coincidences, and by none more than the vestige?
of the god Bel, the Apollo, or Orus, of other nations. Tht
Druids celebrated his worship on the first of May, by
lighting immense fires in honour of him upon the various
earns, and hence the day is called by the aboriginal Irish and
the Scotch Highlanders both remnants of the Celtic stock-
la Bealtine, Bealtaine or Beltine, that is, the day of Belen't
fire, for, in the Cornish, which is a Celtic dialect, we find
that tan is fire, and to tine signifies to light the fire.
224 MAY DAT. [MAT i.
The Irish still retain the Phoenician custom of lighting fires
at short distances, and making the cattle pass between them.
Fathers, too. taking their children in their arms, jump or run
through them, thus passing the latter as it were tl trough the
flames the very practice so expressly condemned in Scripture.
But even this custom appears to have been only a substitute
for the atrocious sacrifice of children as practised by the
elder Phoenicians. The god Saturn, that is, Moloch, was
represented by a statue bent slightly forward, and so placed
that the least weight was sufficient to alter its position.
Into the arms of this idol the priest gave the child to be
sacrificed, when, its balance being thus destroyed, it flung or
rather dropt, the victim into a tiery furnace that blazed below.
If other proofs were wanting of Eastern origin, we might
find them in the fact that Britain was called by the earlier
inhabitants the Island of Beli, and that Bel had also the
name of Hu, a word which we see again occurring in the
Hull festival of India. New Curiosities of Literature, vol. i.
p. 229. See Higgins' Celtic Druids, chap. v. sect. 23, p. 181 ;
Household Words, 1859, vol. xix. p. 557; Tolan's History of the
Druids, 8vo, p. 115 ; Celtic Researches, 1806, 8vo, p. 191 ;
Vossius, On the Origin of Idolatries : Essai sur le Culte des
Divinites Generatrices.
Going a-Maying. Bourne (Antiquitates Vulgares, chap, xxv.)
describes this custom as it existed in his time : On the ca-
lends, or first of May, commonly called May-day, the juvenile
part of both sexes are wont to rise a little after midnight and
walk to some neighbouring wood, accompanied with music
and blowing of horns, where they break down branches from
the trees, and adorn themselves with nosegays and crowns
of flowers; when this is done they return with their booty
homewards, about the rising of the sun, and make their doors
and windows to triumph with their flowery spoils.
In Chaucer's Court of Love we read that early on May-day
" Fourth goth al the court, both most and lest, to fotche the
flowris fresh and blome."
In the old romance, too, La Morte d' Arthur, translated by
Sir Thomas Maleor, or Mellor, in the reign of Edward IV..
is a passage descriptive of the customs of the times. " Now it
befell in the moneth of lusty May, that Queene Guenever
MAT i.J MAT DAT. 225
called unto her the knyghtes of the Bound Table, and gave
them warning that early in the morning she should ride on
maying into the woods and fields beside Westminster." The
rural clergy, who seem to have mingled themselves with their
flock on all occasions, whether of sorrow, devotion, or amuse-
ment, were reproved by Grostete, or Greathead, Bishop of
Lincoln, for going a-maying. Med. JEvi Kalend. vol. i.
p. 233.
Shakespeare likewise, alluding to this custom, says (Henry
VIII. Act v. sc. 3), it was impossible to make the people
sleep on May-morning, and (Midmmmer Night's Dream, Act i.
sc. 1) that they rose up early to observe May day.
" If thou lovest me then,
Steal forth thy father's house to-morrow night ;
And in the wood, a league without the town,
Where I did meet thee once with Helena,
To do observance to a morn of 31 ay,
There will I stay for thee."
And again :
" No doubt they rise up early to observe
Ti.e rite of May." Act. iv. sc. 1.
May-dew. This was held of singular virtue in former times,
and thus in the Morning Post of 2nd May, 1791, we are told
that the day before, being the First of May, according to
annual and superstitious custom, a number of persons went
into the fields and bathed their faces with the dew on the grass,
under the idea that it would render them beautiful. Pepys
on a certain day in May makes this entry in his Diary : " My
wife away, down with Jane and W. Hewer to Woolwich, in
order to a little ay re 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."
May-games. When Christianity, says Soane (Curiosities of
Literature, p. 230), found its way into Britain, the same mode
would seem to have been adopted in regard to the May-games
by the wise liberality of the first missionaries that we see
them employing in so many other cases. Conceding to the
prejudices of the people, they did not attempt to root out long
established characters, but invested them with another charac-
ter as bees close in with wax the noxious substance they are
a
22G MAT DAT [MAY i.
unable to remove. Thus in course of time the festival was
not only diverted from its original intention, but even the
meaning of its various symbols was forgotten. It degenerated
into a mere holiday, and as such long continued to be the
delight of all ages and of all classes, from king and queen
upon the throne to the peasant in his cottage. Thus, for
c xample, Henry VIII. appears to have been particularly
attached to the exercise of archery and the observance of
May. " Some short time after his coronation," says Hall
( Vit. Henry VIII., fol. vi. G), '* he came to Westminster with
the Queen and all their train. And on a time being there,
his Grace, the Earls of Essex, Wiltshire, and other noble-
men, to the number of twelve, came suddenly into the
Queen's chamber, all apparelled in short coats of Kentish
Kendal, with hoods on their heads, and hosen of the same,
every one of them his bow and arrows, and a sword and
buckler, like outlaws or Robin Hood's men ; whereof the
Queen, the ladies, and all others there, were abashed, as well
for the strange sight, as also for their sudden coming ; and
after certain dances and pastimes made, they departed."
Stow, too, in his Survey of London (1603, 4to, p. 99) has
the following : " In the moueth of May, namely on May-day
in the morning, every man, except impediment, would walke
into the sweeta meadows and greene woods, there to rejoyce
their spiritts with the beauty and savour of sweete flowers,
and with the harmony of birds praysing God in their kind ;
and for example hereof Edward Hall hath noted that K.
Henry the Eighth, as in the 3 of his rcigne and divers other
years, so namely on the seventh of his reigne on May day
in the morning, with Qween Katheren his wife, accompanied
with many lords and ladies, rode a-maying from Greenwitch
to the high ground of Shooter's hill, where as they passed
by the way they espied a company of tall yeomen clothed all
in greene, with grceue whoodes and with bowes and arrowes,
to the number of 100. One boing their chief taine was
called Robin Iloode, who required the king and his companie
to stay and see his men shoote, whereunto the king graunting,
Robin Hoode whistled, and all the 200 archers shot off,
losing all at once, and when he whistled againe, they like-
wise shot againe; their arrowes whistled by craft of the
MAT i.] MAT DAT. 227
head, so that the noyse was strange and loude, which greatly
delighted the king, queene, and their companie."
It may seem strange, remarks Soane, that Robin Hood
should be so prominent a figure in a festival which
originated long before he was born, since we first find
mention of him and his forest companions in the reign of
King John, while the floral games of England, as we have
seen, had their rise with the Druids. The sports of Robin
Hood were most probably first instituted for the encourage-
ment of archery, and it is not surprising if a recreation so
especially connected with summer and the forest, was cele-
brated at the opening of the year the opening, that is, so
far as it related to rural sports and pleasures. By degrees
it would become blended with the festival already existing,
and in a short time, from its superior attraction, it would
become the principal feature of it.
Douce, in his illustrations of Shakespeare (vol. ii. p. 454),
says the introduction of Robin Hood into the celebration
of May probably suggested the addition of a king or lord
of May. Soane, however, takes a very different view, being
of opinion that the custom of electing a Lord and Lady
of the May in the popular sports existed at a far earlier
period long indeed before the time of Robin Hood's intro-
duction at the same time supporting his statement from a
command given in the synod at Worcester, AD. 1240, Canon
38, " Ne intersint ludis inhonestis, nee sustineant ludos fieri
de rege et regina." For an interesting account of the Robin
Hood games see Strutt's novel, Queen Hoo Hall (quoted in
Book of Days, vol. i. p 580). Consult also Ritson's Collection
of Poems relating to Robin Hood (1853), and Brand's Pop.
Antiq. 1849, vol. i. pp. 247-272.
Morris-dance. It is supposed to be of Moorish origin, and
to be derived to us from Spain. Hence its name. The prin-
cipal characters of it generally were Robin Hood, Maid
Marian, Scarlet, Stokcsley, Little John, the Hobby Horse,
the Bavian or Fool, Tom the Piper with his pipe and tabor,
the Dragon, of which we have no mention before 1585. Tho
number of characters varied much at different times and
places. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. pp. 247-270,
and Book of Days, vol i. pp. 630-633.
Q 2
228 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
Maypoles. The earliest representation of an English
maypole is that published in the Variorum Shakespeare, and
depicted on a window at Betley in Staffordshire, then the
property of Mr. Toilet, and which he was disposed to think as
old as the time of Henry VIII. The pole is planted in a
mound of earth, and has affixed to it St. George's red-cross
banner, and a white pennon or streamer with a forked end.
The shaft of the pole is painted in a diagonal line of black
colour upon a yellow ground, a characteristic decoration of
all these ancient maypoles, as alluded to by Shakespeare
in his Midstimmer Night's Dream, where it gives point to
Hermia's allusion to her rival Helena as, "a painted may-
pole." Book of Days, vol. i. p. 575. See Brand's Pop.
Antiq. 1849, pp. 234-247.
It was, says Hone (Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 556), a great
object with some of the more rigid reformers to suppress
amusements, especially maypoles ; and these idols of the
people were taken down as zeal grew fierce, and put up as
it grew cool, till, after various ups and downs, the favourites
of the populace were by the Parliament, on the 6th April,
1614, thus provided against : " The Lords and Commons do
further order and ordain that, all and singular maypoles
that are or shall be erected, shall be taken down and re-
moved by the constables, bossholders, tithing-men, petty con-
stables, and churchwardens of the parishes where the same
be, and that no maypole be hereafter set up, erected,
or suffered to be set up within this kingdom of England
or dominion of Wales ; the said officers to be fined five
shillings weekly till the said maypole be taken down." Ac-
cordingly down went all the maypoles that were left.
The restoration of Charles II. however was the signal for
their revival. On the very 1st of May afterwards, in 1661,
the maypole in the Strand was reared with great ceremony
and rejoicing. A contemporary writer (in Cities Loyalty
Displayed, 1661, 4to) speaking of it, says, " This tree was a
most choice and remarkable piece ; 'twas made below Bridge,
and brought in two parts up to Scotland Yard, near the King's
Palace, and from thence it was conveyed, April 14th, to the
Strand to be erected [nearly opposite Somerset House]. It
\vae brought with a streamer flourishing before it, drums
MAY i.] MAT DAT. 229
beating all the way, and other sorts of musick ; it was sup-
posed to be so long that laudsmen (as carpenters) could not
possibly raise it ; (Prince James, the Duke of York, Lord
High Admiral of England, commanded twelve seamen off
aboord to come and officiate the business, whereupon they came
and brought their cables, pullies, and other tacklins, with six
great anchors) ; after this was brought three crowns borne by
three men bare-headed, and a streamer displaying all the way
before them, drums beating, and other musick playing;
numerous multitudes of people thronging the streets \\ith
great shouts and acclamations all day long. The maypole
then being joyned together, the crown and cane with the
King's arms richly gilded was placed on the head of it.
This being done, the trumpets did sound, and in four hours
space it was advanced upright, after which being established
fast in the ground, six drums did beat, and the trumpets did
sound; aga:n great shouts and acclamations the people give
that it did ring throughout all the Strand. After that caine
a morris-dance finely deckt, with purple scarfs in their half-
shirts with a tabor, and pipe, the ancient musick, and danced
round about the maypole, and after that danced the rounds
of their liberty. Upon the top of this famous standard is
likewise set up a royal purple streamer, about the middle of
it is placed four crowns more, with the King's arms likewise ;
there is also a garland set upon it of various colours of
delicate rich favours, under which is to be placed three great
lanthorus, to remain for three honours ; that is, one for Prince
James, Duke of York, Lord High Admiral of England ; the
other for the Vice- Admiral ; and the third for the rear-
Admiral : these are to give light in dark nights, and to
continue so long as the pole stan<ls, wlr'ch will be a perpetual
honour for seamen." See The Town, Leigh Hunt (1859, p.
161).
The author of a pamphlet entitled The Way to Tilings by
Words, and Words by Things, considers the maypole in a
curious light. We gather from him, says Brand (Pop. Antiq.
1849, vol. i. p. 245), that our ancestors held an anniversary
assembly on May-day, and that the column of May (whence
our maypole) was the great standard of justice in the Ey-
commons, or fields of May. Here it was the people, if they
230 MAY DAT. [MAT I.
saw cause, deposed or punished their governors, their
barons, and their kings. The judge's bough or wand (now
discontinued, and only faintly represented by a trifling
nosegay), and the staff or rod of authority in the civil and
in the military (for it was the mace of civil power, and the
truncheon of the field-officers), are both derived from hence.
A mayor, he says, received his name from this May, in
the sense of lawful power ; the crown a mark of dignity
and symbol of power, like the mace and eceptre was also
taken from the May, being representative of the garland or
crown, which when hung on the top of the May or pole, was
the great signal for convening the people ; the arches of it,
which spring from the circlet and meet together at the
mound or round bell, being necese rily so formed, to suspend
it to the top of the pole. The word maypole, he observes, is
a pleonasm ; in French it is called singly Mai.
In front of the spot now occupied by St. Mary-le-Strand
anciently stood a cross, at which, says Stow, " In the year
1294 and other times, the justices itinerant sat without
London."
In the British Apollo (1708, vol. i.) a writer says : It was
a custom among the ancient Britons, before converted to
Christianity, to erect these maypoles, adorned with flowers,
in honour of the goddess Flora.
Keysler, says Mr. Borlase, thinks that the custom of the
maypole took its origin from the earnest desire of the
people to see their king, who, seldom appearing at other
times, made his procession at this time of year to the great
assembly of the states held in the open air. Pop. Antiq.
1849, vol. i. p. 246.
Chimney-sweepers. How or when the chimney-sweepers
contrived to intrude their sooty persons into the company of
the gay and graceful Flora upon her high festival does not
appear. It is certain, however, that in London they have
long observed the early days of May as an established
holiday, on which occasion they parade the streets in
parties, fantastically tricked out in tawdry finery, enriched
with strips of gilt and various coloured papers, &c. With
their faces chalked, and their shovels and brushes in hand,
they caper the " Chimney-sweeper's Dance " to a well-known
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 231
tune, considered by amateurs as more noisy than musical.
Some of the larger parties are accompanied by a fiddle, n
"Jack-in-the-Green," and a "Lord and lady of the May."
The " Jack-in-the-Green " is a man concealed within a
frame of wickerwork covered with leaves, flowers, &c.
Soane, New Curiosities of Literature, p. 261 ; Sports, Pastimes,
and Customs of London, 1847, p. 34 ; See Every Day Book,
vol. i. p. 583, vol. ii. p. G19.
Milkmaid's Dance. On the first day of May, says a writer
in the Spectator (vol. v.), " the ruddy milkmaid exerts her-
self in a most sprightly manner under a pyramid of silver
tankards, and, like the virgin Tarpeia, oppressed by the
costly ornaments which her benefactors lay upon her.''
These decorations of silver cups, tankards, and salvers were
borrowed for the purpose, and hung round the milk-pails,
witb the addition of flowers and ribbons, which the maidens
carried upon their heads when they went to the houses
of their customers, and danced in order to obtain a small
gratuity from each of them. Of late years the plate, with
the other decorations, was placed in a pyrnmidical form, and
carried by two chairmen upon a wooden horse. The maidens
walked before it, and performed the dauce without any
incumbrance. Sometimes in place of the silver tankards
And salvers they substituted a cow. The animal had her
horns gilt, and was nearly covered with ribbons of various
colours, formed into bows and roses, and interspersed with
green oaken leaves and bunches of flowers. Strutt, Sports
and Pastimes, 1801, b. iv. p. 266.*
Pepys in his Diari/, May 1st, 1667, says, "To West-
minster; on the way meeting many milkmaids, with their
garlands upon their pails, dancing with a fiddler before
them, and saw pretty Xelly [Nell Gwynne] standing at her
lodgings' door in Drury Lane in her smock sleeves and
* At Baslow, in the coumj o ' Derby, the festival of kit-dressing i.,
occasionally, observed. The kits or milk pails are fancifully and
t:t.-trfu!Iy decorated with ri!>l>O"S. and hung with festoons of lloweru
and ornaments of muslin nn.l silk, and with gold and silver thread.
The kits are cariied on the heads of the young worn* n of the
villnge, who. attended by the young mm and preceded by a bnnd < f
music, parade the streets, nnd end the day's proceedings by a dance.
Juur. of Arch. Assoc. It52, vol. vii. p. 208.
232 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
bodice, looking upon one ; she seemed a mighty pretty
creature."
In a set of prints called the Tempest Cryes of London,
one is called the Merry Milkmaid, whose proper name was
Kate Smith. She is dauoing with her milk-pail on her head,
.decorated with silver cups, tankards, and salvers borrowed
for the purpose, and tied together with ribbons, and orna-
mented with flowers. Misson, too, in his Observations on his
Travels in England, alludes to this custom. lie says : On
the 1st of May, and the five and six days following, all the
pretty young country girls that serve the town with milk
dress themselves up very neatly, and borrow abundance of silver
plate, whereof they make a pyramid, which they adorn with
ribbons and flowers, and carry upon their heads instead of
their common milk-pails. In this equipage, accompanied by
some of their fellow milkmaids and a bag-pipe or fiddle,
they go from door to door, dancing before the houses of their
customers, in the midst of boys and girls that follow them
in troops, and everybody gives them something. Ozell's
Translation, 8vo, 1719, p. 307.
In .Read's Weeldy Times, May 5th, 1733, occurs the fol-
lowing : On May-day the milk-maids who serve the Court
danced minuets and rigadoons before the Koyal family, at
St. James's House, with great applause.
The following lines descriptive of the milkmaid's garland
are taken from Every Day Book, vol. i. pp. 569, 570 :
" In London thirty years ngo,
When pretty milkmaids went about,
It was a goodly sight to see
Their May-day pageant all drawn out.
Themselves in comely colours drest,
Their shining garland in the middle,
A pipe and tabor on before,
Or else the foot-inspiring fiddle.
They stopt at houses where it was
Their custom to cry ' milk belo w !'
And, while the music play'cl, with smiles
Join'd hands and pointed toe to toe.
Thus they tiipp'd on, till from door to door
The hop'd-for annual present sent
A signal came, to courtsey low,
And at that door cease merriment.
MAY i.] MAY DAT. 233
Such scenes and sounds once blest my eyes
And charm'd my ears ; but all have vauish'd.
On May-day now no garlands go,
For milkmaids and their dance are banish'd.
See Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, 1855-9;
also Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1562.
May-gosling. A writer in the Gent. Mag. (1791, vol. Ixi.
p. 327) says a May-gosling, on the 1st of May, is made
with as much eagerness in the north of England as an April
noddy (noodle) or fool on the 1st of April.
" U. P. K. spells May-goslings " is an expression used by
boys at play as an insult to the losing party. U. P. K. is
up-pick, that is, up with your pin or peg, the mark of the
goal. An additional punishment was thus : the winner made
a hole in the ground with his heel, into which a peg about
three inches long was driven, its top being below the surface ;
the loser, with his hands tied behind him, was to pull it up
with his teeth, the boys buffeting with their hats, and calling
out, " Up-pick ! you May gosling !" or " U. P. K., gosling
in May." *
BERKSHIRE.
At Abingdon the children and young people formerly
went about in groups on May morning, singing the following
carol :
" We've been a-rambling all the night,
And sometime of this day ;
Aud now returning back again,
We bring a garland gay.
Why don't you do as we have done
On this first day of May?
And from our parents we have come,
And would no longer stay.
A garland gay we bring you here,
And at your door we stand ;
It is a sprout well budded out,
The work of our Lord's hand.
Why don't you do, &o.
So dear, so dear as Christ loved us,
And tor our sins was slain ;
Christ liids us turn from wickedness
Back to the Lord again.
Why don't you do," &c.
N. & Q. ith S. voL iii. p. 401.
* See p. 2G5.
234 WAY DAT. [MAT
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
In a MS. in the British Museum entitled Status Scholce
Etonensis, A.D. 1560, it is stated that on the day of St. Philip
and St. James, if it be fair weather, and the master grants
leave, those boys who choose it may rise at four o'clock, to
gather May-branches, if they can do it without wetting their
feet ; and that on that day they adorn the windows of the
bed-chambers with green leaves, and the houses are per-
fumed with fragrant herbs.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Some derive May from Maia, the mother of Mercury, to
whom they offered sacrifices on the first day of it ; and this
seems to explain the custom which prevails on this day at
Cambridge of children having a figure dressed in a grotesque
manner, called a May-lady, before which they set a table
having on it wine, ttc. They also beg money of passengers,
which is considered as an offering to the Manikin ; for the : r
plea to obtain it is " Pray remember the poor May-lady."
Perhaps the garlands, for which they also beg, originally
adorned the head of the goddess. The bush of hawthorn, or,
as it is called, May, placed at the doors on this day, may
point out the firstfruits of the spring, as this is one of the
earliest trees which blossoms. Audley, Companion to the
Almanack, 1816 p. 71.
CHESHIRE.
In this county the young men formerly celebrated May-
day by placing large bidden boughs over the doors of the
houses where the young women resided to whom they paid their
addresses ; and an alder bough was often placed over the
door of a scold Lysons' Magna Britannia, 1810, vol. ii. pt.
ii. p. 462.
Maypoles are also erected, and danced round in some
villages with as much avidity as ever. Jour, of Arch. Assoc.,
1850, vol. v. p. 254. Washington Irving in his Sketch Booh
says, I shall never forget the delight I felt on first seeing
a Maypole. It was on the banks of the Dee, close by the
MAY i.] MAT DAY. 235
picturesque old bridge that stretches across the river from
the quaint little city of Chester. I had already been carried
back into former days by the antiquities of that venerable
place, the examination of which is equal to turning over the
pages of a black-letter volume, or gazing on the pictures in
Froissart. The Maypole on the margin of that poetic
stream completed the illusion. My fancy adorned it with
wreaths of flowers, and peopled the green bank with all the
dancing revelry of May-day.
CORNWALL.
In Cornwall this day is hailed by the juveniles as
" dipping-day." On May-morning the children go out into
the country and fetch home the flowering branches of the
white-thorn, or boughs of the narrow-leaved elm, which has,
just put forth its leaves, both of which are called " May."
At a later hour all the boys of the village sally forth with
their bucket, can, atid syringe, or other instrument, and avail
themselves of a licence which the season confers " to dip "
or well nigh drown, without regard to person or circumstances,
the passenger who has not the protection of a piece of " May "
in his hat or button-hole. The sprig of the hawthorn or elm
is probably held to be proof that the bearer has not failed to
rise early " to do observance to a morn of May." N. & Q. 1st
S. voL xii. p. 297. Borlase, in his Natural History of Corn-
wall, tells us that an ancient custom still retained by the
Cornish is that of decking their doors and porches on the 1st
of May with green sycamore and hawthorn boughs, and of
planting trees, or rather stumps of trees, before their houses.
Bond, in his History of East and West Looe (1823, p. 38),
says : On May-day the boys dress their hats with flowers and
hawthorn, and furnish themselves with bullocks' horns, in
which sticks of about two feet long are fixed, and with these
instruments filled with water they parade the streets all day,
and dip all persons who pass them if they have not what is
called May in their hats, that is, a sprig of hawthorn.
A writer also in Once a Week (Sept. 24th, 1870), speaking
of certain Cornish customs, tells us that dipping was admitted
by the boys of Looo to be very great fun, aiid a May-duy
236 MAY DAT. [MAT i.
without any would have been voted an utter failure ; never-
theless the coppers of commutation were very acceptable, as
the great two-day fair of the town was held towards the close
of the week, when cash was generally in demand. Hence
when any one flung pence among them, they were wont to
chant during the scramble
" The First of May is dipping-day,
The Sixth of May is Looe's fair day."
On the 1st of May a species of festivity, Hitchins tells
us, was observed in his time at Pad stow : called the Hobby-
horse, from the figure of a horse being carried through the
streets. Men, women, and children nocked round it, when
they proceeded to a place called Traitor Pool, about a
quarter of a mile distant, in which the hobby-horse was
always supposed to drink. The head after being dipped into
the water, was instantly taken out, and the mud and water
were sprinkled on the spectators, to the no small diversion
of all. On returning home a particular song was sung, which
was supposed to commemorate the event that gave the hobby-
horse birth. According to tradition the French once upon
a time effected a landing at a small cove in the vicinity, but
seeing at a distance a number of women dressed in red
cloaks, whom they mistook for soldiers, they fled to their
ships and put to sea. The day generally ended in riot and
dissipation. Hitchins, History of Cornwall, 1824, vol. i.
p. 720.
On the first Sunday after May-day it is a custom with
families at Penzance to visit Rose-hill, Poltier, and other
adjacent villages, by way of recreation. These pleasure-
parties generally consist of two or three families together.
They carry flour and other materials with them to make the
'' heavy cake "* at the farm-dairies, which are always open
for their reception. Nor do they forget to take tea, sugar, rum,
and other comfortable things for their refreshment, which,
by paying a trifle for baking and for the niceties awaiting
their consumption, content the farmers for the house-room
and pleasure they afford their welcome visitants.- -Every Day
Book, vol. i. p 561.
* See May-eve, Penzance, p. 216,
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 237
DERBYSHIRE.
Maypoles are to be seen in some of the village-greens
still standing, and adorned with garlands on May-day. On
this morning, too, the young village women go out ahout
sunrise for the purpose of washing their faces in the May-
dew, and return in the full hope of having their complexions
improved by the process. Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1852, vol.
vii, p. 206.
DEVONSHIRE.
At the village of Holne, situated on one of the spurs of
Dartmoor, is a field of about two acres, the property of
the parish, and called the Ploy (play) Field. In the centre
of this stands a granite pillar (Menhir) six or seven feet high.
On May-morning before daybreak the young men of the
village used to assemble there, and then proceed to the moor,
where they selected a ram lamb (doubtless with the consent
of the owner), and after running it down, brought it in triumph
to the Ploy Field, fastened it to the pillar, cut its throat, and
then roasted it whole, skin, wool. &c. At midday a struggle
took place, at the risk of cut hands, for a slice, it being
supposed to confer luck for the ensuing year on the fortunate
devourer. As an act of gallantry the young men sometimes
fought their way through the crowd to get a slice for the
chosen amongst the young women, all of whom, in their best
dresses, attended the Earn Feast, as it was called. Dancing,
wrestling, and other games, assisted by copious libations of
cider during the afternoon, prolonged the festivity till mid-
night N. & Q. 1st S. vol. vii. p. 353.
Jn some places it is customary for the children to carry
about from house to house two dolls, a large and a small
one beautifully dressed and decorated with flowers. This
custom, has existed at Torquay from time immemorial.
ESSEX.
At SaflVon-Walden, and in the village of Debden, an
old May-day song (almost identical with that given under
238 MAT DAT. [MAT i.
BERKSHIRE, which see) is sung by the little girls, who go
about in parties, carrying garlands from door to door.
The garlands which the girls carry are sometimes large
and handsome, and a doll is usually placed in the middle,
dressed in white, according to certain traditional regulations.
Illustrated London News, June 6th, 1857, p. 553.
GLOUCESTBRSHIKE.
In the village of Randwick, hard by the Stroud cloth-mills,
at the appointed daybreak, three cheeses were carried upon
a litter, festooned and garlanded with blossoms, down to the
churchyard, and rolled thrice mystically round the sacred
building ; being subsequently carried back in the same way
upon the litter in triumphal procession, to be cut up on the
village-green and distributed piecemeal among the bystanders.
Household Words, 1859, vol. xix. p. 515.
In this county the children sing the following song as
they dance round the Maypole :
" Bound the Maypole, trit-trit-trot !
See what a Maypole we have got ;
Fine and gay.
Trip away,
Happy is our new May-day."
Aunt Judy's Magazine, 1874, No. xcvii. p. 436.
HAMPSHIRE.
In the village of Burley, one of the most beautiful villages
of the New Forest, a maypole is erected, a fete is given to the
school-children, and a May-queen is chosen by lot ; a floral
crown surmounts the pole, and garlands of flowers hang
about the shaft.
HERTFOEDSHIBE.
At Baldock, in former times, the peasantry were accus-
tomed to make a " my-lord and-my-lady " in effigy on the
first of May. These figures were constructed of rags, paste-
board, old masks, canvas, straw, &c., and were dressed up in
the holiday habiliments of their fabricators" my lady " in
the best gown'd, apron, kerchief, and mob cap of the dame,
MAY i.] MAY DAT. 239
and "my lord" in the Sunday gear of her master. The
tiring finished, " the pair " were seated on chairs or joint-
stools, placed outside the cottage-door or in the porch, their
bosoms ornamented with large bouquets of May flowers.
They supported a hat, into which the contributions of the
lookers-on were put. Before them, on a table were arranged
a mug of ale, a drinking-horn, a pipe, a pair of spectacles,
and sometimes a newspaper.
The observance of this usage was exclusively confined to
the wives of the labouring poor resident in the town, who
were amply compensated for their pains-taking by the con-
tributions, which generally amounted to something consider-
able. But these wore not the only solicitors on May-day ;
the juveniles of Baldock constructed a garland of hoops
transversed, decorated with flowers, ribbons, &c., affixed to
the extremity of a staff, by which it was borne, similar to
those at Northampton and Lynn. Hone, The Year Book,
1838, p. 1593.
The following amusing account ot the manner in which
May-day was formerly observed at Hitchin is given by a
correspondent of Every Day Book, 1826, vol. i. p. 565 :
Soon after three o'clock in the morning a large party of the
townspeople, and neighbouring labourers parade the town,
singing the Mayer's Song. They carry in their hands large
branches of May, and they affix a branch either upon or at
the side of the doors of nearly every respectable house in the
town. Where there are knockers they place their branches
within the handles. The larger the branch is that is
placed at the door the more honourable to the house, or
rather to the servants of the house. If in the course of the
year a servant has given offence to any of the mayers, then,
instead of a branch of May, a branch of elder, with a bunch
of nettles, is affixed to her door : this is considered a great
disgrace, and the unfortunate subject of it is exposed to the
jeers of her rivals. On May-morning, therefore, the girls
look with some anxiety for their May-branch, and rise very
early to ascertain their good or ill-fortune. The houses are
nil thus decorated by four o'clock in the morning. Through-
out the day parties of these mayers are seen dancing and
frolicking in various parts of the town. The group that f
240 MAY DAT. [MAY i.
saw to-day, which remained in Bancroft for more than an
hour, was composed as follows : First came two men with
their faces blacked, one of them with a birch broom in his
hand, and a large artificial hump on his back ; the other
dressed as a woman, all in rags and tatters, with a large
straw bonnet on, and carrying a ladle; these are called 'Mad
Moll and her husband ;" next came two men, one most fantas-
tically dressed with ribbons, and a great variety of gaudy-
colouicd silk handkerchiefs tied round his arms, from the
shoulders to the wrists, and down his thighs and legs to the
ancles ; he carried a drawn sword in his hand ; leaning upon
his arm was a youth dressed as a fine lady in white muslin,
and profusely bedecked from top to toe with gay ribbons
these were called the " Lord and Lady" of the company ;
after these followed six or seven couples more, attired
much in the same style as the lord and lady, only the men
were without the swords. When this group received a
satisfactory contribution at any house the music struck up
from a violin, clarionet, and fife, accompanied by the long
drum, and they began the merry dance. While the dancers
were merrily footing it the principal amusement to the
populace was caused by the grimaces and clownish tricks
of Mad Moll and her husband. When the circle of spec-
tators became so contracted as to interrupt the dancers,
then Mad Moll's husband went to work with his broom, and
swept the road-dust, all round the circle, into the faces of
the crowd, and when any pretended affronts were offered
to his wife, he pursued the offenders, broom in hand ; if
he could not overtake them, whether they were males or
females, he flung his broom at them. These flights and
pursuits caused an abundance of merriment.
The Mayer's Song is a composition, or rather a medley of
great antiquity, and is as follows :
" Kemomber ns poor mayers all.
And thus do we begin
To lead our lives in righteousness,
Or else \ve die in sin.
We have bern rnmbling all this night,
And almost all this day,
And now returned back again
We have brought you a branch of May.
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 211
A branch of May we have brought you,
And at your door it stands,
It is but a sprout, but it's well budded out
By the work of our Lord's hands.
The hedges and trees they are so green,
As jrreen as any leek,
Our Heavenly Father, he watered them
With Ids heavenly dew so sweet.
The heavenly gates are open wide,
Our paths are beaten plain,
And if a man be not too far gone,
He may return again.
The life of man is but a span,
It flourishes like a flower;
We are here to day, and gone to-morrow,
And are dead in an hour.
The moon shines bright, and the stars give a light
A little before it is day.
So God bless you all. both great and small,
And send you a joyful May."
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
In the village of Glatton, May-day is observed by the elec-
tion of Queen of the May, and the making of the garland.
The garland is of a pyramidal shape, and in this respect
resembles the old milk-maid's garland; it is composed cf
crown-imperials, tulips, anemones, cowslips, kingcups, daf-
fodils, meadow-orchis, wallflowers, primroses, lilacs, labur-
nums, and as many roses and bright flowers as the season may
have produced. These, with the addition of green boughs,
are made into a huge pyramidal nosegay, from the front of
which a gaily-dressed doll stares vacantly at her admirer?.
This doll is intended to represent Flora. From the base of
the nosegay hang ribbons, handkerchiefs, pieces of silk, aii'l
any other gay-coloured fabric that can be borrowed for th
occasion. The garland is carried by the two maids of
honour to the May queen who place their hands beneath tho
nosegay, and allow the gay-coloured streamers to full towards
the ground. The garland is thus some six feet high.
The following song was sung by " the Mayers " on May-
day, 1865, in the village of Denton and Chaldccote, when
they went round with their " garland " :
B
242 MAY DAY. [MAT I.
" Hero comes us poor Mayers all,
And thus do we begin
To lead our lives in righteousness,
For fear we should die in sin.
To die in sin is a dreadful thing,
To die in sin for nought ;
It would have been better for us poor souls
If we had never 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 curkoo sings in June,
In July she 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."
N, & Q. 3rd S. vol. vii. p. 373.
It is the custom at Warboys for certain of the poor of the
parish to be allowed to go into Warboys Wood on May-day
morning for the purpose of gathering and taking away
bundles of sticks. It may possibly be a relic of the old
custom of going to a wood in the early morning of May-day
for the purpose of gathering May-dew. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol.
xii. p. 42.
KENT.
Sir Dudley Diggs, by his will, dated 1638, left the yearly
sum of 20 to be paid to two young men and two maids,who on
May 19th yearly should run a tye at Old Wives Lees in
Chilham and prevail ; the money to be paid out of the profits
of the land of this part of the manor of Sel grave, which
escheated to him after the death of Lady Olive. These
lands, being in three pieces, lie in the parishes of Preston
and Faversham, and contain about forty acres, all commonly
called the Running Lands. Two young men and two young
maids run at Old Wives Lees in Chilham yearly on May 1st,
and the same number at Sheldwich Lees on the Monday
following, by way of trial; and the two who prevail at
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 243
each of those places run for the 10 at Old Wives Lees as
above mentioned on May 19th. Hasted, History of Kent,
vol ii. p. 787.
At Sevenoaks the children carry their tasteful boughs
and garlands from door to door. The boughs consist of a
bunch of greenery and wild flowers tied at the end of a stick,
which is carried perpendicularly. The garlands are formed
of two hoops interlaced cross-wise, and covered with blue
and yellow flowers from the woods and hedges. Sometimes
the garlands are fastened at the end of a stick carried
perpendicularly, and sometimes hanging from the centre of
a stick borne horizontally by two children. Either way the
effect is pleasing, and fully worth the few pence which the
appeal of " May-day, garlaud-day ! please to remember the
May-bough!" makes one contribute. N. & Q. kth S. vol. iii.
p. 424.
LANCASHIRE.
In most places it is customary for each driver of a team
to decorate his horses with gaudy ribbons on May-day. In
Liverpool and Birkenhead, however, where some thousands
of men are employed as carters, this May-day dressing has
grown into a most imposing institution. Every driver of a
team in and around the docks appears to enter into rivalry
with his neighbours, and the consequence is that most of
the horses are gaily dressed and expensively decorated. The
drivers put on their now suits, covered with white linen slops,
and sport new whips in honour of the occasion. Some of the
embellishments for the horses are of a most costly character ;
not a few are disposed in most admirable taste ; and in several
instances they amount to actual art-exhibitions, since the
carts are filled with the articles in which their owners deal.
Real and artificial flowers are disposed in wreaths and other
forms upon different parts of the harness, and brilliant velvet
cloths, worked in silver and gold, are thrown over the loins
of tlie horses ; and if their owners are of sufficient standing
to bear coats-of-arms, these are emblazoned upon the cloths,
surrounded with many curious and artistic devices. Not
only are the men interested in these displays, but wives and
daughters, mistresses and servants, vie with each other as to
B 2
244 MAY DAT. [MAY i.
who shall produce the most gorgeous exhibition. A few
years ago the Corporation of Liverpool exhibited no fewer than
one hundred and sixty-six horses in the procession, the first
cart containing all the implements used by the scavenging
department, most artistically arranged. The railway com-
panies, the brewers, the spirit-merchants, and all the prin-
cipal dock-carriers, &c., send their teams with samples of pro-
duce to swell the procession. After parading the principal
streets, headed by bands of music and banners, the horses are
taken home to their respective stables, and public drinks are
given to the carters by the Corporation, the railway com-
panies, and other extensive firms. The Mayor and other
members of the Corporation attend these annual feasts, and
after the repasts are ended the carters are usually addressed
by some popular speaker, and much good advice is fre-
quently given them. Harland and Wilkinson, Legends and
Traditions of Lancashire, 1873, p. 96.
In the Life of Mrs. Pilkington (Gent. May. 1754, vol. xxiv.
p. 354) allusion seems made to this custom. The writer says,
They took places in the waggon, and quitted London early
on May-morning : and it being the custom in this month for
the passengers to give the waggoner at every inn a ribbon to
adorn his team, she soon discovered the origin of the proverb,
" as fine as a horse ;" for before they got to the end of their
journey the poor beasts were almost blinded by the tawdry
party-coloured flowing honours of their heads.
In connection with this custom may be mentioned one
practised at Gilmerton, in the parish of Liberton, county of
Edinburgh. The carters have friendly societies for the
purpose of supporting each other in old age or during ill-
health, and with the view partly of securing a day's recrea-
tion, and partly of recruiting their numbers and funds, they
have an annual procession. Every man decorates his cart,
horse, and ribbons, and a regular procession is made, accom-
panied by a band of music. To crown all there is an uncouth
uproarious race with cart-horses on the public road, which
draws forth a crowd of Edinburgh idlers, and all ends in a
dinner, for which a fixed sum is paid. Stat. Ace. of Scotland,
1845, vol. i. p. 12.
The maypole of Lostock, a village near Bolton, in Lanca-
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 215
shire, is probably the most ancient on record. It is men-
tioned in a charter by which the town of West Halton was
granted to the Abbey of Cockersand, about the reign of King
John. The pole, it appears, superseded a cross, and formed
one of the landmarks which defined the boundaries, and must
therefore have been a permanent and not an annual erection.
The words of the charter are, " De Lostockmepull, ubi crux
sita fuit recta linea in austro, usque ad crucem-super-le-
Tungc." Dugd., Monast. Anglic. 1830, vol. vi. p. ii. n. ii.
p. 906 ; Med. jflvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 238.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
Formerly it was customary in some parts of this county
to change servants on May-day. Times Telescope, 1823,
p. 118.
A peculiar rustic ceremony used annually to be observed
at Horncastle towards the close of the last century. On the
morning of May-day, when the young people of the neigh-
bourhood assembled to partake in the amusements which
ushered in the festival of the month, a train of youths col-
lected themselves at a place called the May-bank. From
thence with wands euwreathed with cowslips, they walked in
procession to the maypole, situated to the west end of the
town, and adorned on that morning with every variety in the
gifts of Flora. Here, uniting in the wild joy of young en-
thusiasm, they struck together their wands, and, scattering
around the cowslips, testified their thankfulness for that
bounty which, widely diffusing its riches, enabled them to
return home rejoicing at the promises of the opening year.
Weir, Sketches of Horncastle.
Dr. Stukeley, in his Itincrarium Curiosum (1724, p. 29),
alluding to this custom, says there is a maypole hill near
Horncastle, where probably stood an Hermes in .Roman times.
The boys annually keep up the festival of the Floralia on
May-day, making a procession to this hill with May-gads (as
they call them) in their hands. This is a white willow wand,
the bark peeled off, tied round with cowslips. At night
they have a bonfire, and other merriment, which is really a
sacrifice or religious festival.
246 MAT DAY. [MAT i.
ISLE OF MAN.
May Day is ushered in with blowing of horns on the
mountains, and with a ceremony which, says \Yaldron, has
something in the design of it pretty enough. In almost all
the great parishes they choose from among the daughters of
the most wealthy farmers a young maid for the Queen of May.
She is dressed in the gayest and best manner they can, and
is attended by about twenty others, who are called maids
of honour. She has also a young man, who is her captain,
and has under his command a good number of inferior officers.
In opposition to her is the Queen of Winter, who is a man
dressed in woman's clothes, with woollen hood, fur-tippets,
and loaded with the warmest and heaviest habits one upon
another. In the same manner are those, who represent her
attendants, drest ; nor is she without a captain and troop for
her defence. Both being equipt as proper emblems of the
Beauty of the Spring and the Deformity of the Winter, they
set forth from their respective quarters, the one preceded by
violins and flutes, the other with the rough music of the
tongs and the cleavers. Both parties march till they meet on
a common, and then their trains engage in a mock battle.
If the Queen of the Winter's forces get the better, so as to
take the Queen of May prisoner, she is ransomed for as much
as pays the expenses of the day. After this ceremony
Winter and her company retire, and divert themselves in a
barn, and the others remain on the green, where, having
danced a considerable time, they conclude the evening with
a feast, the queen at one table with her maids, the captain
with his troop at another. There are seldom less than fifty
or sixty at each board.
For the seizure of her Majesty's person that of one of
her slippers was substituted more recently, which was in
like manner ransomed to defray the expenses of the pageant.
The procession of the Summer which was subsequently
composed of little girls, and called the Maceboard * outlived
* The maceboard (probably a corruption of May sports) went from
door to door inquiring if the inmates would buy the queen's favour,
which was composed of a small piece of ribbon.
MAT i.] MAY DAY. 24.7
that of its rival, the Winter, some years, and now, like many
other remnants of antiquity, has fallen into disuse. Train,
History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 118; Waldron,
Description of the Isle of Man, p. 154.
MIDDLESEX.
London boasted several maypoles before the days of Puri-
tanism. Many parishes vied with each other in the height
and adornment of their own. One famed polo stood in
Basing Lane, near St. Paul's Cathedral, and was in the time
of Stow kept in the hostelry called Gerard's Hall. " In the
high-roofed hall of this house," says he, " sometime stood a
large fir pole, which reached to the roof thereof a polo of
forty feet long and fifteen inches about, fabled to be the
justing staff of Gerard the Giant." A carved wooden figure
of this giant, pole in hand, stood over the gate of this old
inn until March 1852, when the whole building was de-
molished for city improvements. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 576.
See Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 612.
A maypole was annually erected on May-day morning in
Leadenhall Street, then called Cornhill, before the south door
of the church known as that of St. Andrew the Apostle ; and,
in order to distinguish this church from others dedicated to
the same saint, it was termed in consequence St. Andrew's-
Under-Shaft . On the 1st May, 1517 (9th of Henry VIII.),
a violent tumult occurred in the city, and this polo was not
raised afterwards f The inhabitants had long regarded with
much jealousy the numerous foreigners who about that time
took up their abode in London J and practised various trades,
* This pole, when it wns fixed in (he ground, was higher than the
church steeple; and it is to this that Chaucer the poet refers when he
says, speaking of a vain boaster, that he bears his head "as he would
bear the great shaft of Cornhill." St-iw's Survey, B. ii. p. 6.~> ;
Godwin and Britton, Churches of London, 1S3J.
t Pennant, London (5th edition, p. 587), says this shaft gave rise to
the insurrection. Godwin and Britton deny this was the case.
J Hall, in his Chronicle, says these foreigners "compassed the citie
rounde aboute, in South warki-, in Westminster, Temple Barre, Holborne,
Sixyncte Martynes, Sayncte John's Strete, Algate, Toure Hyll, and
Sainct Katherinea."
218 MAY DAT. L^ AY *
to the great injury, as was then thought, of the citizens, and
on the 28th of April a quarrel took place between some of
the London apprentices at that time a powerful body and
two or three foreigners whom they met in the street, when
blows were exchanged. This disturbance, however, was
quickly quelled, but a rumour suddenly became general,
although none knew on what grounds, that on the ensuing
May-day, taking advantage of the sports and pastimes which
were expected, all foreigners then in the city would be slain.
In consequence of this various precautions were adopted by
the authorities with a view to prevent if possible any con-
templated outrage, and all men were commanded to stay in
their houses. Notwithstanding this injunction, on the even-
ning before May-day two striplings were found in Cheapside
" playing at the bucklers," and having been commanded to
desist, theory of " Trent ices, 'prentices, bats and clubs!" the
usual gathering words at that period, was heard through the
streets, and many hundreds of persons, armed with clubs and
other weapons, assembled from all quarters, broke open the
prisons, destroyed many houses occupied by foreigners, and
committed other excesses. After some exertions on the part
of the city authorities,* nearly three hundred of the rioters
were captured. A commission was appointed to inquire into
the insurrection, and a great number of the prisoners were
condemned to die, but with the exception of one John
Lincolne, who was hung, they were all ultimately pardoned.
After this circumstance, which acquired for the day on wkich
it happened the title of " Evil May-day," and induced those
in power to discountenance sports which led to large con-
gregations, the Cornhill shaft was hung on a range of hooks
under the "pentisesf" of a neighbouring row of houses,
where it remained till 1549. In that year, one Sir Stephen,
curate of St. Catherine Cree, in a sermon which he preached
* Cholmondeley, constable of the Tower, discharged some guns into
the streets, while the Earls of Shrewsbury and Surrey, collecting the
gentlemen of the Inns of Court, restrained the violence <f the populace.
Lyttli-ton, History of England, vol. ii. p. 167.
f Of the pent-house, or shelving roof projecting from the main wall,
by which the shops at that period were ordinarily protected, many
example*, Godwin and Britton say, existed in their time.
MAY i.J MAY DAY. 249
at Paul's Cross, persuaded the people that this pole had been
made into an idol by naming the church of St. Andrew with
the addition of Under that Shaft ; and so worked upon them,
that in the afternoon of the same day, " after they had dined,"
the inhabitants with great labour raised the pole off the
hooks on which it had rested thirty-two years, and each man
sawing off for himself a piece equal to the length of his
house, it was quickly demolished and burned. Godwin
and Britton, CJiurcles of London. 18H9 ; Brayley, Londiniana,
1829, vol. iii. p. 223 ; 'flails Chronicle, 1517.
Brayley in his Londiniana (vol. iv. p. 318) says, nearly
opposite to Craven Bu^ld ngs is a low public-house, bearing
the sign of the Cock and Pye (a contraction for the Cock and
Magpye), which two centuries ago was almost the only
duelling in the eastern part of Drury Lane, except the
mansion of the Drewries. Hither the youths and maidens
of the metropolis, who, in social revelry on May-day threaded
the jocund dance around the maypole in the Strand, were
accustomed to resort for cakes and ale and other refresh-
ments.
May Fair. This saturnalia was held by a grant of the
Abbot of Westminster, ' with revelry for fourteen days."
It took place annually, commencing on the first of May.
The locality was anciently called Brook Field, the site of
which is now covered with Curzon Street, Hertford Street,
and Chesterfield House. Frequent allusions to the fair are
found in plays and pamphlets of Charles ll.'s time, and
hand-bills and advertisements of the reigu of James II. and
his successors are in existence.
May Fair was granted by James II., in the fourth year of
his reign, to Sir John Coell and his heirs for ever, in trust
for Henry Lord Dover, and his heirs for ever. Before 1704
the ground became much built upon, as we learn from the
old rate-books, and in November 1708 the gentlemen of
the grand jury for the county of Middlesex and the city
of Westminster made presentment of the fair, in terms of
abhorrence, as a " vile and riotous assembly." The Qucon
listened to a petition from the bench of justices for Middlesex,
and a royal proclamation, dated April 28th, 1709, prohibiting
the fail- (at least as far as the amusements were concerned),
250 MAY DA*. [MAY I.
was the result. It was, however, soon revived " as of old,"
and, we are told, was much patronised "by the nobility
and gentry." It had also its attractions for the ruder
class of holiday-makers, as we learn from the following
copy of a hand-bill formerly in the Upcott Collection, dated
1748:
" May Fair. At the Ducking Pond on Monday next,
the 27th inst., Mr. Hootoa's dog Nero (ten years old,
with hardly a tooth in his head to hold a duck, but well
known for his goodness to all that have seen him hunt),
hunts six ducks for a guinea against the bitch called the
Flying Spaniel, from the Ducking Pond on the other side
of the water, which has beat all she has hunted against,
excepting Mr. Hooton's Good Blood. To begin at two
o'clock.
" Mr. Hooton bogs his customers won't take it amiss to
pay twopence admittance at the gate, and take a ticket,
which will be allowed as cash in their reckoning ; no person
admitted without a ticket, that such as are not liked may
be kept out.
" Note Eight Lincoln ale."
Mr. Morley, in his History of Bartholomew Fair (1859,
p. 103), after noticing the presentment of the grand jury in
1708 and the prohibition of May Fair, tells us that the fair
was revived, and " finally abolished in the reign of George II.
after a peace-officer had been killed in the attempt to quell a
riot." The statement, however, of the fair having been finally
abolished in the reign of George II. is perfectly gratuitous
on the part of the historian of " Bartlemy," as it existed until
near the end of another reign. Carter the antiquary wrote
an account of it in 1816, and he says that a few years
previously it was much in the same state as it had been for
fifty years. This description, full of curious interest, was
communicated to the Gentleman's Magazine for March 1816
(vol. Ixxxvi. p. 228). It has been reprinted in Hone's Every
Day Book, 1826, vol. i. p. 572 ; See Soane's New Curiosities of
Literature, 1867, voL i. p. 250, &c. ; N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. x.
p. 358.
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 251
NOBTHAMPTONSHIRB
On the morning of May-day the girls from the neigh-
bouring villages of Kingsthorpe, &c., bring into Northampton
their garlands, which they exhibit from house to house (to
show, as the inhabitants gay, what flowers are in season),
and usually receive a trifle from each house.
The skeleton of the garland is formed of two hoops of
osier or hazel crossing each other at right angles, affixed to a
staff about five feet long, by which it is carried ; the hoops
are twined with flowers and ribbons so that no part of them
is visible. In the centre is placed one, two, or three dolls,
according to the size of the garland and the means of the
youthful exhibitors. Great emulation is excited amongst
them, and they vie with each other in collecting the choicest
flowers, and adorning the dolls in the gayest attire ; ribbon
streamers of the varied colours of the rainbow, the lacemakers
adding their spangled bobbins, decorate the whole. The
garlands are carried from house to house concealed from
view by a large pocket-handkerchief, and in some villages
it is customary to inquire if the inmates would like to see
the Queen of the May.
Wherever the young people receive a satisfactory contri-
bution they chant their simple ditties, which conclude with
wishing the inhabitants of the house " a joyful May," or " a
merry month of May." The verses sung by the Dallington
children are entirely different from those of any other village,
and are here subjoined :
" The flowers are blooming everywhere,
O'er every bill nnd dale ;
And oh ! how beautiful they are,
How sweetly do they smell 1
Go forth, my child, and laugh and play,
And let your cheerful voiw,
With birds, and brooks, and merry May,
Cry out, liejoice 1 rejoice 1 "
When the Mayers have collected all the money they can
obtain, they return to their homes, and regale themselves,
concluding the day with a merry dance round the garland.
252 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
Every Day Book, 1826, vol. ii. p. 615 ; Glossary of North-
amptonshire Words and Phrases, 1854, vol. ii. p. 421.
Clare, " the Peasant Poet" of Northampton, in one of his
MS. ballads, describes the manner in which May-day is ob-
served in his native tillage, Helpstone, near Peterborough,
and the neighbourhood. His delightful ballad is printed
by Miss Baker in her work already quoted (vol. ii. p. 423).
"How beautiful May and its morning conies in!
'1 he songs of the maidens, you heur them begin
To sing the old bal ads while cowslips they pull,
\Vhile the dew of the morning fills many pipes fulL
The closes are spangLd with cowslips like gold,
Girls ciam in thtir aprons what baskets can't huld;
And still gather on to the heat of the day,
Till force often throws the List handful away.
Then beneath an old hawthorn they sit, one and all,
And make the May-garlands, and round cuck a ball
Of cowslips find blossoms so showy and sweet,
And laugh when they think of the swains they shall meet.
Then to finish the garland they trudge away home,
And beg from each garden the dowers then in bloom ;
Then beneath the old eldeni, beside the old wall,
They set out to make it, maid, misses and all.
The ribbons the ploughmen bought m;dds at the fair
Are sure to be seen in a garland so fair ;
And dolls from the children they dress up and take,
While children laugh loud at the show they will muke.
Then they take round the garland to show at each door,
With kerchief to hide the fine flowers cover'd o'er ;
At cottages also, when willing to pay,
The muicL-ns their much-admired garland display.
Then at ducJc-undcr-icater * adown the long road
They run with their dresse.s all dying abroad ;
And ribbons all colours, how sweet they appear!
May seems to begin the life of the year.
* Duck-under-thc-water. A game in which the players run, two and
two, in rapid succession, under a handkerchief held up aloft by two
persons standing apart wi:h extended arms. Formerly in this northern
part of Northamptonshire even married women on May-day played
at this game under the garland, which was extended from chimney
to chimney across the village btreet. Glossary of Northamptonshire
Word* and Phrases, 1854, vol. i. p. 201.
MAY i.] MAY DAY. 253
Then the garland on ropes is hung high over all,
One end to a tive, and one hooked to a wall ;
When they cuclt the ball over till day is nigh gone,
And then tea and cakes and the dancing comes on.
And then, lawk ! what laughing nnd dancing is tlere,
While the fiddler makes faces within the arm-chair ;
And then comes the cushion,* the girls they all shriek,
And fly to the door from the old fiddler's squeak.
Hut the doors they are fastened, so all must kneel down,
And take the rude kiss from the unmannerly clown.
Thus the May Barnes are ended, to their houses they roam,
With the sweetheart she chooses each maiden goes home."
* The cushion dance appears to be of some antiquity : it is thus
mentioned by Selden in his Table Talk, under "King of England":
' The court of England is much altered. At a solemn dancing, first
you have the great measures, then the Corrantues and the Galliards,
and this is kept up with ceremony ; at length to French-more
[Frenchmore] and the cushion dance, and then all the company
dance lord and groom, lady and kitchen maid, no distinction. So in
our court in Queen Elizabeth's time gravity and state were kept up.
In King James' time things were very p;etty well. But in King
Charles' time there was nothing but Frenchmore and the cushion-
dance, omnium gatherum, tolly polly, hoite come toite." In Play ford's
Dancing Master (1698, p. 7) it is described as follows : " This dance
is begun by a single person (cither man or woman), who. lakinga
cushion in hand, dances about the rom, and at the end of the tune
stops and sings, 'This dance it will no further go;' the musician
answers, ' I pray you, good sir, why bay you so?' Man. 'because
Jean Sanderson will not come to.' Musician. ' She must come to, and
t-he shall come to, and she must whether bhe will or no.' Tiien he
lays down the cushion before a woman, on which she kneels, and he
kisses her, singing, ' Welcome, Joan Sanderson, welcome, welcome.'
Then she rises, takes up the cushion, and both dance, singing,
' Prinkum prankum is a fine dance, and shall wo go dance it once
again ? ' Then making a stop, the woman sings as before, This dance
it will no furtln-r go.' Musician. ' I pray you, madam, why say you
so?' Woman. 'Because John Sanderson will not come to.' Muticinn.
' He must come to,' &c. (as before). And so she lays down the cushion
before a man, who, kneeling upon it, salutes her, she singing' Welcome,
John Sanilerson,' &c. Then he taking up the cushion, they dance
round, singing as before, and thus they do till the whole company are
taken into the ring. Then the cushion is laid before the first man, the
woman singing 'This dance,' An. (as before), only instead of not come
to,' they sing, 'go fro;' and instead of 'Welcome, John Sander--. n,'
' Farewell, farewell ;' and so they go out one by one as they came in."
This dance was well known in Holland in the early part of the
254 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
A native of Fotheringhay, Mr. W. C. Peach, relates that
he was formerly accustomed to go into the fields over-night
and very early on May-day to gather cowslips, primroses,
wood-anemones, blue bells, &c., to make the garlands. The
garland, if possible, was hung in the centre of the street on
a' rope stretched from house to house. Then was made the
trial of skill in tossing balls (small white leather ones) through
the framework of the garland, to effect which was a triumph.
Speaking of the May-bush (a large tree selected for being
tall, straight, full of branches, and if possible flowers), Mr.
W. C. Peach says, " I have been looking out for a pretty bush
days before the time, and if hawthorn and in blossom, then
it was glorious. I have seen them ten or twelve feet high,
and many iu circumference, and they required a stalwart arm
to carry and put them into a hole in the ground before the
front door, where they were wedged on. each side so as to
appear growing. Flowers were then thrown over the bush
and around it, and strewn as well before the door. Pretty
little branches of whitethorn, adorned with the best flowers
procurable, were occasionally put up, unperceived by others
if possible, against the bed-room of the favourite lass, to
show the esteem in which she was held, and the girls accord-
ingly were early on the alert to witness the respective
favours allotted them. Elder, crab- tree, nettles, thistles,
sloes, &c., marked the different degrees of respect in which
some of them were held." Glossary of Northamptonshire
Words and Phrases, vol. ii. p. 427.
At Nassington they carry garlands about, and beg for
money ; in the evening they tie them across the street from
chimney to chimney, and dance under them. Formerly
married women used to amuse themselves by playing under
them at the game of Duck-under-the- water.* Ibid. p. 428.
At Nassington a curious pasture custom also takes place
on May-day. There is a large tract of meadow-land lying
on the side of the river Nen, which the inhabitants of the
seventeenth century, and an interesting engraving of it may be seen in
the ' Emblems of John de Brunnes,' Amst. 1624. Nares' Glossary
(Halliwell and Wright), 1859, vol. i. p. 219.
* See note on page 252.
MAY I.] MAT DAT. 255
village have the right of pasturing cows upon.* The pasture
season commences on May-day, and on the evening pre-
ceding a rail is put across the entrance to the pasture,
which the cows must leap to get into. Much rivalry takes
place on this occasion. The lads watch through the night
and the dawning of May-day, the lasses with their cows
being ready at the proper moment to see which cow shall
leap the rail first into the meadow, and the cow which does
this is led round the village in the afternoon, her horns
decorated with rihbons, &c. Degradation only awaits the
hindmost cow, she has to carry elder, nettles, and thistles as
her badge, and the lass who milks her has to bear the gibes
and jeers of the villagers. Glossary, <e., p. 428.
At Morton-Pi nkeney the following song is sung by the
children on May-morning :
" I have n little purse in my pocket,
All fixed with a silver pin ;
Ami all that it wants is a more little silver
To liiie it well within.
The clock strikes one, I must be gone,
Or i-Ise it \\ill be day;
Good morning to you, ray pretty fair maid,
I wish you the merriment of Way."
Ibid. p. 426.
At Polebrook, on the last few days of April, the Queen of
May and her attendants gather what flowers they can from
the surrounding meadows, and call at the houses of the
principal inhabitants to beg flowers, the gift or the loan of
ribbons, handkerchiefs, dolls, &c., with which to form their
garland. This being arranged on hoops, the young maidens
assemble on May-morning, and carry it round the village,
preceded by a fiddler; and the following quaint song
very similar to the one used at Hitchin, and thought from
its phraseology to have been written in the time of the
Puritans is sung by the Queen and her company at the
different houses, and a gratuity is solicited.
" Remember us poor mayers all,
For now we do begin
To lend our lives in righteousness,
For fear we die in sin.
Vide Bridge's Hist, of Co. of Northampton, 1791, vol. it. p. 468.
256 MAY DAY. [MAY t,
To die in sin is a serious thing,
To go wliere sinners mourn ;
'T would have been better for our p >or souls
If we had ne'er been born.
Now we've been travelling all the night,
And best part of this day ;
And now we're returning back again.
And have brought you a branch of May.
A branch of May, which looks so gay,
Before your door to stand ;
'Tis but a sprout, but 'tis well spread out,
The work of our Lord's hand.
Arise, arise, yon pretty fair maid,
Out of your drowsy dream,
And step into your dairy-house
For a sup of your sweet cream.
O, for a sup of your sweet cream,
Or a jug of your own beer ;
And if we tarry in the town,
We'll call another year.
Now take the Bible in your hand,
And read a chapter through,
And when the day of judgment cornea,
The Lord will think of you.
Repent, repent, ye wicked men,
Repent before you die ;
There's no repentance in the grave,
When in the ground you lie.
But now my song is almost done,
I've got no more to say ;
God bless you all, both great and small,
I wish you a joyful May."
The garland is afterwards suspender! by ropes from the
school-house to an opposite tree, and the rnayers and other
children amuse themselves by throwing balls over it. With
the money collected tea and cakes are provided for the
joyous party. The Queen of the May takes her seat at the
head of the tea-table, under a bower composed of branches of
may and blackthorn ; a wreath of flowers is placed on her
head, and she is hailed " Lady of the May." The atten-
dants wait round her, the party of mayers seat themselves at
a long table below, and the evening concludes with mirth
and merriment. Glossary, d'C., p. 424.
MAY i.] MAT DAY. 257
NORTHUMBERLAND
The young people of Loth soxes go out early in the
morning to gather the flowering thorn and the dew off the
grass, which they bring home with rnu-^ic and acclamations ;
and Laving dressed a pole on the town-green with garlands,
dunce an.und it. A syllabub is also p; spared for the May-feast,
wh ch is made of warm milk from the cow, sweet cakes, and
wine ; and a kind of divination is practised by fishing with a
ladle for a wedding-ring which is dropped into it for the
purpose of prognosticating who shall be first married.
Hatch inson, Hist, of Northumberland, 1778, vol. ii., Appendix,
p. 14.
At N ewcastle-upon-Tyne it was formerly usual on May-
mornings for the young girls to sing these lines in the
streets, at the same time gathering flowers :
" Bise up, maidens, fie for shame !
For I've been four long miles from hame,
I've been gathering my garlands gay,
Rise up, fair mnids, and take in your May ! "
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1S49, vol. i. p. 219.
NOTTING H AMS H IR E.
The May-day customs observed in this county are in many
respects similar to those of other counties, but Nottingham-
shire has the honour of being the parent of most of the happy
sports which characterise this joyous period of the year, from
the fact of most of the May-day games having had their
origin in the world famous Eobin Hood, whose existence and
renown are so intimately connected with this district. His
connection with " Merry Sherwood " and the Sheriff of Not-
tingham have been universal themes for centuries : and these
and the " Miller of Mansfield " and the " Wise Men of Gotham "
Lave done more towards making this county famous than all
the rest of the ballads and popular literature put together.
Maypoles and morris-dances were formerly very general, and
the characters of Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck,
Maid Marian, and the Hobby-horse were well sustained.
The maypoles were somet : mes very elegantly ornamented,
and surmounted by flags and streamers of various colours.
8
258 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
One was not many years ago remaining by Hucknall Fol-
kard, and at the top were portions of the ironwork anrl
decorations still in being. The morris-dance was unques-
tionably one of the most popular of the many games incident
to this season, and was very generally prevalent through-
out this county, and many are the ballads dedicated to its
observance. The following is of 1614 :
" It was my hap of late by chance
To wet a country morris-dance,
Wh.-n, chiet'est of them all the foole
P,a d with a ladle and a toole;
When everv younkor sliak't his hels.
And tine Maid Marian svi'h her smoile,
Showed how a rascal plaid tin- voile,
And when the Lobby horse did wihy,
Then all the wenches yave a tihy,'' &c.
May-day, although a day of general holiday and rejoicing, is
nevertheless considered, as is the whole of the month, un-
lucky for marriage, and few are celebrated on this day ;
more weddings being hastened, so as to be over before this
day, than postponed until June. This does not apply to
divinations for future partners, for in some parts of the
county it is usual to prepare a sweet mixture on the first of
May, composed of new milk, cakes, wine, and spice, and for
the assembled company to fi=h with a ladle for a ring and a
sixpence, which have been dropped into the bowl ; the young
man who gains the ring and the young woman the sixpence
being supposed to be intended for each other. Jour, oj Arch.
Assoc. 1853, vol. viii. p. 234.
OXFORDSHIRE.
Previous to the Reformation a requiem mass is said to
have been performed every May-morning at an early houi-
on the top of Magdalen tower, Oxford, for the repose of the
sr.ul of Henry VII.. who had honoured that college with a
visit in 1486-7. The chor stars cont'nne to execute in the
same place, at five o'clock in tho morning of the same day,
certain pieces of choir-music, for which service the rectory
of Slimbridge in Gloucestershire pays the yearly sum of
10. The ceremony has encouraged the notion that He;iry
MAY i.J MAY DAY. 259
coutributed to the erection of the tower, but his only
recorded act of favour to the college is the confirmation of its
claim to the rectory charged with the annual payment.
The following hymn is sung on the occasion of this cere-
mony:
"Te Deum Putrem colimus,
Te laudibus pr< seqnimur,
Qui corpus cibo refieis
Ccelesti men tern gratia.
Te adoi ainus, O Jesu I
Te, Fili unigenite !
Tu, qui non detl-gimtus es
Subire claustra Viiguris.
Aetns in crucem f; ictus es,
Irato Deo viciirn>i ;
Per te, Salvator uiiice,
Vita} spus nobis rediit.
Tibi, aeteriie Spiritus,
Cujns atflutn popcnt
InLntem Deum Maria,
Sternum benedicimus !
Triune Deus, 1 ominum
Sa utis Aui-tor optime.
Iminen-uni hoc mvsteiiiim
Ovanti lingua canimus."
A correspondent of N. & Q. (2nd S. v'i. p. 446) thinks
tli is hymn was composed by Dr. Thomas Smith, a very
learned fellow of Magdalen College, soon after the Restora-
tion, and that it was not sung till about the middle of the
last century.* Akerman, History of Oxford, vol. i. p. 251 ;
Wade, Walks in Oxford, 1817, vol. i. p. 132.
* Whilst making some researches in the library of Christcliurch.
Oxford, Dr. Rimbault discovered what appeared to him to be the first
draft of the hymn in question. It has the following not.- 1 : " This
hymn is sung every day in MJigdnlen College Hall, Oxon, dinner and
Flipper, throughout the year for the after-grace, by the chaplain, clerks,
and choristers there. Composed by Dr. Benjamin Rogers, Doctor of
IMusicke, of the University of Oxon, 1685." It has been popularly
supposed, gays Dr. Rimbault, to be the Hymnus Eucharisticus,
\viitten by Dr. Nathan : el Ingelo, and sung at the civic feast at Guild-
hall on the 5th of July, 1660, while the King and the other exalted
peisonag. s were at dinner; but this is a mistake, for the words of
Info's hymn, very different from the Magdalt n hymn, still exist,
ar-d are to be found in Wood's Collection in tue Ashmolean Museum.
2CO MAY DAY. [M.VY I.
Dr. Rimbault, in a communication to the Illustrated Lon-
d n News (May 17th, 185t>), speaking of this custom, says :
In the year of our Lord God 15U1, the "most Christian"
King Henry VII. gave to St. Mary Magdalen College the
advowsons of the churches of Slimbridge, county of Glou-
cester, and Fyndon, county of Sussex, together with one acre
of land in each parish. In gratitude for this benefaction,
the college was accustomed, during the lifetime of their
royal benefactor, to celebrate a service in honour of the Holy
Trinity, with the collect still used on Trinity Sunday, and
the prayer, " Almighty and everlasting God, we are taught by
Thy Holy Word that the hearts of kings," &c. ; and after the
death of the king to commemorate him in the usual manner.
The commemoration service ordered in the time of Queen
Elizabeth is still performed on the 1st of May, and the
Latin hymn in honour of the Holy Trinity, which continues
to be sung on the tower at sun-rising, has evidently refer-
ence to the original service. The produce of the two acres
above mentioned used to be distributed on the same day
between liie President and Fellows ; it has however for many
years been given up to supply the choristers with a festal
entertainment in the college-liall.
It was also the custom at Oxford a generation ago for little
boys to blow horns about the streets early on May-day, which
they did for the purpose of " calling up the old maids." " I
asked an aged inhabitant," says a correspondent of N. & Q.
(4:th S. vol. vii. p. 430), " how long the horn-blowing had
ceased, and he replied, ever since the Eeform Bill came
in ; but that he remembered the time when the workhouse
children were let out for May-day early in the morning with
their horns and garlands, and a worthy alderman whom he
named always kept open house on that day, and gave them
a good dinner." " Calling up the old maids " no doubt refers
to the practice of calling up the maids, whether old or
young, to go a-maying. Hearne, in his preface to Robert of
Gloucester's C ' .rnnicle, alluding to the custom (p. 18),, says:
" 'Tis no wonder, therefoi'e, that upon the jollities on
the ftrst day of May formerly the custom of blowing with,
and drinking in, horns so much prevailed, which, though it
be now generally disused, yet the custom, of blowing them
MAT i.] MAT DAT. 261
prevails at this season, even to this day at Oxford, to remind
people of the pleasantness of that part of the year, which
ought to create mirth and gayety."
Aubrey has this memorandum in his Remains of Gentil-
isme and Judaiame (MS. Lansd. 266, p. 5): At Oxford the
boys do blow cows' horns and hollow canes all night ; and
on May-day the young maids of every parish carry about
garlands of flowers, which afterwards they hang up in their
churches.
At Combe, in the same county, troops of little girls dressed
up fantastically parade the village, carrying sticks, to the
top of which are tied bunches of flowers, and singing the
following sung :
M Gentlemen and ladies,
We wish you a happy Mny;
We've rome to sliow our garlands,
Because it is May-day."
The same verse, substantially, is the May-day song at Wont-
ton, an adjoining parish. The last two of the four lines are
sometimes as follow :
M Come, hiss my face, ami smi 11 my mnoe,
And give the lord ami lady Something.'
A'. & Q. 3rd IS. vol. vii. p. 425.
At Hcndington, about two miles from Oxford, the
gather garlands from house to house. Eae-h garland s
formed of a hoop for a rim, with two half hoops attached
to it and cross-ed above, much in the shape of a crown ; ea< h
member is adorned with flowers, and the top surmounted
by u crown imperial or other showy bunch of flowers. E;ich
garland is attended by four children, two girls dressed in
all their best, who carry the garland, supported betwixt them
by a stick pass< d through it between the arches. These are
followed by the "lord and lady," a bay and girl, who go
from house to house and sing the same song as is sung at
Combe. In the village are upwards of a dozen of these
garlands, with their " lords and ladies," which give to the
place the most gay and animated appearance. Literal y
Gazdte, May 1817.
262 MAT DAT. [MAT r.
At Tslip tlie children, carrying May-garlands, go about in
little groups, singing the following carol :
" Good morning, mi-sus and master,
I wish you a happy day ;
Please to smell my garland,
Because it is the first of May."
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 219.
SHROPSHIRE.
It has been usnal for the people in this neighbourhood to
assemble on the Wrekin hill on the Sunday after May-day,
and the three successive Sundays, to drink a health ' to all
friends round the Wrekin ; " but as on this annual festival
various scenes of drunkenness and licentiousness were
frequently exhibited, its celebration has of late been very
properly discouraged by the magistracy, and is going
deservedly to decay. Every Day Hook, vol. ii. p. 599.
SOMERSETSHIRE.
At Minehead May-day is observed by the celebration of a
custom called " H;;bby-horsing." A number of young men,
mostly fishermen and sailors, having previously made some
grotesque figures of light stuff, rudely resembling men and
horses with long tails, sufficiently large to cover and disguise
the persons who are to carry them, assemble together and
perambulate the town and neighbourhood, performing a
variety of antics, to the great amusement of the children and
young persons. They never fail to pay a visit to Dunster
Castle, where, pfter having been hospitably regaled with
strong beer and victuals, they al vays receive a present in
money. Many other persons, inhabitants of the places they
visit, give them small sums, and such persons as they meet
are also asked to contribute a trifle ; if they are refused, the
person of the refuser is subjected to the ceremony of booting
or pursuing. This is done by some of the attendants holding
his person while one of the figures inflicts ten slight blows on
him with the top of a boot, he is then liberated, and all
part es give three hnz7/is. The most trifling sum buys off
this ceremony, and it is seldom or never performed but ou
MAT i.] MAY DAT. 2G3
those who purposely throw themselves in their way, and join
tlie party, or obstruct them iii their vagaries. This custom
probably owes its origin to some ancient practice of peram-
bulating the boundaries of the parish. Savage, history of
Carthampton, p. 583.
STAFFORESHIBB.
At Uttoxeter groups of children carry gnrlands of flowers
about the town. The garlands consist of two hoops, one
passing through the other, which give the appearance of four
half circles, and they are decorated with flowers and ever-
greens and surmounted with a bunch of flowers as a sort of
crown, and in the centre of the hoops is a pendent orange
and flowers. Mostly one or more of the children carry a
little pole or stick, with a collection of flowers tied
together at one end, and carried vertically, and the children
themselves are adorned with ribbons and flouers. Thus
they go from house to house, which they are encouraged to
do by the pence they obtain. Eedfern, History of Uttoxeter,
1865, p. 202.
SUFFOLK.
Formerly in this county it was the custom in most
f. inn-houses for any servant who could bring in a branch
of hawthorn in full blossom to receive a dish of cream for
breakfast. To this practice the following rhyme apparently
alludes :
"This is the day,
And here is our May,
The finest ever seen,
It is fit for the queen ;
So pray, raa'nm, give us a cup of your cr< nm "
Braud, Fop. Antirj. 1849, vol. i. p. T29.
StJRRET.
In the parish of St. Thomas, Southwark, says Allen (His-
tory of Surrey and Sussex, 1829, vol. i. p. 261). there wns nn
ancient custom for the principal inhabitants to meet and
dine toother annually on the tirst of May. This was called
the " May-foast" The geutloinau who presided on the
264 MAY DAY. [MAY. I.
occasion was called the steward. At the meeting in 1698,
Mr. John Panther, being in that office, proposed to make a
collection for binding out as apprent : ces the children of poor
persons having a legal settlement. This was readily acceded
to, and it was resolved that the minister of the parish, and
such gentlemen as had served the office of steward, and should
afterwards serve it, should be governors. This excellent
plan has been followed ever since : the members for the
borough are always invited to the feast, and a liberal col-
lection is made. By means of donations and good management
on the part of the governors a considerable sum has boen
invested in the public funds. These boys are apprenticed
annually, and if so many are not found in St Thomas's
parish, the stewards in rotation may each appoint one from
any other parish. Brayley, History of Surrey, 1841, vol. v.
p. 399.
SUSSEX.
In very early times May-day was celebrated with great
spirit in the town of Rye; young people going out at sunrise
and returning with large bouglis and branches of trees, with
which they adorned the fronts of the houses. About three
hundred years ago the Corporation possessed certain wood-
lands, called the common woods, whither the people used to
go and cut the boughs, until at length they did so much
damage that the practice was prohibited. A few years ago
here and there a solitary may-bough graced a house, but they
have now ceased to appear altogether. A garland or two
carried by little children, and the chimney-sweepers in their
ivy-leaves, representing " Jack of May," are the only relics
of these May-day sports, so characteristic of merry England
in former times. Holloway, Hist, of Eye, 1847, p. 608.
WESTMORELAND.
At a village called Temple So werbv it is customary for a
number of pel-sous to assemble together on the green, and
there propose a certain number as candidates for contesting
the various prizes then produced, which consist of a t^r.iiti-
stone as the head prize j a hoiie, or whetstoue f.jr a razor, as
)i.\f I.] MAY 1>AT. 2C5
the second ; and whetstones of an inferior descript'on for
those who can only reach a state of mediocrity in " the noble
art of lying!" The people are the judges. Each candidate
in rotation commences a story such as his fertile genius at
the moment prompts, and the more marvellous and impro-
bable his story happens to be, so much the greater chance is
there of his success. After being amused in this manner
for a considerable length of time, and awarding the prizes to
the most deserving, the host of candidates, judges, and other
attendants adjourn to the inns, where the spurts of the day
very often end in a few splendid battles.- -.Every Day Book,
vol. ii. p. 599.
In this county it is the practice, every May-morning, to
make folks May-goslings,* a practice similar to that on the
first of April. Tlds custom prevails till twelve o'clock at
noon, alter which time none carry on the sport. On this
day, too, ploughmen and others decorate themselves with
garlands and {lowers, and parade through different towns for
their annual collection, which they spe .d in the evening wiih
their sweethearts at the maypole. Time's Telescope, 1829,
p. 176.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
The dance round the Maypole is kept up. says Cnthbort
Bede (N. & Q. 1st S. vol. x. p. 92), at the village of Clent,
near Hagloy.
WALES.
About a fortnight previous to May-day the qucstn n
among the lads and lasses is, " Who will turn out to dance in
the summer this year ?" From that time the mimes of the
performers are buzzed in the village, and runx-ur proclaiu s
them throughout the surrounding neighbourhood. Nor is it
asked with less interest, "Who will carry the garland?" and
" Who will he the Cadi?" About nine days or a week pro
vii.us to the festival a collection is made of the gayest
ribbons that can be procured. During this time, ttx>, the
chosen garland-bearer is busily employed. Accompanied by
oi^e Iroui among the intended dancers who is best kno\\n
* See pge 233.
266 MAY DAY. [MAY i.
among the farmers for good conduct, they go from house
to house throughout their parish, bogging the loan of
watches, silver spoons, and other utensils of this metal,
and those who are satisfied with the parties, and have a
regard for the celebration of this ancient day, comply with
their solicitation. When May-day morn arrives the group of
dancers assemble at the village tavern. From thence (when
permission can be obtained from the clergyman of the
parish) the procession sets forth, accompanied by the
ringing of bells. The arrangement and march are settled by
the Cadi, who is always the most active person in the
company, and is, by virtue of his office, the chief marshal,
orator, buffoon, and money-collector. He is always arrayed
in comic attire, generally in a partial dress of both sexes, a
coat and waistcoat being used for the upper part of the body,
and for the lower petticoats somewhat resembling Moll
Flagon, in the "Lord of the Manor." His countenance is
also distinguished by a hideous mask, or is blackened entirely
over, and then the lips, cheeks, and orbits of the eyes are
sometimes painted red. The number of the rest of the party,
including the garland-bearer, is generally thirteer, and with
the exception of the varied taste in the decoration of their
shirts with ribbons, their costume is similar. It consists
of clothing entirely new, made of a light texture for dancing.
White decorated shirts, are worn over the rest of their
clothing ; the remainder of the dress is black velveteen
breeches, with knee-ties depending halfway down to the
ancles, in contrast with yarn hose of a light grey. The
ornaments of the hats are large rosettes of varied colours,
with streamers depending from them ; wreaths of ribbon
encircle the crown, and each of the dancers carries in his
right hand a white pocket-handkerchief. The garland con-
sists of a long staff or pole, to which is affixed a triangular
or square frame, covered with strong white linen, on which
the silver ornaments are fixed, and displayed with great
taste. Silver spoons, &c.. are placed in the shape of stars,
squares, and circles. Between these are rows of watches,
and at the top of the frame, opposite to the pole in
its centre, the whole collection is crowned with the largest
and mobt costly of the ornaments, generally a large silver
MAY i.] MAT DAY. 2G7
cnp or tankard. This garland, \vli(-n completed on the eve of
May-day, is left for the night at that farm-house from
whence the dancers have received the most liber.il loan of
silver and plate for its decoration, or with that farmer who is
distinguished in his neighbourhood as a good master, and
liberal to the poor. Its deposit is a token of respect, and
it is called for early on the following morning. The whole
party being assembled, they march, headed by the Cadi.
After him follows the garland-bearer, and then the fiddler,
while the bells of the village merrily ring the signal of their
departure. As the procession moves slowly along the Cadi
varies his station, hovers about his party, brandishes a ladle,
and assails every passenger for a customary and expected
donation. Whun they arrive at a farm-house they take up
their ground on the best station for dancing. In the mean-
time the buffoonery of the Cadi is exhibited without intermis-
sion. He assails the inmates of the house for money, and when
this is obtained the process : on moves off to the next farm-
house. They do not confine the ramble of the -day to their
own parish, but go from one to another, and to any county
town in the vicinity. When they return to their resident
village in the evening, the bells, ringing merrily, announce
their arrival. The money collected during tlie day's ex-
cursion is appropriated to defray whatever expenses '.nay
have been incurred in the necessary preparations, aud the
remainder is spent in jovial festivity. Every Day Book,
vol. i. p. 562.
At Tenby, says Mason (Tales and Traditions of Tenby,
1858, p. 22), it was customary for the possessors of a m:xyplo
to try and pull down those set up in other places. A watch
was therefore set up round each.
SCOTLAND.
In some parts of Scotland, says Pennant, there is a rural
sacrifice on May-day. A cross is cut on some sticks, ench of
which is dipped in pottage, and the Thursday before Easter
one of these is placed over the sheep-cote, the stable, or the
cow-house. On the first of Mny they are curried t-> the hill,
where the rites are celebrated, all decked with wild flowers,
268 MAY DAY, [MAY i.
and after the feast is over replaced over the spots they were
taken from. This was originally styled Clonau-Bcltein, or
the split branch of the fir of the rock. Tour in Scotland,
1790, vol. i. p. 206.
COUNTY OP EDINBURGH.
At Edinburgh abont four o'clock in the morning there is
an unusual stir ; and a hurrying of gay throngs through the
King's Park to Arthur's Seat to collect the May-dew. In the
course of half an hour the entire hill is a moving mass of
all sorts of people. At the summit may be seen a company
of bakers and other craftsmen, dressed in kilts, dancing
round a maypole. On the more level part is usxially an
itinerant vendor of whisky, or mountain (not May) dew.
These proceedings commence with the daybreak. About
six o'clock the appearance of the gentry, toiling up the
ascent, becomes the signal for servants to march home ; for
they know tli at they must have the house clean and over. -
thing in order earlier than usual on May-morning. About
eight o'clock the fun is all over; and by nine or ten, were it
n.it for the drunkards who are staggering towards the ' gade
t wn," no one would know that anything particular had taken
place. See Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 609.
Fergusson the Scottish poet thus describes this custom :
" On May-day in a fairy ring
M^e've seen them, round St. Anthon's spring,
Frae gruss the c.iller dew-.lyups wring,
To wet their ein,
And water clear as crystal spring,
To synd them rleau."
Formerly the magistrates of Canongate, Edinburgh, used
to walk in procession to cLurch upon the fiist Sunday after
Beltane, carrying large nosogays This observance was
evidently a modified relic of the ancient festival of the sun ;
and the original meaning of the custom must have been an
expression of gratitude to that luminary, deified under the
name of Baal, for the first-fruits of his genial -nfluence.
Household Won. 8, 1859, vol. xix. p. 508.
MAY i.' MAT DAT. 269
THE HIGHLANDS.
On the first of May the herdsmen of every village hold
their Bcltcin, a rural sacrifice. They cut a square trench on
the ground, leaving the turf in the middle; on that they
make a fire of wood, on which they dross a large caudle of
eggs, butter, oatmeal, and milk ; and bring, besides tho
ingredients of the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky, f;>r
each of the company must contribute something. The rites
begin with spilling some of the caudle on the ground, by
way of libation ; on that every one takes a cake of oatmeal,
upon which are raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to
some particular being, the supposed preserver of their flocks
and herds, or to some particular animal, the real destroyer
of them : each person then turns his face to the fire, breaks
off a knob, and flinging it over his shoulder, says, This I give
to thee, preserve thou ray horses ; this to thee, preserve tin u
my sheep ; and so on. After that they use the same cere-
mony to the noxious animals. This I give to thee, fox!
spare thou my lambs ; this to thee, hooded-crow ! and
this to thee, eagle !
When the ceremony is over they dine on the caudle, and,
after the feast is finished, what is left is hid by two persons
deputed for that purpose ; but on the next Sunday they
re-assemble, and finish the reliques of the first entertainment.
Pennant's Tour in Scotland, 171)0, vol. i. p. 112
PERTHSHIRE:.
In Sinclair's Stat. Ace. of Scotland (1794, vol. xi. p. 020)
the Minister of Callander says : Upon the first day of May
all the boys in a township or hamlet meet on the moors.
They cut a table in tho green sod of a round figure, by
casting a trench in the ground of such circumference ns
to hold the whole company. They kindle a fire, and dress
a repast of eggs and milk of the consistence of a custard.
They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is tonsted at tho
embers against a stone. After the custard is eaten up,
they divide the cake into so many portions, as sim'Lir
as possible to one another in size and shape, as there arc
270 MAY DAT. [MAT I.
persons in the company. They daub one of those portions
all over with charcoal until it is perfectly black. They
put the pieces of the cake into a bonnet. Every one
blindfold draws out a portion ; he who holds the bonnet is
entitled to the last piece. Whoever draws the black piece is
the devoted person who is to be sacrificed to Baal, whose
favour they mean to implore in rendering the year produc-
tive of the sustenance of man and beasts. There is little
doubt of these inhuman sacrifices having been once offered
in this country as well as in the Kast, although they now
omit the act of sacrificing, and only compel the devoted
person to leap three times through the flames: with which
the ceremonies of this festival are closed. See N. & Q.
1st. S., vol. viii. p. 281.
At Logierait the 1st of May, old style, is chiefly celebrated
by the cowherds, who assemble by scores in the fields to dress
a dinner for themselves of boiled milk and eggs. These
dishes they eat with a sort of cakes baked for the occasion,
and having small lumps raised all over the surface. Ibid.
vol. v. p. 84.
WESTERN ISLES OF SCOTLAND.
Martin, in his Account of the Western Islands of Scotland
(1703, p. 7), speaking of the Isle of Lewis, says that the
natives in the village Barvas retain an ancient custom of
sending a man very early to cross Barvas river every first
day of May, to prevent any females crossing it first; for that
they say would hinder the salmon from coming into the river
all the year round. They pretend to have learned this from
a foreign sailor, who was shipwrecked upon that coast a long
time ago.
IRELAND.
In the south-eastern parts of Ireland (and no doubt all
over the island) a custom used to prevail perhaps so still
on May-day, when the young people of both sexes, and
many old people too, collected in districts and localities, and
selected the handsomest girl, of from eighteen to twenty-one
years of age, as queen of the district for twelve months. She
was then crowned with wild flowers ; and feasting, dancing,
MAY r.] MAY DAY. 271
and rural sports were closed by a grand procession in the
evening. The duties of her majesty were by no means heavy,
as she hod only to preside over rural assemblies of young folks
at dances and merrymakings, and had the utmost obedience
paid to her by all classes of her subjects. If she got married
before the next May-day her authority was at an end, but
still she held office until that day, when her successor to the
throne was chosen. If not married during her reign of twelve
months, she was capable of being re-elected ; but that seldom
happened, as there was always found some candidate put
f .'i-ward by the young men of the district to dispute the
crown the next year. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. iv. p. 229
In Ireland, says Mr. Crofton Croker, May-day is called La
na Seal tina, and May-eve neen na Baal tina, that is, the
day and eve of Baal's fire, from its having been in ancient
times consecrated to the god Beal, or Belus; whence also
t'le month of May is termed in Irish Mi na Seal tine. May-
el iy is the favourite festival of the mummers. They consist
( f a number, varying according to circumstances, of the girls
and young men of the village or neighb >urhood, usually se-
lected for their good looks, or their proficiency the females
in the dance, the youths in hurling and other athletic exer-
c'ses. They march in procession, two abreast, and in three
divisions : the young men in the van and the rear, dressed in
white or other gay coloured jackets or vests, and decorated
with ribbons on their hats and sleeves. The young women are
dressed also in light-coloured garments, and two of them
bear each a holly-bush, on which are hung several new hur-
ling balls, the May-day present of the girls to the youths
of the village. The bush is decorated with a profusion of
long ribbons, or paper cut in imitation, which adds greatly to
the gay and joyous, yet strictly rural, appearance of the
whole. The procession is always preceded by music, some-
times of tho bagpipe, but more commonly of a military fife,
with the addition of a drum or tambourine. A clown is of
course in attendance: he wears a frightful mask, and bears
a long pole, with shreds of cloth nailed to the end of it, like
a nwp, which ever and anon he dips in a pool of water or
puddle, and besprinkles such of the crowd as press upon his
companions, much to the delight of the younger spectators,
272 MAY DAY. [M\V I.
The mummers during the day parade the neighbouring
villages, or go from one gentleman's seat to another, dancing
before the mansion house, and receiving money. The eve-
ning of course terminates with drinking. Fairy Legends
and Traditions of the South of Ireland, 1825.
COUNTY DOWN.
On the first of May from time immemorial, until the year
1798, a large pole was planted in the market-place at Maghera,
and a procession of May boys, leaded by a mock king and
queen, paraded the neighbourhood, dressed in shirts over
their clothes, and ornamented with ribbons of various
colours. This practice was revived in 1813, and the May-
boys collected about 17 at the different places where they
called : this defrayed the expense of a public dinner next
day. Circumstances, however, occurred soon after which
induced one of the neighbouring magistrates to come into
the town and cut down the pole, which had been planted
in the market-place. Mason, Stat. Ace. of Ireland, 1814,
vol. i. p. 593.
COUNTY DUBLIN.
On the first day of May in Dublin and its vicinity it is
customary for young men and boys to go a fe'v miles out of
town in the morning, for the purpose of cutting a May-bush.
This is generally a white-thorn, of about four or five feet
high, and they carry it to the street or place of their resi-
dence, in the centre of which they dig a hole, and having
planted the bush, they go round to every house and collect
money. They then buy a pound or more of candles, and
fasten them to various parts of the tree or bush in such a
manner as to avoid burning it. Another portion of " the
collection " is expended in the purchase of a heap of turf
Rufficient for a large fire, and, if the funds will allow, an old
tar-barrel. Formerly it was not considered complete without
having a horse's skull and other bones to burn in the fire.
The depits for these bones were the tanners' yards in a part
of the suburbs, called Kilinainham ; and on May morning
groups of boys drag loads of bones to their several destina-
MAY I.] MAY DAY. 273
tioDS. This practice gave rise to a threat, yet made use of
" I will drag you like a horse's head to the bone-fire."
About dusk, when no more money can be collected, the bush
is trimmed, the turf and bones are made ready to set on fire,
the candles are all lighted, the bush fully illuminated, and
the boys, giving three huzzas, begin to dance and jump round
it. After an hour or so the heap of turf and bones is set
fire to, and when the candles are burnt out the bush is taken
up aud thrown into the flames. They continue playing
about until the fire is Imrrit out, each then returns to his
home, and so ends their May-day.
About two or three miles from Dublin on the great
Northern road is a village called Finglass. A high
pole is decorated with garlands, and visitors come in from
different parts of the country, and dance round it to whatever
music chance may have conducted there. The best male and
female dancers are chosen king and queen, and placed on
chairs. When the dancing is over they are carried by soire
of the party to an adjacent public-house, where they regale
themselves with ham, beef, whisky-punch, ale, cakes, ai;d
porter, after which they generally have a dance indoors,
nnd then disperse. There is an old song relating to the
above custom, beginning
" Yo la<ls and lasses all, to-day,
To Finiriass let us liaste awi.y,
With hearts so light and dre.sst.-s gay,
To dance around the maypole."
Every Day Bool;, vol. ii. p. 595
On May-day also, or on the preceding night, women put a
stocking filled with yarrow under their pillow, aud recite tha
following lines :
" Good morrow, good yarrow, good morrow to thee ;
I hope 'gain [by] the morrow my lover to see,
Aud that be may be married to me;
The colour of his hair, ami the clothes he does wear;
And if he be for me may hid f;.ce be tuiiiol to me ;
And if he be not, dark and surly he may be,
And his back be turned to me."
N. it Q. ith S. vol. iv. p. 505.
274 ST. HELEN'S DAY. [M\Y 2.
MAY 2.] ST. HELEN'S DAY ROWAN-TREE
DAY.
YOEKSHIEE.
FROM the following passage in Atkinson's Cleveland Glos-
sary (p. 417), it would appear that this is known in that
district as St. Helen's Day ; although the feast, properly so
called, is held on August 18th (which see). The transfer
seems to have originate! in the fact that the Invention (or
Discovery) of the Cross was due to St. Helen, who was thus
connected with the feast kept on May 3rd under that title.
At Cleveland, Yorkshire, the 2nd of May, St. Helen's Day,
is Rowan-tree day, or Rowan-tree Witch-day, and on that
day even yet with some the method of proceeding is for
some member of the household or family to go the first
thing in the morning, with no thought of any particular
rowan-tree rather, I believe, it might be said, till some
rowan-tree is fallen in with of which no previous knowledge
had been possessed by the seeker. From this tree a supply
of branches is taken, and (a different path homewards having
been taken, by the strict observers, from that by which they
went) on reaching home twigs are stuck over every door of
every house in the homestead, and scrupulously left there
until they fall out of themselves. A piece is also always
borne about by many in their pockets or purses, as a pro-
phylact ; c against witching. Not so very long since either
the farmers used to have whipstocks of rowan-tree wood
rowan-tree-gads they were called, and it was held that,
thus supplied, they were safe against having their draught
fixed, or their horses made restive by a witch. If ever a
draught came to a standstill there being in such cases no
rowan-tree-gad in the driver's hands, of course - then the
nearest witch wood-tree was resorted to, and a stick cut to
flog the horses on with, to the discomfiture of the malevolent
witch who had caused the stoppage.
MAY 8.] APPARITION OF ST. MICHAEL. 275
SCOTLAND.
On May 2nd, the eve of the Invention of the Holy Cross, it
is customary in Aberdeenshire to form crosses of twigs of
the rowan-tree and to place them over the doors and windows
as a protection against evil spirits. JV. & Q. 3rd S. vol. ii.
p. 483.
MAY 3.] THE HIGHLANDS.
Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland (1790, vol. i. p. Ill) says
that a Highlander never hegins anything of consequence on
the day of the week on which the 3rd of May falls, which
he styles La Sheachanna na bleanayh, or the dismal day.
MAY 8.] APPARITION OF ST. MICHAEL.
CORNWALL.
THE most remarkable observance of antiquity remaining
in this county is the " Furry festival " which has been cele-
brated from time immemorial on the 8th of May. At
Helston the day used to be ushered in very early in the
morning by the music of drums and kettles, and other
pleasant sounds, the accompaniments of a song :
" Robin Hood and Little John,
Thi-y both tire gone to the fair, O;
And wo will to the merry greenwood,
To see what they do there, O.
And for to chase, O,
To chase the buck and doe
With Hal-an-tow,
Jolly rumble, O.
And we were up as soon as any day, O
And for to fetcli tho summer home,
The summer and the may, O,
For the summer is a come, O,
Aud winter Li a go, O.
T 2
276 APPABITION OF ST. MICHAEL. [JI.VY 8.
Where are those Spaniards
That make so great a bopst, O ?
Tliey .-hall eat the grey goose-feather,
And we will eat the r. n.-t, O,
In every land, 0,
The land tliat ere we go,
With Hal-an-tow, &c. f
And we were up, &o.
As for St. George, O,
St. George he was a knight, O,
Of all the kings in Christen' iom,
King George is the right, O.
In every land, O,
The land that ere we go
With Hal-an-tow, &c.
Go 1 bless Aunt Mary Moses,
With all her power and might, O;
And send us peace in merry England,
Both day and night, O."
It was a general holiday : so strict, indeed, used the obser-
vance of this jubilee to be held that if any person chanced
to be found at work, he was instantly seized, set astride on
a pole, and hurried on men's shoulders to the river, where he
was sentenced to leap over a wide space, which if he failed in
attempting he of course fell into the water. There was
always, however, a ready compromise of compounding for a
leap. About nine o'clock the revellers appeared before the
grammar-school, and demanded a holiday for the school-boys,
after which they collected money from house to house. They
then used to fade into the country (fade being an old English
word for to go), and about the middle of the day returned
with flowers and oak-branches in their hats and caps, and
spent the rest of the day until dusk in dancing through the
streets to the sound of the fiddle, playing a particular tune ;
and threaded the houses as they chose claiming a right to
go through any person's house, in at one door and out of the
other. In the afternoon the ladies and gentlemen visited some
farmhouse in the neighbourhood ; whence, after regaling
themselves with syllabubs, they returned, after the fashion
of the vulgar, to the town, dancing as briskly the fade-dance,
and entering the houses as unceremoniously. In later times
a select party only made their progress through the streets
MAY 8.] APPARITION OF ST. MICHAEL. 277
very lato in tho evening, and having quickly vanished from
the scene, reappeared in the ballroom. Here meeting their
friends, they went through the usual routine of dancing till
supper ; after which they all fadded it out of the room,
breaking off by degrees to their respective houses. At
present this custom is fast falling into disuse, and the day
is only celebrated by a few of the lower classes.
Murray, in his Handbook for Cornwall, 1865, p. 301, says
that the furry festival is in commemoration of the following
curious legend : A block of granite, which for many years
had lain in the yard of the Angel Inn, was in the year 1783
broken up and used as a part of the building materials 1< r
tlie assembly-room. This stone, says the legend, W;is origi-
nally placed at the mouth of hell, from which it was one day
carried a.\ay by the devil as he issued forth in a frolicsome
mood on an excursion into Cornwall. Here he traversed the
country, playing with his pebble ; but it chanced that St.
Michael (who figures conspicuously in the town arms and is
the patron saint of the town) crossed his path ; a comlmt
immediately ensued, and the devil, being worsted, dropped
the Hell's stone in his flight ; hence the name of the town.
There have been many opinions regarding the meaning
and derivation of the word furry. Polwhele says (History
of Cornwall, 1826, vol. ii. p. 41) that furry is derived from
fer, a fair : a derivation which seems probable from the ex-
pression in the furry-song. " They both are gone to the fair, 0.'
Some think that the word in question is derived from the
Greek </>e'po>, to bear. The rites of the /urn/ correspond most
intimately with the df#es <o/3o, a Sic. 1 an festival, so named
aTro T(. <f>ep(tv avtiea, or from carryimj flowers, in commemora-
t'on of the rape of Proserpine, whom Pluto stole as she was
gathering flowers " herself a fairer flower 1" Others derive
the word furry from the Cornish furrier, a thief, from the
green spoils they brought home from the woods. See
Potter's Antiquities, vol. i., and Gent. May. vol. li. pp. 520,
873, 1100.
278 WHITSUNDAY. [MAY IO.
MAT 10.] WHITSUNDAY.
IN the Catholic times of England it was usual to dramatise
the descent of the Holy Ghost, which this festival com-
memorates, a custom we find alluded to in Barnaby Googe's
translation of Naogeorgus :
"On Whit-sunday whyte pigeons tame in strings from heaven flie,
And one that framed is of wood stUl hangcth in the skie.
Thou seest how they with idols play, and teach the people too;
Noiie otherwise thau little gyrls with puppets used to do."
In an old Computm, anno 1509, of St. Patrick's, Dublin, we
find iv 8 ' vii d ' paid to those playing with the great and little
angel and the dragon ; iii 8 ' paid for little cords employed
about the Holy Ghost ; iv 8 ' vi d> for making the angel (thitriji-
cantis) censing, and ii a< ii d> for cords of it all on the feast
of Pentecost. Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 685.
Whitsunday is observed as a Scarlet Day in the Univer-
sities of Oxford and Cambridge. Kalendar of the English
Church, 1865, p. 73.
The origin of the term Whitsunday has been warmly
contested by various writers, and still seems to be an un-
decided question. For an interesting article on this subject,
see N. & Q. 5th S. vol. i. pp. 401-403. Consult also N. & Q.
'2nd S. vol. ii. p. 154 ; 3rd S. vol vii. p. 479 ; 4th 8. vol. xi.
p. 437. Dr. Neale's Church Festivals and their Household
Words. The Prayer Book Interleaved (Champion and
Beaumont).
Whitsun Ale. Ale was so prevalent a drink amongst us
in old times, as to become a part of the name of various festal
meetings, as Leet-ale, Lamb-ale, Bride-ale (bridal), and, as we
see, Whitsun-ale. It was the custom of our ancestors to have
parochial meetings every Whitsuntide, usually in some barn
near the church, consisting of a kind of picnic, as each
parishioner brought what victuals he could spare. The ale,
which had been brewed pretty strong for the occasion, was
sold by the churchwardens, and from its profits a fund
arose for the repair of the church. See Boole of Days, vol. i.
p. 637 j also Brand, Pop. Antiy. 184'J, vol. i. pp. 276, 283.
MAY 10.] WHITSUNDAY. 279
CORNWALL.
Whitsuntide is observed at Polperro by a custom of the
young people going in droves into the country to partake of
milk and cream. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. xii. p. 298.
Carew in his Survey of Cornwall (p. 68), speaking of the
church ale, says that " two young men of the parish are
yerely chosen by their last foregoers to be wardens, who,
dividing the task, make collection among the parish oners
of whatsoever provision it plenseth them voluntarily to
bestow. This they employ in brewing, baking, and other
acates [provisions] against Whitsuntide ; upon which holy-
days the neighbours meet at the church-house, and there
merrily feed on their owne victuals, contributing some petty
portion to the stock, which, by many smalls, ^rroweth to a
meetly greatness ; for there is entertayned a kind of emu-
lation between these wardens, who, by his graciousness in
gathering and good husbandry in expending, can best advance
the elmrche's profit. Besides, the neighbour parishes at those
times lovingly visit each one another and this way frankly
spend their money together. The afternoones are consumed
in such exorcises as olde and yong folke (having leisure) doe
accustoniably weare out the time withall. When the feast is
ended, the wardens yeeld in their account to the parishioners,
and such money as exceedeth the disbursement is layd up in
store, to defray any extraordinary charges arising in the
parish or imposed on them for the good of the country or
the prince's service, neither of which commonly gripe so
much but that somewhat still remayneth to cover the purse's
bottom." This custom is falling into desuetude, if it be not
already discontinued. See N. & Q. 1st S. vol. xii 298.
CUMBERLAND.
At this season, and also at Martinmas, are held hirinrja for
farmers' servants. Those who offer their services stand in a
body in the market-place, and to distinguish themselves
hold a bit of straw or green branch in their mouths. When
the market is over the girls begin to file off, and gently paco
the streuts with a view of gaining admirers, while the young
280 WHITSUNDAY. [M.VY IO.
men, with similar designs, follow them, and, having eyed the
lasses, each picks up a sweetheart, whom they conduct to a
dancing-room, and treat with punch and cake. Here they
spend their afternoon, and part of their half-year's wages, in
drinking and dancing, unless, as it frequently happens, a
girl hecomes the subject of contention, when the harmony of
the meeting is interrupted, and the candidates for her affec-
tion settle the dispute by blows without further ceremony.
Whoever wins the victory secures the maid for the present,
but she is sometimes finally won by the vanquished pugilist.
When the diversions of the day are concluded, the servants
generally return to their homes, where they pass about a
week before they enter on their respective services. Britton
and Brayley, Beauties of England and Wales, 1803, vol. iii.
p. 243.
ESSEX.
Heybridge Church, near Maid on. was formerly strewn
with rushes, and round the pews, in holes made apparently
fur tlie purpose, were placed small twigs just budding.
N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. i. p. 471.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
At St. Briavels, after divine service, formerly, pieces of
bread and cheese were distributed to the congregation at
church. To defray the expenses, every householder in the
parish paid a penny to the churchwardens, and this was sa.d
to be for the liberty of cutting and taking the wood in
Hudnalls. According to tradition, the privilege was ob-
tained of some Earl of Hereford, then lord of the Furest of
Dean, at the instance of his lady, upon the same hard terms
that Lady Godiva obtained the privileges for the citizens of
Coventry. Rudder, History of Gloucestershire, 1779, p. 307.
See N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. x. p. 184.
A remnant of the old customs of Whitsuntide is retained
at the noble old church of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, which
is annually strewn with rushes in accordance with ancient
practice. See Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities,
pp. 216, 217.
A custom existed at Wickham for the lord of the manor
M.\Y 10.] WHIT.UXDAY. 281
to give a certain quantity of malt to brew ale to be given
away at Whitsuntide, and a certain quaut.ty of flour to make
cakes. Every one who kept a cow sent curd ; others, plums,
sugar and flour. A contribution of sixpence from each
person was levied for furnishing an entertainment, to which
every poor person of the parish who came was presented
with a quart of ale, a cake, a piece of cheese, and a cheese-
cake. Rodder, History of Gloucestershire, 1779, p. 817.
HAMPSHIRE.
At Monk Sherborne, near Basingstoke, both the Priory
nnd parish churches were decorated with birch on Whit-
sunday. N. & Q. 4.th S. vol. ii. p. 190.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
On Whitsunday, says a correspondent of N. & Q. (kth S.
vol. i. p. 551), I was in the church of King's Pion, near
Hereford, and was struck w.th what seemed to me a novel
style of church decoration. Every pew corner and "point
of vantage " was ornamented with a sprig of birch, the light
green leaves of which contrasted well with the sombrcness
of the woodwork. No other flower or foliage was to be seen
in the church.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Miss Bakor (Glossary of Northamptonshire Words, 1854,
vol. ii. p. 433) describes the celebration of a Whitsun-alo
early in the present century in a barn at King's Sult-ui,
fitted up for the entertainment, in which the lord, as tho
principal, earned a mace made of silk, finely plaited with
ribb us, and iilled with spices and perfumes for such of tho
company to smell as desired it; six morris dancers were
among the performers.
In a \Vhitsun-ale, last kept at Greatworth in 1785, tho
fool, in a motley garb, with a gridiron painted, or worked
with a needle, on his back, carried a stick with a bladder,
and a calf's t til. Majordomo and his lady as Queen of May,
und niy lord's morris (*>ix in number) were in this precession.
282 WHITSUNDAY. [MAY IO.
They danced round a garlanded maypole. A banquet was
served in a barn, and all those who misconducted themselves
were obliged to ride a wooden horse, and if still more unruly
were put into the stocks, which was termed being my lord's
organist. Glossary, &c., p. 434.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
An unchartered Whitsun Tryste Fair is still held annually
on Wldtsunbank Hill, near Wooler. N. & Q. 5th S. vol. i.
p. 402.
OXFORDSHIRE.
A custom formerly prevailed amongst the people of
Burford to hunt deer in Wycliwood Forest. An original
letter, in the possession of the corporation, dated 1593,
directs the inhabitants to forbear the hunting for that year,
on account of the plague that was then raging, and states
an order that should be given to the keepers of the forest,
to deliver to the bailiffs two bucks in lieu of the hunting ;
which privilege, was not, however, to be prejudiced in
future by its remittance on that occasion. Brand, Pop.
Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 284.
SOMERSETSHIRE.
Collinson, in his History of Somersetshire (vol. iii. p. 620),
speaking of Yatton, says that, " John Lane of this parish,
gentleman, left half an acre of ground, called the Groves, to
the poor for ever, reserving a quantity of the grass for the
strewing church on Whitsunday."
IRELAND.
The Irish kept the feast of Whitsuntide with milk food,
as among the Hebrews ; and a breakfast composed of cake,
bread, and a liquor made by hot water poured on wheaten
bran. Every Day Boole, vol. i. p. 685.
At Holy Island, as regularly as the season of Whitsuntide
comes, a concourse of people is assembled to perform penance.
They make two hundred and eighty rounds, the circum-
MAT ii.] WHITSUN MONDAY. 233
ference of some being a mile, others half a mile, till tliey
are gradually diminished to a circuit of the church of St.
Mary. A detailed and probably much exagg Tated account
of the scene upon this occas : on will be found in Hardy's
Holy Wells of Ireland, 1836, p. 29.
MAT ii.] WHITSUN MONDAY.
CHESHIRE.
THE Whitsun Mysteries were acted at Chester, seven
or eight on each day during the Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday in Whitsun week. The drapers, for instance,
exhibited the " Creation ;" the tanners took the ' Fall of
Lucifer ;" the water-carriers of the Dee reproduced the
"Deluge;" the cooks had the "Harrowing of Hell.' The
performers were carried from one station to another by
means of a movable scaffjld, a huge and ponderous machine
mounted on wheels, gaily decorated with flags, and divided
into two compartments, the upper of which formed the stage,
nn<l the lower, defended from vulgar curiosity by coarse
canvas draperies, answered the purposes of the gi'een-room.
The performers began at the Abbey gates*, wliere they were
witnessed by the high dignitaries of the Church; they then
proceeded to the High Cross, where the Mayor and the
civic magnates were assembled ; and so on, through the city,
until their motley history of God and His dealings with
man had been played out. The production of these pageants
was costly; each mystery has been set down at fifteen or
hveuty pounds, present money. The dresses were obtained
from the churches, until, this practice being denounced us
scandalous, the guilds had then to provide the costume and
other properties. See Edinburgh Essays, 1856 ; also Book of
Days, vol. i. pp. 633-037.
DERBYSHIRE.
Derby having for many centuries been celebrated for its
ale, which Cainden says was made here in such perfection,
284 WHITSUN MONDAY. P^ AY TI<
that wine must be very good to deserve a preference, and
Fuller remarks, '' Never was the wine of Fulernum better
known to the Romans than the canary of Derby is to the
English," it is not a matter of surprise to find some
remnants of the Whitsun-ales in the neighbourhood. In
a manuscript in the Bodleian Library is a record of the
Whitsun-ales at Elvaston and Ockbrook, from which it
appears that they were formerly required to brew four ales
of a quarter of malt each. Every inhabitant of Ockbrook
was obliged to be present at each ale ; every husband and
his wife to pay twopence, and every cottager one penny ;
the inhabitants of Elvaston, Thurlastou, and Ambaston to
receive all the profits and advantages arising from the ales
to the use and behalf of the church at Elvaston. The
inhabitants of Elvaston, Thurlaston, and Ambaston to brew
eight ales, each inhabitant to be present as before, or to
send their money. Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii.
p. 206.
HAMPSHIRE.
At St. Mary's College, Winchester, the Dulce Domum is
sung on the evening preceding the Whitsun holidays ; the
masters, scholars, and choristers, attended by a band of
music, walk in procession round the courts of the College,
singing it. Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 452. Sue
Gent. Mag., 1811, vol. Ixxxi. p. 503.
LANCASHIRE.
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag. (1783, vol. liii. p. 578)
says there seems to be a trace of the descent of the Holy
Ghost on the heads of the Apostles in what passes at
Whitsuntide Fair, in some parts of Lancashire, where one
person holds a stick over the head of another, whilst a
third, uuperceived, strikes the stick, and thus gives a smart
blow to the first.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
A fair used to be held on Whitsun Monday at Hincklcy,
when the millers from various parts of the country walked
MAY ii.] wurrscx MONDAY. 285
in procession dressed in ribbons, with what they called the
King of the Millers at their head.
A writer (in 1787) describing one of these fairs says : To
the old ceremony of riding millers, many improvements
were made upon a more extensive and significant plan :
several personages introduced that bore allusions to the
manufacture, and were connected with the place. Old Hugo
Baron de Grentemaisnel, who made his first appearance in
1786, armed in light and easy pasteboard armour, was this
second time armed cap-a-pie in heavy sinker plate, with
pike and shield, on the latter the arms of the town. The
representative baron of Hinckley had the satisfaction of
being accompanied by his lady, the Baroness Adeliza,
habited in the true antique style, with steeple hat, ruff-
points, mantle, &c., all in suitable colours ; each riding on
nimble white steeds properly caparisoned ; they wero
preceded by the town banner, and two red streamers
embroidered with their respective names. Several bands of
music gave cheerful spirit to the pageant, but more par-
ticularly the militia baud from Leicester. The frame-work
knitters, wool-combers, butchers, carpenters, &c., had each
their plays, and rode in companies bearing devices or allu-
sions to their different trades. Two characters, well
supported, were Bishop Blaise and his chaplain, who
figured at the head of the wool-combers. In their train,
appeared a pretty innocent young pair, a gentle shepherd
and shepherdess : the latter carrying a lamb, the emblem of
her little self more than of the trade. Some other little
folks, well dressed, were mounted on ponies, holding instru-
ments, the marks of their fathers' businesses, and ornamented
with ribbons of all colours waving in the air. See Nichols,
llittory of HincMey, 1813, p. 678.
Thrusby, in his History of Leicester (1791, vol. iii. p. 85),
gives the following account of a custom observed in his
time at Ratby. He says : There shall be two persons
chosen annually, by a majority, to be called caterers, which
shall on every Whit Monday go to Leicester, to what inn
they shall think proper, where a calf's head shall be pro-
vided for their breakfast ; and when the bones are picked
clean, they are to be put into a dish and served up with the
286 WHITSTTN MONDAY. [MAY II.
dinner. Likewise, the innkeeper is to provide two large
rich pies, for the caterers to take home, that their families
may partake of some of their festivity. Likewise, there
shall be provided for every person a short silk lace, tagged
at both ends with silver, which, when so equipped, they
shall all proceed to Enderhy, and sell the grass of the
Wether (a meadow so called) to the best bidder ; from
thence they shall go to the meadow, and all dismount, and
each person shall take a small piece of grass from the
before-mentionc d Wether, and tie it round with tlieir 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 pro-
cession to St. Mary's Church, where a sermon shall be
preached for the benefit of the hospital founded by Henry,
Earl of Leicester. When service is over, a deed shall be
read over by the clergyman, concerning the gift of the above
AY ether, and the church shall be stuck with flowers. When
the ceremony is over, they are to return to their inn to
dinner, and close the day with mirth and festivity.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
At Corby near T?ockingham, every twentieth year, the
inhabitants assemble at an early hour, and stop up all roads
and bye -ways in the parish, and demand a certain toll
of every person, gentle or simple, who may have occasion to
pass through the village on that day. In case of non-
compliance a stout pole is produced, and the nonconformist
is placed thereon, in a riding attitude, carried through the
village, and taken to the parish stocks and imprisoned until
the authorities choose to grant a dismissal. It appears that
Queen Elizabeth granted to the inhabitants of Corby a
charter to free them from town toll throughout England,
Wales, and Scotland ; and also to exempt them from serving
on juries at Northampton, and to free the knights of the
shire from the militia law. This custom of taking toll has
been observed every twenty years in commemoration of the
granting of the charter. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. i. p. 424.
MAY II.] WH1T8UN MONDAY. 287
OXFORDSHIRE.
Until within the last century, a custom prevailed in the
parish of Ensliam, by which the towns-people were allowed
on \Vhitsun Monday to cut down and carry away as
much timber as could be drawn by men's hands into the
Abbey yard, the churchwardens previously marking out
such timber by giving the first chop ; so much as they could
carry out again, notwithstanding the opposition of the
servants of the Abbey to prevent it, they were to keep for
the reparation of the church. By this service they held
their right of commonage at Lammas and Michaelmas, but
stbont the beginning of last century this practice was laid
aside by mutual consent. Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 669.
SHROPSHIRE.
An old custom, called the " Boy's Bailiff," formerly pre-
vailed at Wenlock, in Wh'tsun week. It consisted of a
man who wore a hair-cloth gown, and was called the bailiff,
a recorder, justices, and other municipal officers. There
were a large retinue of men and boys mounted on horse-
back, begirt with wooden swords, which they carried on
their right sides, so that they were obliged to draw their
swords out with their left hands. They used to call at the
gentlemen's houses in the franchise, where they were regaled
with refreshment ; and they afterwards assembled at the
Guildhall, where the town clerk read some sort of rigmarole
which they called their charter, one part of which was
" We go from Bickbury, and Badger, to Stoke on the Glee,
To Monkhopton, Round Acton, and BO return we."
The first three named places are the extreme points of
the franchise, and the other two are on the return to Much
Wenlock. This custom is supposed to have originated in
going a bannering. Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 284.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
The Court of Array, or view of men and arms, was held on
Whitsun Monday in the vicinity of Lichfield, called Green-
288 WHITSUN MONDAY. [MAY II.
hill, wliere every householder failing to answer his name
when called from the dozeners' list was fined a penny. The
origin of this singular ceremony is unknown ; it existed
long before the charters of incorporation, and may perhaps
be the remains of the commissions of array issued in the
time of Henry V., who ordered every man to keep in his
possession arms and armour, according to his goods and
station in life, whence the enrolment of a regular armour
took place These statutes of array were repealed. Some-
thing, however, like the old custom was continued, and a
booth erected for this purpose, in which the magistrates
received all the inhabitants who chose to visit them, and
partake of a collation provided for that purpose.
The business of the day commenced about eight o'clock
in the morning, when the constables, attended by armed
men wearing their colours of dist'nction, with drums
beating, preceded by morris dancers, with the Maid
Marian, tabor and pipe, &c., conducted the bailiffs and
sheriff, and other city officers, to the bower, where they
were received with a salute from the men at arms. The
constable then returned to collect the dozeners with their
standards or posies, who, with the inhabitants of each
separate ward, were with like ceremonies conducted to the
bower. The posies were probably originally images of
saints : they afterwards became emblems of trades, or in
many instances mere puppets or garlands borne upon the
heads of their ancient halberds ; these were in every ward
received with a volley from the men at arms, who also fired
over every separate house, for which they received money
and liquor from the inhabitants. Greenhill was on these
occas ons crowned with shows, booths, and stalls, and the
day was regarded as a festival for the city and neighbour-
hood. About nine o'clock in the evening, the whole of the
posies being collected, a procession was formed to conduct
them to what was called the christening, and was in the
following order :
Tabor and pipe decorated with ribands.
Tom fool and Maid Mar! an.
Morrice dancers, dancing saraband.-!, -clashing their ttaves.
Two captains of the araiea meu-
MAY ii.] WHITSUN MONDAY. 289
Twenty-four armed men with drums.
Twenty-one dozent-rs with standards or ^osiej.
Two constables.
Gaoler.
Sheriff.
Serjeants at Mare and Town Crier.
Bailiffs, and Town Clerk.
Liiizens. inhabitants, &u.
On arriving at the door of St. M:iry's Church, after passing
up Buar Street, and down Sadler Street, au address was made
by the town clerk, recommending a peaceable demeanour,
und watchful attendance to their duty ; and a volley being
fired over the posies the business of the day ended. At one
fine the images were deposited in the belfry of the adjoining
church, from which it may be concluded that the origin of
this procession was religious. This custom was abolished
by the magistrates in 1805, at which time the expense was
annually about 70 ; but was afterwards in some degree
continued by private subscription. Account of Lichjteld,
1818, 1819, p. 87.
Southey, in his Common Place Book (1849, 2nd S. p. 33G),
gives the following extract from Mrs. Fienne's MSS :
"At Liehfield they have a custom at Whitsuntide, ye
Monday and Tuesday, called the Green Bower Feast, by
which they hold their charter. The bailiff and sheriff assist
at the ceremony of dressing up babies with garlands of
flowers and greens, and carry them in procession through all
the streets, and then assemble themselves at the market-
place, and BO go in a solemn procession through the great
street to a hill beyond the town, where is a large green
bower made, in which they have their feast. Many smaller
bowers are made around for company, and for booths to sell
fruit, sweetmeats, ginger-bread," &c.
WALES.
At Tenby a women's benefit club walked in procession to
church with band and banners before them and bunches of
flowers in their hands. After the service they dined, and
wound up the evening by dancing. Mason's Tales atid
Traditions of Tenby, 1858, p. 23.
290 W1IITSUN TUESDAY. [MAY 12.
MAY 12.] WHITSUN TUESDAY.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
At Biddenham there is an ancient customary donation of a
quantity of malt, made at Whitsuntide by the proprietor of
Kempston Mill, near the parish. The malt is always de-
1 vered to the overseers of the poor for the time beinp, and
brewed by them into ale, which is distributed among all the
poor inhabitants of Biddenham on Whit Tuesday. Old
English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 65.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
The Eton Montem was a long celebrated and time-
honoured ceremony peculiar to Eton, and said to have been
coeval with the foundation of the college, and was observed
biennially but latterly triennally down to the year 1844,
when it was totally abolished. It was a procession of the
scholars dressed either in military or fancy costume, to a
small mount on the south side of the Bath Road (supposed
to be a British or Saxon barrow), where they exacted money
for salt, as the phrase was, from all persons present, and
from travellers passing. Tne ceremony was called the
Montem. The procession of boys, accompanied by bands of
music, and carrying standards, was usually followed by
many old Etonians, and even by members of the royal
family in some cases by the king and queen. Arrived
at Salt-hill, the boys ascended the " mons," or mount, the
' v captain " unfolded the grand standard, and delivered a
speech in Latin, and the " salt " was collected. The
principal " salt-bearers " were superbly dressed, and carried
embroidered bags for the money. The donation of the king
and queen was called the "royal salt," and tickets were
given to those who had paid their salt.* Immense numbers
* The mottoes on the tickets varied in different years. In 1773,
the words were "Ad Montem;" in 1781 and 1787 "Mos pro lege est;"
in 1790. 1796, 1808, 1812, " Pro more et monte ;" and in 1799 and
1805, "Mos pro lege." Bnmd, Fop. Atttiq., 18i9, vol. i. p. 436.
12.] WHITSUN TUESDAY. 291
of people used to assemble to witness the procession, and
the money collected frequently exceeded 1000. After de-
ducting the necessary expenses, the remainder was given to
the senior scholar, who was elected to Cambridge, for his
support at that University.
The origin of this custom, notwithstanding much anti-
quarian research, is unknown. Some, however, are of
opinion that it was identical with the bairn or boy -bishop.
It originally took place on the 6th of December, the festival
of St. Nicholas (the patron of ch-ldreti ; being the day on
which it was customary at Salisbury, and in other places
where the ceremony was observed, to elect the 6oy-bishop,
from among the children belonging to the cathedral), but
afterwards it was held on Whitsun Tuesday. Sheahan,
History of Buckinghamshire, 1862, p. 862 ; Tysons' Mayna
Britannia, 1813, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 558; Gent. Mag., 1820,
vol. xc. p. 55; See N. & Q. 1st S., vol. i. pp. 110, 322;
2nd S. vol. ii. p. 146.
CUMBERLAND.
The ten principal estates in the parish of Hesket were
formerly called Bed Spears, from the titles of the owners,
obtained from the curious tenure of riding through the town
of Penrith on every Whitsun Tuesday, brandishing their
spears. These Bed-Spear Knights seem to have been re-
garded as sureties to the sheriff for the peaceable behaviour of
the inhabitants. Britton and Brayley, Beauties of England
and Wales, 1802, vol. iii. p. 171.
On the evening of Whitsun Tuesday, a sermon is annually
preached in the ancient church of St. James, Mitre Court,
Aldgate, London, from a text having special reference to
flowers. This is popularly called the " Flower sermon."
Kalendar of the English Church, 1865, p. 74.
On this day is delivered in St. Leonard's Church, Shore-
ditch, a " Botanical sermon " the Fail-child Lecture, for
which purpose funds were left by Thomas Fail-child, who
u 2
292 COTESWOLD GAMES. [_^ AY H-
died in 1729. It was formerly the custom of the President
and several Fellows of the Royal Society to hear this sermon
preached. Timbs' Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 80.
SCOTLAND.
The custom of " riding the marches " existed at Lanark,
and took place annually on the day after Whitsun Fair, by
the magistrates and burgesses, known by the name of the
Langemark or Landsmark Day, from the Saxon langemark.*
Sinclair's Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1795, vol. xv. p. 45.
MAY 14.] COTESWOLD GAMES.
THE vicinity of Chipping Campden was the theatre of the
Coteswold Gameg, which, in the reign of James I. and his
unfortunate successor, were celebrated in this part of England.
They were instituted by a public-spirited attorney of Burton-
on-the-Heath, in Warwickshire, named Robert Dover, and
like the Olympic games of the ancients, consisted of most
kinds of manly exercises. The victors were rewarded by
prizes, distributed by the institutor, who, arrayed in a dis-
carded habit of James', superintended the games in person
for many years. The meetings were annually held on
Whitsun Thursday, and were frequently attended by an
immense number of people.
Ben Jonson, Drayton, and other poets f of that age, wrote
verses on this festivity, which, in 1636, were collected
into one volume, and published under the title of Anna.Ua
Dubrensia.
These diversities were at length terminated by the breaking
out of the civil wars, but were revived at the Restoration ;
and the memory of their founder is still preserved in the
name Dover's Hill, applied to an eminence of the Cotswold
range, about a mile from the village of Campden.-^ Britton
* See Biding the Marches, p. 307.
t Thomas Randolph, T^opaas Heywood, Owen Felthatn, and
Shackerlj Marmyon.
MAY 1 6.] EEL FAIR. 293
and Brayley, Beauties of England and Wales, 1803, vol. v.
p. 655; see Book of Days, vol. i. 712.
MAT 1 6.] NORFOLK.
In the parish of Rockland, annually on the 16th of May,
a sort of country fair is held, called by the villagers the
" Guild," and which is evidently a relic of the Guild of St.
John the Baptist, held here in St. Peter's Church before tLo
Reformation. On this occasion a mayor of the Guild is
elected, and he is chaired about the three parishes of Rock-
land, and gathers largess, which is afterwards spent in a
frolic. There is another antique custom connected with the
gu : ld which yet obtains : the inhabitants of certain houses
in the " Street " have the privilege of hanging oaken-boughs
outside their doors (and their houses are thence called " bough
houses "), and on the day of the guild they draw home-
brewed ale for all customers, and are not interfered with for
so doing, either by the village licensed publican or the
excise authorities. N. &. Q. 2nd S. vol. vii. p. 450.
EEL FAIR.
SURREY.
ABOUT the middle of May there is an annual migration of
young eels up the Thames at Kingston. The/ appear iu
shoals, giving to the margin of the river an appearance not
altogether agreeable ; but their origin and destination are
alike matter of conjecture. It is reasonably supposed that
these swarms migrate from the lakes in Richmond Park,
where immense numbers are annually bred, and that they
descend the rivers, stocking the creeks and streams for some
miles above the town. There is generally a crowd of eager
men, women, and children, provided with every possible
vessel wherein to catch the slippery prey on the first in-
timation of their approach; and the animated scene has
caused the occasion to be called Eel Fair. B den, History
of Kinyston-npon-Thames, 1852, p. 128.
29i TRINITY SUNDAY. [M..Y I"}.
MAY 17.] TEINITY SUNDAY.
ITS observance is said to have first been established by
Archbishop Becket, soon after his consecration. " Hie post
consecrationem suam instituit festivitatem principalem S.
Trinitatis annis singulis in perpetuam celebrandam, quo
die primam missam suam celebravit." Wharton, H., Anglia
Sacra, 1691, fol. pt. i. p. 8.
It is still customary for the judges and great law-officers of
the Crown, together with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and
Common Council, to attend Divine Service at St. Paul's
Cathedral, and hear a sermon.
On Trinity Sunday, formerly, processions of children, with
garlands of flowers and ribbons, were common. Timbs'
Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 83.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
The parish of Clee possesses a right of cutting rushes
from a piece of land, called " Bescars," for the purpose of
strewing the floor of the church every Trinity Sunday. A
small quantity of grass is annually cut to preserve this right.
Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, p. 217.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
The following extract is taken from the Newcastle Daily
Journal of June 17th, 1867 :
Yesterday being Trinity Sunday, in pursuance of a time-
honoured custom, the Master, Deputy-Master, and Brethren
of the Ancient and Honourable Corporation of the Trinity
House attended officially in All Saints' Parish Church, New-
castle. A noteworthy relic of the past in connection with
the service was the performance on the organ (on the
entrance and exit of the Master and Brethren) of the
national air, ' Rule Britannia.' The rendering of a secular
air even as an evidence of respect has been objected to ;
but the organist cites the custom of half a century.
MAY 17.] TRINITY SUNDAY. 295
WILTSHIRE.
Aubrey, in his Miscellanies (1714, p. 49), speaking of
Newnton, says : " Upon every Trinity Sunday, the pa-
rishioners being come to the door of the hay ward's house,
the door was struck thrice in honour of the Holy Trinity ;
they then entered. The bell was rung ; after which, silence
being ordered, they read their prayers aforesaid. Then was
a ghirliind of flowers (about the year 1660 one was killed
striving to take away the ghirland) made upon an hoop,
brought forth by a maid of the town upon her neck, and a
young man (a bachelor) of another parish first saluted her
three times in honour of the Trinity, in respect of God the
Father. Then she puts the ghirland upon his neck and kisses
him three times in honour of the Trinity, particularly God
the Son. Then he puts the ghirland on her neck ag.iin. and
kisses her three times in honour of the H,ly Trinity and
particularly the Holy Ghost. Then he takes the ghirland
from her neck, and, by the custom, must give her a penny at
least, which, as fancy leads, is now exceeded, as 2. 6d, &c.
The method of giving this ghirland is from house to house
annually, till it comes round. In the evening, every
commoner sends his supper to this house, which is called
the Eale-house ; and having before laid in there equally a
stock of malt, which was brewed in the house, they sup
together, and what was left was given to the poor."
WALES.
A very ancient custom is observed on Trinity Sunday in
Carnarvonshire : the offerings of calves and lambs which
happen to be born with the Nod Beuno, or mark of St. Botuio
a certain natural mark in the ear, have n t yet entirely
ceased. They are brought to church (but formerly to the
monastery*) of Clynnok Vaur on Trinity Sunday, and
* This mona.-t< ry was founded A.D. 616, by Guithin of Gwydaint.
It was iift'i-wards turned into a monastery of white monks, hut lho.-e
Bcem soon to have b--en suppressed, for, at the time uf P.>|ie Nicholas
IV. 'a tajtati 11 it was a collegiuto church, consisting of five Portiouiats
296 TRINITY MONDAY. [MAY 1 8.
delivered to the church ward ens, who sell and account for
them, depositing the money in a great chest, called Cyff
St. Beuno, made of one oak, and secured with three locks.
From this, the Welsh have a proverb for attempting any
very difficult thing. " You may as well try to break open
St. Beuno's chest." The little money resulting from the
sacred beasts, or casual offerings, is applied either to the
relief of the poor or in aid of repairs. Pennant, Tour
through North Wales, 1781, vol. ii. p. 210.
MAY 1 8.] TEIN1TY MONDAY.
HAMI-SHIHE.
AN annual fair is held on Trinity Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday at Southampton. It is opened by the Mayor
and bailiffs, with much ceremony, on the preceding Saturday
afternoon. The Mayor erects a pole with a large glove
fixed to the top of it, near the miller's house ; and the bailiff
then takes possession of the fair, as chief magistrate iu its
precinct during the fair, and invites the Mayor and his suite
to a collation iu his tent. He appoints a guard of halberdiers
who keep the peace by day, and watch the fair by night.
During the fair no person can be arrested for debt within its
precincts. On the Wednesday at noon, the Mayor dissolves
the fair, by taking down the pole and glove, or rather order-
ing it to be taken down ; which at one time was done by the
young men of the town, who fired at it w : th single balls, till
it was destroyed, or they were tired of the sport. Englefiold,
Walk through Southampton, 1805, p. 75.
KENT.
Deptford Fair originated in trifling pastimes for persons
who assembled to see the Master and Brethren of the
Trinity House, on their annual visit to the Trinity House, at
or Prpl-enrlaries. nnd continued so to the t ; me of ihe dissolution.
Ldniul, It.n. vol. v. p. 15; Dugdale, Monast. Anylic. Ib25, vol. v.
p. Go I.
MAY 21.] CORPUS CHRISTI DAY. 2'J7
Deptford. First there were juggling matches ; then came a
booth or t\vo ; afterwards a few shows. Every Day Book,
vol. i. p. 724.
OXFORDSHIRE.
At Kidlington, says Blount (Jocular Tenures, Beckwith's
edition, p. 281), the custom is that on Monday after Whitsnn
week there is a fat live lamb provided ; and the maids of tho
town, having their thumbs tied behind them, run after it,
and she that with her mouth takes and holds the lamb, is
declared Lady of the Lamb, which being dressed, with the
skin hanging on, is carried on a long pole before the lady
and her companions to the green, attended with music, and a
Morisco dance of men, and another of women, where the rest
oi the day is spent in dancing, mirth, and merry glee. The
next day the lamb is part baked, boiled, and roasted, for tho
lady's feast, where she sits majestically at the upper end of
the taltle, and her companions with her, with music and other
attendants, which ends the solemnity.
MAY 20.] CORPUS CHRISTI EVE.
IN North Wales, at Llanasaph, there is a custom of strewing
green herbs and flowers at the doors of houses on Corpus
Christi Eve. Pennant's Manuscript quoted by Brand, Pop.
Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 297.
AtCaerwis on Thursday after Trinity Sunday, wh'chthcy
call Dudd Son Duw, or Dydd Gwyl Duw, on the Eva before,
they strew a sort of fern before their doors, called red yn mair
Pennant's MS.
MAY 21.] CORPUS CHRISTI DAY.
COUPUS CHRISTI DAY is held on the Thursday after Trinity
Sunday, to celebrate, as the name indicates, tho doctrine of
Tiunsubstantiation, and was instituted in the year 1264 by
Tope Urban IV.
In olden times the Skinners' fraternity of Corpus Christi
298 CORPUS CHRISTI DAY. [MAY 21.
made their procession on this day, having " borne before them
more than two hundred torches of wax, costly garnished,
burning bright " (or painted and gilded with various devices) ;
and " above tvrt) hundred clerks and priests, in surplices and
copes, singing," after which came the officers ; " the mayor
and alderiuen in scarlet, and then the skinners in their best
liveries." A temporary revival of these imposing shows
took place in Mary's days previously to their discontinuance.
Tirnbs' Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 84.
NORFOLK.
At one time on Corpus Christi Day the crafts or companies
of Norwich walked in procession from the common hall, by
Cutter Row, and round the market to the hall again. Each
company had its banner, on which was painted its patron or
guardian saint. See History of Norwich, 1768, vol. i. p. 175.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
The earliest mention of the religious ceremony of Corpus
Christi play and procession in Newcastle- upon -Tyne occurs
in the Ordinary of the Coopers' Company, dated January 20th,
1426 ; though the great popularity of these exhibitions at
York and other places must have induced the clergy,
merchants, and incorporated traders of that town, to adopt
them long before this time. There can be but little doubt
that the several trades strove to outvie each other in the
splendour of their exhibitions. The Company of Merchant
Adventurers were concerned in the representation of five
plays. The hoastmen, drapers, mercers, and boothmen had
probably each one.
" Hoggmaygowyk " was the title of one of their plays, the
representing of which, in 1554, cost 4Z. 2s. This Company,
in 1480, made an act for settling the order of their procession
on Corpus Christi Day. In 1586 the offering of Abraham
and Isaac was exhibited by the slaters.
By the Ordinary of the goldsmiths, plumbers, glaziers,
pewterers, and painters, dated 1436, they were commanded
to play at their feast the three Kings of Coleyn. In the
books of the fullers and dyers, one of the charges for the
MAY 21."] CORPUS CHBISTI DAY. 299
play of 1564 is : "Item, for 3 yards of lyn cloth for God's
coat, 3a. 2<i. ob." About the year 1578, the Corpus Christi
plays seem to have been on the decline ; for the Ordinary of
the millers, dated that year, says, " Whensoever ihe general
plaies of the town shall be commanded by the mayor, &c.,"
they are to play, " the Antient playe of. &c." Similar
expressions are nsed in the Ordinary of the house carpenters
in 1579, in that of the masons in 1581, and also in that of
the joiners in 1589. Weaver, in his Funeral Monuments,
says that these plays were finally suppressed in all towns of
the kingdom, about the beginning of the reign of James I.
The only vestige that remains of the Newcastle Mysteries
was preserved by Bourne. It is entitled " Noah's Ark ; or,
the Shipwright's Ancient Play or Dirge," wherein God, an
Angel, Noah nnrl his wife, and the Devil are the characters.
Mackenzie. History of NeiccastJe, 1827, vol. ii. p. 708 ; Hone's
Ancient Mysteries Described, 1823, p. 213.
YOEKSHTBK.
The play of Corpus Christi was acted in the City of York
till the twenty-sixth year of Queen Elizabeth's reign, 1584.
It consisted of a solemn procession, in remembrance of the
Sacrament of the Body of Christ ; the symbolic representa-
tion being borue in a shrine. Every trade in the city was
obliged to furnish a pageant at its own expense, and join
the procession, and each individual had to personify some
particular passage in the Old or New Testament, and to
repeat some poetry on the occasion. The whole was pre-
ceded by a great number of lighted torches, and a multitude
of priests in their proper habits ; after which followed the
mayor and citizens, surrounded by an immense concourse of
spectators. Commencing at the great gate of the priory of
the Holy Trinity, they proceeded to the Cathedral Church
and thence to St. Leonard's Hospital, where they left the
sacrament. There are several public orders yet remaining
in the old register of the city relative to the regulation of
this ceremony ; and indulgences were granted from the Pope
to those who contributed to the relief of the fraternity, or
who observed the annual ceremony in the most devout manner,
300 THE SHREWSBURY SHOW. [^lAY 25.
particularly if they personally attended from the country.
Drake's Eboracum, 1736; Hargrove, History of York, 1818,
vol. ii. p. 4 ( J4.
IRELAND.
Corpus Christi Day was formerly celebrated at Dublin
with high veneration. In the Chain-book of the City of
Dublin are several entries to that purpose. We are told that
there was a grand procession, in which the glovers were to
represent Adam and Eve, with an angel bearing a sword
before them.
The corrisees (perhaps curriers) were to represent Cain
and Abel, with an altar and their offering.
Mariners and vintners, Noah and the persons in his Ark,
apparelled in the habit of carpenters and salmon-takers.
The weavers personated Abraham and Isaac, with their
offering and altar.
The smiths represented Pharaoh, with his host.
The skinners, the camell with the children of Israel, &c.
See Harris, History of Dublin, 1766, p. 147.
MAT 22.] COVENTRY SHOW FAIR.
THIS celebrated fair, says Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849. vol. i.
p. 286), commences upon Friday in Trinity week, and lasts
for eight days. The charter for it was granted by Henry III.
in 1218, at the instigation of Randle, Earl of Chester. For
many years it was one of the chief marts in the kingdom,
and was celebrated for the show designated the Procession of
Lady Godiva, of which Brand has given a long account.
MAY. 25.] THE SHREWSBURY SHOW.
IN the Book of Days (vol. i. pp. 704-708) will be found
an interesting and amusing account of the Shrewsbury Show,
which appears, from the records of the reign of Henry VI.,
to have been held time out of mind on the second Monday
after Trinity Sunday.
MAT 29.] ROYAL OAK DAY. 301
FLITTING DAY.
SCOTLAND.
THE 25th of May, as the Whitsunday term (old style), is a
great day in Scotland, being that on which, for the most part,
people change their residences. The Scotch generally lease
their houses by the year, and are thus at every twelve-month's
end able to shift their place of abode. Accordingly, every
Candlemas a Scotch family gets an opportunity of consideriug
whether it will, in the language of the country, sit or flit.
The landlord or his agent calls to learn the decision on this
point ; and if " flit " is the resolution, he takes measures by
advertising to obtain a new tenant. The two or three days
following upon the Purification, therefore, become distin-
guished by a feathering of the streets with boards projected
from the windows, intimating " A House to Let." See Book
of Days, vol. i. p. 679.
MAY 29.] RESTORATION OR ROYAL OAK DAY.
IN the Diary of John Evelyn (1859, vol. i. p. 373), under
the date of May 29th, 1665, is the following statement :
This was the first anniversary appointed by Act of Parlia-
ment to be observed as a day of General Thanksgiving for
the miraculous restoration of His Majesty : our vicar preach-
ing on Psalm cxviii., 24, requiring us to be thankful and
rejoice, as indeed we had cause.*
On this day the chaplain of the House of Commons
preached in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, before " the
III .use," usually represented by the Speaker, the Scrgeant-at-
arms, tho clerks, and other officers, and some half-dozen
members. This observance has been discontinued since
1858. Timbs' Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 74.
It is customary, especially in the North of England, for
* The special form of prayer in commemoration of the Restoration of
Charles II., was removed from the Prayer Book by Act of Parliament
C22 Viet. c. 2, Mai oh 25, 1859).
302 ROYAL OAK DAY. [MAY 2<),
the common people to wear in their hats the leaves of the
oak, which are sometimes covered with gold leaf. Brand,
Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 273.
CORNWALL.
At Looe, as well as in other districts of East Cornwall,
the usage of wearing an oaken leaf on the 29th of May was
enforced by spitting at, or " cobbing," the offender. Once a
Week, September 24th, 1870.
DERBYSHIRE.
On the 29th of May branches of young oak are gathered
and put up over the doors of many houses, and a small sprig
of the same tree is commonly worn in the button-hole.
Jour, of Arch. Assoc., 1852, vol. viii. p. 206.
DEVONSHIRE.
In the vicinity of Starcross the children celebrate this
anniversary by carrying about what they call May babies,
i.e., little dolls, carefully and neatly dressed decked with
flowers, and laid in boxes somewhat resembling coffins,
though such resemblance is not, apparently, the intention of
the artists. JV. & Q. 2nd S. vol. ii. p. 405.
In the Every Day Book (1826, vol. i. p. 718) occurs the
following :
At Tiverton, on the 29th of May, it is customary for a
number of young men, dressed in the style of the seventeenth
century, and armed with swords, to parade the streets, aud
gather contributions from the inhabitants. At the head of
the procession walks a man called " Oliver," dressed in black,
with his face and hands smeared over with soot and grease,
and his body bound by a strong cord, the end of which is
held by one of the men to prevent his running too far. After
these come another troop, dressed in the same style, each
man bearing a large branch of oak ; four others, carrying a
kind of throne made of oaken boughs, on which a child is
seated, bring up the rear. A great deal of merriment is
excited among the boys at the pranks of " Master Oliver," who
MAY 29.] BOYAL OAK DAY. 303
capers about in a most ludicrous manner. Some of them
amuse themselves by casting dirt, whilst others, more mis-
chievously inclined, throw stones at him: but woe betide
the young urchin who is caught; his face assumes a most
awful appearance from the soot and grease with which
" Oliver " begrimes it, whilst his companions, who have been
lucky enough to escape his clutches, testify their pleasure
by loud shouts. In the evening the whole party have a
feast, the expenses of which are defrayed by the collection
made in the morning.
DURHAM.
Mr. Cuthbert Carlton, of Durham, gives in the Durham
Chronicle, of November 29th, 1872, the following account of
a curious custom called " Push Penny." He says : " This
custom, which has been discontinued nearly a quarter of a
century, is thus referred to in the Derbyshire Times of Satur-
day last : ' There is a custom which has been upheld from
time immemorial by the Dean and Chapter of Durham on
three days in the year 30th of January, 29th of M:iy, and
5th of November, the anniversary of King Charles' Martyr-
dom, Royal Oak Day, and Gunpowder Plot, which is known
among Durham lads as " push-penny." On these days the
Chapter causes twenty shillings in copper to be scrambled
for in the college yard by the juveniles, who never fail to
be present.' The practice observed every 29th of May, and
5th of November, was to throw away within the college thirty
shillings in penny pieces. Whether the custom dates from
time immemorial, it is difficult to say, but the two last dates
would seem only to point to the origin of the custom at the
end of the seventeenth, or beginning of the eighteenth
centuries, to testify the loyalty of the Dean and Chapter
to the Throne, and their appreciation of the happy restoration
of the ' Morry Monarch,' and the escape of the King and his
Parliament on the 5th of November. There was some such
custom, however, during the monastic period, when pennies
were thrown away to the citizens who were wont to assemble
in the vicinity ol the Prior's mansion. At Bishop Auckland
the bishop was accustomed to throw away silver pennies at
certain times of the ycur, and it is even said that so much as
304 EOYAL OAK DAY. [M.VY 2Q.
a peck of copper was in earlier times scattered broad-cast
among the people. The Reformation, however, swept these
and many other old customs away, but after the Restoration
of Charles II., the Dean and Chapter no doubt considered
the 29th of May and the 5th of November ought to be kept
as days of rejoicing, and as one means of doing so caused
one of their officials to throw a bag full of pennies to the
people who met in the college. The duty was entrusted to
the senior verger of the cathedral. For many years it was
the practice for the children of the Blue Coat Schools to
attend Divine service in the cathedral, who were drawn up in
rank and file in the nave, for the inspection of the prebends,
who minutely examined the new scholastic garments of the
Blue Coat scholars. This being done they were ushered
into the choir, and at the end of the service a regular pell-
mell rush was made for the cloister doors, in order to be
present at ' push-penny.' The scenes on these occasions
were almost beyond description. For a few years the custom
thus continued, the attendants at ' push-penny ' gradually
d'minishing ; for twenty-five years, however, it has been
discontinued, nor is it likely to be revived."
At Durham also on the 29th of May, the choir ascend the
large tower of the cathedral, and sing anthems from the three
sides of it. This is done in remembrance of the monks
chanting masses from it in behalf of Queen Philippa, when
engaged in the sanguinary battle of Redhills with the Scotch
King, David I., 1346. The battle is commonly called the
battle of Neville's Cross, from the beautiful cross erected on
the field of victory by the powerful Baron of that name, a
fragment of which still remains. The reason given why an-
thems are only sung from three sides of the tower, not from
the fourth, is that a chorister once overbalanced himself, and
falling from it was killed. Times, May 6th, 1875.
HAMPSHIRE.
The working men of Basingstoke and other towns in
Hampshire arise early on the 29th of May to gather slips of
oak with the galls on ; these they put in their hats or any-
where about their persons. They also hang pieces to the
MAT 29.] BOTAL OAK DAT. 305
knockers, latches, or other parts of th house-doors of the
wealthy, who take them in to place in their hall-, &c. After
breakfast these men go round to such houses for beer, &c.
Should they not receive anything the following verses should
be eaid :
"Shi.'-s-h <*, p nny a rag
[Hang his hfjul in Ooommell'a bag],
Ail up in a bundle."
but fear often prevents them. However, the lads have no
fear, and use it freely to any one without an oak-apple or
oak leaf on some part of his person, and visible ill-treating
him for his want of loyalty. After noon the loyalty ceases
and then if any one be charged with having shig-shag, the
following verses are said :
" Sh'g-shag's gone past,
You're tho biggest fool at last;
"When shig-shag comes again.
You'll be the biggest fool then."
And the one who charges the other with the oak-leaf
receives the ill-treatment. N. & Q. 1st vol. xii. p. 100.
MIDDLESEX.
It was the custom, some years ago, to decorate the monu-
ment of Richard Penderell (in the churchyard of St. Giles-in-
the-Fields, London), on the 29th of May, with oak branches ;
but in proportion to the decay of popularity in kings, th's
practice has declined. Caufield, Portraits, Memoirs, and
Characters of Remarkable Persons, 1794, p. 186.
NOBTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Formerly all the principal families in the town of North-
ampton placed a large branch of oak over the door of their
houses, or in their balconies, in remembrance of the restoration
of Charles II. The oak-boughs are gradually disappearing,
but the corporate body still goes in procession to All Sniuts
Church, accompanied by the boys and girls of the different
charity schools, each of them having a sprig of oak, with a
gilt oak-apple placed in the front of their dress ; and should
the season be unpropitious, and oak-apples be scarQe, small
gilded potatoes are substituted. The commemoration of this
x
306 ROYAL OAK DAY. [MAY 29.
day lias probably been more generally and loyally observed in
this town than in many other places, from a feeling of gratitude
to that monarch, who munificently contributed 1000 tons of
timber out of Whittlewood Forest and remitted the duty of
chimney-money in Northampton for seven years, towards the
rebuilding of the town after the destructive fire of 1675.
The statue of the king, which is placed in the centre of the
balustrade on the portico of All Saints' Church, is always
enveloped in oak-boughs on this day. Glossary of North"
amptonshire Words and Phrase*, vol. ii. p. 68.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
At one time the boys at Newcastle-upon-Tyne had a
taunting rhyme, with which they used to insult such persons
as they met on this day who had not oak-leaves in their hats :
" Royal oak,
The Whigs to provoke."
There was a retort courteous by others, who contemptuously
wore plane-tree leaves :
" Plane-tree leaves ;
The Church folk are thieves."
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 274.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
On Royal Oak Day branches of that tree are carried in
procession, and decorate many of the signs of public houses
in Nottingham and elsewhere. Jour, of the Arch. Assoc., 1853,
vol. viii. p. 234.
On this day the Notts juveniles not only wear the usual
piece of oak-twig, but each young loyalist is armed with a
nettle, with which instrument of torture are coerced those
unfortunates who are unprovided with " royal oak," as it is
called. Some who are unable to procure it endeavour to
avoid the penalty by wearing " dog oak " (maple), but the
punishment is always more severe on discovery of the
imposition.^. & Q. 1st S. vol. viii. p. 490.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
In some parts of this county a garland, similar to the
MAY 29.] HIDING THE MARCHES. 307
]\Ja\ -day one, is taken about on the 29th of May. N. & Q.
1st 'S. vol. x. p. 92.
At Upton-upon Severn oak-apple day is anxiously looked
forward to by old and young. Early in the morning ropes
are stretched across the street, upon which are hung garlands,
composed of all such flowers as are in bloom. The garlands
are also ornamented with coloured ribbons and handkerchiefs,
and all the tea-spoons which can be collected are hung in the
middle. Maypoles, though less common, and large boughs
of oak are pressed into service. Many are the penn'orths
of gold leaf sold the day before, with which to gild the
oak apple for the button-hole. A benefit club meets on th<s
day, and walks in procession with band and flags to church,
after which they make a progress through the town, with
music playing and colours flying, finishing up with a dinner.
Illustrated London News, May 30th, 1857, p. 515.
SCOTLAND.
Hiding the Marches. The practice of Riding the Marches,
says a writer in the Slat. Ace. of Scotland (1845, vol. iii.
p. 399), is observed in the parish of Hawick, Roxburghshire.
This ancient ceremonial takes place on the last Friday of
May (old style), and is considered one of the most important
days of the year. The honour of carrying the standard of
the town devolves upon the cornet, a young man previously
elected for the purpose ; and he and the magistrates of the
town on horseback, and a large body of the inhabitants
and the burgesses, set out in procession for the purpose of
rid ; ng round the property of the town, and making formal
demonstration of their legal rights.
The following are a few stanzas from an ancient song,
which is sung by the cornet and his attendants from the
roof of an old tenement belonging to the town, and loudly
joined in by the surrounding multitudes :
" We'll a' hie to the muir a riding,
Drumlaniig gave it for providing
O:ir ancestors of martial on lei*
To drive tlie EuglUh oil' our border.
z 2
808 PAIGNTON FAin. [JUNE.
At F'odden field our fachers fought it,
And honour gained, though dear they bought it ;
By Teviofc side they took this colour,
A dear memorial of their valour.
Though twice of old our town was burned,
Yet twice the foemen ba^k we turned,
A"d ever should our rights lie trod on,
We'll face the foe to Tirioden.*
Up \vi' Hawick its rights and common !
Up wi' a' the border bowmen !
Tiribus and Tiiioden.
We are up to guard the common."
The ancient feudal system of" the Biding of the Marches"
by the burgesses still exists also at Inveresk, once within the
fifty years. They appear mounted on horseback, and armed
with swords. The seven incorporated trades, each headed
by its captain, follow in the train of the magistrates and
town-council, the whole cavalcade being preceded by the
town officers, with their ancient Brabant spears, and a
champion armed cap-a-pie. A gratuity is also allowed to a
minstrel, who attends at the succeeding feast, and recites in
vf-rse the glories of the pageantry.f Stat. 4-CC, of Scotland,
1845, vol. i. p. 268.
JUNE.] PAIGNTON FAIR.
DEVONSHIRE,
A CORRESPONDENT of N. & Q. (1st S. vol, viii. p. 66) quotes
from an old newspaper (June 7th, 1809) the following
* The slogan or war-cry of the burgh was " Tiribus and Tirioden," a
phrase probably derived from the Saxons or Danes. The first word may
be under-stood as making tolerably good Anglo-Saxon. Tyr hcebbe
ne ; May Tyr have us in his keeping. Whilst the other conjoins the
names of Tyr and Odin, whose united aid is supposed to be invoked.
Mr, Wilson, author of Annals and Old Memories of Hawiok, thinks
that the meaning of the phrase, iji our sense, is, " Goda of thunder
and war, protect us ;" in another sense, " To battle, sons of the gods."
t Until about the year 1 830, on the annual payment of their rent to
the agent of the Duke of Buccleuch, an entertainment was given by
the magistrates, under the title of "the Hen Feast." It derived this
titL; from the consideration that " the katn fowls " due by the lessees
of the burgh mills were served up on this occasion. Ibid., p. 269.
JUXE I.] WILTSHIRE LOCAL CUSTOM. 309
account of Paignton Fair, hold at Exeter. At this fair, says
the writer, the ancient custom of drawing through the town
a plum-pudding of immense size, and afterwards of dis-
tributing it to the populace, was revived on Tuesday last.
The ingredients which composed this enormous pudding were
four hundred pounds of flour, 0110 hundred and seventy
pounds of beef suet, one hundred and forty pounds of raisins,
and two hundred und forty eggs. It was kept constantly
boiling in a brewer's copper from Saturday morning to the
Tuesday following, when it was placed on a car, decorated
with ribbons, evergreens, &c., and drawn along the streets by
eight oxen.
SCOTLAND.
A solemn festival in the Scotch Metropolis is ordained by
the Statutes of George Heriot's Hospital (cap. ii.) in the
following words: "But especially upon the tirst Monday
in June, every year, shall be kept a solemn commerm ration
nnd thanksgiving unto God, in this form \\hich followeth :
In the morning, about eight of the clock of that day. the
lord provost, all the ministers, mag'strates, and ordinary
Council of the city of Edinburgh, shall assemble themselves
in the Committee-chnmbor of the said hospital ; from thence,
all the scholars and officers of the said hospital going b.foro
them two-by-two, they shall gr, with all the solemnity that
may be, to the Grey-Friars' Church of the said city, where
they shall hear a sermon preached by one of the said
ministers, every one yearly in their courses, according to
the antiquity of their ministry in the said city." On this
occasion the st-vtue of the founder is fancifully decorated
with flowers. Each of the boys receives a new suit of clothes ;
their relations and friends assemble, and the cit ; zens, old
and young, bo : ng admitted to view the hospital, the gaiety
of the scene is highly gratifying. Every Day Book, vol. ii.
p. 747.
JUNE I.] WILTSHIRE.
Lord Viscount Palmcrston, in 1734. by deel, gave for
thrashers of Chailtou about au acre of lun.l in liashall Field,
310 ST. BAEITABAS* DAY. [JuXE II.
the rent whereof was to be applied annually to give them a
dinner wherewith to commemorate Stephen Duck the poet,
who was originally a thrasher of Charlton. The parish of
Rushall was afterwards inclosed, and by the award date, 12th
January, 1804, apiece of arable land, measuring one acre and
fifteen poles, was awarded in a different part of Kushall Field.
The land is now called Duck's Acre, and let at a rent of 2
9. 9d. per annum. The land tax, amounting to 3s. per annum,
was reduced by a subscription raised in the parish.
The rent is paid for a dinner, which is annually given on
the 1st June, to the thrashers of this parish. Old English
Customs and Charities, p. 169.
JUNE 9.] IE ELAND.
CLONMANY, Co. DONEGAL.
THE titular saint of this parish is Columbkill. The 9th of
June is his festival day, and formerly on this day many of
the inhabitants drove down their cattle to the beach, and
swam them in that part of the sea into which runs the water
of St. Columb's Well Masons Stat. Ace. of Ireland, 1814,
vol. i. p. 185.
JUNE ii.] ST. BARNABAS' DAY.
ON the feast of St. Barnabas it seems to have been usual to
decorate some churches with garlands of flowers. Brand
(1849, vol. i. 293) quotes the following disbursements from
the Churchwardens', Accounts of St. Mavy-at-Hill, London,
in the reigns of Edward IV. and Henry VII. :
" For Rose garlondis and Woodrove garlondis on St
Barnabe's Daye, xj d<
" Item, for two doss' (dozen ?) di bocse (box) garlands for
prestes and clerkes on St. Barnabe Daye, j 8 - x d '"
CUMBERLAND.
Hesket, an extensive parish in this county, is noted for the
singular circumstance of the Court of Inglewood Forest (in
JUNE 23.] MIDSUMMER EVE. 311
the precincts of which it is wholly included) being held in it
annually, on St. Barnabas' Day, in the open air. The suitors
a-semble by the highway-side, at a place only marked by an
ancient thorn, where the annual dues to the lord of the
forest, compositions for improvements, &c., are paid ; and a
jury for the whole jurisdiction chosen from among the in-
lialiitants of twenty mesne manors who attended on this spot.
Britton and Bi-ayley, Beauties of England and Wales, 1802,
vol. iii. p. 171.
JUNE 15.] ST. VITUS' DAY.
ON St. Vitus' Day, says Hazlitt (Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1870,
vol. i. p. 166), the Slrnners' Company, accompanied by
girls strewing herbs in their path, and by Blue-oat boys
placed by their patronage on the fouuilat on of Christ's
Hospital, march in procession from Dowg.ite Hill, where their
Lall is. to St. Antholin's Church, in Wutling Street, to hear
service.* The sermon, says Hampson (in his Med. JEvi
Kiilend. vol. i. p. 296), for which the chaplain (who is usually
a member of the company, educated at Christ's Hospital or
Tunbridge) receives two guineas, has probably arisen out of
a pious bequest for the purpose.
JUNE 23.] MIDSUMMER EVE ST. JOHN'S
EVE.
ON thig eve people were in former times accustomed to go
into the woods, and break down branches of the trees, which
they brought to their homes, and planted over their doors,
amidst great demonstrations of joy, to make good the scrip-
ture prophecy respecting the Baptist, that many should re-
joice in his birth. This custom was at one time universal in
England. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 815.
It was a popular superstition that if any unmarried woman
fasted on Midsummer Eve, and at midnight laid a clean
* In Brand's Pop. Antiq., 1849, this custom it said to take place on
Corpus (Jliri ti Day.
312 MIDSUMMER EVE. [JUNE 23,
cloth with bread, cheese, and ale, and then sat down as if
going to eat, the street door being left open, the person
whom she was afterwards to marry would come into the
room and drink to her by bowing ; and after filling the
glass would leave it on the table, and, making another
bow, retire. Grose.
The same writer also tells us that any person fasting on
Midsummer Eve, and sitting in the church porch, will at
midnight see the spirits of the persons of that parish who
will die that year come and knock at the church door, in the
order and succession in which they will die.
The fern was a most important object of popular super-
stition at this season. It was supposed at one time to have
neither flower nor seed, the seed which lay on the back of
the leaf being so small as to escape the sight of the hasty
observer. Hence, probably, proceeding on the fantastic
doctrine of signatures, our ancestors derived the notion that
those who could obtain and wear this invisible seed would be
themselves invisible, a belief of which innumerable instances
may be found in our old dramatists. Soane's Book of tli/e
Months. See Brand's Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 314.
People also gathered on this night the rose, St. John's
wort, vervain, trefoil, and rue, all of which were thought to
Lave magical properties. They set the orpine in clay upon
pieces of slate or potsherd in their houses, calling it a
Midsummer-man. As the stalk was found next morning to
incline to the right or left, the anxious maiden know whether
her lover would prove true to her or not. Young men
B > nght also for pieces of coal, but in reality certain hard,
black, dead roots, often found under the living mugwort,
designing to place these under their pillows, that they might
dream of themselves. Book of Days, vol. i. p. 816.
In addition to the superstitious customs already mentioned
there was the Dumb Cake : *
Two make it,
Two l>ab> it,
Two break it;
and the third must put it under each of their pillows, hut
* See page 199.
JUME 23.] MIDSUMMER EVB. 313
not a word must be spoken all the time. This being done,
the diviners aro sure to dream of the man they love. There
was the divination by hemp-seed,* which consisted of a
person sowing hemp-seed, saying at the same time,
Hemp-seed I sow,
Hemp-seed I hoe.
And he that is my true lore,
Come after me an I mow.
The lover was sure then to make his appearance. Soane's
Book of the Months.
Towards night, materials for a fire were collected in a
public place and kindled. To this the name of bonfire was
given, a term of which the most rational explanation seems
to be that it was composed of contributions collected as boons
or gifts of social and charitable feeling. Around this tire
the people danced with almost frantic mirth, the men and
boys occasionally jumping through it, not to show the r
agility, but as a compliance \\ith ancient custom.! Book of
Days, vol. i. p. 86.
In the reign of Henry VII. these fires were patronised by
the Court, and numerous entries appear in the '' Privy purso
Expenses" of that monarch, by which he either defrayed
the charges, or rewarded the firemen. A few are subjoined,
as examples of the whole :
" June 23 (1493). To making of the bonefuyr on Mid.-omer Eve, 10'.
44 Juue 28 (1495). For making the hint's bonefuyr, 10'.
" June 24 (14U7). Midsomer Day, fur making of the bone-fuyr, In 1 .
44 June 30 (1498). The making of the bone-fuyr, 2.
Med. JL'vi Kahnd., 1841, vol. i. p. 303.
In the months of June and July, says Stow, on the v'gils
of festival days, and on the same festival days in the evening
See pa-e 100.
t Fuller (Mixt Contemplation* in Better Times, 1858, p. 25) says l.e
has met wit i ' two etymologies of bone-firi s. Some deduce it frm
fins made of bones relating it to the burning of martyrs, first maile
fashionable in Kngland in the reign of King Henry the Fourth ; L.ut
others derive tlie word from boon, that is, go ;d. and tires." The more
propable explanation seems to be that of Dr. Hi'-kes, and which boa
been adopted by Lye in the Etijmofo-jicon of Juniiu. namely, that it wad
derive;! from the Anjrlo-Saxon ba-lfyr.a, burning pile, by the clian^u of
u .m-le letter only, bual iu tlie bundle signifying a c .uilagi-utiua.
314 MIDSUMMER KVE [JUNE 23.
after the sun setting, there were usually made bonfires in
the streets, every man bestowing wood or labour towards
them; the wealthier sort also, before their doors near to the
said bonfires, would set out tables on the vigils, furnished
with sweet bread and good drink, and on the festival days
with meats and drinks plentifully, where unto they would
invite their neighbours and passengers also to sit and be
merry with them in great familiarity, praising God for His
benefit bestowed on them. On these occasions it appears
that it was customary to bind an old wheel round about
with stra v and tow, to take it to the top of some hill at night,
to set fire to the combustibles, and then roll it down the
declivity.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
The Status ScMce Etonensis, A.D. 1560 (MS. Addit. Brit.
Mas. 4843j, says: "In hac vigilia moris erat (quamdiu
stetit) pueris, ornare lectos variis rerum variarum picturis,
et carmina de vita rebusque gestis Joannis Baptists et prpe-
cursoris componere : et pulchre exscripta affigere clinopodiis
lectorurn, eruditis legeuda."
CHESHIRE.
The annual setting of the watch on St. John's Eve, in the
city of Chester, was an affair of great moment. By an
ordinance of the mayor, aldermen, and common councilmen,
of that corporation, dated in the year 1564, and preserved
among the Haiieian MSS. in the British Museum, a pageant
which is expressly said to be " according to ancient custom,''
is ordained to consist of four giants, one unicorn, one
dromedary, one camel, one luce, one dragon, and six hobby-
horses, with other figures. By another MS. in the same
Lbrary, it is said that Heury Hardware, Esq., the mayor in
1599, caused the giants in the Midsummer show to be
broken, " and not to goe the devil in his feathers ; " and it
appears that he c ( aused a man in complete armour to go in
their stead , b it in the year 1601, John Ratclyffe, being
mayor, set out the giants and M.dsu.mner show as of old
JUNE 23.] MIDSUMMER EVE. 315
it was wont to be kept. In the time of the Commonwealth
the show was discontinued, and the giants with the beasts
were destroyed. At the Eestoration of Charles II. tho
citizens of Chester replaced their pageant, and caused all
things to be made new, because the old models wore broken.
See Every Day Book, vol. i. p. 834.
CORNWALL.
In Cornwall the festival fires, called bonfires, are kindled
on the eve of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter's Day ; and
Midsummer is thence in the Cornish tongue called " Goluan,"
vhich signifies both light and rejoicing. At these fires the
Cornish attend with lighted torches, tarred and pitched at the
end, and make their perambulations round their fires, and
f;o from village to village, carrying their torches before
them ; and this is certainly the remains of the Druid
superstition, for " faces praeferre," to carry lighted torches,
was reckoned a kind of Gentilism. and as such particularly
prohibited by the Gallick Councils : they were in the eye
of the law *' accensores facularum," and thought to sacrifice
to the devil, and to deserve capital punishment. Borlasc,
Antiqniiics of Cornwall, 1754, p. 130.
On Whiteborough (a large tumulus with a fosse round
it), on St. Stephen's Down, near Launceston, there was
formerly a groat bonfire on Midsummer Eve : a large
summer pole was fixed in the centre, round which the fu- 1
was heaped. It had a large bush on the top of it.* Round
this were parties of wrestlers contending for small prizes.
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 318.
CUMBERLAND.
Hutchinson (Hist, of Cumberland, vol. i. p. 177), speaking
of the parish of Cumwhitton, says : They hold the wake on
the Eve of St. John, with lighting fires, dancing, &o.
* The boundary of each tin-mine in Cornwall \B marked by a long
pole with a bush at the top of it These on St. John's Day are crowued
w.th flowers. Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1649, vol. i. p. 318.
316 MIDSUMMER EVE. [JUNE 23.
LANCASHIRE.
The custom of making large fires on the Eve of St. John's
Day is annually observed by numbers of the Irish people in
Liverpool. Contributions in either fuel or money to purchase
it with are collected from house to house. The fuel consists
of coal, wood, or in fact anything that will burn: the fire-
places are then built up and lighted after dark. N. & Q
3rd S. vol. xii. p. 42.
ISLE or MAN.
Formerly the inhabitants lighted fires to the windward
side of every field, so that the smoke might pass over the
corn ; they folded their cattle and carried blazing furze or
gorse around them several times ; they gathered bawan fealoin
or mugwort as a preventive against the influence of witch-
craft ; and it was on this occasion they bore green meadow
grass up to the top of Barule in payment of rent to Mannan-
beg-mac-y-heir. Train, History of Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii.
p. 120.
MIDDLESEX.
The date of the first establishment of a regular watch or
guard for the City of London is uncertain. Stow assures us
it has been instituted " time out of mind ;" and we have, as
early as the 39th Henry VI., the following entries :
" Payde to iiij men to wacche w* the Mayre and to goo
w* him a nyghtes, xvj d> "
" Payde in expenses for goyng about w* the Mayre in the
town in the wacche, iiij d '"
The watch for the ensuing year was always appointed
with much pomp and ceremony on the vigil of St. John, or
Midsummer's Eve ; hence the appellation oi the Midsummer
Watch. On this night, as we learn from Stow, the standing
watches in every ward and street of the city and suburbs
were habited in bright harness. There was also a marching
watch consisting of as many as 2000 persons, most of them
old soldiers, who appeared in appropriate habits, armed,
aiid many of them, especially the musicians and standard-
TtTNE 23.] MIDSUMMER EVE. 317
bearers, rode on horseback. The watch was attended by
men bearing cresset-lights,* which were provided partly by
the companies, and partly by the City Chamber. Every
cresset-bearer was presented with a " strawen hat and a
painted badge, beside the donation of his breakfast next
morning." The constables, one half of whom went out <>n
the Eve of St. John, and the other half on the Eve of St.
Peter, were dressed in " bright harnesse, some over gilt, and
every one had a jornett of scarlet thereupon, and a chain
of gold, his henchman following him, and his minstrels
before him, and his cresset light at his side. The Mayor
himself came after them, well mounted, with his sword-
bearer before him, in lair armour on horseback, preceded by
the waits, or city minstrels, and the Mayor's officers in
liveries of woosted, or sea-jackets party-coloured. The
sheriff's watches came one after the other in like order, but
not so numerous ; for the Mayor had, beside his giant, three
pageants ; whereas the sheriff had only two besides their
giants, each with their morris-dancer and one henchman."
Sto\v says that King Henry VIII., in the first year of his
reign, came privately into Westcheap to view the setting of this
watch, " being clothed in one of the coates of his guard," and
at the next muster, which was on St. Peter's night, " the
king and queeue came roially riding to the signe of the King's
Head in Cheape, and there beheld the watche of the citie,
which watche was set out with divers goodly shewes, as hud
been accustomed." In the 31st year of this reign (1539),
however, the Midsummer Watch was discontinued ; but it
was revived, for one year only, by Sir Thomas Gresham,
* Creftet-light. A kind of fire-basket let into an iron frame at the
end of a long pole, and so contrived that the basket remained in a
horizontal position, whichever way the pole was carried. These poles
\\ere usually borne on men's shoulders. Cresset-lights were also
used as heacons and served instead of lighthouses for signals along
the const. The badge of the Admimlty was anciently a cresset
Suakspeare makes Glendower say, in " Henry IV." (Act iii. s. 1; :
"At my nativity,
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,
Of burning cressets."
Donee, in his Illustrations of Shakspeare, imagines the word fc> have
been derived froui the French word croiset a cruet, or enithen pot.
318 MIDSUMMER EVE. [JuNK 23.
then Lord Mayor, in the second year of Edward the Sixth's
reign. Stow's Survey of London; Jupp, History of the
Carpenter's Company, 1848, pp. 40-44.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
In the ordinary of the Company of Cooks at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, 1575, quoted by Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849. vol. i.
p. 318), is the following clause : " And alsoe that the said
fellowship of Cookes, shall yearelie of theire owne cost and
charge mainteigne and keep the bonefires, according to the
auntient custome of the said towne on the Sand-hill ; that is
to say, one bone-fire on the even of the Feast of the Nativitie
of St. John Baptist, commonly called Midsomer Even, and
the other on the even of the Feast of St. Peter the Apostle, if
it shall please the Maior and Aldermen of the said towne for
the time being to have the same bone-fires."
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Deering, in his Nottinghamia Vetus et JVo0a(1751, p. 123),
quoting from an old authority, gives the following curious
account of the watch once held at Nottingham. He says :
" Every inhabitant of any ability sets forth a man, as well
voluntaries as those who are charged with arms, with such
munition as they have ; some pikes, some muskets, calivers,
or other guns; some partisans, or halberts ; and such as have
armour send their servants in thoir armour. The number of
these are yearly about two hundred, who at sun-setting meet
on the Bow, the most open part of the town, where the
Mayor's serjeant-at-mace gives them an oath, the tenor
wherof followeth in these words : ' You shall well and truly
keep this town till to-morrow at the sun-rising ; you shall
come into no house without license or cause reasonable. Of all
manner of casualties, of fire, of crying of children, you shall
due warning make to the parties, as the case shall require.
You shall due search make of all manner of affrays, bloud sheds,
outcrys, and all other things that be suspected,' &c. Which
done, they all march in orderly array through the principal
streets of the town, and then they are sorted into several
JUNE 23.] MIDSUMMER EVE. 319
companies, and des : gued to several parts of the town, where
they are to keep the watch until the sun dismisses them in
the morning. In this business the fashion is for every
watchman to wear a garland, made in the fashion of a crown
imperial, bedecked with flowers of various kinds, some
natural, some artificial, b;>ught and kept for that purpose, as
also ribbands, jewels ; and tor the better garnishing whereof,
the townsmen use the day before to ransack the gardens of all
the gentlemen within six or seven miles round Nottingham,
besides what the town itself affords them : their greatest
ambition being to outdo one another in the bravery of
their garlands." This custom was kept up till the reign of
Charles I.
OXFORDSHIRE.
About the year 750, says Plott, a battle was fought near
Bui-ford, perhaps on the place still called Battle-Edge, west
of the town, towards Upton, between Cuthred or Cuthbert, a
tributary king of the West Saxons, and Ethelbald, king of
Mercia, whose insupportable exactions the former king not
being able to endure, he came into the field against
Ethelbald, met and overthrew him there, winning his
banner, whereon was depicted a golden dragon ; in memory
of which victory, the custom of making a dragon yearly,
and carrying it up and down the town in great jollity on
Midsummer Eve, to which they added the picture of a
giant, was in all likelihood first instituted. Plott, Natural
History of Oxfordshire, 1705, p. 356.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
A very curious practice is observed on Midsummer Eve at
Kidderminster, arising from the testamentary dispositions of
two individuals once resident there. A farthing loaf is given
to every person born in Church Street, Kidderminster, who
chooses to claim it. The bequest is of very ancient standing,
uud tho farthing loaf, at the time of its date, was far different
to what it is now-a-days. The day is called Farthing Loaf
Day, and the bakers' shops are amply provided with these
diminutives, as it is the practice of the inhabitants throughout
320 MIDSUMMER EVE. [JUNE 23.
the town to purchase them. Super.added to this bequest is
another. About the year 1788 an old bachelor left a sum
for the purchase of a twopenny cake for every unmarried
r sidcnt in Church Street, to be given on Farthing Loaf
Day, and also the sum of two guineas to be paid to a household
in the said street, as remuneration for providing a supper of
bread and cheese and ale, to which every householder in the
street should be invited. The householders each take their
turn in being host, but with a promise, that none except the
occupiers of front houses should enjoy this dignity. The
toast directed to be drunk after supper is, " Peace and good
neighbourhood." The money required arises from a sum
which is lent at interest, annually, to any competent in-
habitant of this favoured street, upon his producing two good
sureties for the repayment at the end of the year. Hone's
Year Book, 1838, p. 745 ; Old English Customs and Charities,
p. 241.
YORKSHIRE.
On Midsummer Eve, at Eipon, in former days, every
housekeeper, who in the course of the year had changed his
residence into a new neighbourhood, spread a table before
his door in the street with bread, cheese, and ale for those
who chose to resort to it. The guests, after staying awhile,
if the master was liberally disposed, were invited to supper,
and the evening was concluded with mirth and good humour.
Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 866.
WALES.
Bingley, in his Tour Hound North Wales (1800, vol. ii.
p. 237), says : On the Eve of St. John the Baptist they fix
sprigs of the plant called St. John's-wort over their doors,
and sometimes over their windows, in order to purify
their houses, and by that means drive away all fiends and
evil spirits.
SCOTLAND.
The Eve of St. John is a great day among the mason-
lodges of Scotland. What happens with them at Melrose
may be considered as a fair example of the whole.
Jl*NK 23.] WIDSTTMMEi; KVK. 321
Imroed'atelj after the election of office-bearers for the
year ensuing, the brethren walk in procession three times
round the Cross, a^d afterwards dine together under the
presidency of the newly-elected grand master. About six
in the evening the members again turn out, and form into
line two abreast, each bearing a lighted flambeau, and de-
corated with their peculiar emblems and insignia. Headed
by the heraldic banners of the lodge, the procession follows
the same route, three times round the Cross, and then pro-
ceeds to the abbey. On thene occasions the crowded streets
present a scene of the most animated description. The
joyous strains of a well-conducted band, the waving torches,
and incessant showers of fire-works make the scene a
carnival. But at this time the venerable abbey is the chief
point of attraction and resort, and as the torch-bearers
thread their way through its mouldering aisles, and round
its massive pillars, the outlines of its gorgeous ruins become
singularly illuminated, and brought into bold and striking
relief. The whole extent, of the abbey is, with " measured
step and slow," gone three times round. But when near the
finale, the whole masonic body gather to the chancel, and
forming one grand semicircle around it, where the heart of
King Robert Bruce lies deposited near the high altar, the
band strikes up the patriotic air, " Scots wha hae wi' Wallacu
bled," and the effect thus produced is overpowering. Midst
showers of rockets and the glare of blue lights the scene
closes. Wade's History of Melrose Abbey, 18G1, p. 146.
IRELAND.
The following extract is taken from the Liverpool Mercury,
June 29th, 18G7 :
The old pagan fire-worship still survives in Ireland,
though nominally in honour of St. John. On Sunday night
bonfires were observed throughout nearly every county
in the province of Leinster. In Kilkenny, fires blazed >n
every hillside at intervals of about a mile. There wera
very many in the Queen's county, also in Kildare and
Wexford. The effect in the rich sunset appeared to
travellers very grand. The people assemble, and dance
Y
322 MIDSUMMER EVE.
round the fires, tlie children jump through the flumes, and
in former times live coals were carried into the corn fields
to prevent blight : of course, people are not conscious that
this Midsummer celebration is a remnant of the worship of
Baal. It is believed by many that the round towers were
intended for signal fires in connection with this worship.
See Gent. Mag. 1795, vol. Ixv. pt. ii. p. 124; see Sir Henry
Piers's Description of Westmeath, 1682; and The Comical
Pilgrim 8 Pilgrimage into Ireland, 1723 p. 92.
Croker, in his Researches in the South of Ireland (1824,
p. 233), mentions a custom observed on the eve of St. John's
Day. and some other festivals, of dressing up a broomstick
as a figure, and c irrying it about in the twilight from one
cabin to the other, and suddenly pushing it in at the door.
The alarm or surprise occasioned by this feat produced
some mirth. The figure thus dressed up was called a
Bredogue.
At Stoole, near Downpatrick, there is a ceremony com-
mencing at twelve o'clock at night on M dsummer Eve. Its
sacred mount is consecrated to St. Patrick ; the plain con-
tains three wells, to which the most extraordinary virtues
are attributed. Here and there are heaps of stones, around
some of which appear great numbers of people, running with
as much speed as possible ; around others crowds of wor-
shippers kneel with bare legs and feet as an indispensable
part of the penance. The men, without coats, with hand-
kerchiefs on their heads instead of hats, having gone seven
times round each heap, kiss the ground, cross themselves,
and proceed to the hill ; here they ascend, on their bare
knees, by a path so steep and rugged that it would be
(1 fficult to walk up. Many hold their hands clasped at the
back of their necks, and several carry large stones on their
heads. Having repeated this ceremony seven times, they go
to what is called St. Patrick's Chair, which are two great fl.it
stones fixed upright in the hill ; here they cross and bless
themselves as they step in between these stones, and, while
repeating prayers, an old man, seated for the purpose, turns
them round on their feet three times, for which he is paid ;
Iho devotee then goes to conclude his penance at a pile of
tones, named the Altar. While this busy scene is continued
JUNE 24.] MIDSUMMER DAY. 323
by the multitude, tlie wells and streams issuing from them
arc thronged by crowds of halt, maimed, and blind, pressing
to wash away their infirmities with water consecrated by
their patron saint, and so powerful is the impression of
its efficacy on their minds, that many of those who go to be
healed, and who are not totally blind, or altogether crippled,
really believe for a time that they are by means of its
miraculous virtues perfectly restored. Hibernian Magazine.
J.ly 1817.
JUNE 24.] MIDSUMMER DAY ST. JOHN
THE BAPTIST S DAY.
THE general customs connected with this season commenced
on the preceding evening. See Midsummer Eve.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
The Status Scholce Etonensis, A.D. 1560 (MS. Addit. Brit.
Mas. 4813), says: " Mense Junii, in Festo Natalis D.
Johannis post matutinas preces, dum consuetude floruit
acccdtbant omncs scholastic! ad rogum extructum in orien-
tuli reg'one templi, ubi reverenter a symphoniacis cantatis
tribus Antiphonis, et pueris in ordine stantibus venitur ad
merendam."
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
On a common called Midsummer Green, in the parish cf
Barmvell, an annual fair is held, commencing on Midsummer
Day, and cont : nuing for a fortnigh.,. This fair is supposed to
have originated with the assemblages of children at this place
on the eve of St. John the Baptist's Day, whose yearly
gatherings being attended by a considerable concourse of
people, attracted the notice of some pedlars, who began to
dispose of their merchandise on this spot as early as the
reign of Henry I. The articles brought for sale are chiefly
earth en- wares, whence the festival has attained the name of
Pot fair. The fair is proclaimed on the eve of Midsummer
Day by the heads of the University, first in the middle of
T 2
324 MIDSUMMER BAT. [JUNE 24.
the village, and afterwards on the green where it is cele-
brated. It appears to have assumed its legal form in the
reign of Henry III. Brayley and Britton, Beauties of
England and Wales, 1809, vol. ii. p. 110.
CHESHIRE.
In former times there was a privilege of licensing the
minstrels, peculiar to the ancient family of Button. The
original grant came from Earl Randal Blundeville to Roger
Lacy, constable of Chester ; and his son, John Lacy, assigned
the privilege to the family of Dutton. The anniversary of
this solemnity was constantly celebrated on the festival of
St. John the Baptist by a regular procession of all the
minstrels to the church of this tutelary saint in the city of
Chester. But after having been constantly observed for at
least 550 years, it seems to have been discontinued in 1758 ;
and, as an instance how sacred these exclusive privileges
were esteemed by legislative wisdom, the Act of the 29th of
Elizabeth, which declares all itinerant minstrels to be vaga-
bonds, particularly exeepts the minstrel-jurisd'ction of John
Dutton, of Duttoii in Cheshire, Esq. Gower, Materials for a
History of Cheshire, 1771, p. 67.
CORNWALL.
Hitchins, in his History of Cornwall (1824, vol. i. p. 717),
says : Midsummer Day is considered as a high holiday, on
which either a pole is erected, decorated with garlands, or
some flags displayed, to denote the sanctity of the time.
This custom has prevailed from time immemorial, of which
it is scarcely possible to trace the origin.
DEVONSHIRE.
Lynton revel begins on the first Sunday after Midsummer
Day. It formerly lasted a week. As in the days before the
Reformation, revels until lately began on a Sunday in Lynton
aixl Lynmouth, a barrel of beer having been placed near the
church gate in readiness for the people coming out of church,
JUNE 24.] MID3UJ1MER DAY. 325
who partook of a glass and a cake, called revel cake, made
with dark flour, currants, aiid carraway seeds. Wrestling
formed a chief feature in the amusements, and large sums
were raised by subscription to purchase prizes. However
odd it may appear, it is not more than twenty years since
the silver spoons, bought as prizes to be wrestled for,
were exhibited hung in front <.f the gallery in Countisbury
Church during divine service on Revel Sunday. Of late
years, however, owing to the prevalence of drunkenness,
especially on the Sunday afternoon, the respectable inhabi-
tants have set their f;ices against these revels, which have
now dwindled into ins'gn ficance. The collusion which
sprang up among the wrestlers to share the prizes, without
their being won by a real trial of skill and strength, hastened
also greatly to abate the enthusiasm of the subscribers, so
that of late the prizes have not been beyond a few shillings
collected from the people on the ground. This of itself has
given a death-blow to the reveL Cooper, Guide to Lgnlvn
and Lynmouth, 185^, p. 38.
ISLE OF MAN.
On th's day a tent is erected on the summit of the Tynwuld
Hill (called also Cronk-y-Keeillown, i.e., St. John's Church
Hill, a mound said to have buen originally brought frm
each of the seventeen parishes of the island), and prepara-
tions are made fur the reception of the officers of state,
according to anc ; ent custom. Early in the morning th<;
Governor proceeds from C.istletowu under a military escort
to St. John's Chapel, situated a few hundred yards to the
east .vard of the Tynwald H.ll. Here he is received by
the Bishop, the Council, the clergy, and the keys, and all
attend Divine service in the chapel, the Government chaplain
offieiat.ng. This ended, they march in a procession from
the chapel to the mount, the military formed in line on each
side of the green turf walk. The clergy take the lead, next
comes the Vicar-General, and the tvo Deemsters, then the
bearer of the sword of state in front of the Governor, who
is succeeded by the Clerk of the Kolls. the twenty-four
keys, and the captains of the different parishes.
326 MIDSUMMER DAT. [JUNE 2-f.
The ceremony of the Tynwald Hill is thus stated in the
Lex Scripta of the Isle of Man, as given for law to Sir John
Stanley, in 1417 :
" This is the constitution of old time, how yee should be
governed on the Tinwald day. First you shall come thither
in your royal array, as a king ought to do by the prerogatives
and royalties of the land of Mann, and upon the hill of
Tinwald sitt in a chair covered with a royal cloath and
quishions, and your visage in the east, and your sword before
you, holden with the point upward. Youi- Barrens in the
third degree sitting beside you, and your beneficed men and
your Deemsters before you sitting, and your clarke, your
knight, esquires, and yoomen about you in the third degree,
and the worthiest men in your land to be called in before
your Deemsters, if you will ask anything of them, and to
hear the government of your land and your will ; and the
Commons to stand without the circle of the hill, with three
clearkes in their surplices, and your Deemsters shall call the
coroner of Glanfaba, and he shall call in all the coroners of
Man, and their yardes in their hands, with their weapons
upon them, either sword or axe ; and the moares, that is to
witt. of every sheading ; then the chief coroner, that is, the
coroner of Glanfaba, shall make affence upon pain of life or
lyme, that no man make a disturbance or stirr in the time
Tinwald, or any murmur, or rising in the King's presence,
upon pain of hanging and drawing ; and then to proceed in
your matters whatsoever you have to doe, in felon ie or
treason, or other matters that touch the government of y< nr
1-nid of Manne." Cumming's History of the Lie of Man,
1848, pp. 185, 186.
MIDDLESEX.
" There is this solemn and charitable custom in y e Ch.
of St. Mary- Hill, London. On the next Sunday after
Midsummer Day, every year, the fellowship of the Porters
of y" City of London, time out of mind, come to this church
in y e morning, and whilst the Psalms are reading, they group
two and two towards the rails of y e Communion table, whore
are set two basons ; and there they make their offering, and
so return to the body of y e Church again. After then the
24.] MIDStMMER DAT. 327
inhabitants of y e parish and their wives, and others also then
at church, make their offering likewise ; and the money so
< ffored is given to the poor decrepit Porters of the said
fellowship for their better subsistence." Newcomb's MS.
Collect., cited by Bishop Kenuett.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
It was the custom to strew the church of Middleton
Chenduit, in summer, with hay gathered from six or seven
s laths in Ash Meadow, which were given for this purpose.
]n the winter the rector found straw. Bridges's History of
Northamptonshire, 1791, vol. i. p. 187.
NOKTH CUMBERLAND.
It is customary on this day to dress out stools with a
cushion of flowers. A layer of clay is placed on the stool,
and therein is stuck, with great regularity, an arrangement
of all kinds of flowers, so close as to form a beautiful
cushion. These are exhibited at the doors of houses in the
villages, and at the ends of streets and cross lanes of larger
t )\vns. where the attendants beg money from passengers to
enable them to have an evening fete and dancing.
This custom is evidently derived from the " Ludi Com-
pitalii " of the Romans ; this appellation was taken from the
cumpita, or cross lanes, where they were instituted and
celebrated by the multitude assembled before the building of
Rome. It was the feast of the lares, or household g;ds,
who presided as well over houses as streets. Hutchinson's
History of Northumberland.
OXFORDSHIRE.
The following notice of a curious custom, formerly
observed at Magdalen College, Oxford, is taken from the
Life of Bishup Horne, by the Rev. Will : am Jones (Works,
vol. xii. p. 131) : " A letter of July the 25th, 1755, informed
me that Mr. Home, according to an established custom at
Magdalen College, in Oxford, had bugun to preach before
328 MIDSUJIMKIl DAT. [JlTNE 24.
tlie University, on the day of St. John the Baptist. For
the preaching of this annual sermon, a permanent pulpit of
stone is inserted into a corner of the first quadrangle ; and
BO long as the stone pulpit was in use (of which I have bean
a witness), the quadrangle was furnished round the sides
with a large fence of green boughs, that the preaching might
more nearly resemble that of John the Baptist in the wilder-
ness ; and a pleasant sight it was : but fur many years the
custom has been discontinued, and the assembly have thought
it safer to take shelter under the roof of the chapel."
At the mowing of Rcocl-mede, a meadow between Bicestcr
and Wendlebury, most of the different kinds of rural sports
were usually practised ; and in such repute was the holiday,
that booths and stalls were erected as if it had been a fair.
The origin of the custom is unknown : but as the amuse-
ments took place at the time when the meadow became
subject to commonage, some have sinp >sed it originated in
the rejoicings of the villagers on that account. These si>orts
entirely ceased on the enclosure of Chesterton field. Duukin,
History of Bicester, 1816, p. 2G9.
SOMERSETSHIRE.
Collinson, in his History of the County of Somerset (1791,
v.il. iii. p. 586), gives an account of a custom that was
celebrated on the Saturday before old Midsummer Day
in the parishes of Congreslury and Puxton, at two large
pieces of common land, called B-.ist and West Dolemoors.
These, he says, were divided into single acres, each bearing
a peculiar and different mark cut on the turf, such as a
horn, four oxen and a mare, two oxen and a mare, pole-
axe, cross, dung-fork, oven, duck's nest, hand reel, and
hare's tail. On the Saturday before old M.dsummer Day,
several proprietors of estates in the parishes of Congresbury,
Puxton, and Week St. Lawrence, or their tenants, assembled
on the commons. A number of apples were previously
prepared, marked in the same manner with the before-
mentioned acres, which were distributed by a young lad to
each of the commoners from a bag or hat. At tlie close
of the distribution, each person repaired to his allotment us
JUXR 24.] MIDSUMMER DAT. 329
km apple directed him, and took possession for the ensuing
year. An adjournment then took place to the house of tho
overseer of Dolemoors (an officer annually elected from the
tenants), where four acres, reserved for the purpose of paying
expenses, were let by inch of candle, and the remainder of
the day was spent in sociability and hearty mirth.
WILTSHIUE.
At Chiltern there is a sport widely practised by the boys,
which they call " egg-hopping." At the commencement of
summer the lads forage the woods in quest of birds' eggs.
These, when found, they place on the road at distances
apart in proportion to the rarity or abundance of the species
of egg. The hopper is then blindfolded, and he endeavours
to break as many as he can in a certain number of jumps.
The universality of the game, and the existence of various'
superst tions, combined with their refusal to part with tl.e
eggs for money, would warrant a supposition that SOIIIH
superst tin is connected with it. N. & Q. 3rd. S. vol.
iv. p. 492.
YORKSHIRE.
Old Midsummer Day, says Cole (History ofSeaJby, 1820,
p. 44), is, at Scalby, a kind of gala tune, when the sports,.
as they are termed, take place, cons'st : ng of the most rust c
description of amusements, such as donkey-racing, &c., anil
when booths are erected for the accommodation of tho
several visitors, and the village presents a motley fair-like
appearance.
IRELAND.
Co. CORK.
A pilgrimage to the source of tho River Lee is ono
frequently performed by two v<-ry different classes of
persons the superstitious and the curious; the first led
by a traditional sanctity attache 1 t > the place, the latter
by the reputed sublimity of its scenery, and a debLe of
330 MIDCCM:,I::R DAY. [JuxK 24.
witnessing the religious assemblies and ceremonies of the
peasantry. The scenery of Gougaun lake is bold and
rugged, surrounded by rocky and barren mountains ; in its
centre is a small and solitary island, connected with the
shore by a narrow artificial causeway, constructed to
facilitate the rites of religious devotees, who annually flock
thither on the 24th June (St. John's Day), and the celebra-
tion of a pious festival. The principal building on the
island is a rudely formed circular wall of considerable
solidity, in the thickness of which are nine nrched recesses
or cells, called chapels, severally dedicated to particular
saints, with a plain flag-stone set up in each as an altar.
On the celebration of the religious meeting these cells
are filled with men and women in various acts of devotion,
almost all of them on their knees. Cmker, in his Researches
in the South of Ireland (1824, p. 275), descr.bing one
of these pilgrimages, says : To a piece of rusty iron con-
siderable importance seems to have been attached ; it passed
from one devotee to another with much ceremony. The
form consisted in placing it three times, with a short
prayer* across the head of the nearest person to whom it
\vas then handed, and who went through the same ceremony
v ith the next to him, and thus it circulated from one to the
other. The banks of the lake were the scenes of merry-
making. Almost every tent had its piper, two or three
young men and women dancing the jig.
* " Copy of the prayer to be said at the well of St. John. ' O
Almighty God, as I have undertaken this journey by way of pilgrimage
in and through a penitential spirit, in the first place I hope to render
myself worthy of the favour I mean to ask, to avoid drunkenness and
licentiousness, and hope to find favour in thy sight : I therefore pay
this tribute nnd fulfil the promise I have made: I ask you therefore,
through the intercession of St. Juhn, to grant me the following favour
(here mention your ailment, the particular favour you stand in need
of). I know how unworthy I am of being heard, but I resolve, with
thy gracious assistance, henceforward to render myself worthy of your
favour. I implore this gilt through the intercession of St. John, and
the sufferings of Christ our Lord. Amen.'
"N.B. You must be c ireful to avoid all excess in drinking, dancing
in tents, for it is impotable diameters can find favour >n t 1 e si.'l.t of
God, such as these. Fast.ng going there had formerly beeii tho
custom."
JUNK 29.] BT. PETEII'S DAT. 331
Co. LIMERICK.
At one time, the tradesmen of Limerick mn relied, on
Midsummer Day. arranged under their respect : ve leaders,
decorated with sashes, ribbons, and flowers, and accompanied
with a baud of musicians, and the shouts of the delighted
populace, through the principal streets of the city, while
their merry-men played a thousand antic tricks, and the day
generally ended in a terrible fight between the Garryowen
and Thomond-gate boys (the tradesmen of the north and
south suburbs). Fitzgerald and Macgregor's Hish>ry of
Limerick, 1827, p. 540.
JUNE 25.] YORKSHIRE.
In the village of Micklefield, about ten miles east of
Leeds, it is the custom on the second day of the feast,
(June 25th) for about twelve of the villagers, * dressed,
in their best garb, and wearing a white apron a fepicier, to
carry a large basket (generally a clothes-basket) to each
farm-house in the village, the occupier of which seenw
tt> consider it his bounden duty to give them a good supply
of confectionery of some k ; nd to take away with them, and
ale ad libitum to drink in his house. N. &. Q. 3rd S. vol.
iii. p. 2G3.
JUNE 29.] ST. PETER'S DAY.
ON this day many of the rites peculiar to the festival of
!St. John the Baptist were repeated.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
It appears from the Status Scholce Etoncnsis (A.D. 1560)
that the Eton boys had a great bonfire annually on the cast
side of the church on St. Peter's Day, as well as on that of
St. John Baptist.
* These villagers call thoinstlvi-s ' ./* ICeJdiiigen" (?)
832 BT. PETER'S DAY. [JUNE 29.
KENT.
The stranger who chances to attend Divine service in
Famborongh parish church on the Sunday next after the
feast of St. Peter, lias his attention arrested by the floor of
the porch being strewed with reeds. By an abstract of the
will of George Dalton, Gent., of Farnborough, dated
December 3rd, 1556, set forth on a mural tablet in the
interior of the church, he learns that this gentleman settled
a perpetual annuity of 13s. 4^. chargeable upon his lands at
Tuppendence : 10s. to the preacher of a sermon on the Sunday
next after the feast of St. Peter, and 3s. 4d. to the poor.
Local traditional lore affirms that Mr. Daltoi) Mas saved
from drowning by reeds, and that the annual sermon and
odd manner of decorating the porch are commemorative of
the event. This day is called by the inhabitants of the
village, Reed Day or Flag Day. Ma,ds!one Gazette, 1859.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,
Cole, in his Histiry of Weston Favell (1829, p. 58). says :
The feast follows St. Peter's Day. The amusements and
spuis of the wejk consist of dinner and tea parties formed
fr >m the adjacent towns, which meetings are frequently
c included with a ball, indeed a dance at the inns on the
few first days of the feast is indispensable. Games at
bjwls and quoits are pursued with great dexterity and
interest by the more athletic visitants, and in toe evening
the place presents a motley, fair-like appearance; but this
continues for no longer period than the second or third day
in the feast week.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Formerly, says Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 337),
on the evening of St. Peter's Day, the inhabitants of this
county carried firebrands about the fields of their respective
parishes They made encroachments on these occasions
upon the bonfires of the neighbouring towns, of which they
took away some of the ashes by force ; this they called
" carrying off the flower (probably the flour) of the wake.''
JUNE 29.] BT. PETER'S DAY. 333
YORKSHIRE.
In an old account of Gisborough, in Cleveland, and the
adjoining coast, printed in the Antiquarian Repertory (1808,
vol. iii. p. 304) from an ancient MS. in the Cotton Library
(marked Jul.us F. C., fol. 455), speaking of the fishermen,
it is stated that " Upon St. Peter's Dave they invite their
friends and kinsfolk to a festyvall kept after their fashion
with a fiee hearte, and noe shew of niggardnesse ; th;it
daye their boatcs are dressed curiously for the shewe, their
mastes are painted, and certain rytes observed amongst them,
with sprinkling their prowes with good liquor, sold with
them at a groate the quarte, which custom or superstition,
suckt from their auucestors, even contynueth down unto this
present tyme."
The feast day of Nun-Mnnkton is kept on St. Peter'a
Day, and is followed by the " Little Feast Day," and a
merry time extending over a week. On the Saturday evening
preceding the 29th a company of the villagers, headed by
all the tiddlers and players on other instruments that could
be mustered at one time went in procession across the great
common to ' May-pole Hill," where there is an old sycamore
(Hie pole being near it) for the purpose of " rising Peter,"
who had been buried under the tree. This effigy of St.
Peter, a rude one of wood, carved no one proiessed to
know when and in these later times clothed in a ridiculous
fashion, was removed in its box-coffin to the neighbourhood
of the public-house, there to be exposed to view, and, with
as little delay as possible, conveyed to some out-building,
where it was stowed away and thought no more about till
the first Saturday after the feast day (or the second if the
29th had occurred at the back end of a week),when it was
taken back in procession again, and re-interred with all
honour which concluding ceremony was called " Buryin'
Peter." In this way did St. Peter preside over his own feast.
On the evening of the first day of the feast, two young men
went round the village with large baskets for the purpose of
collecting tarts, cheese-cakes, and eggs for mulled ale all
being consumed after the two ceremonies above indicated.
334 ALTCAR nUSIl-EKAIUNG. [JULY.
This last good custom is not d^ne away with yet, suppers
and, afterwards, dancing in a barn being the order while the
feast lasts. N & Q. Uli S. vol. i. p. 361.
SCOTLAND.
In Sinclair's Stat. Ace of Scotland (1792, vol. iii. p. 105)
wo are told that at Loudoun, iu Ayrshire, the custom still
retains among the herds and young people to kindle fires in
tlie high grounds, in honour of Beltan. Beltan was anciently
the time of this solemnity. It is kept on St. Peter's day.
JULY.] COMMENCEMENT DAY.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
IN the University of Cambridge, the first Tuesday in July
is usually the C'>mmencemeiit Day. The Commencement
Sunday is the Sunday immediately before the Commencement
Day. It is a commemoration day.
On Commencement Sunday, the Vice-Chancellor invites to
dinner all noblemen, the three Regius Professors, and their
sons and the public orator. Adam Wall, Ceremonies observed
tn the Senate House of the University of Cambridge, 1798,
p. 76.
HUNTINGDONSHIRE.
At Old Weston a piece of green sward belongs by custom
to the parish clerk for the time being, subject to the condition
of the land being mown immediately before Weston feast,
which occurs in July, and the cutting thereof being strewed
on the church floor previously to Divine service on the feast
Sunday, and continuing there during Divine service.
Edwards, Old English Customs and Charities, p. 220.
LANCASHIRE.
At Altcar the parish church is dedicated to St. Michael,
and, in accordance with a very old custom, a rush-bearing
takes place in July. See Med. ^Evi Kalend. vol. i. p. 341.
JULY.] LEITH KACES. 335
NOETHUJI PERLAND.
In the History of Alnwick (1822, pp. 241-244) the fol-
lowing account is given of an ancient custom celebrated on
the proclamation of the fair held in July. On the Sunday
evening preceding the fair, the representatives of the ad-
jacent townships that owe suit and service to his Grace the
Duke of Northumberland, and the constables of Alnwick,
with several of the freeholders and tradesmen, attend at the
castle, where they are freely regaled. The steward of the
Court, and the bailiff with their attendants, then proceed
from the castle to the cross in the market-place, where the
builiff proclaims the fair in the name of the Duke and Duchess
of Northumberland, and ,:alls over the names of the various
townships that owe suit and service ; viz. the townships of
Chatton and Chillingham, four men , Coldrnarton and
Fowbury, four men ; Hetton and Hezebrigge, four men ;
Fawdon and Clinch, four men ; Aluham and Alnham Moor,
two men; Tughall and Swinhoe, two men; Longhoughton
and Denwick, four men ; Lesbury and Bilton, two men ;
Lyham and Lyham-hall, one man ; with the principal in-
habitants of the borough of Alnwick. The representatives
who attend for the several townships in service are obliged
to keep watch at different parts of the town the night betore
the fair, which has been a custom from time immemorial.
On the fair-day the tenants of the Duke within the barony
of Alnwick attend at the castle, when the steward and
bailiff proceed from thence to the market, and proclaim
the fair as before. They then go to Clayport Street, where
the fair is again proclaimed, and from thence to the castlo.
The above townships, by their attendance, are exempt from
paying toll in the borough for twelve months, but if they do
not attend, they must pay the same till the next year.
SCOTLAND.
COUNTY OF EDINBURGH.
The Leith Races take place either in the month of July or
August. As they were under the patronage of the magistrates
336 LEITH HACKS. [.TuLT.
of Edinburgh, it was usual for one of tlie c'ty officers to
walk in procession every morning during the week from the
Council Chamber down to Leith, bearing aloft a silk purse,
gaily decorated with ribbons, styled the City Purse, on tlie
end of a pole, accompanied by the town -guard drummer, who,
being stationed in the rear of this dignitary, continued beating
a tattoo at his heels all the way to tlie race-ground.
Tlie procession which at the onset consisted only of the
officer and the drummer, and sometimes a file or two of the
town -guard, gathered strength as it moved along the lino of
march, from a constant accession of boys, who were every
morning on the look out for this procession, and who pre-
ferred, according to their own phrase, ' gaun down wi' the
purse," to :iny other way. Such a dense mass of these finally
surrounded the officer and his attendant drummer that, long
before the procession reached Leith, b th had wholly dis-
appeared. Nothing of the former remained visible but the
purse, and the t >p of the pole on which it was borne. These,
however, projecting above the heads of the crowd, still
pointed out the spot where he might be found : of the drummer,
no vestige remained; but he was known to exist by the
faint and intermittent sounds of his drum. The town-guard
also came in for a share of the honours and the business of
this festive week. These were inarched down to Leith every
day in full costume. Having arrived upon the sands, the
greater part, along with the drummer, took their station at
tlie starting-point, where the remainder surrounded tlie
heights. The march of these veterans to Leith is thus
humorously described by Ferguson :
*' Come, hafe a care (the captain cries),
On guns your bagnets thraw :
Now mind your manual exercise,
And march down row by row.
And as they march he'll glour about,
Tent a' (her cuts an' scars ;
Ulang these full many a gausy snout
Has gusht in birth-day wars
Wi' blude that day."
Campbell, Hiatory of Leith, 1827, p. 187.
JULY I.] BATTLE OF THE POYNE. 3S7
RENFREWSHIRE.
A very curious custom existed at Greenock, and in the
neighbouring town of Port Glasgow, at the fair held on the
first Monday in July, and the fourth Tuesday in November.
The whole trades of the town, in the dresses of their guilds,
with flags and music, each man armed, made a grand ren-
dezvous at the place where the fair was to be held, and with
drawn swords and array of guns and pistols, surrounded the
booths, and greeted the baillie's announcement by tuck of
drum, " that Greenock Fair was open," by a tremendous
shout, and a struggling fire from every serviceable barrel in
the crowd. N. &^ Q. 1st , vol. ix. p. 242.
ROXBURGHSHIRE.
Haig, in his History of Kelso (1825, p. 107), tells us that
in his time the Society of Gardeners, on the second Tuesday
in July, the day of their annual general meeting, paraded the
streets, accompanied by a band of music, and carrying an
elegant device composed of the most beautiful flowers, which,
en the company reaching the inn where they dined, was
thrown from the window to the crowd, who soon demolished
it in a scramble for the flowers.
Fuller, too, in his History of Berwick-upon-Tweed (1799,
p. 447), says the association of gardeners, which took place in
1796, had in his time a procession through the streets yearly.
It was accompanied with music ; and, in the middle of th*
procession, a number of mo^ carried a large wreath of flowers.
The different officers belonging to this institution wore their
respective insignia, and the whole society dined together.
JULY i.] IRELAND.
Mason, in his Slot. Ace. of Ireland (1814, vol. ii. p. 528), says
that the great holiday in Seagoe is on the first of July (Old
Style), being the anniversary of the battle of the Boyne.
A procession takes place, the whole population wear orange
lilies, and the day is spent in festivity.
z
338 ST. THOMAS A BECKET's DAT. [JULY
JULY 5.] LEICESTERSHIRE.
At Glenfield, the parish clerk, in accordance with an old
custom, strews the church with new hay on the first Sunday
after the 5th of July. Edwards, Old English Cuatomt and
Charities, p. 219.
JULY 7.] ST. THOMAS A BECKET'S DAY.
CORNWALL.
THE festival called Bodmin Riding was kept on Sunday and
Monday after St. Thomas a Becket's Day (July 7th). A
puncheon of beer having been brewed in the preceding
October, and bottled in anticipation of the time, two or more
young men who were entrusted with the chief management of
the affair, and who represented the " wardens," went round
the town attended by a band of drums and fifes, or other
instruments. The crier saluted each house with, " To the
people of this house a prosperous morning, long life, and a
merry riding ! " The musicians then struck up the riding
tune, and the householder was solicited to taste the riding
ale, which was carried round in baskets. A bottle was
usually taken in, and it was acknowledged by such a sum
as the means or humour of the townsman permitted, to be
spent on the public festivities of the season. Next morn-
ing a procession was formed : all who could afford to ride
mounted on horse or ass, which proceeded first to the Priory,
to receive two large garlands of flowers fixed on staves, and
then through the principal streets to the Town End, where
the games were formally opened. The sports, which lasted
two da.ys, consisted of wrestling, foot-racing, jumping in
sacks, &c. It should be remarked that a second or inferior
brewing, from the same wort, was drunk at a minor merry-
making at Whitsuntide. In an order, dated November 15th,
1583, regulating the business of the shoemakers, a class of
tradesmen which seems for ages to have been more than
JULY 7.] ST. THOMAS X BECKET'S DAT. 339
usually numerous in Bodmin, it is directed by the mayor and
tlie mastersof the occupation, "that at the Rydyng every mastei
and journeyman shall give their attendance to the steward,
and likewise bring him to church, upon pain of 12d. for
every master, and 6d. for every journeyman, for every such
default, to the discretion of the master of the occupation."
At this festival there was held a curious kind of mock trial.
A Lord of Misrule was appointed, before whom any unpopular
person, so unlucky as to be captured, was dragged to answer
a charge of felony ; the imputed crime being such as his
appearance might suggest, a negligence in his attire, or a
breach of manners. With ludicrous gravity a mock trial
was then commenced, and judgment was gravely pronounced,
when the culprit was hurried off to receive his punishment.
In this his apparel was generally a greater sufferer than his
person, as it commonly terminated in his being thrown into
the water or the mire.* " Take him before the mayor of
Halgaver;" "Present him in Ilalgaver Court," are old Cornish
proverbs. Parochial History of Cornwall, 1868, vol L p. 104.
Murray, Handbook for Cornwall, 18G5, p. 244.
KENT.
Becket's Fair, says Hasted in his History of Canterbury
(1801, vol. i. p. 104), was held on the feast of St. Thomas a
Becket, and was so called from this day being the anniversary
* drew, in his Survey of Cornwall (1811, p. 296 \ speaking of this
custom, says: " The youthlier sort of ISodmin townsmen use sometimes
to sport themselves by playing the box with strangers whom they
summon to Halgaver. The name s : gnifieth the goat's moor, and such
a place it is, lying a liltle without the town, and very full of quag-
mires. When these mates with any raw serving man, or other young
master, who may serve and deserve to make pastime, they cause him to
1) solemnly arrested, for his appearance before the mayor of Halgaver,
where he is charged with wearing one spur, in going nntrusned or
wanting a girdle, or some such Ike felony; and after he hth been
arraigned and tried, with all requisite circumstances, judgment is
given in formal terms, and executed in some ungracious prank or
other, more to the scorn than hurt of tl.e party condemned. Now and
then they extend their merriment with the largest, to the prejudice ot
over-credulous people, persuading them to fight with a dragon lurking
in Hnliraver, or to see some strange matter there; which concludeth at
least with a training them into the mire."
z 2
310 BATTLE OF AOGHIJIM. [JULY 12.
of the Archbishop's translation from his tomb to his shrine,
and as such was fixed for this purpose, as a means of gather-
ing together a greater multitude for the celebration of this
solemn day.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
In some parts of this county the Sunday after St. Thomas
a Becket's Day goes by the name of Relic Sunday. Time's
Telescope, 1822, p. 192.
JULY 9.] STAFFORDSHIRE.
There existed at one time, at Wolverhampton, an annual
procession, on July 9th (the eve of the great fair), of men in
antique armour, preceded by musicians playing the " fair
tune," and followed by the steward of the Deanery Manor,
the peace-officers, and many of the principal inhabitants.
Tradition says the ceremony originated at the time when
Wolverhampton was a great emporium of wool, and re-
sorted to by merchants of the staple from all parts of
England. The necessity of an annual force to keep peace
and order during the fair (which is said to have lasted
fourteen days, but the charter says only eight) is not
improbable. It was finally discontinued by Sir William
Pulteney, who was the lessee of the Deanery Manor, to
the great dissatisfaction of the people of Wolverhampton.
These processions were the remains of the Corpus Christi
pageantry, which were always celebrated at the annual fairs,
and attended by men armed and equipped as if for war.
Shaw, History of Staffordshire, 1798-1801, p. 165 ; Oliver,
Historical Account of the Collegiate Church of Wolverhampton,
1836, p. 44,
JULY 12.] IKELAND.
At Maghera, County Down, on the 12th of July, the anni-
versary of the battle of Aughrim, the Orangemen assemble,
walk in their insignia, and dine together. Mason, Stat.
Ace. of Ireland, 1844, vol. i. p. 594.
JULY 17.] ST. KKNELM'S DAT. 811
JOLY 15.] ST. SWITHIN'S DAY.
ST. SWITHIN was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the time of
King Ethelbert, and the great patron saint of the cathedral
and city of Winchester. In some church books there are
entries of gatherings of " Saint Swithine's farthyngs " on this
day. There is an old proverb which says :
"St. Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain :
St. Swithin's Day, it'tliou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain na mair."
There is also a quaint saying, that when it rains on St.
Swithin's Day, it is the saint christening the apples. See
Timbs' Things not Generally Known, 1856, p. 153.
SURREY.
In the Churchwardens' accounts of the parish of Horley,
under the years 151)5-6, is the following entry, which
implies a gathering on this saint's day :
" Itm. Saintt Swithine farthyngs the said 2 yeres, 30*. Sd."
YORKSHIRE.
Sports were at one time annually celebrated at Cloughton
on Saturday evening after the 15th July. Cole. Historical
Sketches of Scalby, Burniston, and Cloughton, 1829, p. 63.
JULY 17. ST. KENELM'S DAY.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
AT Clent, in the parish of Hales Owen, a fair was formerly
held in a field in which St. Keuelm's Chapel is situated.
It is, says Brand, of very ancient date, and probably
arose from the gathering together of persons to visit the
shrine of St. Kenelrn on the feast of the saint, 17th of July.
On the Sunday alter this fair, St. Kenelm's wake was held,
at which a curious custom was practised, called " Crabbing
342 ST. KENELM'S DAT. [JULT 17.
the Parson," the orig'n of which is said to have arisen on
this wise : " Long, long ago, an incumbent of Frankley,
to which St. Kenelm's is attached, was accustomed, through
horrid, deep-rutted, miry roads, occasionally to wend his
way to the sequestered depository of the remains of the
murdered saint-king, to perform Divine service. It was his
wont to carry some provisions with him, with which he
refreshed himself at a farm-house near the scene of his
pastoral duties. On one occasion, however, having eaten up
his store of provisions, he was tempted (after he had donned
his sacerdotal habit, and in the absence of the good dame)
to pry into the secrets of a huge pot, in which was simmer-
ing the savoury dish the lady had provided for her house-
hold ; among the rest dumplings formed no inconsiderable
portion of the contents. The story runs that the parson
poached sundry of them, hissing hot, from the cauldron, and,
hearing the footsteps of his hostess, he, with great dexterity,
deposited them in the sleeves of his surplice. She, however,
was conscious of her loss, and, closely following the parson
to the church, by her presence prevented him from dis-
posing of them, and, to avoid her accusation, he forthwith
entered the reading-desk, and began to read the service, the
clerk beneath making the responses. Erelong, a dumpling
slipped out of the parson's sleeve, and fell on the clerk's
head ; he looked up with astonishment, but taking the
matter in good part, proceeded with the service. Presently,
however, another dumpling fell on his head, at which he,
with upturned eyes and ready tongue, responded, " Two can
play at that, master," and, suiting the action to the word,
He immediately began pelting the parson with crabs, a store
of which he had gathered, intending to take them home in
his pocket to foment the sprained leg of his horse, and so
well did he play his part, that the parson soon decamped,
amid the jeers of the old dame, and the laughter of the few
persons who were in attendance." Brand, Pop. Antiq.
1849, vol. i. p. 344.
JULY 20.] ST. MARGARET'S DAY. 343
JULY 20.] ST. MAEGABET'S DAY.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
ON the feast of St. Margaret in 1511, the Miracle Play of
the Holy Martyr St. George was acted on a stage in an open
field at Bassingborne in Cambridgeshire, at which there were
a minstrel and three waits hired from Cambridge, with a
property-man and a painter. The following extract from
an old churchwarden's book belonging to the parish of Bas-
singborne, gives the various subscriptions and expenses
connected with it :
Memorandum : Received at the play held on St. Mar-
garet's day, A.D. MDXL, in Basingborn of the holy martyr
St. George.
Received of the Township of Royston xii". Tharfiold vi 8
viii d , Melton v" iiii d , Lillington x 8 vi d , \\ haddon iv 8 iiii d ,
Steeplemenden iiii 8 , Barly iv" i d , Ashwell iiii 8 , Abingdon iii*
iv d , Orwell iii 8 , Wendy ii 8 ix d , Wimpole ii 8 vii d , M jldreth ii 8
iv 4 , Arritigton ii 8 iv d , Shepreth ii 8 iv d , Kelsey ii 8 v d . Willing-
ton i 8 x d , Fulmer i* viii d , Gilden Morden i", Tadlow i 8 ,
Croydon i 8 i d , Hattey x 4 , Wratlingworth ix d , Hastingfield
ix d , Barkney viii d , Foxten iv 3 , Kneesnorth vi d .
Item received of the town of Bassingborn on the Monday
and Friday after the play, together with other comers on the
Monday, xiv 8 v" 1 .
Item received on the Wednesday after the play, with a pot
of ale at Kneesnorth, all costs deducted, i 8 vii d .
Expenses of the said Play.
First paid to the garnemeut man for garnements and
propyrts and playbooks, xx 8 .
To a minstrel and three waits of Cambridge for the
"Wednesday, Saturday, and Monday. Two of them the first
day, and three the other days, v 8 xi 4 -
Item in expences on the Players, when the play was
shewed, in bread and ale and for other vittails at Royston
for those players, iii 8 ii d .
Item in expences on the play day for the bodies of vi. sheep,
xxii d each, ix s i' 1
344 ST. JAMES'S DAY. ^JULY 25
Item for three calves and half a lamb, viii 8 ii a .
Item paid five days board of one Pyke Propyrte, mating
for himself and his servant one day, and for his horses
pasture vi. days, i" iv 3 .
Item paid to turners of spits and for salt, ix d .
Item for iv chickens for the gentlemen, iv d -
Item for fish and bread and setting up the stages, iv a .
Item to John Beecher for painting of three Fauchoms and
four Tormentors.
Item to Giles Ashwell for easement of his croft to play
in, i 8 .
Item to John Hobarde, Brotherhood Priest, for the play
book, ii" viii d .
Antiquarian Repertory, 1808, vol. iii. p. 320.
NORFOLK.
To the west of Wereham Church, Norfolk, a well, called
St. Margaret's, was much frequented in the times of Popery.
Here, on St. Margaret's Day, the people regaled themselves
with ale and cakes, music and dancing. Alms were Driven,
and offerings and vows made, at sainted wells of this kind.
Excursions in the County of Norfolk, 1829, vol. ii. p. 14.5.
JULY 22.] ST. BKIDGET S EVE.
IRELAND.
ON St. Bridget's Eve every farmer's wife in Ireland makns
a cake, called Bairinbreac ; the neighbours are invited, the
madder of ale and the pipe go round, and the evening
concludes with mirth and festivity. Col. Vallancey, Essay
on the Antiquity of the Irish Language, 1772, p. 21 ; see
Fosbroke's Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, 1840, p. 657.
JULY 25.] ST. JAMES'S DAY.
It is customary in London to begin eating oysters on St.
James's l>ay, and in the course of the few days following
JULY 25.] ST. JAMES'S DAT. 345
upon their introduction, the children of the humbler class
employ themselves diligently in collecting the shells which
have been cast out from taverns and fish-shops, and of these
they make piles in various rude forms. By the time that old
St. James's Day (August 5th) has come about, they have these
little fabrics in nice order, with a candle stuck in the top,
to be lighted at night. As the stranger occasionally comes
in contact with tbese structures, he is suddenly surrounded by
a group of boys, exclaiming, " Pray, remember the grotto ! "
by which is meant a demand for a penny wherewith pro-
fessedly to keep up the candle. Mr. Thorns considers that
in the grotto thus made, we have a memorial of the world-
renowned shrine of St. James at Compostella, which may
have been formerly erected on the anniversary of St. James
by poor persons, as an invitation to the pious, who could not
visit Compostella to show their reverence to tho saint by
alms giving to their needy brethren. Book of Days, vol. ii.
p. 122; N. & Q. 1st S. vol. i. p. 6.
KEXT.
The rector of Cliff distributes at his parsonage-house, on
St. James's day, annually, a mutton pie and a loaf to as many
as choose to demand it ; the expense amounts to about 15
per annum.
LANCASHIRE.
It was customary at one time for tho Corporation of
Liverpool to give an annual public dinner, in the Exchange,
to two or three hundred of the principal inhabitants, on tlie
25th July and llth November, the days of the commence-
ment of the Liverpool fairs, which were considered as days
of festivity by all ranks of the community. On these days
the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses, in their gowns, went in
procession with a band of music, from the Exchange to
the middle of Dalo Street, where they passed round n
large stone, whitewashed for tho occasion, and thence
proceeded to another stone in the centre of Castle Street,
and back to the Exchange, where they dined. This ancient
custom was discontinued about the year 1760. Corry, History
of Liverpool, ItflO, p. i.4.
34fi BWAN-urriNG. [Auo.
JULY 26.] MACE MONDAY.
BERKSHIRE.
THE first Monday after St. Anne's Day, July 26th, a feast
is held at Newbury, the principal dishes being bacon and
beans. In the course of the day a procession takes place ;
a cabbage is stuck on a pole, and carried instead of a mace,
accompanied by similar substitutes for other emblems of
civic dignity. Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1045.
JULY 29.] ST. OLAVE'S DAY.
STRYPE in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii.
p. 11), says: "On the 29th July, 1557, being St. Olave's
Day, was the church holiday in Silver Street, the parish
church whereof was dedicated to that saint. And at eight
of the clock at night began a stage play of a goodly matter
(r, luting, it is like, to that saint), that continued unto twelve
at midnight, and then they made an end with good song."
AUGUST.] SWAN-UPPING.
FORMERLY the members of the Corporation of London, in
gaily-decorated barges, went up the Thames annually in
August, for the purpose of nicking or marking, and counting
their swans. They used to land off Barnes Elms, and par-
take of a collation. This yearly progress was commonly
but incorrectly called " swan-hopping : " the correct desig-
nation is shown by the ancient statutes to be " swan-upping,"
the swans being taken up and nicked, or marked. A " s\v?ui-
with-two-nicks " indicated, by his second nick, that he had
been taken up twice.*
* Among the TxjselcyMPS. is an original roll of swan-marks, show-
ing the b< aks of the swans to h;ive been notched with stars, chevrons,
crosses, the initials of the owners' names, or other devices See N. & Q.
2nd A. vol. x. p. 393.
AlJG. I.] LAMMAS DAT. 347
In the accounts of the Vintner's Company (Egerton MS.
1143, fol. 2,) is the following entry :
"Money pavd for ex- ) Item. Payd in the grete ffroste to
,- pende for uppyng of V Jalnes V"L ^-'l ?ZZ?** f T
S wanes uppinj; of the Master Swan ies . . nij.
* J It For bote hyr at the tamo tyme . iiijti.
AUGUST I.] LAMMAS DAY.
GULE of August, or Lammas Day, is variously explained.
Gule, from the Celtic or Brit : sh Wyl or Gule, signifies a
festival or holiday, and explains Gule of August to mean
the holiday of St. Peter ad vincula in this month, when the
people of England, in Koman Catholic times, paid their
Peter-pence. Lammas is, by some, derived from lamb-masse,
because on that day the tenants who held lands of the
cathedral church in York, which is dedicated to St. Peter
ad vincula, were bound by their tenure to bring a live lamb
into the church at high mass. Others derive it from the
Saxon word Hlafmaesse, signifying loaf -mass or bread-mass,
because on this day our forefathers made an offering of bread
from new wheat. Blount says, "Lammas Day, the 1st <>f
August, otherwise called the Gule or Yule of August, which
may be a corruption of the British word Gwul Awst, signify-
ing the 1st of August." Blount further says, "that Lammas
is called Alaf-Mass, that is, loaf or bread mass, which
signifies a feast of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the
corn. It was observed with bread of new wheat ; and in
some places tenants were bound to bring new wheat to their
lord on or before the 1st of August, New wheat is called
Lammas wheat." Vallancey further affirms that this day
was dedicated to the fruits of the soil ; that Laeith was the
day of the obligation of grain, particularly of wheat, and that
Mas signifies fruits of all kinds, especially the acorn, whence
the word " mast."
Lammas is one of the four cross-quarter days of the year,
as they are now denominated. Whitsuntide was formerly
the first, Lammas the second, Martinmas the third, and
Candlemas the last. Some rents are yet payable at these
348 LAMMAS DAY. [AUG. I.
ancient quarter-days in England, and they continue general
in Scotland. Timbs, Things not Generally Known, 1856,
p. 154 ; seo Soane's New Curiosities of Literature, vol ii. p. 123 ;
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 347.
It was once customary in England to give money to
servants on Lammas Day, to buy gloves ; hence the term
glove-silver. It is mentioned among the ancient customs of
the Abbey of St. Edmund, in which the clerk of the cellarer
had '2d., the cellarer's squire, lid., the granger, lid., and the
cowherd a penny. Med. uEvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 334.
DEVONSHIRE.
The charter for Exeter Lammas Fair is perpetuated by a
glove of immense size, stuffed and carried through the city
on a very long pole, decorated with ribbons, flowers, &c.,
and attended with music, parish beadles, and the mobility.
It is afterwards placed on the top of the Guildhall, and then
the fair commences ; on the taking down of the glove the
fair terminates. Every Day B^ok, vol. ii. p. 1059.
ISLE OF MAN.
The first Sunday in August is called, by the Manks
peasantry, yn chied doonaght a ouyr. On that day they
crowd in great numbers to the tops of the highest hills, in
the north to the summit of Snafeld, and in the south to the
top of Barule. Others visit the sanative wells of the island,
which are held in the highest estimation. The veneration
with which the Pagan deities were regarded having been
transferred along with their fanes and fountains to Christian
saints, sanctified and sanative wells became the resort of the
pious pilgrim, and by the credulous invalid libations and
devotions were, according to ancient practice, performed at
those holy springs, which were believed to be guarded by
presiding powers to whom offerings were left by the visitants.
Many a wonderful cure is said to have been effected by the
waters of St. Catherine's Well at Port Erin ; by the Chibbyr
Parick, or well of St. Patrick, on the west end of the hill of
Li.arf/ey-tjraue ; by Lord Henry's Well on the south beach of
AUG. I.J LAMMAS DAT. 349
Laxey, and by the well at Peel, also dedicated to St. Patrick,
which, says the tradition, just sprang forth where St. Patrick
was prompted by Divine instinct to impress the sign of the
cross on the ground. Many extraordinary properties were
ascribed to the Nunnery Well, but the most celebrated in
modern times for its medicinal virtues is the fine spring
which issues from the rocks of the bold promontory called
Maughold Head, and which is dedicated to the saint of the
name, who, it appears, had blessed the well and endowed it
with certain healing virtues. On this account it is yet
resorted to, as was the pool of Siloam of old, by every
invalid who believes in its efficacy.
On the first Sunday in August the natives, according to
ancient custom, still make a pilgrimage to drink its waters ;
and it is held to be of the greatest importance to certain
females to enjoy the beverage when seated in a place called
the saint's chair, which the saint, for the accommodation of
succeeding generations, obligingly placed immediately con-
tiguous. Bennet, Sketches of the Isle of Man, 1829, p. 65 ;
Waldron, Description of Isle of Man, p. 151 ; Train, History
of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 121.
MIDDLESEX.
Lammas Day is noted in London for an annual rowing
match on the Thames, instituted by Thomas Doggett,* an
actor of celebrity, in honour of the accession of George I.
to the throne of England. Doggett was so warmly attached
to the Brunswick family that Sir Richard Steele termed
him " a Whig up to the head and ears." In the year
after George I. came to the throne, Doggett gave a water-
man's coat and silver badge, to be rowed for by six watermen
on the 1st of August. This he not only continued till his
death, but he bequeathed a certain sum of money, the interest
of which was to be appropriated annually, for ever, to the
* He first appeared on the Dublin stag", and afterwards, with Colley
Gibber and Robert Wilkes. became joint n anager of Drury Lane
Theatre. He died in 1721. Faulkner, History of Cheleea, 1829,
p. 188.
350 LAMMAS DAT. [AUG. I.
purchase of a like coat and badge, by six young watermen,
whose apprenticeships had expired the year before. This
ceremony is performed every year, the competitors setting
out, at a signal given, at that time of the tide wht;u the
current is strongest against them, and rowing from the old
Swan, near London Bridge, to the White Swan at Chelsea.
Sports, Pastimes, and Customs of London, 1847, p. 35.
In the parish of St. Luke, Chelsea, were formerly "The
Lotts," Lammas land, for ages appurtenant to the manor of
Chelsea The lord of the manor possessed the right of
lett ; ng the land on lease for the spring and summer quarters^
beginning with March aud ending in August, and the in-
habitants at large enjoyed the privilege of turning in their
cattle from August till February, being the autumn and
winter quarters. This state of appropriation continued till
the year 1825 or 1826, when the directors of the Kensington
Canal Company took possession of them for their own use
immediately upon the completion of the canal ; they have
detained them ever since, and have let them successively to
several persons, and received rent for the same. The Chelsea
Lammas lands had hitherto been opened on the 12th of
August, being the first of the month according to the old
style. The graziers, butchers, and others with their cattle,
used formerly to assemble in the lane leading to " The
Lotts," on the eve of Lammas, and when the clock had
struck twelve they entered the meadow. Timbs, Things not
Generally Known, 1856, p. 154.
SUSSEX.
The following curious custom once existed at Eastbourne.
On the three first Sundays in August a public breakfast,
says Royer (History of Eastbourne, 1787, p. 126), is given
at the parsonage-house by the tenants of the great tythes
to the farmers and their servants, each farmer being entitled
to send two servants for every waggon that he keeps. So
that if a farmer have five waggons to do his necessary
business he may send ten servants, and so on in proportion
for a less or greater number. The farmers are entertained
in the parlour with a sirloin of hot roast beef, cold bam,
Sussex cheese, strong ale, and Geneva ; the men are entertained
AUG. I.] LAMMAS DAT. 351
in the barn with everything the same as their masters except
the beef. It is presumed that this custom had its origin
from the time the tythes were first taken in kind in this
parish, in order to keep all parties in good humour.
A petition to Parliament for the abolition of this custom
was presented as far back as 1640, and, in 1649, an ordinance
was enacted that 201. per annum should be paid for the
relief of the poor in lieu of the feast. In 1687 the custom
was revived; more recently an annual payment of 20Z. for the
education of poor children was substituted, and this amount
now figures year by year in the accounts of St. Mary's schools
as paid by the Duke of Devonshire. Chambers' Handbook
of Eastbourne, 1872, p. 35.
ST. WILFRID'S FEAST.
YORKSHIRES.
HUTTON in his Trip to Coatham (1810, p. 63), says the great
annual feast at Coatham in his time was celebrated on the
first Sunday after Lammas Day, old style, and called St.
Wilfrid's Feast, kept in commemoration of the prelate's
return from exile. On the evening before the feast com-
menced, the effigy of this favourite of the people, having
been previously conveyed some miles out of the town, made
his public entry as returning after a long absence, being
met by crowds of people, who, with shouts and acclamations,
welcomed the return of the prelate and patron. The same
custom seems also to have been observed at Eipon. See
Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1059.
SCOTLAND.
What appears as a relic of the ancient Pagan festival of
the Gule of August, was practised in Lothian till about the
middle of the eighteenth century. The herdsmen within a
certain district, towards the beginning of summer, associated
themselves into bands, sometimes t< the number of a hundred
or more. Each of these communities agreed to build a tower
in some conspicuous place, near the centre of their district,
352 LAMMAS DAT. [AUG. I.
which was to serve as the place of their rendezvous on
Lammas Day. This tower was usually built of sods, for tho
most part square, about four fret in diameter at the bottom
and tapering to a point at the top, which was seldom above
seven or eight feet from the ground. In building it, a hole
was left in the centre for a flagstaff, on which to display
their colours.
From the moment the foundation of the tower was laid,
it became an object of care and attention to the whole com-
munity ; for it was reckoned a disgrace to suffer it to be
defaced ; so that they resisted, with all their power, any
attempts that should be made to demolish it, either by force
or fraud ; and, as the honour that was acquired by the de-
molition of a tower, if effected by those belonging to another,
was in proportion to the disgrace of suffering it to be de-
molished, each party endeavoured to circumvent the other as
much as possible, and laid plans to steal upon the tower
unperceived, in the night time, and level it with the ground.
Great was the honour that such a successful exploit con-
veyed to the undertakers ; and. though the tower was easily
rebuilt, yet the news was quickly spread by the successful
adventurers, through the whole district, which filled it with
shouts of joy and exultation, while their unfortunate neigh-
bours were covered with shame. To ward off this disgrace,
a constant nightly guard was kept at each tower, which was
made stronger and stronger, as the tower advanced ; so that
frequent nightly skirmishes ensued at these attacks, but
were seldom of much consequence, as the assailants seldom
came in force to make an attack in this way, but merely to
succeed by surprise ; as soon, therefore, as they saw they
were discovered, they made off in the best manner they
could.
To give the alarm on these and other occasions, every
person was armed with a " tooting horn," that is, a horn
perforated in the small end, through which wind can be
forcibly blown from the mouth, so as to occasion a loud
noise ; and as every one wished to acquire as great dexterity
as possible in the use of the " tooting horn," they practised
upon it during the summer while keeping their beasts ; and
towards Lammas they were so incessantly employed at this
AUG. I.] LAMMAS DAY. 353
business, answering to, and vieing with each other, that the
whole country rang cont nually with the sounds.
As Lammas Day approached each community chose one
from among themselves for their captain, and they prepared
a stand of colours to be ready to be then displayed. For
this purpose they borrowed a fine table-napkin of the largest
size from one of the fanners' wives within the district, and
ornamented it with ribbons. Things being thus prepared,
they marched forth eaily in the morning on Lammas Day,
dressed in their best apparel, each armed with a stout cudgel,
and, repairing to their tower, there displayed their colours
in triumph, blowing horns, and making merry in the best
manner they could : about nine o'clock they sat down upon the
green and had their breakfast.
In the meantime scouts were sent out towards every quarter
to bring them notice if any hostile party approached, for it
frequently happened, that, on that day, the herdsman of one
district went to attack those of another district, and to bring
them under subjection to them by main force. If news were
brought that a hostile party approached, the horns sounded
to arms, and they immediately arranged themselves in the
best order they could devise ; the stoutest and boldest iii
front, and those of inferior prowess behind. Seldom did
they await the approach of the enemy, but usually went forih
to meet them with a bold countenance, the captain of each
company carrying the colours, and leading the van. When
they met they mutually desired each other to lower their
colours in sign of subjection. If there appeared to be a
great disproportion in the strength of the parties, the weakest
usually submitted to this ceremony without much difficulty,
thinking their honour was saved by the evident disproportion
of the match ; but, if they were nearly equal in strength,
neither of them would yield, and it ended in blows, and some-
times bloodshed. It is related that, in a battle of this kind,
four were actually killed, and many disabled from work for
weeks. If no opponent appeared, or if they themselves had
no intention of making an attack, at about mid-day they took
down their colours, and marched, with horns sounding,
towards the most considerable village in their district ; whei e
the lasses and all the people came out to meet them, aud
a A
35 1 HUNTING THK RAM. [AuR. 2.
partake of their diversions. Boundaries were immediately
appointed, and a proclamation made, that all who intended,
to compete in the race should appear. A bonnet ornamented
with ribbons was displayed upon a pole as a prize to the
victor ; and sometimes five or six started for it, and ran with
as great eagerness as if they had been to gain a kingdom ;
the prize of the second race was a pair of garters, and the
third a knife. They then amused themselves for some time
with such rural sports as suited their taste, and dispersed
quietly to their respective homes before sunset.
When two parties met, and one of them yielded to the
other, they marched together for some time in two separate
bodies, the subjected body behind the other, and then they
parted good friends, each performing their races at their own
appointed place. Next day, ofter the ceremony was over,
the ribbons and napkin that formed the colours were care-
fully returned to their respective owners, the tower was no
longer a matter of consequence, and the country returned to
its usual state of tranquillity. Trans. Soc. Antiq. of Scotland,
vol. i. p. 194.
AUG. 2.] BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
Hunting the ram was a very ancient custom observed at
Eton, but is now abolished. Lipscomb, in his History of
Buckinghamshire (1847, vol. iv. p. 467), thus describes it :
The college had an ancient claim upon its butcher to
provide a ram on the Election Saturday, to be hunted by the
scholars ; but the animal having upon one occasion been so
pressed as to swim across the Thames, it ran into Windsor
Market, with the boys after it, and much mischief was caused
by this unexpected accident. The health of the scholars had
also occasionally suffered from the length of the chase, or the
heat of the season. The character of the sport was therefore
changed about 1740, when the ram was ham-strung, and,
after the speech, was knocked on the head with large twisted
clubs, which are reported to have been considered as Etonian
curiosities. But the barbarity of the amusement caused it
to be altogether laid aside at the election in 1747, and the
flesh of the ram was given to be prepared in pasties. The
AUG. 5.] ST. OSWALD'S DAT. 355
dish still continues nominally to grace the Election Monday,
though the meat no longer boasts its original toughness,
being in fact the flesh of excellent wethers.
Browne Willis (quoted by Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i.
p. 441) would derive this custom from what was used in
the manor of East Wrotham, Norfolk, where the lord of the
manor, after the harvest, gave half an acre of barley and a
ram to the tenants thereof; the which ram, if they caught
it was their own ; if not, it was for the lord again.
In the Gent. Mag. (Aug. 1731, voL i. p. 351) is the follow-
ing:
" Monday, August 2nd, was the election at Kton College,
when the scholars, according to custom, hunted a ram, by
which the provost and fellows hold a manor."
AUG. 4. | APPEENTICES' FEAST.
THE City apprentices, about the time of Charles II., had
an annual feast. On one occasion Cliarles II. sent them a
brace of hicks for dinner at Saddlers' Hall, where several of '
his courtiers dined with them, and his natural son, the duke
of Grafton, officiated as one of the stewards. Noorthouck,
History of London, 1773, p. 248.
AUG. 5.] ST. OSWALD'S DAT
LANCASHIRE.
DR. WHITAKER (History of Richmond, vol. ii. p. 293) quotes
a manuscript description of a rush-bearing observed at
Warton, on St. Oswald's Day, or the Sunday nearest to it
he being the patron of the church. " The vain custom,"
says the writer, " of dancing, excessive drinking, &c., having
been many years laid aside, the inhabitants and strangers
spend that day in duly attending the service of the church
2 A 2
356 BAVEXGLASS FAIR. [AUG. 5.
and making good cheer, within the rules of sobriety, in
private houses; and the next in several kinds of diversions,
the chiefest of which is usually a rush-bearing, which is on
this manner : They cut hard rushes from the marsh, which
they make up into long bundles, and then dress them in fine
linen, silk ribbons, flowers, &c. ; afterwards, the young women
of the village which perform the ceremony that year, take up
the burdens erect, and begin the procession (precedence
being always given to the churchwardens' burden), which is
attended not only with multitudes of people, but with music,
drums, ringing of bells, and all other demonstrations of
joy they are able to express. When they arrive at the church
they go in at the west end, and setting down their burdens
in the church, strip them of their ornaments, leaving the
heads or crowns of them decked with flowers, cut paper, &c.,
in some part of the church, generally over the cancelli.
Then the company return to the town and partake of a
plentiful collation provided for that purpose, and spend the
remaining part of the day, and frequently a great part of the
night also, in dancing, if the weather permits, about a May-
pole, adorned with greens and flowers, or else in some other
convenient place."
AUG. 5.] EAVENGLASS FAIR.
CUMBERLAITD.
ON the first day of a fair held annually in Muncaster,
called Ravenglass Fair, the lord's steward was attended by
the Serjeant of the borough of Egremont with the insignia
called the Bow of Egremont, the foresters with their bows
and horns, and all the tenants of the forest of Copeland,
whose special service was to attend the lord and his represen-
tatives at Ravenglass Fair, and abide there during its
oontinuance. On the third day, at noon, the officers and
tenants of the forest departed, after proclamation made; Lord
Bluncaster and his tenants took a formal re-possession of the
place, and the day was concluded with horse races and rural
AUG. 15.] ASSUMPTION OP THE VIRGIN MARY. 857
diversions. Afterwards the fair was held for one day.
Lysons, Magna Britannia, 1816, vol. iv. p. 141.
AUG. 5.] MIDDLESEX.
Formerly a silver arrow used annually to be shot for by
the scholars of the Free School at Harrow. The following
extract is taken from the Gent. Mag., 1731, vol. i., p. 351 :
Thursday, August 5th, according to an ancient custom,
a silver arrow, value 3, was shot for at the butts on Harrow-
on-the-Hill, by six youths of the Free School, in archery
habits, and won by a son of Captain Brown, commander of an
East Indiaman. This diversion was the gift of John Lyon,
Esq.. founder of the said school.
AUG. 6.] BLACK-CHEERY FAIR.
SURREY.
HENRY VI., in the eighteenth year of his reign (1440),
granted to John de Harmondesnorth, Abbot of Chertsey, the
right to hold a fair on St. Anne's Day, July 2Gth, old style ;
but this is now held in the town on the 6th of August, and
called " Black Cherry Fair," from the abundance of that
fruit sold there. Bruyley, History of Surrey, 1841, vol. ii.
p. 191.
Aua. 15.] ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
THIS was formerly a great festival ; and it was customary to
implore blessings upon herbs, plants, roots, and fruits,
bundles of which were taken to the church and oonaecreted
against hurtful things. Timbs" Something for Everybody,
1861, p. 98.
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. [AUG. 15.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
The following abridged account of the Minstrels' Festival
at Tutbury, celebrated at this season, is taken from The Book
of Days, vol. i. p. 224 :
During the time of the Dukes of Lancaster the little town
of Tutbury was so enlivened by the noble hospitality they
kept up, and the great concourse of people who gathered
there, that some regulations became necessary for keeping
them in order ; more especially those disorderly favourites
of both the h'gh and low, the wandering jugglers or
nrnstrels, who displayed their talents at all festive boards,
w< dilings, and tournaments. A court was, therefore, ap-
pointed by John of Gaunt, to be held every year on the day
after the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin, to elect a
king of the minstrels, try those who had been guilty of
misdemeanours during the year, and grant licences for the
future year, all which were accompanied by many curious
observances.
The wood-master and ranger of Needwood Forest began
the festivities by meeting at Berkley Lodge, in the forest, to
arrange for the dinner which was given them at this time at
Tutbury Castle, and where the buck they were allowed for it
should be killed, as also another, which was their yearly present
to the prior of Tutbury for his dinner. These animals having
received their death blow, the master, keepers, and deputies
met on the Day of Assumption, and rode in gay procession
two and two, into the town to the High Cross, each carry-
ing a green bough in his hand, and one bearing the buck's
head, cut off behind t'.ie ears, garnished with a rye of pease
and a piece of fat fastened to each of the antlers. The
minstrels went on foot, two and two, before them, and when
they reached the cross, the keeper blew on his horn the
various hunting signals, which were answered by the others;
all passed on to the churchyard, where, alighting from their
horses, they went into the church, the minstrels playing on
their instruments dur'ng the time of the offering of the
buck's head, and whilst each keeper paid one penny as an
AUG. 15.] ASSUMPTION OF THE VlUGIN MARY. 359
offering to the church. Mass was then celebrated, and all
adjourned to the good dinner which was prepared for them
in the castle, towards the expenses of which the prior gave
them thirty shillings.
On the following day the minstrels met at the bailiff's
house in Tutbury, where the steward of the court, and the
bailiff of the manor, with the wood-master, met them. A
procession was formed to go to church, the trumpeters
walking first, and then the musicians on stringed instruments
all playing ; their king, whose office ended on that day, had
the privilege of walking between the steward and bailiff;
after them came the four stewards of music, each carrying a
white wand, followed by the rest of the company. The
psalms and lessons were chosen in accordance with the
occasion, and each minstrel paid a penny as a due to the
vicar of Tutbury.
On their return to the castle hall one of the minstrels
cried out, " Oyez, oyez, oyez ! all minstrels within this honour,
residing in the counties of Stafford, Derby, Nottingham,
Leicester, and Warwick, come in and do your suit and service
or you will bo amerced." All were then sworn to keep the
king of music's counsel, their fellows', and their own ; and
a lengthy charge from the steward followed, in which he
expatiated on the antiquity and excellence of their noble
science. After this the jurors proceeded to choose a new
king, who was taken alternately from the minstrels of
Staffordshire and Derbyshire, as well as four stewards, find
retired to consider the offences which were alleged nguinst
any minstrel, and fine him if necessary. In the meantime
the old stewards brought into the court a treat of wine, ale,
and cakes, and the minstrels diverted themselves and the
company by playing their merriest airs. The new king
entered, and was presented by the jurors, the old one rising
from his place, and giving the white wand to his successor,
pledging him in a cup of wine ; the old stewards followed
his example, and at noon all partook of a dinner prepared for
them by the old king.
In the afternoon they all met at the abbey gate, where a
bull was given by the prior. The poor beast, after having
hud the tips of his horns sawed off, his ears and t iil cut off,
360 ST. HELEN'S DAT. [Auo. 18.
his body smeared with soap, and his nose filled with pepper,
was let loose, and if the surrounding minstrels could succeed
in cutting off a piece of his skin before he crossed the river
Dove into Derbyshire, he became the property of the king
of music, but if not he was returned to the prior again.
After becoming the king's own, he was brought to the High
Street, and there baited with dogs three times. It has been
supposed that John of Gaunt, who assumed the title of King
of Castile and Leon, introduced this sport in imitation of the
Spanish bull-fights. In course of time, however, the pursuit
of the bull, which had boen confined to the minstrels, became
general, and the multitude promiscuously joined in the
barbarous sport, which sometimes terminated in broken
heads. In 1778 the custom was abolished by the Dnke of
Devonshire, after lasting four hundred years. See Pitt's
History of Staffordshire, 1817, p. 49; ArcJiceoloqia, vol. ii.
p. 86 ; Plot, Natural History of Staffordshire, 1686, p. 439 ;
Shauif, History of Staffordshire, vol. i. p. 52.
AUG. 1 6.] ST. ROCHE'S DAY.
THIS day was anciently kept like a wake, or general harvest-
honic, with dances in the churchyard in the evening.
Fosbrooke, Diet. Antiq.
AUG. 1 8.] ST. HELEN'S DAY.
THIS saint gives name to numerous wells in the north of
England. Dr. Kuerden, in the middle of the seventeenth
century, describing one in the parish of Brindle, says : " To
it the vulgar neighbouring people of the Red Letter do much
resort with pretended devotion, on each year upon St. Ellin's
Day, where and when, out of a foolish ceremony, they offer,
or throw into the well, pins, which, there being left, may be
seon a long time after by any visitor of that fountain." A
AUG. 24.] ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 361
similar custom was observed some years ago by the visitors
of St. Helen's well in Sefton, but more in accordance with an
incient practice than from any devotion to the saint. Baines,
History of County of Lancaster, 1836, vol. iii. p. 497 ; Med.
Kalend. vol. i. pp. 336, 337.
AUG. 24.] ST. BAETHOLOMEW'S DAT.
BARTHOLOMEW FAIR The origin of Bartholomew Fair was
a graut from Henry I., in 1133, to a monk named Rayer, or
Kuhere, who had been his jester, and had f .undvd the Priory of
St. Bartholomew, in later times transformed into a hospital.
The f iir was annually held at the festival of St. Bartholomew,
and, like all other ancient fairs, was originally connected
with the Church, under whose auspices miracle-plays, founded
on the legends of saints, were represented, which gave place
to mysteries, and these again to moralities ; afterwards,
profane stories were introduced, the origin of the modern
English drama. It was discontinued after 1855, having
flourished for seven centuries and a half. Established
originally for useful trading purposes, it had long survived
its claim to tolerance, but, as London increased, became a
great public nuisance, with its scenes of riot and obstruction
in the very heart of the city. After the opening of the fair,
it was customary anciently for wrestlers to exercise their
art, of which Paul Hentzner, a German tutor, travelling in
the year 1598 through England has given an account. Ho
says, "that every year upon St. Bartholomew's day, when
the fair is held ; it is usual for the mayor, attended by the
twelve principal aldermen, to walk in a neighbouring tit-Id,
dressed in his scarlet gown, and about his neck a goldm
chain to which is hung a golden fleece, and, besides, that
particular ornament which distinguishes the most noble Order
of the Garter. When the mayor goes out of the precincts of
the city a sceptre and sword and a cup are borne before him,
and he is followed by the principal uld<;r;uen in scarlet go-\us
3G2 ST. BARTHOLOMEW S DAY. [AUG. 24.
with gold chains, himself and they on horseback. Upon their
arrival at a place appointed for that purpose, where a tent is
pitched, the mob begin to wrestle before them, two at a
time ; the conquerors receiving rewards from the magistrates.
After this is over, a parcel of live rabbits are turned loose
among the crowd, which are pursued by a number of boys,
who endeavour to catch them, with all the noise they can
make/' In a proclamation, made in 1608, we find the
following command laid down in reference to the wrestling :
" So many aldermen as dine with my Lord Mayor and the
sheriffs, be apparelled in their scarlet gowns lined, and after
dinner their horses be brought to them where they dine, and
those aldermen which dine with the sheriffs, ride with them
to my lord's house, to accompany him to the wrestling.
Then when the wrestling is done, they take their horses, and
ride back again through the fair, and so in at Aldersgate,
and so home again to the said Lord Mayor's house." Mr.
Samuel Pepys (1663) alludes to this wrestling in his diary.
The scholars from the different London schools met at
the Priory for disputations on grammar and logic, and
wrangled together in verse. John Stow says : " I myself,
in my youth, have yearly seen on the eve of St. Bartholomew
the Apostle, the scholars of divers grammar schools repair
unto the churchyard of St. Bartholomew, the Priory in
Smithfield, where upon a bank boarded about under a tree,
some one scholar hath stepped up, and there hath opposed
and answered till he were by some better scholar overcome
and put down ; and then the overcomer taking his place did
like as the first. And in the end, the best opp s*rs and
answerers had rewards, which I observed not but it made
both good schoolmasters and also good scholars, diligently
against such times to prepare themselves for the obtaining of
this garland. I remember there repaired to these exercises,
amongst others, the masters and scholars of the free schools
of St. Paul's in London, of St. Peter's at Westminster, of St.
Thomas Aeon's Hospital, and of St. Anthonie's Hospital ;
whereof the last named commonly presented the best scholars,
and had the prize in those days. This Priory of St. Bartho-
lomew being surrendered to Henry VIII., those disputations
of scholars in that pLice surceased ; and was again, only for a
AUG. 24.] ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAT. 3G3
year or twain, revived in the cloister of Christ's Hospital,
where the best scholars, then still of'St.Antlioi.ie's School,how-
soever the same be now fallen both in number and estimation,
were rewarded with bows and arrows of silver, given to them
by Sir Martin Bower, goldsmith. Nevertheless, however, the
encouragement failed ; the scholars of St. Paul's, mooting
with them of St. Anthonie's, would call thorn Anthonie s
Pigs, and they again would call the other Pigeons of Paul's,
because many pigeons were bred in St. Paul's Church, and
St. Anthonie was always figured with a pig following him,
and mindful of the former usage, did for a long season
disorderly provoke one another in the open street with
Salve tu quoque, placet mecum dtsputare ? Placet ! And so
proceeding from this to questions in grammar, they usually
foil from words to blows, with their satchels full of book*,
many times in great heaps that they troubled the streets and
passengers; so that finally they were restrained with the
decay of St. Anthonie's School."
In the first centuries of its existence Bartholomew Fair
was one of the great annual markets of the nation and the
chief cloth fair of the kingdom. It was the great gathering
in the metropolis of England, for the sale of that produce
up >n which England especially relied for her prosperity.
Two centuries after the Conquest our wealth depended upon
wool, which was manufactured in the time of Henry IL, iu
whose days there arose guilds of weavers. In King John's
reign there was prohibition of the export of wool and of the
import of cloth. A metropolitan cloth fair was therefore acom-
mercial institution, high in dignity and national importance.
There was a trade also at Bartholomew Fair in live stock,
in leather, pewter, and in other articles of commerce, but
cloth ranked first among the products of our industry. The
clothiers of England, and the drapers of London, had their
standings during the fair in the Priory churchyard. In the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, however, Bartholomew Fair ceased
to be a cloth fair of any importance ; but its name and fame
is still preserved in the lane running parallel to Bartholomew
Close, termed ' Cloth Fair," which was generally inhabited
by drapers and m rcers in the days of Strype.
A Pedlars' Court of Piepowdor was held witliin the Priory
ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. [Auo. 24.
gates, for debts and contracts, before a jury of traders formed
on the spot, at which the prior, as lord of the fair, presided
by his representative. It remained always by its original
Bite, being held in Cloth Fair to the last. There is no record
to be found of any ordinance by which the court of Pie-
powder was first established in this country. There never
had been known a fair in Europe to which such a court was
not by usage attached. Such courts were held in the markets
of the Eomans, which some writers regard as fairs, and in
which they find the origin of modern fairs. The court of
Piepowder in Bartholomew Fair, or the corresponding court
in any other fair in England, had jurisdiction only in com-
mercial questions. It could entertain a case of slander if it
was slander of wares, not slander of person : not even the
king, if he should sit in a court of Piepowder, could extend
its powers. In 1445 four persons were appointed by the
court of aldermen as keepers of the fair and of the court of
Piepowder, the city being thus in that case represented as
joint lord of the fair with the prior. As the fair prospered it
was rendered attractive by a variety of popular amusements.
All manner of exhibitions, theatrical booths, &c., thronged
the fair, and tumblers, acrobats, stilt-walkers, mummers,
and mountebanks, resorted to it in great numbers. Shows
were exhibited for the exhibition of puppet-plays, sometimes
constructed on religious history, such as " The Fall of
Nineveh," others were constructed on classic story, as " The
Siege of Troy." Shows of other kinds abounded, and zoology
was always in high favour. In 1593 the keeping of the
fair was for the first time suspended, by the raging of the
plague. The same thing happened in 1603, in 1625, in 1630,
in 1665, and in 1666. The licence of the Restoration mainly
arising from the low personal character of the king, but
greatly promoted by the natural tendency to reaction after the
excess of severity used by the Puritans in suppressing what
was not to be suppressed, at once extended Bartholomew
Fair from a three days' market to a fortnight's if not even
at one time to a six weeks' riot of amusement. In 1678
the civil authorities had already taken formal notice of the
" It-regularities and Disorders " of Bartholomew and La;ly
Fairs, and referred it to a committee " to consider how the
At"G. 24.] ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 365
same might be prevented, and what damages would occur to
the city by laying down the same." This is the first hint of
suppression that arises in the history of the fair, and its arising
is almost simultaneous with the decay of the great annual
gathering as a necessary seat of trade. In 1685 the fair was
leased by the city to the sword bearer for three years at a
clear rent of 100 per year. At the expiration of two years
a committee having reported that the net annual profit for
those years had amounted to not more than 68, the city fair,
then lasting fourteen days, was, on his application, leased to
the same sword-bearer for twenty-one years at the same rent.
As time went on, however, the Corporation of London was
still setting daily against the evil that was in the fair. Jn
1691, and again in 1694, a reduction to the old term of three
days was ordered, as a check to vice, and in order that the
pleasures of the fair might not choke up the avenues of the
traffic. In 1697, the Lord Mayor, on St. Bartholomew's
Day, published an ordinance recorded in the Postman " f >r tho
suppression of vicious practices in Bartholomew Fair, as
obscene, lascivious, and scandalous plays, comedies and
farces, unlawful games and interludes, drunkenness, etc.,
strictly charging all constables and other officers to use their
utmost diligence in persecuting the s ime." But there was
no suppression of the puppet-theatres. Jephthah's Bath
Vow was performed that year at Blake's Booth, as in the
following years at Blake and Pinkethman's. Again on the
18th of June, 1700, stage-plays and interludes at the fair
were for that year prohibited : they were again prohibited by
the mayor who ruled in the year 1702. In 1698, a French-
man, Monsieur Sorbiere, visiting London, says, "J was at
Bartholomew Fair. It consists most of toy-shops, also fiacres
and pictures, ribbon shops, no books ; many shops of con-
fectioners, where any woman may be commodiously treated.
Knavery is here in perfection, dextrous cut-purses and pick-
pockets. I went to see the dancing on the ropes, which was
admirable. Coming out, I met a man that would have took
off my hat, but I secured it, and was going to draw my sword,
crying out "Begar! damn'd rogue! morbleu!" &c., when on
a sudden I had a hundred people about me, crying, " Here,
monsieur, see Jephthah's Bash VOID ;" " Here, monsieur, see
866 ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAT. [Auo. 24.
The Tnll Dutclnoman ;" " See The Tiger" says another; " See
The Horse and No Horse, whose tail stands where his head
should do ;" " See the German Artist, monsieur ;" " See The
Siege of Namur, monsieur ;" so that betwixt rudeness and
civility I was forced to get into a fiacre, and, with an air of
baste and a full trot, got home to my lodgings."
In 1701 Bartholomew Fair was presented as a nuisance
by the Grand Jury of London, and in 1750 it was reduced
to its original three days. By the alteration of the calendar
in 1752, the fair, in the following year, was, for the first time,
proclaimed on September 3rd.
On the 3rd of December, 1760, the London Court of
Common Council referred to its City Lands Committee to
consider the tenures of the City fair, with a view to their
abolition. The subject was then carefully discussed, and a
final report sent in, with the opinion of counsel, upon which
the court came to a resolution, that, owing to the interest of
Lord Kensington in Bartholomew Fair, that was a nuisance
which they could endeavour only by a firm practice of re-
striction to abate. In 1769 plays, puppet-shows, and gambling
were suppressed. In 1798, when the question of abolishing
the fair was discussed, a proposal to restrict it to one clay
was made and set aside, because the measure might produce
in London a concentrated tumult dangerous to life. In the
course of a trial at Guildhall in 1817, involving the rights of
Lord Kensington, it was stated on Lord Kensington's behalf,
that considering the corrupt state of the fair, and the nuisance
caused by it in the neighbourhood of Smitlifiold, he should
throw no obstacle in the way of its removal, and was ready
to give up his own rights over it, on being paid their value.
His receipts from toll were stated to be 30Z. or 40Z. a year,
and their estimated, value 500/. or 6001. In the year 1830
the Corporation of London did accordingly buy from Lord
Kensington the old Priory rights, vested in the heirs of
Chancellor Rich, and all the rights and interests in Bartho-
lomew Fair then became vested in the City. Having thus
secured full power over the remains in question, the Corpo-
ration could take into its own hands the whole business of
their removal. The fair at this time had long ceased to be a
place of traffic, and was only a haunt of amusement, riot, and
. 24.] ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 3f>7
dissipation. Latterly it had only been attended by the
keepers of a few gingerbread stalls ; and consequently in
1839 measures were for the first time seriously adopted for
its supprcss'on, and in the following year the exhibitions
were removed to Islington. In 1850 the last proclamation by
the Lord Mayor took place, and in 1855 the once famous
Bartholomew Fair came to an end. History and Origin of
Bartholomew Fair, published by Arliss and Huntsman, 1808 ;
Chambers' Encyclopedia (I860), vol. i. p. 719 ; Morley,
Meim irs of Bartholomew Fair, 1859 ; Chambers' Book o/
Days, vol. ii. pp. 263-267.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
In the morning a number of maidens, clad in their best
a! tire, went in procession to a small chapel, situated in the
parish of Dorrington, and strewed its floor with rushes, from
\v hence they proceeded to a piece of land called the " Play-
Garths," where they were joined by most of the inhabitants
of the place, who passed the remainder of the day in rural
sports, such as foot-ball, wrestling and other athletic exercises,
With dancing, &o. History of County of Lincoln, 1834, vol. ii.
p. 255.
It was customary at Croyland Abbey to give littlo knives
to all comers on St. Bartholomew's Day. Mr. Gough, in his
History of Croyland Abbey, p 73. says that this abuse was
abolished by Abbot John de Wisebech, in the time of Edward
IV., exempt ng both the abbot and convent from a great and
needless expense. This custom originated in allusion to the
knife wherewith St. Bartholomew was flayed. Three of these
knives were quartered, with three of tho whips so much used
by St. Guthlac, in one coat borne by this house. Mr. Hunter
had great numbers of them, of different sizes, found at
diil'erent times in the ruins of the abbey and in the river.
YORKSHIRE.
Dr. Johnston, quoted by Hampson (Med. JEvi Kalcnd.
vol. i. p. 342). has preserved an account of a pageant exhibited
at Dent on the rush-bearing (St. Bartholomew's Day) after
368 ntESTON GUILD. [Auc. 30.
the Restoration, in which, among other characters, Oliver
and Bradshaw, Rebellion and War, were represented, all
decked by times with vizardes on, and strange deformities ;
and Bradshaw had his tongue run through with a red hot
iron, and Rebellion was hanged on a gibbet in the market-
place. Then came Peace and Plenty, and Diana with her
nymphs, all with coronets on their heads, each of which
made a several speech in verses of their loyalty to their
king.
AUG. 30.] PRESTON GUILD.
LANCASHIRE.
CONCERNING this curious custom, Britton, in his Lancashire
(1818, p. 109j, gives the following account:
It is a sort of public carnival or jubilee, and is held every
twenty years, as appears by the records of the corporation.
The last confirmation was by Charles II., in 1684, since
which time it has been regularly held, in the first of Anne,
ninth of George I., sixteenth of George II., and second,
twenty-second, and again in the forty-second year of George
III., the only monarch, except Queen Elizabeth, who has
reigned during the time of three guilds. It begins about
the latter end of August, and, by the Charter, which obliges
the corporation to celebrate it at the end of every twenty
years, on pain of forfeiting their elective franchises and their
right as burgesses, twenty-eight days of grace are allowed to
all who are disposed to renew their freedom. By public
proclamation it is declared that, on failure of doing so, they
are ever after to be debarred of the same on any future
occasion. The last guild commenced on the 30th of August,
1802, when an immense concourse of people of all ranks were
assembled, and processions of the gentlemen at the heads of
the different classes of manufactories with symbolical repre-
sentations^ their respective branches of trade and commerce ;
and bands of music passed through the principal streets of
the town. The mayor and corporation, with the wardens
of the different companies at the head of their respective
SEPT.] ECCLES WAKE. 3G9
incorporated bodies, each in their official dresses, and with
their usual insignia, fell into the ranks in due order, and the
whole was preceded by an excellent baud of music belonging to
the 17th Kegimentof Light Dragoons, in full dress, and their
officers newly clothed. Besides the wool-combers', spinners',
weavers', cordwainers', carpenters', vintners', tailors', smiths',
plumbers', painters', glaziers', watchmakers', mercers' and
drapers' companies, the whole was closed by the butchers,
skinners, tanners, and glovers, habited in characteristic
dresses, each company being attended by a band of music
and a very elegant ensign In this order they proceeded to
church, and after service returned and paraded through the
different streets in the same order. The mayor afterwards
entertained the gentlemen at his house, and on the next day
the mayoress repeated the treat to the ladies of the town and
its vicinity, who formed a procession on this day, in a similar
manner, preceded by the girls of the cotton manufactory
ECCLES WAKE,
SEPT.] LANCASHIRE.
AN annual festival used to be held at Ecclcs, of great
antiquity, as old probably as the first erection of the church,
called Eccles Wake, celebrated on the first Sunday in Sep-
tember, and was continued during the three succeeding days,
and consisted of feasting upon a kind of local confectionery,
called " Eccles Cakes," and ale, with various sports.
The following was the programme on such an occasion :
"Eccles Wake. On Monday morning, at eleven o'clock
the sports will commence (the sports of Sunday being
passed over in silence) with that most ancient, loyal, rational
constitutional and lawful diversion
44 Bull Baiting In all its primitive excellence, for which
this place has been long noted. At one o'clock there will
be a foot race; at two o'clock, a bull baiting for a horse
collar ; at four o'clock, donkey races for a pair of panniers;
at five o'clock, a race for a stuff hat ; tho day's sport to
2 B
370 THROWING THE DART. [SEPT.
conclude with baiting the bull, Fury, for a superior dog-chain.
On Tuesday, the sports will be repeated ; also on Wednesday,
with the additional attraction of a smock race by ladies. A
main of cocks to be fought on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday for twenty guineas, and five guineas the byes,
between the gentlemen of Manchester and Eccles ; the wake
to conclu le with a fiddling match by all the fiddlers that
attend for a piece of silver." Baines, History of County of
Lancaster, 1836, vol. iii. p. 123.
CHALK-BACK DAY.
NORFOLK.
AT Dlss, it is customary for the juvenile populace, on the
Thursday before the third Friday in September (on which
latter day a fair and session for hiring servants are held),
to mark and disfigure each other's dresses with white chalk,
pleading a prescriptive right to be mischievous on " Chalk-
Back Day." N. & Q. 1st. S. vol iv. p. 501.
IEELAND.
The following extract is taken from the Leeds Mercury,
September 8th, 1863 : The triennial ceremony of " throwing
the dart " in Cork Harbour was performed on Thursday after-
noon by the mayor of that city. This is one of those quaint
ceremonials by which, in olden time, municipal boundaries
were preserved and corporate rights asserted. A similar civic
pageant called " riding the fringes " (franchises) was formerly
held by the lord mayor and corporation of Dublin, in which,
after riding round the inland boundaries of the borough,
the cavalcade halted at a point on the shore near Bullock,
whence the lord mayor hurled a dart into the sea, the spot
where it fell mirking the limit of the maritime jurisdiction.
At 2 o'clock, P.M., the members of the cork town Council
embarked on b:>ard a steam-vessel, attended by all the civic
officers, and the band of the Cork civil artillery. A number
SEPT. 4.] ST. CUTHBEIIT'S DAY. 371
of ladies also attended. The steamer proceeded out to sea
until she reached an imaginary line batween Poor Head and
Cork Head, which is supposed to bo the maritime boundary
of the borough. Here the mayor doiined his official robes
and proceeded, attended by the mace and sword bearer, the
city treasurer, and the town clerk, all wearing their official
costumes, to the prow of the vessel, whence he launched
his javelin into the water, thereby asserting his authority as
lord high admiral of the port. The event was celebrated
by a banquet in the evening.
SEPT. 4.] ST. CUTHBERT'S DAY.
DUUHAM.
AN offering of a stag was at one time annually made on St.
Cuthbert's Day, in September, by the Nevilles of liaby. On
one occasion, however, Lord Neville claimed that himself,
and as many as he might bring with him, should be feasted by
the Prior upon the occasion. To this the Prior demurred,
as a thing that had never been before claimed as of right, and
as being a most expensive and onerous burden, for the trains
of the great nobility of that day were numerous in the extreme.
The result was that the Prior declined to accept the stag
when laid before the shrine, by which they of the Nevilles
were so grievously offended that from words they got to blows,
and began to cuff the monks who were ministering at tlio
altar. The latter, upon this occasion, were not contented to
offer a mere passive resistance, for they made such good use
of the large wax candles which they carried in belabouring
their opponents as to compel them to retreat. The retainers
of the Nevilles did not, however, condescend to take buck
a^ain the stag which, as they deemed, had been so uncour-
teously refused. The stag was an oblation by the Nevilles
of great antiquity, and appears to have been brought into
tfie church, and presented with winding of horns. Ornsliy,
Sketches of Durham, 1846, p. 77 ; Mackenzie, View of County
of Durham, 1834, vol. ii. p. 201.
2 B 2
372 HOLT-ROOD DAY. [SEPT. 1 4.
SEPT. 8.] NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN MAEY.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
AN old tradition existing within the town of Grimsby asserts
that every burgess at Iris admission to the freedom of the
borough anciently presented to the mayor a boar's head,
or an equivalent in money when the animal could not be
procured The lord, too, of the adjacent manor of Bradley,
it seems, was obliged by his tenure to keep a supply of these
animals in his wood for the entertainment of the mayor and
burgesses, and an annual hunting match was officially
proclaimed on some particular day after the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin. In the midst of these extensive woods the
sport was carried on, and seldom did the assembled train fail
to bring down a leash of noble boars, which were designed
for a public entertainment on the following day. At this
feast the newly-elected mayor took his seat at the head of
the table, wh ; ch contained the whole body corporate and tl;e
principal gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood Med.
jJEvi Kalend., vol. i. p. 96.
SKPT 12.] HAMPSHIBE.
A fair used to be celebrated at Winchester on the 12th of
September, and was by far the greatest fair in the kingdom.
The mayor resigned the keys of the four gates to a magis-
trate appointed by the bishop, and collectors were stationed
on all the roads. Merchants resorted to it from distant
parts of Europe, and it formed a temporary city ; each street
being appropriated to different commodities. Historical and
Descriptive Guide to Winchester, 1829, p. 86.
SEPT. 14.] HOLY-ROOD DAT.
THIS festival, called also Holy-Cross Day, was inst : tuted
by the Romish Church on account of the recovery of a large
SEPT. 21.] ST. MATTHEW'S DAT. 373
piece of the cross by the Emperor Huraclius, after it had
been taken away on the plundering of Jerusalem by Chosroes,
King of Persia.
It appears to have been customary to go a-nutting upou
this day, from the following passage in the old play of Grim
Hie Collier of Croydon :
" This day, tliey s-ay, is called Holy-Rood Day,
And all the youth are now a-nutting ^one."
In the Gent. Mag. is the following : " Tuesday, September
14th, 1731, being Holy-Rood Day, the king's huntsmen
hunted their free buck in Richmond New Park, with
bloodhouacls, according to custom."
BuCKINGHAMflHIltE.
It appears from the MS. Status Schola Etonensis, 1560,
already quoted, that, in the month of September, " on a
certain day," most probably the 14th, the boys of Eton
School were to have a play-day, in order to go out and
L'ittlier nuts, a portion of which, when they returned, they
were to make presents of to the different masters. Before
leave, however, was granted for their excursion, they were
required to write verses on the fruitfulness of autumn, the
deadly cold, &c., of the coming winter.
Sonar.
At Chertsey a fair is held on Holy-Rood Day (Old Stylf-),
and goes by the namo of " Onion Fair," from the quantity
of this esculent brought for sale. Brayley, History of Surrey,
1841, vol. ii. p. 191.
SKPT. 21.] ST. MATTHEWS DAY.
Ix Brayley's Londiniana (1829, vol. ii. p. 30) is the follow-
ing extract from the MS. copy of the journal of Richard
lloare, Etq., during the year of his shrievalty, 1740-41 :
874 BIDDEXHAM CUSTOM. [SEPT. 22.
Monday, September 21st (1741), being St. Matthew's Day,
waited on my lord mayor to the great hall in Christ's
Hospital, where we were met by several of the prpsidents
and governors of the other hospitals within the city, and
being seated at the upper end the children passed two and
two, whom we followed to the church, and after having
a sermon came back to the grammar-school, where the boys
made speeches in commemoration of their benefactors, one
in English, the other in Latin, to each of whom it is custom-
ary for the lord mayor to give one guinea, and the two
sheriffs half-a-guinea a-piece as we did ; afterwards, the clerk
of the hospital delivered to the lord mayor a list of the
several governors to the several hospitals nominated the
preceding year. Then the several beadles of all the hospit Js
came in, and laying down their staves on the middle of
the floor, retired to the bottom of the hall. Thereupon
the lord mayor addressed himself to the city marshal,
inquiring after their conduct, and if any complaint was
to be made against any one in particular, and no objection
being made, the lord mayor ordered them to take up theii
staves again ; all which is done in token of their submission
to the chief magistrate, and that they hold their places at
his will, though elected by their respective governors. We
were afterwards treated in the customary manner with sweet
cakes and burnt wine.
SEPT. 22.] BEDFORDSHIRE.
On this day, at Biddenham, shortly before noon, a little
pi-ocession of villagers convey a white rabbit decorated with
scarlet ribbons through the village, singing a hymn in
honour of St. Agatha. This ceremony is said to date from
the year of the first Crusade. All the unmarried young
women who meet the procession extend the first two fingers
of the left hand, pointing towards the rabbit, and say
" Gustin, Gustm, la"ks a b'er !
Maidens, maidens, bury him bore"
The Penny Puxt, November 1870.
SEI-T. 28.] MICHAELMAS EVE. 375
SEPT. 24. J SCALDING THURSDAY.
IN Laud's diary occurs the following: " [1G35J Sept. 24th,
Scalding Thursday."
This was probably a homely term for the day of preparation
for that high-day Michaelmas, when the victim goose was
scalded, plucked, and hung a week's hanging is the rule for
a goose. N. & Q. 3rd S., vol. iv. p. 441.
SKPT. 28.] MICHAELMAS EVE.
Scrim EY.
A CURIOUS custom once existed at Kingston, viz , that of the
c >ngreg;ition cracking nuts during the performance of divine
service on the Sunday next before the eve of St. Michael's
Dixy : hence the phrase, " Crack-Nut Sunday." This custom
is considered by some to have had originally some connection
with the choosing of the bailiff and other members of the
corporate body on St. Michael's Day, and of the usual civic
i'i ;i>t attending that proceeding. It would seem, however,
from the following passage in Goldsmith's Vicar of W(tk>-
/ie/d(chap. iv.), that the custom was not confined to Kingston;
for the good vicar, speaking of his parishioners, says:
' They kept up the Christmas carol, sent true-love-knots on
Valentine morning, nte pancakes on Shrovetide, showed
their wit on the first of April, and religiously cracked nuts
on Michaelmas eve." Brayley, Topoyraiihical History of
Surrey, 1841, voL iii. p 41.
IRELAND.
The last Sunday of summer has been, heretofore, a day of
groat importance with the Irish, as upon it they first tried
the new potato, and formed an opinion 02 to the prospects of
376 MICHAELMAS DAY. [SEPT. 2<).
the future harvest. The day was always called, in the west
in part : oalar, "Garlic SunJay," perhaps a corruption of
Garland Sunday. JV. & Q. 1st. S. vol. ix. p. 34.
SEPT 29.] MICHAELMAS DAY.
AT this season village maidens, in the west of England, go
up and down the hedges gathering crab apples, which they
carry home, putting them into a loft, and forming with them
the initials of their supposed suitors' names. The initials
which are found, on examination, to be most perfect on Old
Michaelmas Day are considered to represent the strongest
attachments and the best for choice of husbands. Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 356.
Michaelmas Goose. It was long a prevalent notion that
the pract'ce of eating goose on Michaelmas Day arose from
the circumstance that Queen Elizabeth received the news of
the defeat of the Spanish Armada whilst partaking of a
goose on that anniversary. This, however, is disproved by
the fact that, so far back as the tenth year of Edward IV.
(147U), one John de la Hay was bound, amongst other
services, to render to William Barnaby, lord of Lastres, in
Herefordshire, for a parcel of the demesne lauds, " xx d and
one goose fit for his lord's dinner on the Feast of St. Michael
the Archangel." Sports, Pastimes, and Customs of London,
1847, p. 37.
In the poems of George Gascoigne, 1575, occur too the
following lines :
" And when the tenantrs come to pale their quarter's rent,
They bring some fowle at Midsummer, a disii of fisli in Lent;
At Chriotniasse a capon, at Michaclmasse a goo e,
And somewhat else at New-yere's tids, for 1'euro their lease file
loose."
Blount, in his Tenures, says that probably no other reason
can be given fur this custom but that Michaelmas day was
a great fcst'val, and geese at that time were most plentiful.
Seo Bi-aud's Pop. Anliq., 1849, vol. i. pp. 367-371.
2C. MICHAELMAS DAY. 377
BERKSHIRE.
It appears from a tablet in the church at Great Coxwell,
that the Rev. David Collier charged certain lands in the
hamlet of Little Coxwell with the payment of eight bushels
of barley yearly, on the 29th of September, for teaching tho
poor children of this parish to read, write, and cast accounts,
for three years, when they were to ba succeeded by two others
to be taught for the same term, and so on successively for
ever, and he empowered the vicar and churchwardens, or
the major part of them (the vicar being always one) to
nominate the children. The paynvnt has been regularly
miule, sometimes in kind, but latterly in money estimated
at the price of barley, at the Farriugd >n market, the nemvst
to the day when the annual payment becomes due. Tho
payment is made, under the direction of the churchwardens,
to a schoolmistress for teaching three children to read, and,
if girls, to mark also. The number of children was formerly
two only, who were further tuught to write and cast accounts;
but this part of their education was discontinued many
years ago in consequence ot the inadequacy of the fund,
and, instead thereof an additional child was sent to bo
instructed with the others. Edwards, Old English Custom*
and Charities, p. 40.
The inhabitants of Abingdon once had a custom of adorn-
ing their houses with flowers, &c., on the election of a mayor.
A writer in the Gent. May. (1782, vol. lii. p. 558), says :
Riding through Abingdon early on one of the first Sundays
in October, he found the people in the streets at the entrance
of the town, very busy in adorning tho outside of tln-ir
houses with garlands of flowers and b ughs of trees, ami tho
paths were strewed with flowers. One house was distinguished
by a greater number of garlands than the rest, and soino
were msiking to be fixed at the end of poles. On inquiring
the reason, he was told that it was usual to have this
ceremony performed in the street in which the new mayor
lived on the first Sunday that he went to church after his
election.
873 MICHAELMAS DAT. [SEPT. 2 9.
CORNWALL.
The manor of Eoscarrock, the Eoscaret of Domesday,
situated near Endellion, was held in the time of Edward
the Confessor by Alvin, and at the time of the Domesday
survey by Nigel under the E;irl of Moriton. A substantial
house has been constructed on the site of the old mansion.
Koscarrock pays a modus of 9 in lieu of tithes ; this
modus was anciently paid, according to established custom,
in the church porch before sunrise on the morning of
Michaelmas Day. Parochial History of County of Cornwall,
1867, vol. i. p. 333.
ESSEX.
The Lawless Court is kept, says Morant (History of Essex
1768, vol. i. p. 272), at King's-hill, about half a mile north-
east of Rochford Church, in the yard of a house once be-
longing to .... Crips, Gent., and afterwards to Robert
Hackshaw, of London, merchant, and to Mr. John Buckle.
Here the tenants kneel, and do their homage. The time is
the Wednesday morning next after Michaelmas Day, upon
the first cock-crowing, without any kind of light but such
as the heavens will afford. The steward of the Court calleth
all such as are bound to appear with as low a voice as
possible, giving no notice, when he that gives not an answer
is deeply amerced. They are all to whisper to each other ;
nor have they any pen and ink, but supply that office with
a coal ; and he that owes suit and service thereto, and
appears not, forfeits to the lord double his rent every hour
he is absent. A tenant of this manor forfeited not long ago
his land for non-attendance, but was restored to it, the lord
only taking a fine. The Court is called Lawless because
held at an unlawful or lawless hour, or quia dicta sine leqe:
the title of it runs in the Court rolls to this day according
to the form below :
KING'S HILL IN ROCHFORD.
Curia de Domino Rege
Dicta sine Lege,
Tenta est ibidem
Per ejusdem consuL'tudiueia,
SEPT. 29.] MICHAELMAS DAT. 379
Ante ortnm Sol is,
Luceat nisi Polus,
Nil scribit nisi colis.
Toties volurrit,
Galius ut cantaverit,
Per cujus solum tonitnm,
Curia tst summonitn.
Clamat clam pro Uige
In Curia sine Luge,
Et nisi cito vein riut,
Citius pcenituerint ;
Et nisi clam nccedant
Curia non attendut ;
Qui venerit cum lumiue,
Errat in regiiuine
Et dum sunt sine lumine
Capti cunt in crimiue,
Curia sine cura
Juiati do injuria;
T< nta ibidem die Mercurii (ante diem) proximo, post Festum SunctI
Michaelis Archangeli, anno Kegni BegU, &c.
There is a tradition that this servile attendance was im-
posed at first upon certain tenants of divers manors here-
abouts for conspiring in this place at such an unreasonable
time to raise a commotion.*
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
The custom of hanging out bushes of ivy, boughs of trees,
or bunches of flowers at prirate houses as a sign that good
cheer may be had within, prevails in the city of Glouccst- r
at the fair held at Michaelmas, called Barton Fair from the
locality. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. ix. p. 113.
* At Kidderminster, says a correspondent of Gent. Mag. (17f>f>,
vol. Ix. p. ll'.tl ), is u sinxulir custom. On the election of a l>a!liff tlio
inhabitants assemble- in the principal streets and tl.rmv cul>l>a?;e-stalk-j
at earn ut cr. Tlu- town-house bell gives si^n il for tho nfthiy Tliia
id Citllid " lawless hour." Tbis ilone 'for it Justs an hour), the bail If
elect and corporation, in thi ir roln-a, pieceded l.y drums and fifea (for
they have no waits), vi.-it the old und new bailill', mnstibles, &c. t
Bttended by a m->b. In tl.e moantime the mo.-t res|>eclai)lo families in
t .< neighbourhood are invited to meet and tling apples at them on
tneir entrance.
380 MICHAELMAS DAT. [SEPT.
HERTFORDSHIRE.
In Brand's Pop. Antiq.^ (1849, vol. ii p. 372) is the follow-
ing account of a curious septennial custom observed at
Bishop Stortford and in the adjacent neighbourhood on
old Michaelmas Day, taken from a London newspaper of
the 18th of October, 1787:
On the morning of this day, called Ganging Day, a great
number of young men assemble in the fiel Is where a very
active fellow is nominated the leader. This person they are
bound to follow, who, for the sake of diversion, generally
chooses the route through ponds, ditches, and places of diffi-
cult passage. Every person they meut is bumped, male
or female, which is performed by two other persons taking
them up by their arms, and swinging them against each
other. The women in general keep at home at this period,
except those of less scrupulous character, who, for the sake
of partaking of a gallon of ale and a plumeake, which evury
landlord or publican is obliged to furnish the revellers with,
generally spend the best part of the night in the fields
if the weather is fair, it being strictly according to auclciit
usage not to partake of the cheer anywhere else.
NOTTINGHAMSHI UE.
A correspondent of Book oj Days (vol ii. p. 393) gives the
following account of the ceremonies formerly connected with
the election of the mayor at Nottingham. On the day the new
mayor assumed office (September 29), he. the old mayor, the
aldermen, and councillors, all marched in procession to St.
Mary's Cfeirch, where divine service was said. After service
the whole body went into the vestry, where the old mayor
seated himself in an elbow chair, at a table covered with
black cloth, in the middle of which lay the mace covered
with rosemary and sprigs of bay. This was termed " the
burying of the mace," doubtless a symbolical act, denoting
the official decease of its late holder. A form of electing
the new mayor was then gone through, after which the one
retiring from office took up the rnace, kissed it, and delivered
SlCPT. 29.] MICHAELMAS DAT. 381
it into the hand of his successor. The new mayor then
proposed two persons for sheriffs, and two for the office of
chamberlains; and after these had also gone through the
votes, the whole assemblage marched into the chancel,
where the senior coroner administered the oath to the new
mayor in the presence of the old one : and the town-clerk
gave to the sheriffs and chambo^rlains their oath of office.
These ceremonies being over, they marched in order to the
New Hall, attended by such gentlemen and tradesmen as had
been invited by the mayor and sheriffs, where the feasting
took place. On their way, at the Week-day Cross, over
against the ancient Guild Hall, the town-clerk proclaimed
the mayor and sheriffs ; and at the next ensuing market-day
they were again proclaimed in the face of the whole market
at the Malt Cross. On these occasions the mayor and
sheriffs welcomed their guests with bread and cheese, fruit
in season, and pipes and tobacco.
SUSSEX.
At Chichester, Sloe Fair was always proclaimed under the
Canon Gate by the bishop's steward eight days before the
eve of St. Faith the Virgin, during which time the jurisdiction
of the mayor ceased, and the bishop had power to collect,
and did by his agent collect, the tolls of tlie market and fair.
An instance is recorded (1702) in the annals of the corpora-
tion of the bishop claiming the keys of the city during the
Piepowder Court. The bishop's claim arose from a grant
made as early as Henry I. Dally, Chichester Guide, 1831,
p. 24.
The bailiff of Seaford is annually elected on St. Michael's
Day. The freemen of the town having previously assembled
at the Court Hull leaving the jurats on the bench retire
to a certain spot at the gate-post of a field near the west end
of the town, where the serjeant-at-mace of the body cor-
porate nominates the chief magistrate for the ensuing year,
who is then and there elected. This peculiar custom is
supposed to have originated to prevent any influence on the
part of the corporation magistrates (jurats), and to enable
the freemen to make a free choice of their mayor.
332 MICHAELMAS DAT. [SEPT. 29.
WESTEKN ISLES OF SCOTLAND.
Martin, in his Account of the Western Isles of Scotland,
(1703, p. 79), speaking of the island Lingay, says that the
inhabitants are much addicted to riding, the plainness of
the country disposing both men and horses to it. They
observe an anniversary cavalcade on Michaelmas Day, and
then all ranks of both sexes appear on horseback. The
place for this rendezvous is a large piece of firm sandy
ground on the sea-shore, and there they have horse racing
for small prizes for which they contend eagerly. There is
an ancient custom by which it is lawful for any of the
inhabitants to steal his neighbour's horse the night before
the race and ride him all next day, provided he delivers
him safe and sound to the owner after the race. The
manner of running is by a few young men who use neither
saddles nor bridles, except small ropes made of bent
instead of a bridle, nor any sort of spurs but their bare
heels ; and when they begin the race, they throw these ropes
on their horses' necks, and drive them on vigorously, with a
piece of long sea-ware in each hand instead of a wlrp, nnd
this is dried in the sun several months before for that
purpose. This is a happy opportunity for the vulgar, who
have few occasions for meeting except on Sundays ; the men
have their sweethearts behind them on horseback and give
and receive mutual presents : the men present the women
with knives and purses, the women present the men with a
pair of tine garters of divers colours ; they give them likewise
a quantity of wild carrots.
Maeaulay says it was the custom, till of late, at St. Kilda,
on Michaelmas Day, to prepare in every family a loaf or cake
of bread, enormously large, and compounded of different
ingredients. This cake belonged to the Archangel, and had
its name from him. Every one in each family, whether
strangers or domestics, had his portion of this kind of she\v-
brcad, and had of course some title to the friendship and
protection of St. Michael. History of St. Kilda, 1764,
p. 22.
Martin, speaking of the Protestant inhabitants of Skye,
OCT. 2.] GOOSE FAIR, NOTTINGHAM. 883
Kays : They observe the festivals of Christmas, Easter, Good
Friday, and St. Michael. Upon the latter day, they have a
cavalcade in each parish, and several families bake the
bread called St. Michael's bannock. Alluding to St. Kilbar
village, he observes that they likewise have a general
cavalcade on St. Michael's Day, and take a turn round their
church. Every family, as soon as the solemnity is over, is
accustomed to bake St. Michael's cake ; and all strangers,
together with those of the family, must eat the bread that
night. Martin's Description of the Western Isles of Scotland,
p 213.
IEELAND.
In Ireland, this season is celebrated by the making of the
Michaelmas cake. A lady's ring is mixed in the dough, and,
when the cake is baked it is cut into sections and distributed
to the unmarried people at table, and the person who gets
the slice with the ring "is sure to be married before next
Michaelmas."^. & Q. 3rd S. vol. ix. p. 520.
Ocr. 2.] GOOSE FAIR.
NOTTINGHAM.
THE origin of this fair arose from the large quantities of
geese which were driven up from the fens of Lincolnshire
for sale at this fair, which is on the 2nd of October, when
geese are just in season. Persons now living can remember
seeing fifteen or twenty thousand goese in the market-place,
each flock attended by a gooseherd with a crook, which he
dexterously threw round the neck of any goose, and brought
it out for inspection by the customer. A street on the
Lincolnshire side of the town is still called Goosegate, and
the flavour of the goose is fully appreciated by the good
people of Nottingham, as, on th<: fair day, one is sure to bo
found on the table of twenty-nine out of a hundred of tho
butter class of the inlml> tants. N. it Q. 1st S.. vol. vi. p. .V,:;.
A writer in Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. (1853, vol. viii. p. 236),
384 ST. FAITH'S DAY. [OCT. 6.
alluding to the customs allowed at Nottingham, says that
the mayor of Nottingham formerly appears to have given
a feast of hot roast geese on the last day of his mayoralty
previous to the election of his successor.
LANCASHIEE.
At Great Crosby, a suburban village about seven miles
from Liverpool, early in October, every year there is held a
local festival, which is called the " Goose Fair." The feast
takes place when the harvest is gathered in about that part
of the country, and so it forms a sort of " harvest-home "
gathering for the agricultui ists of the neighbourhood. It
is said also that, at this particular period, geese are finer
and fatter after feeding on the stubble-fields than at any
other time. Curious to say, however, the bird in question
is seldom, if ever, eaten at these feasts. N. & Q. '3rd S.
vol. Hi. p. 158, and vol. iv. p. 82.
OCT. 6.] ST. FAITH'S DAY.
ON this day a very curious custom is observed in the North
of England. A cake of flour, spring-water, salt, and sugar
must be made by three maidens or three widows, and each
must have an equal share in the composition. It is then
baked before the fire in a Dutch-oven, and, all the while it is
doing, silence must be strictly observed, and the cake must
be turned nine times, or three times to each person. When
it is thoroughly done it is divided into threo parts. Eacli
one taking her share, and cutting it into nine slips, must
pass each slip three times through a wedding-ring previously
borrowed from a woman who has been married at least seven
yt ars. Then each one must eat her nine slips as she is
undressing, and repeat the following rhyme :
" O good St. Faith, be kind to-night,
An 1 bi ing to me my heart's delight;
Let me my future husband view,
And be my visions chaste and true."
OCT. IO.] LIVERPOOL BEAB-BAITIXO. 385
Then all three must get into bed with the ring suspended
by a string to the head of the couch, and they will be sure
to dream of their future husbands. Brand's Pop. Antiq.
1849, vol. i. p. 373.
OCT. IO.J DOBSETSHIBE.
Pack Monday Fair is held at Sherborne on the first
Monday after the 10th of October, and is ushered in, say?
Hutchins (Eist. of Dorset, 1774), by the ringing of the great
bell at a very early hour in the morning, and by the boys
and young men perambulating the streets with cows' horns.
Tradition asserts that this fair originated at the termi-
nation of the building of the church, when the people who
had been employed about it packed up their tools, and held a
fair or wake in the churchyard, blowing cows' horns in their
rejoicing. See Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1037.
KENT.
A fair was formerly held yearly on the 10th of October, in
the precincts of the ville of Christ Church, and was usually
called Jack and Joan Fair, from its being esteemed a statute
fair for the hiring of servants of both sexes, for which
purpose it continued till the second Saturday or market-day
had passed. Hasted's History of Kent, 1799, vol. iv. p. 424.
LANCASHIRE.
About the year 1760, it was customary with the burgesses
of Liverpool on the annual election of a mayor to have a
bear baited. This event took place on the 10th of October,
and the demonstrations of rejoicing continued for several
days. The animal was first baited at the White Cross, at
the top of Chapel Street, and was then led in triumph to tho
exchange, where the conflict was renewed. A repetition
of the same brutal cruelties was likewise exhibited in Derby
Street, and the diversion was concluded by the animal
undergoing reiterated assaults at the Stock Market opposite
the top of Pool Lane. The bear was assailed separately
by large mastiffs, and if any dog compelled him to yell,
2 o
386 ST. LUKE'S DAY. [Ocx. 18.
or was able to sustain the contest with superior address,
he was rewarded with a brass collar. It was remarkable,
however, that few of the bear's assailants could be induced
to renew the fight after having once received the fraternal
embrace. Corry, History of Liverpool, 1810, p. 93.
YORKSHIRE.
Formerly, there existed in Hull a custom of whipping
all the dogs that were found running about the streets on
the 10th of October,* and at one time so common was the
practice, that every little urchin considered it his duty
to prepare a whip for any unlucky dog that might be seen
in the street on that day.
Tradition assigns the following origin to the custom :
Previous to the suppression of monasteries in Hull, it was the
custom for the monks to provide liberally for the poor and
the wayfarer who came to the fair held annually on the
llth of October ; and while busy in this necessary preparation
the day before the fair, a dog strolled into the larder,
snatched up a joint of meat and decamped with it. The
cooks gave the alarm, and when the dog got into the streets
he was pursued by the expectants of the charity of the monks,
who were waiting outside the gate, and made to give up the
stolen joint. Whenever, after this, a dog showed his face
while this annual preparation was going on, he was instantly
beaten off. Eventually, this was taken up by the boys and,
until the introduction of the new police, was rigidly put
in practice by them every 10th of October. N. & Q. 1st S.
vol. viii. p. 409.
OCT. 1 8.] ST. LUKE'S DAY.
KENT.
AT Charlton, a fair was held on this day, and was charac-
terized by several curious peculiarities. Every booth in the
* See St. Luke's Day
OCT. 1 8.] ST. LUKE'S DAT. 387
fair had its horns conspicuous in the front. Rams' horns were
an article abundantly represented for sale, even the gin-
gerbread was marked by a gilt pair of horns. It seemed an
inexplicable mystery how horns and Charlton Fair had
become associated in this manner, till an antiquary at length
threw a light upon it by pointing out that a horned ox is
the recognised mediaeval symbol of St. Luke, the patron of
the fair, fragmentary examples of it being still to be seen in
the painted windows of Charlton Church. This fair was
one where an unusual licence was practised. It was
customary for men to come to it in women's clothes a
favourite mode cf masquerading two or three hundred years
ago against which the puritan clergy launched many a
fulmination. The men also amused themselves, on their way
across Blackheath, in lashing the women with furze, it being
proverbial that " all was fair at Horn Fair." Book of Days,
vol. i. p. 645.
A sermon was formerly preached at Charlton Church on
the day of the fair. A practice which originated by a
bequest of twenty shillings a year to the minister of the
parish for preaching it. See Every Day Book, 1826, vol. i.
pp. 1386-1389.
YOBKSHIBE.
Drake, in his Eboracum (1736, p. 218), says that a fair
was always kept in Micklegate, on St. Luke's Day, for all
sorts of small wares. It was commonly called Dish Fair
from the great quantity of wooden dishes, ladles, &c., brought
to it. An old custom was observed at this fair, of bearing a
wooden ladle in a sling on two stangs about it, carried by
four sturdy labourers, and each labourer was supported by
another. This, without doubt, was a ridicule on the meanness
of the wares brought to the fair, small benefit accruing to
the labourers at it.
Drake tells us that in his time St. Luke's Day was known
in York by the name of Whip-Dog Day, from a strange custom
that schoolboys had of whipping all dogs that wore Been in
the streets on that day. Whence this uncommon persecution,
he says, took its rise is uncertain, and has even been considered
by some to bo of Roman origin. He regards, however, the
2 o 2
388 BT. CRISPIN'S DAT. [Oci. 25.
following tradition as most probable : That in some time of
popery a priest celebrating mass at this festival, in some
church in York, unfortunately dropped the host after conse-
cration, which was suddenly snatched up and swallowed by a
dog that lay under the altar table. The profanation of this
high mystery occasioned the death of the dog, and a persecu-
tion began which was continued on the anniversary of this
day. The same custom also existed at Manchester on the first
day of Acres Fair, which was held about the same time.
Med. Mm Kalend. vol. i. p. 3GO.
OCT. 21.] GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
Richard Aldridge gave the interest of 200Z., Three per
Cent. Consols, that the dividend should, for ever, be disposed
of as follows : 1Z. la. to the vicar of the parish of St.
Nicholas for performing morning service annually in the
parish church on the 21st of October, and preaching a
sermon in commemoration of the glorious victory obtained
by Lord Nelson over the combined fleets of France and
Spain off Cape Trafalgar, on the 21st of October 1805 ;
10s. 6d. equally between the clerk and sexton for their
attendance at such service and sermon. The residue of the
dividend to be applied to keeping a monument of his friend
in good condition, and the surplus after such repair to be
given to the poor on the 6th of December each year in
coals and garments. Edwards, Old English Customs and
Charities, 182, p. 170.
OCT. 25.] 6T. CRISPIN'S DAY.
IN many places St. Crispin's Day is a great holiday among'
the shoemakers, and the origin of it is thus explained : Two
brothers, Crispin and Crispinian, natives of Rome, having
become converts to Christianity, travelled to Soissons in
France about the year 303, in order to propagate the
Christian faith. Being desirous, however, of rendericg
themselves independent they gained a subsistence by making
OCT. 75.] ST. CKISI-IN'S DAT. 3S9
shoes, with which it is said they furnished the poor at an ex-
tremely small price, an angel, according to the legend,
supplying them with leather. They suffered martyrdom in
the persecution under Maximian.
In Time's Telescope for 1816 it is observed that the
shoemakers of the present day are not far behind their pre-
decessors in the manner of keeping St. Crispin. From the
highest to the lowest it is a day of feasting and jollity. It
is also observed as a festival with the corporate body of
cord \vainers or shoemakers of London, but without any sort
of procession on the occasion.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
In the town of Hexham, the following custom is, or was,
at one time observed : The shoemakers of the town meet
and dine by previous arrangements at some tavern ; a King
Crispin, queen, prince, and princess, elected from members
of their fraternity of families, being present. They after-
wards form in grand procession (the ladies and their atten-
dants excepted), and parade the streets with banners, music,
&c., the royal party and suite gaily dressed in character.
In the evening they reassemble fur dancing and other
festivities. To his majesty and consort, and their royal
highnesses the prince and princess (the latter usually a
pretty girl), due regal homage is paid during that day.
N. & Q. 1st S. vol vi. p. 243.
At one time the cordwainers of Newcastle celebrated the
festival of St. Crispin by holding a coronation of their
patron saint in the court of the Freemen's Hospital at the
Westgate, and afterwards walking in procession through the
principal streets of the town. This caricature show produced
much laughter and mirth. Mackenzie, History of Newcastle,
1827, vol. i. p. 88.
SUSSEX.
In the parishes of Cuckfield and Hurst-a-point, St Crispin's
Day is kept with much rejoicing. The boys go round
asking for money in the name of St. Crispin, bonfires are
lighted, and it passes off very much in the same way as the
330 CHE1WODE " EHYNE TOLL." [OCT. 30.
5th of November. It appears from an inscription on a
monument to one of the ancient family of Bunell, in the
parish church of Cuckfield, that a Sir John Bunell attended
Henry V. to France in the year 1415, with one ship, twenty
men-at-arms, and forty archers, and it is probable that the
observance of this day in that neighbourhood is connected
with that fact. N. & Q. 1st S. vol. v. p. 30.
WALES.
At Tenby an effigy was made and hung on some elevated
and prominent place (the steeple for instance) on the previous
night. On the morning of the Saint's day it was cut down
and carried about the town, a will being read in doggrel
verse, purporting to be the last testament of the Saint, in
pursuance of which the several articles of dress were dis-
tributed to the different shoemakers. At length nothing
remained of the image but the padding, which was kicked
about by the crowd. As a sort of revenge for the treatment
given to St. Crispin, his followers hung up the effigy of a
carpenter on St. Clement's Day. Mason's Tales and Tradi-
tions of Tenby, 1858, p. 26.
OCT. 29.] ST. MOD WEN'S DAY.
STAFFOBDSHIKE.
THIS day used to be observed at Burton-on-Trent. On
it was held a sale of cheese, and a variety of sports and
pastimes took place. Pitt, Topographical History of Stafford-
shire, 1817, p. 45.
OCT. 30.] BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
THE manor of Chetwode a small village about five miles
from Buckingham has been the property of the Chetwode
family from Saxon times. Though of small extent, it is the
OCT. 30.] CHETWODE " BHTNE TOLL." 391
paramount manor of a liberty or district, embracing several
other manors and villages, which are required to do suit an 1
service at the Court-Leet held at Chetwode every three years.
The lord of Chetwode manor has also the right to levy
a yearly tax, called the " Bhyne Toll," on all cattle found
within this liberty, between the 30th of October and the 7th
of November, both days inclusive. The commencement
of the toll, which is proclaimed with much ceremony, is thus
described in an old document of Queen Elizabeth's reign :
" In the beginning of the said drift of the common, or
rhyne, first at their going forth, they shall blow a welke-shell,
or home, immediately after the sun rising at the Mansion-
House of the manor of Chetwode, and then, in their going
about, they shall blow their home the second time in the
field between Newton Purcell and Barton Hartshorne,
in the said county of Bucks, and also shall blow their
borne a third time at a place near the town of Finmere,
in the county of Oxford, and they shall blow their home
the fourth time at a certain stone in the market of the town
of Buckingham, and there to give the poor sixpence ; and so,
going forward in this manner about the said drift, shall
blow the borne at several bridges called Thornborough Bridge,
King's Bridge, and Bridge Mill. And they also shall blow
their home at the Pound Gate, called the Lord's Pound,
in the parish of Chetwode And also (the Lord of
Chetwode) has always been used by his officers and servants
to drive away all foreign cattle that shall bo found within
the said parishes, fields, &c., to impound the same in any
pound of the said towns, and to take for every one of the said
foreign beasts twopence for the mouth, and one penny for
a foot for every one of the said beasts." All cattle thus
impounded at other places were to be removed to the pound
at Chetwode, and if not claimed and the toll paid within
three days, " then the next day following after the rising of
the sun, the bailiff or officers of the lord for the time being
shall blow their home three times at the gate of the said
pound, and mnko proclamation that, if any persons lack any
cattle that shall be in the same pound, let them come and
shew the marks of the same cattle so claimed by them, nnd
they shall have them, paying unto the lord his money in tie
392 CHETWODE " EIIYNE TOLL." [OCT. JO.
manner and form before mentioned, otherwise the said cattle
that shall so remain, shall be the lord's as strays." This toll
was formerly so rigidly enforced, that if the owner of cattle
so impounded made his claim immediately after the procla-
mation was over, he was refused them, except by paying their
full market price.
Though the custom is still regularly observed, it has
undergone some changes since the date of the above docu-
ment. The toll now begins at nine in the morning instead
of at sunrise, and the horn is first sounded on the church-
hill at Buckingham, and gingerbread and beer distributed
among the assembled boys, the girls being excluded. The
officer then proceeds to another part of the liberty on the
border of Oxfordshire, and there, after blowing his horn as
before, again distributes gingerbread and beer among the
assembled boys. The toll is then proclaimed as begun, and
collectors are stationed at different parts to enforce it, at the
rate of two shillings a score upon all cattle and swine
passing on any road within the liberty, until twelve o'clock
at night on the 7th of November, when the " Ehyne " closes.
The occupiers of land within the liberty have long been
accustomed to compound for the toll by an annual payment
of one shilling. The toll has sometimes been refused,
but has always been recovered with the attendant expenses.
It realised about 20Z. a year before the opening of the Buck-
inghamshire Railway ; but now, owing to Welsh and Irish
cattle being sent by trains, it does not amount to above 41.,
and is let by the present lord of the manor for only I/. 5s.
a year.
The existence of this toll may be traced to remote
antiquity, but nothing is known of its origin except from
local tradition, which, however, in this case has been so
remarkably confirmed, that it may safely be credited. The
parish of Chetwode, as its name implies, was formerly thickly
wooded ; indeed it formed a part of an ancient forest called
Rookwoode, which is supposed to have been conterminous
with the present liberty of Chetwode. At a very early
period, says our tradition, this forest was infested with an
enormous wild boar which became the terror of the sur-
rounding country. The inhabitants were never safe from
OCT. 30.] CHETWODE " BHYJJE TOLL." 393
his attacks, and strangers who heard of his ferocity were
afraid to visit or pass through the district, so that traffic
and friendly intercourse were seriously impeded, as well ns
much injury done to property by this savage monster. The
lord of Chetwode, like a valiant knight, determined to rid
his neighbourhood from this pest, or to die in the attempt.
Bent on this generous purpose, he sallied forth into the
forest, and, as the old song has it,
" Then he blowod a blast full north, south, east, and west
Wind well thy horn, good hunter ;
And the wild boar then heard him full in his den,
As he was a jovial hunter.
Then he made the best of his speed unto him
Wind well thy horn, good hunter;
Swift flew the boar, with his tusks smeared with gore,
To Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter.
Then the wild boar, lieing so stout and BO strong
Wind well thy horn, good hunter ;
Thrashed down the trees as he ramped him along
To Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter.
Then they fought four hours in a long summer day
Wind well thy horn, good hunter ;
Till the wild boar fain would have got him away
From Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter.
Then Sir Ryalas he drawed his broad-sword with might
Wind well thy horn, good hunter;
And he fairly cut the boar's head off quite,
For he was a jovial hunU r."
Matters being thus settled, the neighbourhood rung with
the praises of the gallant deed of the lord of Chetwode, and
the news thereof soon reached the ears of the king, who
" liked him so well of the achievement," that ho forthwith
made the knight tenant in capite, and constituted his manor
paramount of all the manors within the limits and extent
of the royal forest of Rookwoode. Moreover, he granted to
him, and to his heirs for ever, among other immunities and
privileges, the full right and power to levy every year tho
" Rhyne Toll," which has already been described.
Such a custom as the " Ehyne Toll " is not without its
use. It is a perpetual memorial, perhaps more convincing
than written history, of the dangers which surrounded our
394 HALLOW EVE. [OCT. 3!.
ancestors, and from which our country has happily been so
long delivered that we can now scarcely believe they ever
existed. The Book of Days, vol. ii. pp. 517-519.
OCT. 31.] HALLOW EVE.
THIS eve is so called from being the vigil of All Saints'
Day, and is the season for a variety of superstitious and other
customs. In the north of England many of these still
linger. One of the most common is that of diving for apples,
or of catching at them with the month only, the hands being
tied behind, and the apples suspended on one end of a long
transverse beam, at the other extremity of which is fixed a
lighted candle. The fruit and nuts form the most prominent
parts of the evening feast, and from this circumstance the
night has been termed Nut crack Night* Soane's Book of the
Months, 1849, vol. ii. p. 215 ; see Book of Days, vol. ii. pp.
519-520.
Sir William Dugdale (Life, Diary, and Correspondence of
Sir W. Dugdale, edited by W. Hamper, 1827, p. 104) tells
us tliat formerly, on Halloween, the master of the family
used to carry a bunch of straw, fired, about his corn, saying :
" Fire and red low
Light on my teen now."
This fire-straw, says a correspondent of N. & Q. (3rd S.
vol. i. p. 316), was meant to ward off witchcraft, and so
preserve the corn from being spoiled. In Scotland, on
Halloween, the red end of a fiery stick is waved about in
mystic figures in the air to accomplish for the person the
same spell. Red appears to be a colour peculiarly obnoxious
to witches. One Halloween rhyme enjoins the employ-
ment of:
" Rowan tree and red thread,
To gar the witches dance their dead ;"
i.e., dance till they fall down and expire. The berries of
* See Michaelmas Eve, p. 375.
OCT. 31.] HALLOW EVE. 395
the rowan-tree (mountain-ash) are of a brilliant red. The
point of the fiery stick waved rapidly takes the appearance
of a " red thread."
COENWALL.
The ancient custom of providing children with a large
apple on Allhallows Eve is still observed to a great extent
at St. Ives. " Allan Day," as it is termed, is the day of days
to hundreds of children who would deem it a great mis-
fortune were they to go to bed on Allan night without the
time honoured allan apple to hide beneath their pillows.
A large quantity of apples are thus disposed of, the sale
of which is dignified by the term Allan Market. Hunt's
Romances of the West of England, 1871, p. 388.
LANCASHIRE.
In Lancashire, says Hampson (Med. JEw Kalend. vol. i.
p. 365), it was formerly believed that witches assembled on
this night to do "their deeds without a name," at their
general rendezvous in the forest of Pendle, a ruined and
desolate farmhouse, denominated the Malkin Tower, from the
awful purposes to which it was devoted. This superstition
led to a ceremony called lating, or perhaps leeting the witches.
It was believed that, if a lighted candle were carried ab;ntt
the fells or hills from eleven till twelve o'clock at night,
and burned all that time steadily, it had so far triumphed
over the evil power of the witches, who, as they passed to the
Malkin Tower, would employ their utmost efforts to ex-
tinguish the light, aiid the person whom it represented
might safely defy their malice during the season ; but if by
accident the light went out, it was an omen of evil to the
luckless wight for whom the experiment was made. It wns
also deemed inauspicious to cross the threshold of that
person until after the return from leeting, and not then
unless the candle had preserved its light. See Year Book,
1838, p. 1276.
ISLE OF MAN.
This festival, called by the islanders Sauin, was formerly
observed in the Isle of Man by kindling of fires with all the
396 HALLOW EVE. [OcT. Jl.
accompanying ceremonies, to prevent the baneful influence of
fairies and witches. The island was perambulated at night
by young men who stuck up at the door of every dwelling-
house, a rhyme in Manks, beginning :
"Noght oie liowney hop-dy-naw,
This is Hollantide Eve,'* &c.
On Hollantide Eve, boys go round the town shouting out
a doggrel, of which the following is an extract :
" This is old Hollantide night .
The moon shines fair and bright;
I went to the well
And drank my fill ;
On the way coming back
I met a pole-cat ;
The cat began to grin
And I began to run ;
Where did you run to ?
I i an to Scotland ;
What were they doing there?
Baking bannocks and i casting coiiops.
***** * #
If you are going to give us anything, give us it soon,
Or we'll be away by the light of the moon ! "
For some peculiar reason, potatoes, parsnips, and fish,
pounded togethei' and mixed with butter, form always the
evening meal. Train, History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol.
ii. p. 123.
MIDDLESEX.
In the reign of Charles I., the young gentlemen of the
Middle Temple were accustomed at All Hallow Tide, which
they considered the beginning of Christmas, to associate
themselves for the festive objects connected with the season.
In 1629 they chose Bulstrode Whitelocke as Master of the
Bevels, and used to meet every evening at St. Dunstan's
Tavern, in a large new room, called " The Oracle of Apollo,"
each man bringing friends with him at his own pleasure. It
was a kind of mock parliament, where various questions were
discussed as in our modern debating societies, but these
temperate proceedings were seasoned with mirthful doings,
OCT 31.] HALLOW EVE. 397
to which the name of revels was given and of which dancing
appears to have been the chief. On All Hallows Day, ( the
Master (Whitelocke, then four-and-twenty), as soon as the
evening was come, entered the hall followed by sixteen
revellers. They were proper, handsome young gentlemen,
habited in rich suits, shoes and stockings, hats and great
feathers. The master led them in his bar gown, with a
white staff in his hand, the music playing before them.
They began with the old masques ; after which they danced
the Braids* and then the master took his seat, while the
revellers flaunted through galliards, corantos, French and
country dances, till it grew very late. As might be ex-
pected, the reputation of this dancing soon brought a
store of other gentlemen and ladies, some of whom were
of great quality, and when the ball was over the festive
party adjourned to Sir Sydney Montague's chamber, lent for
the purpose to our young president. At length the court ladies
and grandees were allured, to the contentment of his vanity
it may have been, but entailing on him serious expense, and
then there was great striving for places to see them on the
part of the London citizens. To crown the ambition and
vanity of all, a great German lord had a desire to witness
the revels, then making such a sensation at court, and
the Templars entertained him at great cost to themselves,
receiving in exchange that which cost the great noble very
little his avowal that ' Dere was no such nople gollege in
Christendom as deirs.' " Whitelocke's Memoirs of Buhtrode
WJiitelocke, 1860, p. 56 ; quoted in Book of Days, vol. ii.
p. 538.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
If a girl had two lovers, and wished to know which would
be the most constant, she procured two brown apple pippins,
and sticking one on each cheek (after having named them
from her lovers) while she repeated this couplet :
" Pippen, pippen, I stick thee there,
That that is true them may'et declare,"
patiently awaited until one fell off, when the unfortunate
Erroneously written Hrantes in the authority quoted.
398 HALLOW EVE. [OCT. 3!.
swain whose name it bore was instantly discarded as being
unfaithful. It is to this custom that Gay has thus alluded :
" See from the core two kernels now I take,
This on my cheek for Lubberkin is worn,
An<l Booby Clod en t'utl er bide is borne;
But Baoby Clod soon falls upon the ground,
A co tain token that his love's unsound;
While Lubberkin sticks firmly to the last ;
Oh ! were his lips to mine but joined so fast."
Jour, of Arch. Assoc. 1853, vol. iii. p. 286.
YORKSHIRE.
At Eipon, the women make a cake for every one in the
family, whence this eve is by them called cake-night. Gent.
Mag. 1790, vol. Ix. p. 719.
WALES.
In North Wales there is a custom upon All Saints' Eve
of making a great fire called Coel Coeth, when every family
for about an hour in the night, makes a great bonfire in the
most conspicuous place near the house, and when the fire is
almost extinguished every one throws a white stone into the
ashes, having first marked it ; then having said their prayers
turning rouud the fire, they go to bed. In the morning, as
soon as they are up, they come and search out the stones,
and if any oue of them is found wanting they have a notion
that the person who threw it in will die before he sees
another All Saints' Eve. Pennant MS., quoted by Brand,
Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 389.
In Owen's Account of the Bards, preserved in Sir R.
Hoare's Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales (vol.
ii. p. 315), the following particulars are given in connection
with the above custom : The autumnal fire kindled in North
Wales on the eve of the 1st of November is attended by
many ceremonies, such as running through the fire and
smoke, each casting a stone into the fire, and all running off
at the conclusion, to escape from the black short-tailed sow ;
then supping upon parsnips, nuts, and apples ; catching at
au. apple suspended by a string, with the mouth alone, and
OCT. 31.] HALLCTW EVE. 399
the same by an apple in a tub of water ; each throwing a
nut into the fire, and those that burn bright betoken pros-
perity to the owners through the following year, but those
that burn black and crackle, denote misfortune. On the
following morning the stones are searched for in the fire,
and if any be missing, they betide ill to those who threw
them in.
SCOTLAND.
Burns, in his notes upon Halloween, gives the following
interesting account of the superstitious customs practised by
the Scottish peasantry :
1. The first ceremony of Halloween is pulling each a
stock or plant of kail. They must go out hand in hand, with
eyes shut, and pull the first they meet with ; its being big
or little, straight or crooked, is prophetic of the size and
shape of the grand object of all their spells the husband or
wife. If any yird, or earth stick to the root, that is tocher
or fortune ; and the taste of the custoc, that is the heart of the
stem, is indicative of the natural temper and disposition.
Lastly, the stems, or to give them their ordinary appella-
tion the runts, are placed somewhere above the head of the
door ; and the Christian names of the people, whom chance
brings into the house are, according to the priority of place-
ing the runts, the names in question.
2. They go to the barn-yard, and pull each, at three
several times, a stalk of oats. If the third stalk wants the
top-piclde, the party in question will come to the marriage-
bed anything but a maid.
3. Burning the nuts is a famous charm, they name the lad
and lass to each particular nut as they lay them in the fire.
Accordingly, as they burn quietly together or start from
beside one another, the course and issue of the courtship
will be.
4. Steal out all alone to the kiln, and darkling throw
into the pot a clue of blue yarn, wind it in a new clue off
the old one ; and towards the latter end, something will hold
the thread ; demand, " Who hauds ?" i.e., who holds. An
answer will bo returned from the kiln-pot, by naming the
Christian and surname of your future spouse.
400 HALLOW EVE. [OCT. 31.
5. Take a candle and go alone to a looking-glass, eat an
apple before it, and, some traditions say you should comb
your hair all the time, the face of your conjugal companion
to be will be seen in the glass as if peeping over your
shoulder.
6. Steal out unperceived and sow a handful of hempseed,
harrowing it with anything you can conveniently draw after
you. Eepeat now and then, " Hempseed I sow thee ; hemp-
seed, I sow thee ; and him (or her) that is to be my true love
come after me and pou thee." Look over your left shoulder,
and you will see the appearance of the person invoked in
the attitude of pulling hemp. Some traditions say, " Come
after me, and show thee," that is show thyself, in which
case it simply appears. Others omit the harrowing, and say,
" Come after me and harrow thee."
7. To win three weclits o' naething. This charm must
likewise be performed unperceived and alone, you go to
the barn, and open both doors, taking them off the hinges
if possible ; for there is danger that they, being about to
appear, may shut the doors and do you some mischief.
Then take that instrument used in winnowing the corn,
which in our dialect is called a wecJtt ; and go through all
the attitudes of letting down corn against the wind. Repeat
it three times ; and the third time an apparition will pass
through the barn, in it at the windy door and out at the other,
having both the figure in question, and the appearance or
retinue marking the employment or station in life.
8. Take an opportunity of going unnoticed to a bean stack,
and fathom it three times round. The last fathom of the
last time, you will catch in your arms the appearance of
your future conjugal yoke-fellow.
9. You go out, one or more, for this is a social spell, to a
south running spring or rivulet, where three lairds' lands
meet, and dip your left shirt sleeve. Go to bed in sight of a
fire, and hang your wet sleeve before it to dry. Lie awake,
and sometime near midnight an apparition, having an exact
figure of the grand object in question, will come and turn the
sleeve as if to dry the other side of it.
10. Take three dishes, put clean water in one, foul water
in another, leave the third empty ,; blindfold a person, and
OCT. 31.] HALLOW EVE. 401
lead him to the hearth where the dishes are ranged; ho
(or she) dips the left hand ; if by chance in the clean water,
the future husband or wife will come to the bar of matrimony
a maid ; if in the foul, a widow ; if in the empty dish, it
foretells with equal certainty no marriage at all. It is
repeated three times, and every time the arrangement of the
dishes is altered.
ABEBDEENSHIRE.
The following extract is taken from the Guardian (Novem-
ber llth, 1874) : Halloween was duly celebrated at Balmoral
Castle. Preparations had been made days beforehand, and
farmers and others for miles around were present. When
darkness set in the celebration began, and her Majesty and
the Princess Beatrice, each bearing a large torch, drove out
in an open phaeton. A procession formed of the tenants and
servants on the estates followed, all carrying huge torches
lighted. They walked through the grounds and round the
Castle, and the scene as the procession moved onwards was
very weird and striking. When it had arrived in front of
the Castle an immense bonfire, composed of old boxes,
packing-cases, and other materials, stored up during the
year for the occasion, was set fire to. When the flames
were at their brightest a figure dressed as a hobgoblin
appeared on the scene, drawing a car surrounded by a
number of fairies carrying long spears, the car containing
the effigy of a witch. A circle having been formed by the
torch-bearers, the presiding elf tossed the figure of the witch
into the fire, where it was speedily consumed. This crema-
tion over, reels were begun, and were danced with great
vigour to the stirring strains of Willie Boss, her Majesty's
piper.
BANFFSHIRE.
In former times at Halloween, Christmas, and other
holidays, the younger part of the community of Cullen
resorted to the sands and links of the bay for the purpose
of playing foot-ball, running foot-races, &c. They left tho
town in procession, preceded by a piper and other musi 4
2 D
402 HALLOW EVE. [OCT. JI.
and were attended by numbers from the adjacent districts.
The games were keenly contested, and the victor was crowned
by a bonnet adorned with feathers and ribbons, previously
prepared by the ladies. When the games were over, the
whole party had a dance on the green, with that merriment
and glee to which the etiquette and formation of the ball-
room at the present day are total strangers. Afterwards, the
procession was again formed, and returned to the town, the
victor preceded by the music, leading the way. A ball took
place in the evening, at which he presided, and, moreover,
had the privilege of wearing his bonnet and feathers. Stat.
Ace. of Scotland, 1845, vol. xiii. p. 381.
MORAYSHIEE.
Shaw, in his History of the Province of Moray (p. 241),
considers the festivity of this night as a kind of harvest-
home rejoicing. He says, a solemnity was kept on the eve
of the 1st of November, as a thanksgiving for the safe in-
gathering of the produce of the fields.
PEETHSHIRE.
On All Saints' Even, the inhabitants of Callander, set up
bonfires in every village. When the bonfire is consumed,
the ashes are carefully collected into the form of a circle.
There is a stone put in near the circumference, for every
person of the several families interested in the bonfire ; and
whaterer stone is removed out of its place or injured before
the next morning, the person represented by that stone is
devoted, or fey, and is supposed not to live twelve months
from that day. Sinclair, Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1793, vol.
xi. p. 621.
On the evening of the 31st of October (Old Style), the in-
habitants of Logierait practise the following custom : Heath,
broom and dressings of flax are tied upon a pole ; this
faggot is then kindled ; one takes it upon his shoulders, and,
running, bears it round the village ; a crowd attending him.
When the first faggot is burnt out, a second is bound to the
OCT. 31.] HALLOW EVE. 403
pole and kindled in the same manner as before. Numbers
of these blazing faggots are often carried about together,
and when the night happens to be dark they form a splendid
illumination. Sinclair, Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1793, vol. v.
p. 84.
IRELAND.
At this season the peasants assemble with sticks and clubs,
and go from house to house collecting money, bread-cake,
butter, &c., for the feast, repeating verses in honour of the
solemnity, and demanding the inhabitants to lay aside the
fatted calf and to bring forth the black sheep.* The women
are employed in making the griddle cake and candles ; these
last are sent from house to house in the vicinity, and are
lighted up on the next day before which they pray, or are
supposed to pray, for the departed soul of the donor. Hemp-
seed is sown by the maidens, and they believe that, if they
look back, they will see the apparition of the man intended
for their future husbands ; they hang a smock before the
fire on the close of the feast, and sit up all night concealed
in a corner of the room, convinced that his apparition will
come down the chimney and turn the smock. They also
throw a ball of yarn out of the window, and wind it up on a
reel within, thinking that, if they repeat the Paternoster
backwards and look at the ball of yarn without, they will
see his apparition. They, moreover, dip for apples in a tub
of water, and endeavour to bring one up in the mouth ; they
suspend a cord with a cross stick, with apples at one point
and candles lighted at the other, and endeavour to catch the
apple, while it is in circular motion, in the mouth. These
and many other superstitious customs are observed. Val-
iancy, Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicia, 1786, vol. iii. p. 459.
On Halloween, women take the yolk from eggs boiled hard,
fill the eggs with salt, and eat egg, shell and salt. They
are careful not to quench their thirst till morning. N. d- Q.
4/A. S. vol. iv. p. 505.
* This was preparatory to the sacrifice of the black sheep on the
following day to Sainan See Soane'a A'eic Curiosities of Literature,
1847, p. 219.
2 D 2
404 ALL SAINTS' DAT. [Nov. i,
Nov.] DERBYSHIRE.
At Duffield, a curious remnant of the right of hunting
wild animals is still observed this is called the " squirrel
hunt." The young men of the village assemble together on
the Wakes Monday, each provided with a horn, a pan, or
something capable of making a noise, and proceed to Keddle-
ston Park, where, with shouting and the discordant noise of
the instruments, they frighten the poor little squirrels,
until they drop from the trees. Several having been thus
captured the hunters return to Duffield, and having released
the squirrels amongst some trees, recommence the hunt.
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 208.
At Duffield, the right of collecting wood in the forest is
also singularly observed. The young men in considerable
numbers collect together, and having taken possession of any
cart they can find, yoke themselves to it, and preceded by
horns, remove any trees or other wood from the various lanes
and hedge-rows ; this is done almost nightly, between Sep-
tember and the Wakes, in the first week in November, when
a bonfire is made of the wood collected on the Wakes
Monday. Ibid. p. 208.
Nov. i.] ALL SAINTS' DAY.
THIS festival takes its origin from the conversion, in the
seventh century, of the Pantheon at Rome into a Christian
place of worship, and its dedication by Pope Boniface IV. to
the Virgin and all the Martyrs. The anniversary of this
event was at first celebrated on the 1st of May, but the day
was subsequently altered to the 1st of November, which was
thenceforth, under the designation of the feast of All Saints,
set apart as a general commemoration in their honour. The
festival has been retained by the Anglican Church Book of
Days, vol. ii. p, 529 ; See Soane's Book of the Months, 1849,
vol. ii. p. 235.
A writer in the Gent. Mag. 1783 (vol. liii. p. 578), thinks
Nov. i.J ALL SAINTS' DAY. 405
the custom prevailing among tho Koinan Catholics of lighting
fires upon the hills on All Saints' night, tho Eve of All Souls,
scarcely needs explaining, fire being, even among the Pagans,
an emblem of immortality, and well calculated to typify the
ascent of the soul to heaven.
A correspondent of the same periodical (1788, vol. Iviii.
p. 602) alludes to a custom observed in some parts of the
kingdom among the Papists, of illuminating some of their
grounds upon the eve of All Souls, by bearing round them
straw, or other fit materials, kindled into a blaze. This
ceremony is called a Tinley, said to represent an emblematical
lighting of souls out of purgatory.
CHESHIRE.
On All Souls' Eve, both children and grown-up people go
from door to door, a-souling, i.e., begging for soul cakes, or
anything else they can get. In some districts they perform
a kind of play as well, but in all instances the following, or
a similar song, is sung :
u You gentlemen of England, pray you now draw near
To these few lines, and you soon shall hear
Sweet melody of music all on this evening clear,
For we are come a-souling for apples and strong beer.
Step down into your cellar, and see what you can find,
If your barrel* are not empty, we hope you will prove kind ;
We hope you will prove kind with your apples and strong beer,
We'll come no more a-souling until another year.
Cold winter it is coming on, dark, dirty, wet and cold,
To try your good nature, thia night we do make bold ;
This night we do make bold with your apples and strong beer,
And we'll come no more a-souling until another year.
All the houses that we've been at, we've had both meat and drink,
So now we're dry with travelling, we hope you'll on us think ;
We hope you'll on us think with your apples and strong beer,
For we'll come no more a-souling until another year.
God bleis the master of this house, and the mistress also,
And all the little children that round the table go ;
Likewise your men and maidens, your cattle and your store,
And all that lies within your gates we wish you ten times more ;
We wish you ten times more with your applt-8 and strong beer,
And we'll come no more a-eouling until another year."
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1850, vol. v. p. 252.
406 ALL SAINTS' DAT. [Nov. I.
In the parish of Lymm it is customary, for a week or ten
days before the 5th of November, for the skeleton of a
horse's head, dressed up with ribbons, &c., having glass eyes
inserted in the sockets, and mounted on a short pole by way
of handle, to be carried by a man underneath covered with a
horse-cloth. There is generally a chain attached to the
nose, which is held by a second man, and they are attended
by several others. In houses to which they can gain access,
they go though some kind of performance, the man with the
chain telling the horse to rear, open its mouth, &c. The
object of course is to obtain money. The horse will some-
times seize persons, and hold them fast till they pay for
being set free ; but he is generally very peaceable, for, in
case of resistance being offered, his companions generally
take to flight and leave the poor horse to fight it out. N. &
Q. 1st. 8. vol. i. p. 258.
LANCASHIRE.
At Great Marton, there was formerly a sort of procession
of young people from house to house, at each of which they
recited psalms, and, in return, received presents of cakes,
whence the custom was called Psalm-caking. Med. JEvi
Kalend. 1841, vol. i. p. 375.
MIDDLESEX.
At a pension held at Gray's Inn in Michaelmas Term, 21
Henry VIII., there was an order made that all the fellows
of this house who should be present upon any Saturday at
supper, betwixt the feasts of All Saints and the Purification
of our Lady, or upon any other day at dinner or supper,
when there are revels, should not depart out of the hall until
the said revels were ended, upon the penalty of 12d.
In 4 Edward VI. (17 Nov.), it was also ordered, that
thenceforth there should be no comedies, called interludes, in
the house out of term time, but when the feast of the Nativity
of our Lord is solemnly observed, and that when there shall
be any such comedies, then all the society at that time in
common to bear the charge of the apparel.
In 4 Charles I. (17 Nov.), it was also ordered that all
Nov. i.] ALL SAINTS' DAT. 407
playing of dice, cards, or otherwise, in the hall, buttery, or
butler's chamber, should be thenceforth forbidden at all
times of the year, the twenty days of Christmas only ei-
cepted. Herbert, Antiquities of the Inns of Court, 1804, p. 336.
MONMOUTHSHIRE.
In this county, says Hone, Tear Book (p. 1288), a custom
prevails among the lower classes of begging bread for the
souls of the departed on All Saints' Day ; the bread thus
distributed is called dole bread.
SHROPSHIRE.
It is customary, says a correspondent of N. & Q. (1st S.
vol. iv. p. 381) for the village children to go round to all
their neighbours Souling, collecting contributions, and singing
the following doggrel :
" Soul ! eoul ! for a soul-cake ;
Pray, gooil mistress, for a soul-cake.
One for Peter, and two for Paul,
Three for them who made us alL
Soul ! soul ! for an apple or two ;
If you've gut no apples, pears will do.
Up with your kettle, and down with your pan,
Give me a good big one, and I'll be gone.
Soul ! soul ! for a soul-cake, &o.
An apple or pear, a plum or a cherry,
Is a very good thing to make us merry.
Soul! soul! &c."
The soul-cake referred to is a sort of bun, which at one
time it was an almost general custom for persons to make,
to give to one another on this day.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Tollett, in his Variorum Shakspearo {The Two Gentlemen
of Verona, ii. 2, note) says, On All Saints' Day the poor
people in Staffordshire, and perhaps in other country places,
go from parish to parish a-souling, as they call it, i.e. begging
and puling (or singing small, as Bailey's Dictionary explains
408 ALL SAINTS' DAT. [Nov. i.
puling) for soul-cakes, or any good thing to make them
merry." Brand, Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 393), gives the
following lines as sung on the occasion :
" Soul, soul, for a soul-cake,
Pray you, good mistress, a soul-cake."
WESTERN ISLES OF SCOTLAND.
In St. Kilda, the inhabitants used to make a large cake
in the form of a triangle furrowed round, all of which was
eaten the same night. Martin's Western Isles of Scotland,
1716, p. 287.
From the same authority we learn that the inhabitants of
Lewis had an ancient custom of sacrificing to the sea-god
called Shony. The inhabitants round the island came to the
church of St. Mulvay, each man having his provisions with
him. Every family furnished a peck of malt, which was
brewed into ale. One of their number was picked out to wade
into the sea up to the middle, and carrying a cup of ale in
his hand, he cried out with a loud voice, saying, " Shony, I
give you this cup of ale, hoping that you'll be so kind as to
send us plenty of sea-ware, for enriching our ground the
ensuing year ;" and so threw the cup of ale into the sea
this was performed in the night time. At his return to
land, they all went to church, where there was a candle
burning upon the altar ; and then standing silent for a little
time one of them gave a signal, at which the candle was put
out, and immediately all of them went to the fields, where
the rest of the night was spent in merriment.
IRELAND.
A correspondent of N. & Q. (3rd S. vol. i. p. 446) men-
tions a custom at Wexford,* of lighting candles (more or
less) in every window in the house, on the night of the
vigil of All Souls, and when travelling along a country road
where farmhouses and cottages are numerous, the effect is
quite picturesque on a dark November eve.
* This custom extends over the whole of Ireland, and is common in
some parts of the Continent.
Nov. 2.] ALL SOULS' DAT. 409
Nov. 2.] ALL SOULS' DAY.
ALL Souls' Day is set apart by the Roman Catholic Church
for a solemn service for the repose of the dead. In this
country the day was formerly observed by ringing of the
passing bell, making soul-cakes, blessing beans, and other
customs. Various tenures were held by services to be per-
formed on this day. The nut and apple omens of Hallow
Even were continued on this day. Soul-mass cakes were
given to the poor ; and at Hallowasse frankincense was newly
provided. Timbs, Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 115.
CHESHIRE.
From All Souls' Day to Christmas Day, Old Hob is carried
about ; this consists of a horse's head enveloped in a sheet,
taken from door to door, accompanied by the singing of
doggerel-begging rhymes. Jour, of Arch. Assoc. 1850, vol.
v. p. 253.
DERBYSHIRE.
Formerly, at the village of Findern, the boys and girls
used to go every year in the evening of All Souls' Day to
the adjoining common, and light up a number of small fires
among the furze growing there, which they called Tindles.
Gent. Mag. 1784, vol. iv. p. 836.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
In this county and also in Lancashire it was in days gone
by usual for the wealthy to dispense oaten cakes, called
eoul-mass cakes, to the poor, who upon receiving them re-
peated the following couplet in acknowledgment :
u God have your soul
Beens and nil."
See Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. L p. 392.
410 GUNPOWDEB PLOT. [NOV. 5.
SHROPSHIRE.
In this county the inhabitants set on a board a high heap
of small cakes, called soul-cakes, of which they offer one to
every person who comes to the house on this day, and there
is an old rhyme, which seems to have been sung by the
family and guests :
" A soul-cake, a soul-cake ;
Have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake."
Kennett's Collections, MS. Bibl. Lansdown, No. 1039,
vol. 105, p. 12.
The same custom is mentioned, and with very little variation,
by Aubrey in the Remains of Gentilisme ; see N. & Q. tih S.
vol. x. pp. 409, 525.
WALES.
The people of North Wales have a custom of distributing
soul-cakes on All Souls' Day, at the receiving of which the
poor people pray to God to bless the next crop of wheat.
Pennant.
SCOTLAND.
In the county of Aberdeen on All Souls' Day, baked cakes
of a particular sort are given away to those who may chance
to visit the house where they are made. The cakes are
called "dirge-loaf." N. & Q- 3rd S. vol. ii. p. 483.
Nov. 5.] GUNPOWDER PLOT.
THE 5th of November is not observed by the populace
with nearly so much festive diversion as in former times.
Originally, the burning of Guy Fawkes in effigy was a
ceremony much in vogue, especially among the lower classes,
but it is now confined chiefly to school-boys, and even with
them it is not so popular as in days gone by. Formerly, the
NOV. 5.] GUNPOWDER PLOT. 411
burning of " a good guy " was a scene of uproar perhaps
unknown to the present day. The bonfire, for example, in
Lincoln's Inn Fields was conducted on a very grand scale.
It was made at the Great Queen Street corner, immediately
opposite Newcastle House. Fuel came all day long in carts
properly guarded against surprise. Old people have re-
collected when upwards of two hundred cart-loads were
brought to make and feed this bonfire, and more than thirty
" guys " were burnt upon gibbets between eight and twelve
o'clock at night.*
The butchers of Clare Market, also, were accustomed to
celebrate this anniversary in a somewhat peculiar style ; one
of their body, personating Guy Fawkes, being seated in a
cart, with a prayer-book in his hand, and a priest, executioner,
&c., attending, was drawn through the streets, as if going to
the place of execution ; while a select party, with marrow-
bones and cleavers, led the way, and others solicited money
from the inhabitants and spectators. The sums thus ob-
tained were spent at night in jollity and carousing. Sports,
Pastimes, and Customs of London, 1847, p. 39.
The following time-honoured rhyme is still sung, and
varies in different parts of the country :
" Pray remember
The Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot ;
For I know no reason
Why Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forget.
Hollo boys ! Hollo boys ! Hurrah."
In Poor Kobin's Almanack for the year 1677 is the
following:
"Now boys with
Squibs and crackers play,
And bonfire's blaze
Turns night to-day."
* The following extract is from the Evening Standard (February 5th,
1875) ; " This morning at ten o'clock the Yeomen of the ( J mini (Beef-
eaters) made their usual search before the meeting of Parliament for
any barrels of gunpowder that might be stowed away in the vaults
under the Houses of Parliament."
412 GUNPOWDER PLOT. [Nov. 5.
In some parts of the north of England the following song
is sung :
" Happy was the man,
And happy was the day,
That caught Guy
Going to his play,
With a dark Ian thorn
And a brimstone match
Keady for the prime to touch.
As 1 was going through the dark entry
I spied the deviL
Stand back ! Stand back !
Queen Mary's daughter.
Put your hand in your pocket,
And give us some money
To kindle our bonfire. Hurrah."
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1819, vol. i. p. 398.
DERBYSHIRE.
The rhyme formerly sung in many parts of this county is
as below :
" Remember, remember,
Th' fifth o' November,
Th' gunpowder plot,
Shall ne'er be forgot !
Pray gi's a bit o' coal,
Ter stick in th' bun-fire hole 1
A stick an' a stake,
For King George's sake
A stowp an' a reel,
Or else wey'll steal."
Long Ago, 1873, vol. i. p. 338.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
In this county the following quaint rhyme was sung on
the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot :
" Remember, remember
The fifth o' November !
Guy and his companions' plot :
We're going to blow the Parliament up I
By God's mercy we wase catcht,
With a dark lantern an' lighted matcht ! "
Long Ago, 1873, vol. i. p. 338.
NOV. 5.] GTTNFOWDER PLOT. 413
MIDDLESEX.
It is stated in the register at Harlington, under the date of
1683, that half an acre of land was given by some person,
whose name has been forgotten, for the benefit of the bell-
ringers of the parish, to provide them with a leg of pork for
ringing on the 5th of November. It is called the Pork Acre.
The ground is let by the parish officers at 50s. a year, which
is paid by them to the bell-ringer. Edwards, Old English
Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 27.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
The following is the rhyme formerly sung in this county :
" Gunpowder treason !
Gunpowder treason !
Gunpowder treason plot I
I know no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fox and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
But, by God's providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match !
Hollo, boys ! hollo, boys ! make the bells ring !
Hollo, boys ! hollo, boys 1 God save the king ! Hurrah.".
Long Ago, 1873, vol. i. p. 338.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
At Clifton the following rhyme is sung :
" Please to remember
The fifth of November.
Old Guy Faux
And gunpowder plot
Shall never be forgot,
While Nottingham castle
Stands upon a rook ! "
Long Ago, 1873, vol. i. p. 338.
414 GUNPOWDER PLOT. [NOV. 5.
OXFORDSHIRE.
" The fifth of November,
Since I can remember,
Gunpowder treason and plot ;
This was the day the plot was contriv'd,
To blow up the King and Parliament alive;
But God's mercy did prevent
To save our King and his Parliament.
A stick and a stake
For King James's sake!
If you wont give me one,
I'll tnke two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you."
Tills is the Oxfordshire song chanted by the boys when
collecting sticks for the bonfire, and it is considered quite
lawful to appropriate any old wood they can lay their hands
on after the recitation of these lines. If it happen that a
crusty chuff prevents them, the threatening finale is too often
fulfilled. The operation is called going a-progging. In some
places they shout, previously to the burning of the effigy of
Guy Fawkes,
" A penn'orth of bread to feed the Pope,
A penn'orth of cheese to choke him ;
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a good old faggot to burn him."
Halliwell's Pop. llhymes, 1849, pp. 253, 554.
Formerly, it was the custom for the undergraduates of
Pembroke College, Oxford, to make verses on the 5th of
November, and to have two copies of them, one to present
to the master, the other to stick up in the Hall, and there to
remain till a speech on this occasion was spoken before
supper. Pointer, Oxoniensis Academia, 1749, p. 109.
SUSSEX.
At Lewes on the 5th of November in each year, a great
torchlight procession, composed of men dressed up in
fantastic garbs, and with blackened faces, and dragging
blazing tar barrels after them, parade the high street, while
5.] GUNPOWDER PLOT. 415
an enormous bonfire is lighted, into which, when at its
highest, various effigies are cast. The day's festivities not
unfrequently terminate in a general uproar and scene of
confusion. See Lewes Times, November 13th, 1856.
WESTMOKELAND.
The following doggerel is sung in this county :
" I pray you remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot ;
The king and his train had like to be slain
I hope this day'll ne'er be forgot.
All the boys, all the boys, let the bells ring !
All the boys, all the boys, God save the king!
A stick and a stake for King Jamie's sake,
I hope you'll remember tiie bonfire ! "
N. & Q. 4<A 8. vol. vii. p. 32.
WILTS HIBB.
At Marlborough the rustics have the following peculiar
custom at their bonfires. They form themselves into a ring
of some dozen or more round the bonfire, and follow each
other round it, holding thick club-sticks over their shoulders ;
while a few others, standing at distances outside this moving
ring with the same sort of sticks, beat those which the men
hold over their shoulders, r.s they pass round in succession,
all shouting and screaming loudly. This might last half an
hour at a time, and be continued at intervals till the fire died
out. N. & Q. 1st. S. vol. v. p. 855.
At Purton the boys, for several weeks before the 5th of
November, used to go from house to house begging faggots
for the bonfire, in the middle of which was burnt the effigy
of Guy Fawkes. The following rhyme was sung on the
occasion :
" My brave lads remember
The fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot ;
\Ve will drink, smoke, and sing, boys,
And our bells they shall ring, boys,
And here's health to our King, boys,
For he shall not be forgot.''
See Every Day Book, 1827, vol. ii. p. 1379.
416 ST. LEONARD'S DAT. [Nov. 6.
YORKSHIRE.
A very old custom prevails in the West Biding of York-
shire, of preparing, against the anniversary of Gunpowder
Plot, a kind of oatmeal gingerbread, if it may be so called,
and of religiously partaking of the same on this day and
subsequently. The local name of the delicacy is Parkin,
and it is usually seen in the form of massive loaves, sub-
stantial cakes, or bannocks. JV. & Q. 2nd S. vol. iv. p. 368.
Blount, in his Fragmented Antiquitatis (Beck with, 1815, p.
565), gives the following account of a custom observed at
Doncaster. He says at this place on the 5th November,
yearly, whether it happens on a Sunday, or any other day
in the week, the town waits play for some time on the top of
the church steeple, at the time when the congregation are
coming out of the church from morning service, the tune
of " God Save the King." This has been done for four-score
years at least, and very possibly ever since the 5th of
November has been a festival, except that formerly the tune
played was " Britons, strike home." The waits always receive
from the churchwardens sixpence a-piece for this service.
Nov. 6.] ST. LEONAED'S DAY.
ESSEX.
EVEEY tenant of the Manor of Writtell, upon St. Leonard's
Day, pays to the lord for everything under a year old a half-
penny, for every yearling pig a penny, and for every hog
above a year old twopence, for the privilege of pawnage in
the lord's woods : and this payment is called Avage or
Avisage. Blount's Law Dictionary, 1717.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
A list of holy days published at Worcester, in 1240,
ordains St. Leonard's festival to be kept a half holy day,
enjoins the hearing of mass, and prohibits all labour except
that of the plough. Every Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1382.
Nov. 9.] LORD M.. YOB'S DAY. 417
NOT 9.] LORD MAYOR'S DAY.
THE office of Chief Magistrate of London was held for life
till about 1214, nor was it until more than a hundred years
afterwards that the title of Lord was given to the Mayor.
This arose in the time of Richard II., on occasion of Wai-
worth, the Mayor of the clay, basely murdering Wat Tyler in
Smithfield.
That which in later days has leen called the Lord Mayor's
Shoio was but a degenerate copy of the old Pageant or
Triumph, which assumed a variety of forms at different times,
blending Paganism, Christianity, and chivalry in marvellous
confusion. This, however, was not always the case, for at
one time it became the fashion for the city to employ drama-
tists of note upon these matters i and there are yet extant
certain pageants by Decker, Middleton, Webster, and others,
though perhaps inferior writers. Soane's Curiosities of Litera-
ture.
With the processions, &c., of late years, most readers are
sufficiently well acquainted from the newspapers of the day.
Fully to describe those of former ages would require, however,
a volume of no mean size ; but some idea of their general
diameter may be formed from the following br'ef sketch :
The first account of this annual exhibition known to have
been published, was written by George Peele for the inaugu-
ration of Sir Wolstone Dixie, Knight, on the 29th of October
(Old Style). 1585. On that occasion, as was customary to the
times, there were dramatic representations in the procession
of an allegorical character. Children were dressed to per-
sonify the city, magnanimity, loyalty, science, the country,
and the river Thames. They also represented sailors,
soldiers, and nymphs, with appropriate speeches. The show
opened with a Moor mounted on a lynx. On Sir Thomas
Middleton's mayoralty, in 1613, the solemnity is described
as unparalleled for the cost, art, and magnificence of the
shows, pageants, chariots, morning, noon, and night triumphs.
In 1655 the city pageants, after a discontinuance of about
fourteen years, were revised. Edmund Gay ton, the author
of the description for that year, says that " our metropolis, for
2 E
418 ST. MARTIN'S DAT. [Nov. n.
these planetary pageants, was as famous and renowned in
foreign nations as for their faith, wealth, and valour." In
the show of 1659, an European, an Egyptian, and a Persian
were personated. On Lord Mayor's Day, 1671, the King,
Queen, and Duke of York, and most of the nobility being
present, there were " sundry shows, shapes, scenes, speeches,
and songs in part;" and the like in 1672 and 1673, when
the King again graced the triumphs. The King, Queen,
Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Eupert, the Duke of
Monmouth, foreign ambassadors, the chief nobility, and
Secretary of State, were at the celebration of Lord Mayor's
Day in 1674, when there " were emblematical figures, artful
pieces of architecture, and rural dancing, with pieces spoken
on each pageant." See Hone's Every Day BooJc, vol. i.
p. 1445.
Nov. ii.] ST. MARTIN'S DAY.
THE festival of St. Martin, happening at that season when
the new wines of the year are drawn from the lees and
tasted, when cattle are killed for winter food, and fat geese
are in their prime, is held as a feast day over most parts of
Christendom. On the ancient clog almanacs, the day is
marked by the figure of a goose, our bird of Michaelmas
being, on the continent, sacrificed at Martinmas. In Scotland
and the north of England, a fat ox is called a mart* clearly
from Martinmas, the usual time when beeves are killed for
winter use. Book of Days, vol ii. p. 568.
Salt Silver. In the glossary to Kennett's Parochial An-
tiquities (p. 496) is the following : " Salt Silver. One
penny paid at the Feast of St. Martin, by the servile tenants
to their lord, as a commutation for the service of carrying
their lord's salt from market to his larder."
* Mart, according to Skinner, is a fair, who considers it a contraction
of market. Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 400) saya that, had not
mart been the general name for a fair, one might have been tempted to
suppose it a contraction of Martin, the name of the saint whose day is
commemorated.
Nov. u.J BT. MABTIN'S DAY. 419
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
There is a house in Fenny Stratford, called St. Martin's
house, in the wall of which is a stone bearing the following
inscription :
" This house was settled on the parish officers of this town,
for the annual observance of St. Martin's Day." "Anno
Domini 1752."
The house is let at 5l. 4s. per annum, and the rent, after
defraying the expense of repairs, is laid out in giving an
entertainment to the inhabitants of the town. Edwards, Old
English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 59,
CAMBBIDGESHIBE.
Within the manor of Whitlesea there is a custom for the
inhabitants to choose, on the Sunday next after the feast <>f
St. Martin, two persons called storers, to overseer the public
business, and likewise to provide a common bull, in con-
sideration whereof they enjoy a certain pasture called Bull
Grass; and the major part of the freeholders and copyholders
at a meeting grant the grass every year to any person who
will take it, to have the same from Lady-day till the corn is
carried out of Coatfcfield. Blount's Fraymenta Antiquitatis,
1815, p. 576.
CUMBERLAND.
Thomas Williamson, by will, dated 14th December, 1G74,
gave the sum of 20Z. to be laid out in land to be bestowed
upon poor people born within St. John's Chapelry or
Castlerigg, in mutton or veal, at Martinmas yearly, when
flesh might be thought cheapest, to be by them pickled or
hung up and dried, that they might have something to keep
them within doors upon stormy days. Edwards, Old
English Customs and Charities, 1842, p, G3,
WABWIOKSHIRE.
Dugdale, in his Antiquities of Waricickslnre (1730, vol. i.
p. 4), says : There is a certain rent due unto the lord of
2 K 2
420 ST. MARTIN'S DAT. [Nov. u.
the Hundred of Kir'ghtlow, called Wroth money or War h
money or Swarff penny, probably the same with Ward penny.
This rent must be paid every Martinmas Day, in the morn-
ing, at Knightlow Cross, before the sun riseth : the party
paying it must go thrice about the cross, and say " The Wrath
money," and then lay it in the hole of the said cross before
good witness, for if it be not duly performed the forfeiture
is thirty shillings and a white bull.
YORKSHIRE.
In the North Riding of Yorkshire it is customary for a
party of singers, mostly consisting of women, to begin at the
feast of St. Martin a kind of peregrination round the neigh-
bouring villages, carrying with them a small waxen image
of our Saviour adorned with box and other evergreens, and
singing at the same time a hymn which, though rustic and
uncouth, is nevertheless replete with the sacred story of the
Nativity. The custom is yearly continued till Christmas Eve,
when the feasting, or as they usually call it, " good living,"
commences ; every rustic dame produces a cheese preserved
for the sacred festival, upon which, before any part of it is
tasted, according to an old custom, she with a sharp knife
makes rude incisions to represent the Cross. With this, and
i'urmity made of barley and meal, the cottage affords un-
interrupted hospitality .-^Gent. Mag. 1811, vol. Ixxxi. pt. i.
p, 423.
IRELAND.
At St. Peter's, Athlone, every family of a village, says
Mason, in his Stat. Ace. of Ireland (1819, vol. iii. p. 75),
kills an animal of some kind or other : those who are rich
kill a cow or a sheep, others a goose or a turkey ; while
those who are poor and cannot procure an animal of greater
value, kil} a hen or a cock, and sprinkle the threshold with
the blood, and do the same in the four corners of the house,
and this ceremonious performance is done to exclude every
kind of evil spirit from the dwelling where this sacrifice is
made, till the return of the same day in the following year.
Nov. 13.] ST. BEICE'S DAT. 421
Nov. 13.] ST. BEIGE'S DAY.
TJie Stamford Bull Running. FROM time immemorial down
to a late period this day was annually celebrated at the town
of Stamford, in Lincolnshire, by a rough sport called bull-
running. Butcher, in his Survey of Stamford (1717, pp. 7G,
77), alluding to this custom, says: "The butchers of the
town at their own charge provide the bull, and place him over-
night in a stable or barn belonging to the alderman. The
next morning proclamation is made by the common bell-man
of the town that each one shut up his shop-door and gate,
and that none, upon pain of imprisonment, do any violence
to strangers, for the preventing whereof (the town being a
thoroughfare and then being in Term time) a guard is
appointed for the passing of travellers through the same
without hurt. That none have any iron upon their bull-
clubs or other staff which they pursue the bull with.
Which proclamation made, and all the gates shut up, the
bull is turned out of the alderman's house, and the men,
women, and children, with all the dogs in the town, run
after him, &c."
According to tradition the origin of the custom dates from
the time of King John, when, one day, William, Earl of
Warren, standing on the battlements of the castle, saw two
bulls fighting in the meadow beneath. Some butchers,
coming to part the combatants, one of the bulls ran into the
town, causing a great uproar. The earl, mounting his horso,
rode after the animal, and enjoyed the sport so much that
he gave the meadow in which the fight began to the butchers
of Stamford, on condition that they should provide a bull, to
be run in the town annually, on the 13th of November, for
ever after.
There is no documentary evidence on the subject, but tho
town of Stamford undoubtedly holds certain common rights
in the meadow specified, which is still termed the bull-
meadow. See Book of Days, voL ii. p. 574.
422 QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ACCESSION. [Nov. 17,
Nov. H.J St. EECONWALD'S DAY.
STRYPE, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. pt. i.
p. 322), says : " It was commanded, that every priest in the
diocese of London should go to St. Paul's in procession in
copes on St. Erconwald's Day." [November 14th, 1554].
Nov. 17.] QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ACCESSION.
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S accession was long observed as a Pro-
testant festival, and with the society of the Temple, the
Exchequer, Christ's Hospital, Westminster, and Merchant
Taylors' Schools, is, says Timbs, kept as a holiday. The Pope
in effigy, in a chair of state, with the devil, a real person,
behind him, caressing him, &c., was formerly paraded in pro-
cession on this day in the streets of London, and afterwards
thrown into a bonfire. In Queen Anne's time the Pretender
was added to the Pope and the devil. There were also great
illuminations in the evening. This anniversary was first
publicly celebrated about 1570, twelve years after Elizabeth's
accession. (Timbs, Something for Everybody, p. 122.) Brayley
in his Londiniana, vol. iv. p. 74, et seq., has given a very
interesting account of these processions.
A correspondent of N. & Q. (1st S. vol. iv. p. 345) says
that when he was at Christ's Hospital the following curious
custom prevailed on the 17th of November.
Two or more boys would take one against whom they had
any spite or grudge, and having lifted him by the arms and
legs, would bump him on the hard stones of the cloisters.
In reading Sir Roger de Coverley, with notes by Willis
published in the Traveller's Library, the same correspondent
says that he found (at p. 134) what he considered a fair ex-
planation. A full account is there given, he says, of the
manner in which the citizens of London intended celebrating,
in 1711, the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession on
the 17th of November, some parts of which would almost
Nov. 23.] ST. CLEMENT'S DAT. 423
seem to have been copied during the excitement against the
papal bull in November 1850. Probably therefore, originally,
the unfortunate boy who had to endure the rude bumping
by his schoolfellows was intended to represent the Pope or
one of his emissaries, and that those who inflicted the
punishment were looked upon as good Protestants.
Nov. 23] ST. CLEMENT'S DAY.
THE festival day of St. Clement was formerly considered
as the first day of winter, in which were comprised ninety-
one days. From a State proclamation in 1540 it appears
that processions of children were frequent on St. Clement's
Day ; and, in consequence of a still more ancient custom of
perambulating the streets on the night of this festival to
beg drink for carousing, a pot was formerly marked against
the 23rd of November upon the old runic or clog almanacs;
but not upon all. Med. JEci Kalend. 1841, vol. i. p. 60.;
Plot, History of Sta/ordshire, 1686, p. 430; see Cough's
Camden Brit. voL ii. pt. ivi. p. 499.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
The bakers of Cambridge hold an annual supper on St.
Clement's Day, which supper is called the " Baker's Clem."
N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. iv. p. 492.
KENT.
In Every Day Book (1826, vol. i. p. 1501) is the following
account of an annual ceremony formerly celebrated on tho
evening of St. Clement's Day, by the blacksmiths' apprentices
of the dockyard at Woolwich :
One of the senior apprentices being chosen to serve as
Old Clem (so called by them), is attired in a great coat,
having his head covered with an oakum wig, face masked,
and a long white beard ; thus attired, he seats himself in a
large wooden chair, chiefly covered with a sort of stuff called
424 BT. CLEMENT'S DAY. [Nov. 23.
bunting, with a crown and anchor, made of wood, on the top
and around it, four transparencies representing the " Black-
smiths' Arms," " Anchor Smiths at Work," " Britannia with
her Anchor," and " Mount Etna." He has before him a
wooden anvil, and in his hands a pair of tongs and wooden
hammer. A mate, also masked, attends him with a wooden
sledge-hammer ; he is also surrounded by a number of other
attendants, some of whom carry torches, banners, flags, &c. ;
others, battle-axes, tomahawks, and other accoutrements of
war. This procession, headed by a drum and fife, and six
men with Old Clem mounted on their shoulders, proceed
round the town, not forgetting to call on the blacksmiths and
officers of the dockyard : here the money-box is pretty freely
handed, after Old Clem and his mate have recited their
speeches, which commence by the mate calling for order
with,
" Gentlemen nil, attention give,
And wish St. Clem long, long to live."
Old Clem then recites the following speech :
" I am the real St. Clement, the first founder of brass,
iron, and steel, from the ore. I have been to Mount Etna,
where the god Vulcan first built his forge, and forged the
armour and thunderbolts for the god Jupiter. I have been
through the deserts of Arabia ; through Asia, Africa, and
America ; through the city of Pongrove, through the town of
Tipmingo, and all the northern parts of Scotland. , I arrived
in London on the 23rd of November, and came down to his
Majesty's dockyard at Woolwich to see how all the gentle-
men Vulcans came on there. I found them all hard at work,
and wish to leave them well on the twenty-fourth."
The mate then subjoins :
" Come all you Vulcans stout and strong,
Unto St. Clem we do belong ;
I know this house is well prepared
With plenty of money and good strong beer ;
And we must drink before we part,
All for to cheer e;ich merry heart.
Come sill you Vulcans, strong and stout,
Unto St. Clem I pray turn out ;
For now St. Clem's going round the k wn,
His coaoh-and-six goes merrily round.
Huzza a a."
Nov. 23.] ST. CLEMENT'S DAT. 425
After having gone round the town and collected a pretty
decent sum, they retire to some public --house, uhere they
enjoy as good a supper as the money collected will allow.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
On the feast of St Clement, a custom exists in Stafford-
shire for the children to go round to the various houses in
the village to which they belong singing the following
doggerel :
" Clemany ! Clemany ! Clemany mine !
A good red apple and a pint of wine,
Some of your mutton and some of your votu.
If it is good, pray give me a dcnl ;
If it is not, pray give me some salt.
Butler, butler, fill your bowl ;
If thou fillst it of the best,
The Lord'll send your soul to rest
If thou fillst it of the small,
Down ges butler, buwl and all.
Pray, good mistress, send to me
One for Peter, one for Paul,
One for Him who made us all :
Apple, pear, plum, or cherry,
Any good thing to make us merry ;
A bouncing buck and a velvet chair,
Ck-ment comes but once a year ;
Off with the pot and on with the pan,
A good red apple and I'll be gone."
N. # Q. 1st. S. vol. viii. p. 618.
The following rhyme is also sung :
" Clemeny, Clemeny, God be wi* you,
Christmas conies but once a ye-ar ;
When it comes, it will soon be gone,
Give me an apple, and I'll be gone."
Ibid. 3rd. S. vol. iv. p. 492 ; See Oliver's History of
Collegiate Cfiurch of Wolverhampton, ISrIG, p, 16.
WALES.
At Tenby, on St. Clement's Day, it was customary for the
owners of fishing-boats to give a supper of roast goose and
rice pudding to their crews. Mason's Tales and Traditions of
Tcnby, 1858, p. 27.
426 ST. OATHEUINE'S DAY. [Nov. 25.
Nov. 24.] ST. CATHEKINE'S EVE.
IN Stiype's Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii.
p. 507) is the following notice of this festival :
The 24th (1556) being St. Katharine's Day (or rather
Eve), at six of the clock at night St. Katharine went about
the battlements of St. Paul's Church accompanied with fine
singing and great lights ; this was St. Katharine's procession."
Nov. 25.] ST. CATHEEINE'S DAY.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
ON Cattern Day the lace makers hold merry-makings, and
eat a sort of cakes called " wigs " * and drink ale. Tradition
says it is in remembrance of Queen Catherine, who, when the
trade was dull, burnt all her lace, and ordered new to be
made. The ladies of the court could not but follow her
example, and the consequence was a great briskness in the
manufacture. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. i. p. 387.
CAMBBIDGESHIBE.
A paragraph in the Cambridge Chronicle (December 8th,
1860) alludes to the custom of the carpenters of Chatteris, in
the Isle of Ely, observing the feast of their patron Saint,
St. Catherine, by dining together, &c.
* Cakes called "wigs" were very commonly sold iu the Midland
counties borne years ago, and they are even mentioned as allowable at
the collation in Lent by a Catholic writer nearly two centuries ago.
They were light and spongy, and something like very light ginger-
bread. As to the derivation of the name " wis< ' as applied to them, a
correspondent of Notes and Queries says he never dreamed of seeing it
any where but in the shape of these cakes, which greatly resembled a
wig; being roun I, and having a thick rim round them, which turned
up like the curls of a wig of the olden times. See JV. & Q. 3rd. S. vol. i.
p. 4S6.
Nov. 25.] ST. CATHERINE'S DAT. 427
KENT.
The following extract is taken from N. & Q. (2nd S.
vol v. p. 47) : On Wednesday (the 25th) night last the
towns of Chatham, Kochester, and Brompton exhibited con-
siderable excitement in consequence of a torchlight proces-
sion appearing in the streets, headed by a band of fifes and
drums. Notwithstanding the late hour (eleven o'clock) a
large number of persons of both sexes, accompanied the
party. The demonstration was got up by the rope-makers
of the dockyard, to celebrate the anniversary of the founder
of the ropery (Queen Catherine). The female representing
her Majesty (who was borne in a chair of state by six rope-
makers) was dressed in white muslin, wore a gilt crown, and
carried in her hand a Roman banner.
NOBTHAMPTONSHIBK.
At one time it was customary, at Peterborough, till the
introduction of the new poor laws, for the female children
belonging to the workhouse, attended by the master, to go
in procession round the city on St. Catherine's Day. They
were all attired in white, and decorated with various coloured
ribbons, principally scarlet ; the tallest girl was selected to
represent the Queen, and was adorned with a crown and
sceptre. The procession stopped at the houses of the prin-
cipal inhabitants, and they sang the following rude ballad,
begging for money at every house as they passed along :
" Here comes Queen Catherine, as fine as any queen,
With a coach and six horses a coining to be seen.
And a spinning we will go, will go, will go,
And a spinning we will go.
Some say she is alivp, and some say she is dead,
Aud now she doe^ appear with a crown upon her head.
And a spinning we will go, &c.
Old Madam Marshall she takes up her pen,
And then she sits and calls for all her royal men.
Aud a spinning we will go, &c.
All yon that wunt employment, though spinning is but small,
Come list, and don't stand still, but go and work for all.
And a spinning we will go, &o.
ST. CATHERINE'S DAT. [Nov. 25.
If we set a spinning, we will either work or play,
But if we set a spinning we can earn a crown a day.
And a, spinning we will go, &c.
And if there be some young men, as I suppose there's some,
We'll hardly let them stand alone upon t.he cold stone.
And a spinning we will go, &c."
St. Catherine being the patron of the spinners, as well as
of spinsters, and spinning being formerly the employment
of the females at the workhouse, it naturally followed that
they should be selected to commemorate the anniversary
of this Saint ; and that this commemoration is of great
antiquity appears from the early entries in the Dean and
Chapter's accounts of payments on St. Catherine's Day for
wheels and reels for the children of the workhouse. Baker,
Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases, 1854, vol. ii.
p. 436.
A correspondent of JV. & Q. (4/7t S. vol. ii. p. 332), allud-
ing to the above custom, says that it was not confined to
Peterborough, but was observed throughout the whole of
the Northamptonshire lace-making districts, as well as in
those of Bedfordshire. According to popular tradition the
custom is derived from one of the Queens Catherine in the
time of Henry VIII. probably from Catherine Parr, who
was a Northamptonshire woman. By some this day is called
" Candle Day," from its forming the commencement of the
season for working at lace-making by candle-light.
ISLE OF THANET.
On St. Catherine's Day in the Isle of Thanet, the carters
place a small figure on a wheel on the front of their cart
sheds. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. v. p. 235.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
In this county the children go round to the farmhouses
collecting apples and beer for a festival, and sing the follow-
ing lines :
" Catherine and Clement, be here, be here,
Some of your apples, and some of your beer ;
Some for Peter, and some for Paul,
And some for Him that made us all,
Nov. 30.] 6T. ANDREW'S DAT. 429
Clement was a good man,
For his sake j<ive us some,
\<>t of the worse, but some of the best,
And God will seud your soul to reet."
The Chapter of Worcester have a practice of preparing a
rich bowl of wine and spices, called the " Cathern bowl,"
for the inhabitants of the college upon this day. HalliwelTs
Popular Rhymes, 1849, p. 238 ; see N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. iv.
pp. 4U5, 4%.
Nov. 30. J ST. ANDEEWS DAY.
THK commencement ot the ecclesiastical year is regulated by
the feast of St. Andrew, the nearest Sunday to which, whether
before or after, constitutes the first Sunday in Advent, or
the period of four weeks which heralds the approach of
Christmas. St. Andrew's Day is thus sometimes the first
and sometimes the last festival in the Christian Year. Book
of Days, vol ii. p. 636.
KENT.
Hasted, in his History of Kent (vol. ii. p. 757), speaking
of the parish of Eastling, says that, on St. Andrew's Day,
there is a yearly diversion called squirrel-hunting in this and
the neighbouring parishes, when the labourers and lower kind
of people, assembling together, form a lawless rabble, and
being accoutred with guns, poles, clubs and other such
weapons, spend the greater part of the day in parading
through the woods and grounds, with loud shoutings, and
under pretence of demolishing the squirrels, some few of
which they kill, they destroy numbers of hares, pheasants,
partridges, and, in short, whatever comes in their way, breaking
down the hedges, and doing much other mischief, and, in the
evening betaking themselves to the ale-houses, finish their
career there as is usual with such sort of gentry.
MlDDLESF.X.
Strype, in his Jlcctoiatt'cal Memorials (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii.
p. 21 ), says : " The 30th November [1557] being St. Andrew's
BT. ANDREW'S DAT. [Nov. 30.
Day, was a procession at Paul's, and a priest of every parish
attending, each in his cope, and a goodly sermon preached,
and after that, the procession, with salve festa dies."
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE .
Tander and Tandrew are the names given to the festival
of St. Andrew, of whicli they are corruptions.
The anniversary of this saint is, or rather was, kept by the
lacemakers as a day of festivity and merry-making ; but since
the use of pillow-lace has in a great measure given place to
that of the loom, this holiday has been less and less observed.
The day in former times was one of unbridled licence :
village " scholards " barred out their master ; the lace schools
were deserted ; and drinking and feasting prevailed to a riotous
extent. Towards evening the villagers used to become sud-
denly smitten with a violent taste for masquerading. Women
might be seen walking about in male attire, while men and
boys clothed in female dress visited each other's cottages,
drinking hot " eldern wine," the staple beverage of the season.
Then commenced the mumming. Sternberg, Dialect and
Folk Lore of Northamptonshire 1851, p. 183; A. E. Baker,
Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases, 1854, vol. ii.
p. 326.
SUSSEX.
A correspondent of the Athenaum (No. 993) says that
the custom of squirrel-hunting was at one time kept up in
this county, but, in consequence of the inclosure of the
coppices and the more strict observance of the game, it has
wholly dropped.
SCOTLAND.
In Scotland this day is called Andrys Day, Androiss Mess,
and Andermess.
Singed sheep's heads are borne in the proeession before
the Scots in London on St. Andrew's Day. Brand's Pop.
Antiq. 1849, voL L p. 415.
DEC.] PICECUS DAY.
STIR UP SUNDAY.
THE 25th Sunday after Trinity is called by the schoolboys
" Stir Up Sunday," from the collect used on that day ; and they
repeat the following lines without considering their irreverent
application :
" Stir up, we beseech thee.
The pudding in the pot,
And when we g-t home,
We'll eat it all hot."
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1859, vol. i. p. 414; See Timet,
November 25th, 1863.
ADVENT.
Advent Bells. Advent bells are rung in many parishes
throughout various parts of England during tho month of
December. A correspondent of N. & Q. (1st S. vol. i. p. 21)
says that, in his neighbourhood on the western borders of
Berks he has heard their merry peals break gladsomely
upon the dark stillness of the cold evening from many a
steeple round.
ISLE OF MAN.
Train, in his History of the Isle of Man (1845, vol. ii. p.
127), says, that the fiddlers go round from house to house, in
the latter part of the night for two or three weeks before
Christmas, playing a tune called the Andisop. On their way
they stop before particular houses, wish the inmates indi-
vidually " good morning," call the hour, then report tho state
of the weather, and after playing an air, move on to tho next
halting-place.
PICROUS DAY.
CORNWALL.
THE Second Thursday before Christmas Day is a festival
observed by the tinners of the district of Blackmore, and
432 ST. NICHOLAS' DAY. [DEC. 6.
known as " Picrous Day." It is said to be the feast of the
discovery of tin by a man named Picrous. It is not at
present marked by any distinctive ceremonies, but it is the
occasion of a merry-making, and the owner of the tin stream
contributes a shilling a man towards it. Mr. T. Q. Couch
says his first impression was that the day took its name
from the circumstance of a pie forming the piece de resistance
of the supper ; but this explanation is not allowed by tinners,
nor sanctioned by the usages of the feast. Hunt's Romances
of the West of England, 1871, p. 468.
DEC. 5.} ST. NICHOLAS' EVE.
STBTPE, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. part. i.
p. 326), says : " On the 5th December [1554 J, the which
was St. Nicholas' Eve, at evensong time, came a command-
ment that St. Nicholas should not go abroad nor about. But,
notwithstanding, it seems, so much were the citizens taken
with the mock St. Nicholas, that is, a boy-bishop, that there
went about three St. Nicholases in divers parishes, as in
St. Andrew's Holborn and St. Nicolas Olave's in Bread Street.
The reason the procession of St. Nicholas was forbid was
because the Cardinal had this St. Nicholas' Day sent for all
the convocation, bishops, and inferior clergy, to come to him
to Lambeth, there to be absolved from, all their prejudices,
schisms, and heresies."
DEO. 6.] ST. NICHOLAS' DAY.
THE BOY-BISHOP.
ST. NICHOLAS was deemed the patron of children in general,
but much more particularly of all schoolboys, amongst whom
the 6th of December (the saint's festival) used to be a very
great holiday for more than one reason. In those bygone
times all little boys either sang or served about the altar at
DEC. 6.] ST. NICHOLAS' DAT. 433
church ; and the first thing they did upon the eve of thoir
patron's festival was to elect from among themselves, in every
parish church, cathedral, and nobleman's chapel, a bishop
and bis officials, or, as they were then called, " a Nicholas
and his clerks." This boy-bishop and his ministers after-
wards sang the first vespers of their saint, and, in the
evening, arrayed in their appropriate vestments, walked all
about the parish ; all were glad to see them, and those who
could afford it asked them into their houses to bestow a
gift of money, sweetmeats, or food upon them. In the year
1299 we find Edward I., on his way to Scotland, permitting
one of these boy-bishops to say vespers before him in his
chapel at Heton, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and making a
considerable present to the said bishop and certain other
boys that came and sang with him on the occasion, on the
7th of December, the day after St. Nicholas' Day. What
was the custom in the houses of our nobles we may learn
from the Northumberland Household Book, which tells us
that " My lord us ;th and accustomyth to gyfe yerly, upon
Saynt Nicolas-Even, if he kepe chapell for Sayut Nicolas,
to the master of his childeren of his chapell, for one of the
childeren of his chapell, yerely, vi'- viii d< ; and if Saynt
Nicolas com owt of the towne wher my lord lyeth, and my
lord kepe no chapell, than to have yerely Hi*' iiij d -" At
Eton College, it was on St. Nicholas' Day, and not on
Childermas, that the boy-bishop officiated, which he did not
only at evensong, but at mass, which he began and went en
with up to the more solemn part at the offertory : " In festo
Sancti Nicholai, in quo, et nullatenus in festo Sanctorum
Innocentium, divina officia praeter missae secreta exequi et
dici permittimus per episcopum puerorum scholiarium ad
hoc de eisdem annis singulis eligendum."
It was upon this festival that some wealthy man or other
of the parish would make an entertainment on the occasion
for his own household, and invite his neighbours' children
to come and partake of it ; and, of course, Nicholas and his
clerks sat in the highest place. The Golden Legend tells how
" a man, for the love of his sone that wente to scole for to
Icrne, halowed every year the feest of Saynt Nycholas mocha
eolemply. On a time it happed that the fader had doo maka
2 F
434 ST. NICHOLAS' DAT. [DEC. 6.
redy the dyner, and called many clerkes to this dyner."
Individuals sometimes bequeathed money to find a yearly
dinner on St. Nicholas' day for as many as a hundred Childer-
mas' tide scholars, who were, after meat, to pray for the soul of
the founder of the feast. In our large schools and universities
the festival was kept with public sports and games. But it
was at Holy Innocents, or Childermas' tide, that Nicholas and
his clerks came forth in all their glory. The boy-bishop
had a set of pontificals provided for him. St. Paul's, London,
had its "una mitra alba cum flosculis breudatis ad opus
episcopi parvulorum baculus ad usum episcopi parvulorum ;"
York Minster, too, its "una capa de tissue pro episcopo
puerorum ;" Lincoln Cathedral, " a cope of red velvet, ordained
for the barn-bishop ;" All Souls' College, Oxford, "j. chem.
(ches. ?) j. cap et mitra pro episcopo Nicholao;" St. Mary's
Church, Sandwich, "a lytyll chesebyll for Seynt Nicholas
bysschop." For the boy-bishop's attendants copes were
also made, and York had no fewer than " novem capae pro
pueris."
Towards the end of evensong on St. John's Day the little
Nicholas and his clerks, arrayed in their copes, and having
burning tapers in their hands, and singing those words of
the Apocalypse (c. xiv.) "Centum quadraginta" walked
processionally from the choir to the altar of the Blessed
Trinity, which the boy-bishop incensed ; afterwards they
all sang the anthem, and he recited the prayer commemorative
of the Holy Innocents. Going back into the choir these
boys took possession of upper canons' stalls, and those
dignitaries themselves had to serve in the boys' place, and
carry the candles, the thurible, and the book like, acolytes,
thurifers, and lower clerks. Standing on high, wearing his
mitre, and holding his pastoral staff in his left hand, the
boy-bishop gave a solemn benediction to all present, and,
while making the sign of the Cross over the kneeling crowd,
said:
u Crucis eigno voa consigno ; vestra sit tuitio,
Quos nos tmit et redemit sue carnis pretio."
The next day, the feast itself of Holy Innocents, the boy-
bishop preached a sermon, which of course had been written
DEC. 6.] BT. NICHOLAS' DAY. 435
for him; and one from the pen of Erasmus, "Concio de
puero lesn," spoken by a boy of St. Paul's School, London,
is still extant, and Dean-Colet, the founder of that seminary,
in his statutes for it, ordained that "all these children shall,
every Childermas Daye, come to Paulis Churche, and hear
the childe bishop sermon ; and after be at the high masse,
and each of them offer a i d ' to the cbilde bysshop, and with
them the maisters and surveyors of the scole." At evensong
bishop Nicholas and his clerks officiated as on the day
before, and until Archbishop Peckham's times, used to take
some conspicuous part in the services of the church during
the whole octave of Childermas tide. About 1279 A.D. that
primate decreed, however, thus : " Puerilia autem solennia,
qute in festo solent fieri Innocentum post vesperas 8.
Johannis tantum inchoari permittimus, et in crastino in ipsa
die Innocentum totaliter terminentur." This festival, like St.
Nicholas' Day, had its good things ; and then, as now, was
marked by a better dinner in nunneries, wherein the little
boys who had served at the altars of the nuns' churches were
not forgotten, as we see by the expenses of St. Mary do
Frees : " Paid for makyng of the dyner to the susters up on
Childermas Day, iii*' iiij d- It. Paid for brede and ale for
Saint Nicholas, iii"
If schoolboys had the patron St. Nicholas, little girls had
their patroness too, St. Catherine, who by her learning
overthrew the cavilings of many heathen philosophers and
won some of them to Christianity. On this holy martyr's
festival, therefore, did the girls walk about the towns in their
procession. All this was looked upon with a scowl by those
who pulled down the Church of God in this land: hence
Cranmer, towards the end of Henry VIII.'s reign, forbade
these and other like processions: "Whereas heretofore
dyverse and many superstitious (?) and childysshe observa-
tions have been used, and yet to this day are observed and
kept in many and sondry parties of this realm, as upon
Sainte Nicolas, Sainte Catheryne, Sainte Clement, the Holy
Innooentcs, and such like ; children be strangelye decked and
apparolid to couuterfaito priestes, byshoppes, and women ;
and so ledde with songes and daunces from house to house,
blcassing the people, and gatherynge of monyo, and boyes doo
2 F 14
436 ST. NICHOLAS' DAT. [Dice. 6.
singe masse and prcache in the pulpitt . . . the Kyng's
majestie willith and commaundeth that from henceforth all
suche superstitious be loste and clyerlye exstinguished,"
&c. Queen Mary restored these rites, and the people were
glad to see this, along with other of their old religious
usages, given back to them ; and an eye-witness tells us
that, in A.D. 1556, " the V. day of December was Sant
Necolas evyn, and Sant Necolas whentt abrod in most partt
in London, syngyng after the old fassyon, aud was reseyvyd
with mony good pepulle into their howses, and had mych
good chere as ever they had, in mony plasses."
Some have thought that it was owing to his early abstinence
that St. Nicholas was chosen patron of schoolboys ; a better
reason perhaps is given to us by a writer in the Gent. Mag.
(1777, vol. xlvii. p. 158), who mentions having in his posses-
sion an Italian life of St. Nicholas, from which he translates
the following story, which explains the occasion of boys
addressing themselves to St. Nicholas' patronage:
" The fame of St. Nicholas' virtues was so great that an
Asiatic gentleman, on sending his two sons to Athens for
education, ordered them to call on the bishop for his bene-
diction ; but they, getting to Myra late in the day, thought
proper to defer their visit till the morrow, and took up their
lodgings at an inn, where the landlord, to secure their bag-
gage and effects to himself, murdered them in their sleep
and then cut them into pieces, salting them, and putting
them into a pickling tub with some pork, which was there
already, meaning to sell the whole as such. The bishop,
however, having a vision of this impious transaction, im-
mediately resorted to the inn, and calling the host to him,
reproached him for his horrid villany. The man, percei.ing
that he was discovered, confessed his crime, and entreated
the bishop to intercede on his behalf to the Almighty for his
pardon, who being moved with compassion at his contrite
behaviour, confession, and thorough repentance, besought
Almighty God not only to pardon the murderer, but also,
for the glory of His name, to restore life to the poor innocents
who had been so inhumanly put to death. The saint had
hardly finished his prayer when the mangled and detached
portion.s of the youths were, by Divine Power, reunited, and
DEC. 13.] ST. BABCHAN'S DAT. 487
perceiving themselves alive, threw themselves at the feet of
the holy man to kiss and embrace them. But the bishoj
not suffering their humiliation, raised them up, exhorting them
to return thanks to Almighty God for this mark of His
mercy, and gave them good advice for the future conduct of
their lives; and then, giving them the bless : ng, he sent them
with great joy to prosecute their studies at Athens." D.
Rock, Tl<# Church of our Fathers, 1853, vol. iii. part. ii. p.
215.
DEC. 8.] CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY.
STRTPE, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials (1822, vol. iii. part
1. p. 327), says : " The 8th December (1554), being the day
of the Conception of our Blessed Lady, was a goodly pro-
cession at the Savoy by the Spaniards, the priest carrying the
Sacrament between his hands, and one deacon carrying a
censer censing, and another the holy- water stock, and a
number of friars and priests singing; and eveiy man and
woman, knights also and gentlemen, bearing green tapers
burning, and eight trumpets blowing; and when they ceased,
then began the sackbuts to play, and when they had done,
there was one who carried two drums on his back, and one
came after beating them. And so done, they went about the
Savoy, now singing, and a while after playing again, and by-
and-by came singing into the church, and after that they
went to mass."
DEC. 13.] ST. BARCHAN'S DAY.
SCOTLAND.
His day is still celebrated at Kilbarchan by a fair, held
on the 1st of December, Old Style, (13th December, New
Style.) This rustic festival is alluded to in the Laird of
Bel trees' poem on the life and death of the famous piper
of Kilbarchan, Habbie Simpson :
433 ST. THOMAS' DAT. [DEC. 21.
" Fne kindly to his neighbour's nicst,
A t Beltane and St. Barchan's feast.
He blew and then held up his breist,
As he were wead ;
But now we needna him arreist,
For now he's deid 1"
Chambers's Pop. Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p. 391.
DEO. 14.] ST. TIBBA'S DAY.
THIS day was formerly celebrated in Rutlandshire by fowlers
and falconers, who regarded the saint as their peculiar
patroness. Camden mentions the town of Kihall as par-
ticularly addicted to this superstitious observance,* and
the passage, which is strongly expressed, was ordered to be
expunged from his Britannia by the Index Expurgationis,
printed at Madrid in 1612 by Louis Sanchez. Med. Mvi
Kalend. vol. i. p. 82.
DEO. 17.] SOW DAY.
SCOTLAND.
Ax Sandwick, in the Orkneys, it is usual for every family to
kill a sow, whence this day is called Sow Day. This custom
probably has some reference to the heathen worship of the
sun, to which, among the northern nations, the male of this
animal was sacred. Sinclair, StaL Ace. of Scotland, 1793,
vol. xvi. p. 460 ; Med. Mm Kalend. vol. i. p. 82.
DEC. 21.] ST. THOMAS' DAY.
IN some parts of the country St. Thomas' Day is observed
by a custom called Going a Gooding.\ The poor people go
* Kihall, ubi cum majores nostros ita fascinasset superstitio, ut
deorum multitudine Deum verum propemodum sustulisset, Tibba
minorum gentium diva, quasi Diana ab aucupibus utique rei accipi-
trarise prases colebatur. Britan. 8vo. Lond. edit. 1590, p. 419.
t Northamptonshire, Kent, Sussex, Herefordshire, Worcester-
shire, etc.
Dec. 21.] ST. THOMAS' DAT. 433
round the parish and call at the houses of the principal
inhabitants, begging money or provisions wherewith to
celebrate the approaching festivity of Christmas. In return
for the alms bestowed during these " gooding " peregrinations,
it was customary for the recipients, in former times, to
present to their benefactors a sprig of holly or mistletoe.
Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 724 ; see Gent. Mag. 1794, yol. Ixiv.
p. 292.
Girls, says Halliwell, used to have a method of divination
with a " St. Thomas's Onion," for the purpose of ascertaining
their future partners. They peeled the onion, wrapped it up
in a clean handkerchief, and then, placing it under their
heads, said the following lines :
Good St. Thomas, do me right,
And see my true love come to-night,
That I may see him in the face,
And him in my kind arms embrace."
One of the old cries of London was, " Buy my rope of
onions white St. Thomas's Onions." Popular Wtymes, 1849,
p. 224.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
An ancient annual payment of 51. out of an estate at
Biddenham, formerly belonging to the family of Boteler,
and now the property of Lord Viscount Hampden, is
regularly paid on St. Thomas's Day to the overseers of the
poor for the purchase of a bull, which is killed, and the flesh
thereof given amongst the poor persons of the parish. For
many years past the annual fund, being insufficient to
purchase a bull, the deficiency has been made good out of
other charities belonging to the parish. It was proposed
some years ago by the vicar that the 5/. a year should be
laid out in buying meat, but the poor insisted on thu
customary purchase of a bull being continued, and the usage
is accordingly kept up. Edwards, Old English Customs and
Chanties, 1842, p. 64.
BERKSHIRE.
The cruel practice of bull-baiting was continued annually
on St. Thomas's Day, in the market place of the town of -
4.40 ST. THOMAS' DAT. [DEC. 21.
Wokingham so lately as 1821. In 1822, upon the passing
of the Act against cruelty to animals, the corporation resolved
on abolishing the custom. The alderman (as the chief
magistrate is called there) went with his officers in pro-
cession, and solemnly pulled up the bull-ring, which had
from time immemorial been fixed in the market-place.
The bull-baiting at Wokingham was regarded with no
ordinary attachment by the inhabitants ; for, besides the
love of sport, it was here connected with something more
solid, viz., the Christmas dinner. In 1661, George Staverton
gave by will, out of his Staines house, after the death of his
wife, 4J. to buy a bull for the use of the poor of Wokingham
parish, to be increased to 6Z. after the death of his wife and
her daughter, the bull to be baited, and then cut up, " one
poor's piece not exceeding another's in bigness." Great was
the wrath of the populace in 1822 at the loss, not of the
beef for the corporation duly distributed the meat but of
the baiting. They vented their rage for successive years in
occasional breaches of the peace. They found out, often
informed by the sympathising farmer or butcher, where the
devoted animal was domiciled ; proceeded at night to liberate
him from stall or meadow, and to chase him across the country
with all the noisy accompaniments imaginable. So long was
this feeling kept alive that, thirteen years afterwards, viz.,
in 1835, the mob broke into the place where one of the two
animals to be divided was abiding and baited him, in
defiance of the authorities, in the market-place ; one en-
thusiastic individual, tradition relates, actually lying on the
ground and seizing the miserable brute by the nostril with
his own teeth. This was not to be endured, and a sentence
of imprisonment in Heading Gaol cooled the ardour of the
ringleaders, and gave the coup de grace to the sport. The
bequest of Staverton now yields an income of 20/., and
has for several years been appropriated to the purchase of
two bulls. The flesh is divided and distributed annually
on St. Thomas's Day by the alderman, churchwardens, and
overseers, to nearly every poor family (between 200 and
BOO), without regard to their receiving parochial relief.
The produce of the ofial and hide is laid out in tho purchase
of shoes and stockings for the poor women and children.
DEC. 21.] BT. THOMAS' DAT. 441
The bulls' tongues are recognised by courtesy as the per-
quisites of the alderman and town clerk. N. & Q. 2nd S.
vol. v. p. 35.
CHESHIRE.
The poor people go from farm to farm " a-thomasin," and
generally carry with them a bag and a can, into which meal,
flour, and corn, are put. Begging on this day is universal
in this and the neighbouring counties. Jour, of the Arch.
Assoc. 1850, vol. v. p. 253.
DOBSETSHIBE.
At the village of Thornton, near Sherborne, a cnstom pre-
vails amongst the tenants of the manor, of depositing five
shillings in a hole in a certain tombstone in the churchyard,
which precludes the lord of the manor from taking the tithe
of hay during the year. This must be done before twelve
o'clock on St. Thomas's Day, or the privilege is void. Med.
JEci Kalend. 1842, vol. i. p. 83.
There was a custom very generally practised in some
parts of this county, and which may even now be practised.
A few days before Christmas the women, children, and old
men in a parish would visit by turns the houses of their
wealthier neighbours, and in return for, and in recognition
of Christmas greetings, and their general demand of " Please
give me something to keep up a Christmas," would receive
substantial pieces or "hunks" of bread and cheese, bread
and meat, or small sums of money. The old and infirm of
either sex were generally represented by their children or
grandchildren, those only being refused the dole who did
not belong to the parish. N. & Q. 4.th S. vol. x. p. 494.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
St. Thomas's Day is called by the poor inhabitants of this
county " Mumping Day ;" and the custom of going from
house to house asking for contributions, is termed going
a-mumping.
442 BT. THOMAS' DAY. [DEO. 21.
HERTFORDSHIRE.
Small pyramids, says Fosbroke (Encyclopaedia of Anti-
quities, 1840, p. 661), formed of gilt evergreens, apples, and
nuts, are carried about at this time in Hertfordshire for
presents.
ISLE OP MAN.
Formerly, it was customary for the people to go to the
mountains to catch deer and sheep for Christmas, and in the
evening always to kindle a large fire on the top of every
fingan or cliff. Hence, at the time of casting peats, every
one laid aside a large one, saying : " Faaid mooar moayney
son oie'l fingan," that is, " A large turf for Fingan's Eve."
Train, History of Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 124; Cregeen's
Manks Dictionary, p. 67.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Samuel Higgs, by his will, bearing date llth May, 1820
(as appears from the church tablet), gave 50Z. to the vicar
and churchwardens of the parish of Farnsfield, and directed
that the interest should be given every year on the 21st of
December, in equal proportions, to the poor men and women
who could repeat the Lord's prayer, the creed, and the ten
commandments, before the vicar or other such person as he
should appoint to hear them. The interest is applied
according to the donor's orders, and the poor persons
appointed to partake of the charity continue to receive it
during their lives. Edwards, Old English Customs and
Charities, 1842, p. 209.
OXFORDSHIRE.
At Tainton, a quarter of barley is provided annually, at
the expense of Lord Dynevor, the lord of the manor, and
made into loaves called " cobbs." These were formerly given
away in Tainton church to such of the poor children of
Burford as attended. A sermon was preached on St. Thomas's
Day, 6s. 8d. being paid out of Lord Dynevor's estate to the
DEC. 21.] ST. THOMAS' DAT, 443
preacher. The children, however, made so much riot and
disturbance in the church, that, about the year 1809,
it was thought better to distribute the cobbs in a stable
belonging to one of the churchwardens, which course has
been pursued ever since. Edwards, Old English Customs and
Chanties, 1842, p. 25.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
In many parts of this county not only the old women and
widows, but representatives from every poor family in the
parish, go round for alms. The clergyman is expected to
give one shilling to each person, and consequently the
celebration of the day is attended with no small expense.
Some of the parishioners give alms in money, others in kind.
Thus, for example, some of the farmers give corn, which the
millers grind gratis. In some places the money collected is
given to the clergyman and churchwardens, who, on the
Sunday nearest to St. Thomas's Day, distribute.it at the
vestry. The fond is called St. Thomas's Dole, and the day
itself Doleing Day. N. & Q- 2nd S. voL iv. pp. 103, 487.
SUSSEX.
A sum of 151. was placed in the Arundel Savings-Bank
in the year 1824, the interest of which is distributed on St.
Thomas's Day. It is said that this money was found, many
years since, on the person of a beggar, who died by the road-
side ; and the interest of it has always been appropriated by
the parish officers for the use of the poor. Edwards, Old
English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 129.
WARWICKSHIRE.
In this county it is customary for the poor people to visit
the farm-houses to beg contributions of corn. This is called
going a-corning.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
At Harvington the following rhyme is sung :
" Wissal, wassail through the town,
If you've got any apples throw them down ;
ST. THOMAS' DAT. [DEC. 21.
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."
N. & Q. 1st S. vol. viii. p. G17.
YORKSHIBE.
Drake, in his Eboracum (1736, p. 217), gives the following
account of a custom that once existed at York on St.
Thomas's Day, which he says he obtained from a manuscript
that fell into his hands. " William the Conqueror, in the
third year of his reign (on St. Thomas's Day), laid siege to
the city of York, but finding himself unable, either by
policy or strength, to gain it, raised the siege, which he had
no sooner done, but by accident he met with two fryers at a
place called Skelton, not far from York, and had been to
seek reliefe from their fellows and themselves against
Christmas : the one having a wallet full of victualls and a
shoulder of mutton in his hand, with two great cakes
hanging about his neck ; the other having bottles of ale,
with provisions, likewise of beife and mutton in his wallett.
The king, knowing their poverty and condition, thought they
might be serviceable to him towards the attaining York,
wherefore (being accompanied with Sir George Fothergill,
general of the field, a Norman born), he gave them money,
and withall a promise, that if they would lett him and his
soldiers into their priory at a time appointed, he would not
only rebuild their priory, but indowe it likewise with large
revenues and ample privileges. The fryers easily consented
and the conqueror as soon sent back his army, which, that
night, according to agreement, were let into the priory by
the two fryers, by which they immediately made themselves
masters of all York ; after which Sir Eobert Clifford, who
was governor thereof, was so far from being blamed by the
conqueror for his stout defence made the preceding days,
that he was highly esteemed and rewarded for his valour,
being created Lord Clifford and there knighted, with the
four magistrates then in office, viz., Horongate, Talbot (whor
after came to be Lord Talbott), Lassells, and Erringham.
The arms of the city of York at that time was, argent, a
DEC. 21.] ST. THOMAS' DAT. 445
cross, gules, viz., St. George's cross. The conqueror charged
the cross with five lyons, passant gardant, or, in memory of
the five worthy captains, magistrates, who governed the city
so well, that he afterwards made Sir Robert Clifford governour
thereof and the other four to aid him in counsell ; and the
better to keep the city in obedience he built two castles, and
double moated them about ; and to shew the confidence and
Irust that he put in these old, but new made, officers by him
he offered them freely to ask whatsoever they would of him
before he went, and he would grant their request, wherefore
they (abominating the treachery of the two fryers to their
eternal infamy), desired that, on St. Thomas's Day for ever,
they might have a fryer of the priory of St. Peter's to ride
through the city on Lorseback, with his face to the horse's
tayle, and that in his hand, instead of a bridle, he should
have a rope, and in the other a shoulder of mutton, with one
cake hanging on his back and another on his breast, with
his face painted like a Jew; and the youth of the city to ride
with him, and to cry and shout " Youl, Youl," with the officers
of the city rideing before and making proclamation, that on
this day the city was betrayed; and their request was
granted them, which custom continued till tho dissolution of
the said fryery ; and afterwards in imitation of the same, the
young men and artizans of the city on the aforesaid St.
Thoma^s Day, tised to dress up one of their own companions
like a fryer, and called him youl, which custom continued
till within this three-score years, there being many now
living which can testify tho same, but upon what occasion
since discontinued I cannot learn : this being done in
memory of betraying the city by the said fryers to William
the Conqueror.
WALES.
William Rogers, by will, June 1806, gave to the minister
and churchwardens of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, and theii
successors, 8001., Three per Cent. Consols, to be transferred
by his executors within six months after his decease ; and it
was his will that the dividends should be laid out annually,
one moiety thereof in good beef, the other moiety thereof in
good barley, the same to be distributed on every St. Thomas's
4.4.6 CHBISTMAS EVE. [DEC. 24.
Day in each year, by the minister and churchwardens, to
and among the poor of the said parish of Nevern. Edwards,
Old English Customs and Charities, p. 24.
DEO. 24.] CHEISTMAS EVE.
CHESHIRE.
IN Chester, and its neighhurhood, numerous singers parade
the streets and are hospitably entertained with meat and
drink at the various houses where they call. See Book of
Days, vol. ii. p. 736.
CORNWALL.
On Christmas Eve, in former days, says Hunt (Romances
of the West of England, 1871, p. 349), the small people, or
the spiggans, would meet at the bottom of the deepest mines,
and have a midnight mass. In this county the yule log is
called " the mock."
DEBBTSHIRE.
In some parts the village choir meet in the church on
Christmas Eve, and there wait until midnight, when they
proceed from house to house, invariably accompanied by a
small keg of ale, singing " Christians awake ;" and during
the Christmas season they again visit the principal houses
in the place, and having played and sung for the evening,
and partaken of the Christmas cheer, are presented with a
sum of money. Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 208.
DEVONSHIRE.
The ashton faggot is burned in Devonshire on Christmas
Eve. The faggot is composed entirely of ash timber, and
the separate sticks or branches are securely bound together
with ash bands. The faggot is made as large as can con-
veniently be burned in the fire-place, or rather upon the
floor, grates not being in use. A numerous company is
generally assembled to spend the evening in games and
DEO. 24.] CHRISTMAS EVE. 447
amusements, the diversions being heightened when the faggot
blazes on the hearth, as a quart of cyder is considered duo
and is called for and served upon the bursting of every hoop
or band round the faggot. The timber being green and
elastic, each band generally bursts open with a smart report
when the individual stick or hoop has been partially burned
through. N. &. Q. 1st 8. vol. iv. p. 309.
In one or two localities, it is still customary for the
farmer with his family and friends, after partaking together
of hot cakes and cider (the cake being dipped in the liquor
previous to being eaten), to proceed to the orchard, one
of the party bearing hot cake and cider as an offering to the
principal apple-tree. The cake is formally deposited on the
fork of the tree, and the cider thrown over the latter.* See
Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 736.
A superstitious notion prevails in the western parts of
Devonshire that, at twelve o'clock at night on Christmas
Eve, the oxen in their stalls are always found on their knees,
as in an attitude of devotion, and that since the alteration of
the style they continue to do this only on the eye of Old
Christmas Day. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 473.
It appears, from a statement of charities in an old book,
that John Martyn, by will, 28th of November, 1729, gave to
the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the parish
of St. Mary Major, Exeter, twenty pounds, to be put out at
interest, and the profits thereof to bo laid out every Christmas
Eve in twenty pieces of beef, to be distributed to twenty poor
people of the parish, such as had no relief on that day, for
ever. Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 4.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
It appears by the benefaction table in the church of
Ruardean, that the Rev. Mr. Anthony Sterry, vicar of
Lidney, gave by deed, in the fortieth year of Queen Elizabeth,
five shillings per annum, payable out of an estate called the
Glasp, in this parish, for ringing a peal on Christmas Eve,
about midnight, for two hours, in commemoration of the
Nativity. Old English Customs and Charities, 1842, p. 6.
* In some places this custom is observed on New Year's Eve.
418 CHRISTMAS EVE. [DEC. 24.
HAMPSHIRE.
In the neighbourhood of the New Forest the following
lines are sung on the wassailing of the trees :
" Apples and pears with right good corn,
Come in plenty to every one;
Eat and drink good cake and hot ale,
Give earth to drink and she'll not fail."
Christmas in the Olden Time, London, 1839.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
In the Gent. Mag. (vol. xc. pt. i. p. 33) is the following
account of a custom that formerly existed at Tretyre on
Christmas Eve. The writer says : They make a cake,
poke a stick through it, fasten it upon the horn of an ox,
and say certain words, begging a good crop of corn for the
master. The men and boys attending the oxen, range them-
selves arouud. If the ox throws the cake behind, it belongs
to the men, if before, to the boys. They take with them
a wooden bottle of cyder and drink it, repeating the charm
before mentioned.
KENT.
Hasted (History of Kent, vol. iii. p. 380) says there was
a singular custom used of long time by the fishermen of
Folkestone. They chose eight of their largest and best
whitings out of every boat when they came home from
the fishery and sold them apart from the rest, and out
of the money arising from them they made a feast every
Christmas Eve which they called a " Rumbald." The
master of each boat provided this feast for his own company.
These whitings, which are of a very large size, and are sold
all round the country as far as Canterbury, are called
Eumbald whitings. This custom (which is now left off,
though many of the inhabitants still meet jovially on
Christmas Eve, and call it Kumbald Night) might have been
anciently instituted in honour of St. Rutnbald, and at first
designed as an offering to him for his protection during the
fishery.*
* Cole, in his History and Antiquities of Filey (1828, p. 143), gives
the followiug account of a custom that existed in his time in connection
DEC. 24.] CHRISTMAS EVE. 449
ISLE OF MAN.
Waldrcn, in liis Description of the Isle of Man (1859, p. 125)
says thut on Christmas Eve every one leaves off work, am
rambles about till the bells begin to ring at midnight. Lor<
Teignmouth (Sketches of the Coast of Scotland and the Isle o
Man, vol. ii. p. 264) states that they then all flock to th<
churches, bearing the largest candle tliey can procure. Th
churches are decorated with holly, and the service, in con
memoration of the birth, of our Saviour is called Oiel Verry.-
See Train's History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 127
NORFOLK.
In some parts of Norfolk libations of sp r ced ale used to
be sprinkled on orchards and meadows. Book of Days,
vol. ii. p. 736.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
On Christmas Eve, 1815, says Cole (Histury of Ecton, 1825),
the musicians of Ecton, accompanied by the vocalists of the
church, revived the custom of going round the village at
midnight and singing a carol at the principal houses.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
At Nottingham, on Christmas Eve, as well as in many
other of the villages, it is customary to toast apples on a
string until they drop into a bowl of hot spiced ale, which is
placed to receive them ; this, from the softness of the beverage
is culled " lamb's-wooL"
with the herring fishery at that place. He says, during the time the
boats are on the herring fishery the junior part of the inhabitants
eize all the unemployed waggons and carts they can find and drag
them down the streets to the cliff tops ; then leaving them to be owm 1
and taken away by their respective proprietors on the following morn-
ing : this is carried into effect about the third Saturday night after tho
boats have sailed from Filey, under a superstitious notion that it drives
the herrings into the nets. Previously to the fishermen setting out
upon their exi>e<litio!i they send a piece of sea-beef on shore from each
boat to such of their friends at the public houses as they wish " wed
beea;" this occasions " a bit of a supper," at which tho.-e who an; jjoing
away and those who stay enjoy good cheer, heightened by mutual
2 *
450 CHRISTMAS EVE. [DEC. 24,
OXFORDSHIRE.
Pointer, in his Oxoniensis Academia (1749, p. 20), says that,
at Merton College, Oxford, the fellows meet together in the
Hall on Christmas Eve and other solemn times to sing a
psalm and drink a grace-cup to one another (called Poculum
Charitatis), wishing one another help and happiness. These
grace-cups they drink to one another every day after dinner
and supper, wishing one another peace and good neighbour-
hood.
SUSSEX.
At Chailey, the following doggerel is sung at the was-
sailing of the apple trees :
" Stand fast root, bear well top,
Pray the d'oil send us a guod howling crop.
Every twig, app'es big,
Every bouj;h, apples enow.
Hats full, caps full,
Full quarters, sacks full."*
2V. & Q. 1st 8. vol. v. p. 293.
WARWICKSHIRE.
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag. (1795, vol. Ixv. p. 110)
thus describes an amusement practised on Christmas Eve at
Aston Hall, down to the end of last century. As soon as
supper is over a table is set in the hall. On it is placed a
brown loaf, with twenty silver threepences stuck on the top
of it, a tankard of ale, with pipes and tobacco, and the two
oldest servants have chairs behind it to sit as judges if they
please. The steward brings the servants, both men and
women, by one at a time, covered with a winnow sheet, and
lays their right hand on the loaf, exposing no other part of
the body. The older of the two judges guesses at the
person, by naming a name, then the younger judge, and
lastly, the older again. If they hit upon the right name, the
steward leads the person back again ; but if they do not, he
pood-will. The Sunday preceding their departure is called Boat
Sunday, when all their friends from the neighbouring villages attend to
bkl them farewell.
* See Eve of Epiphany, p. 21.
DEC. 44.] CHKISTMAS EVE. 451
takes off the winnow sheet, and the person receives a three-
pence, makes a low obeisance to the judges, but speaks not a
word. When the second servant was brought, the younger
judge guessed first and third ; and this they did alternately
till all the money was given away. Whatever servant had
not slept in tlie house the preceding night forfeited his right
to the money. No account is given of the origin of this
strange custom, but it has been practised ever since the
family lived here. When the money is gone the servants
have full liberty to drink, dance, sing, and go to bed when
they please. Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 472),
speaking of this custom, says, can it be what Aubrey, in his
introduction to his Survey of Wiltshire, calls " Cob-loaf-
stealing ?"
YOBKSHIEE.
There is in Yorkshire a custom, which has been by the
country people more or less revived, ever since the alteration
in the style and calendar, namely, of watching, on the mid-
night of the new and old Christmas Eve, by beehives, to
determine upon the right Christmas from the humming
noise which they suppose the bees will make when the birth
of our Saviour took place. Gent. Mag. 181 1, vol. Ixxxi. part. i.
p. 424.
Christmas Eve in Yorkshire, says a writer in Time's
Telescope (1822, p. 298), is celebrated in a peculiar manner
at eight o'clock in the evening the bells greet " Old Father
Christmas " with a merry peal, the children parade the streets
with drums, trumpets, bells, or perhaps, in their absence,
with the poker and shovel, taken from their humble cottage
fire ; the yule candle is lighted, and
" High on the cheerful fire
Is blazing seen th' enormous Christmas brand.**
Supper is served, of which one dish, from tho lordly mansion
to the humblest shed, is invariably furmety ; yule cake, one
of which is always made for each individual in the family,
and other more substantial viands are also added.
At St. Cuthbert's Church, Ackworth, a sheaf of corn was
at one time suspended on Christmas Evo outside the porch,
2 o 2
452 CHRISTMAS DAT. [D*X 25.
for the especial benefit of the birds. N. & Q. 3rd S, vol. ii.
p. 505 ; see N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. iii. p. 117.
At Dewsbury, one of the church bells is tolled as at a
funeral ; this is called the Devil's Knell, the moral of which
is that " the Devil died when Christ was born." This
custom was discontinued for many years, but revived by the
vicar in 1828. Timbs' Something for Everybody, 1861,
p. 150.
At Kipon, on Christmas Eve, the grocers send each of
their customers a pound or half of currants and raisins to
make a Christmas pudding. The chandlers also send large
mould candles, and the coopers logs of wood, generally
called yule clogs, which are always used on Christmas Eve;
but should it be so large as not to be all burnt that night,
which is frequently the case, the remains are kept till old
Christmas Eve. Gen*. Mag. 1790, vol. Ix. p. 719.
Cole in his Historical Sketches of Scalby, Burniston, and
Clougliton (1829, p. 45) says the village choristers belonging
to Scalby assemble on Christmas Eve, and remain out the
whole night singing at the principal houses.
IE EL AND.
A correspondent of N. & Q. (3rd S. vol. viii. p. 495) says
that, in the south-east of Ireland on Christmas Eve, people
hardly go to bed at all, and the first who announces the crow-
ing of the cock, if a male, is rewarded with a cup of tea, in
which is mixed a glass of spirits ; if a female, with the tea
only, but as a substitute for the whisky she is saluted with
half-a dozen of kisses.
DEO. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY.
ST. CHRYSOSTOM informs us that, in the primitive times,
Christmas and Epiphany were celebrated at one and the
same feast (Homil. in Diem Nativ. D. N. J. Christ!, Opera,
edit. Monfaucon, torn, iii.), probably from a belief that the
rising of the star in the East and the birth of Christ were
simultaneous. The separation took place at the Council of
Nice, A.D. 325. The Armenians, however, continued to
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY. 453
make but one feast of the two as late as the thirteenth century.
The learned have long been divided upon the precise day of
the Nativity. Some have fixed it at the Passover ; others,
amongst whom was Archbishop Usher, at the feast of Taber-
nacles ; and it has been observed that, if others were watching
their flocks when it occurred in the field by night, it would
hardly have happened in the dupth of winter. Be this as it
may, the 25th of December has been the day most generally
fixed upon from the earliest ages of the Church. Sir Isaac
Newton, in his Commentary on the Prophecies of Daniel
(Part I. chap. ii. p. 144), has a chapter, " Of the Times of the
Birth and Passion of our Saviour," in which he accounts for
the choice of the 25th of December, the winter solstice, by
showing that not only the feast of the Nativity, but most
others, were originally fixed at cardinal points of the year;
and that the first Christian calendar having b'jen so arranged
by mathematicians at pleasure, without any ground in tradi-
tion, the Christians afterwards took up with what they found
in the calendars : so long as a fixed time of commemoration
was solemnly appointed they were content. See Baronii
Apparatus ad Annales Ecclesiasticos, fol. Lticae, 1740, p. 475
et seq. ; Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, lib.
xx. cap. 4; a curious tract entitled. The Feast of Feasts, or
4 The Celebration of the Sacred Nativity of our Blessed Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, grounded upon the Scriptures and
confirmed by the Practice of the Christian Church in all Ages;'
see also Knight's English Cyclopcedia, 1859, vol. ii. p. 882.
The name given, says a correspondent of Hook of Days,
(vol. ii. p. 745) by the ancient Goths and Saxons to the
festival of the winter solstice was Jul or Yule, the latter term
forming to the present day the designation in the Scottish
dialect of Christmas, and preserved also in the phrase of the
"yule log." Perhaps the etymology of no term has excited
greater discussions among antiquaries. S-me maintain it
to be derived from the Greek ovA.oj or touXoy, the name of a
hymn in honour of Ceres, others' say it conies from the Latin
jubilum, signifying a time of rejoicing, or from its being a
festival in honour of Julius Ctesar; whilst some also explain
its meaning as synonymous with ol or ocl, which in the
ancient Gothic language denotes a feast, and also the favourite
i54 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 2$.
liquor used on such occasions whence our word ale. A much
more probable derivation, however, of the term in question
is from the Gothic giul or hiul, the origin of the modern
word wheel, and bearing the same significance. According
to this very probable explanation, the yule festival received
its name from its being the turning-point of the year, or the
period at which the fiery orb of day made a revolution in his
annual circuit and entered on his northern journey. A
confirmation of this view is afforded by the circumstance
that, in the old clog almanacs, a wheel is the device employed
for marking the season of yule-tide.
The season of the Nativity is now no longer marked by
that hospitality which characterized its observance among
our forefathers. At present Christmas meetings are chiefly
confined to fanrly parties. The wassail-bowl, the yule-clog,
and the lord of misrule, with a long train of sports and
customs which formerly prevailed at this season are forgotten,
even Christmas carols are nearly gone by ; and the decking
of churches, and occasionally of houses, with holly and other
evergreens, forms now almost the only indication that this
great festival is at hand. Knight's English Cyclopaedia, 1859,
vol. ii. p. 882.
Christmas, says Pere Cyprian (quoted by Agnes Strickland,
Lives of the Queens of England, 1865, vol. iv. pp. 320, 321),
was always observed in this country, especially at the King's
palaces, with greater ceremony than in any other realm in
Europe. Among other ancient ceremonies, he tells us how
a branch of the Glastonbury thorn used to be brought up in
procession, and presented in great pomp to the King and
Queen of England on Christmas morning.
Under the Commonwealth. In the Diary of John Evelyn
(1859, vol. i. p. 297), under the date of the 25th of December,
occurs the following :
" Christmas Day. No sermon anywhere, no church being
permitted to be open, so observed it at home."
Again, under the same date in 1654 (p. 341), the statement
is renewed :
" Christmas Day. No churches or public assembly. I
was fain to pass the devotions of that Blessed Day with my
family at home,"
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 455
Alluding to the observance of Christmas Day in 1657, tnu
same writer says :
" I went to London with my wife to celebrate Christmas
Day, Mr. Gunning preaching in Exeter Chapel, on M call,
vii. 2. Sermon ended ; as he was giving us the Holy Sacra-
ment the chapel was surrounded with soldiers, and all the
communicants and assembly surprised and kept prisoners by
them, some in the house, others carried away. It fell to my
share to be confined to a room in the house, where yet I \v;,s
permitted to dine with the master of it, the Countess .t
Dorset, Lady Hatton, and some others of quality who invited
me. In the afternoon came Colonel Whalley, Goffe, and
others from Whitehall to examine us one by one ; some they
committed to the Marshal, some to prison. When I came
before them they took my name and abode, examined me
why, contrary to the ordinance made that none should any
longer observe the superstitious time of the Nativity (as
esteemed by them), 1 durst offend, and particularly be at
Common Prayers, wnich they told me was but the mass in
English, and particularly pray for Charles Stuart, for which
we had no Scripture. I told them we did not pray for
Charles Stuurt, but for all Christian kings, princes, ami
governors. They replied, in so doing we prayed fr tho
king of Spain too, who was their enemy and a Papist ; with
other frivolous and ensnaring questions and much threatening,
and, finding no colour to detain me, they dismissed me with
much pity of my ignorance. These were men of high flight
and above ordinances, and spake spiteful things of our Lord's
Nativity. As we went up to receive the sacrament the
miscreants held their muskets against us, as if they would
have shot us at the altar, but yet suffering us to finish the
office of communion, as perhaps not having instructions what
to do in case they found us in that action ; so I gut homo
late the next day, blessed be God 1 "
In a tract entitled Bound about our Conl-Fire,is the follow-
ing account of the manner in which Christmas was observed
in days gone by : An English gentleman at the opening of
the great day, i.e., on Christmas Day in the morning, had all
his tenants and neighbours enter his hall by daybreak. The
strong beer was broached, and the black-jacks went pic mi
456 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25.
fully about with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and good Cheshire
cheese. The hackin (the great sausage) must be boiled by
daybreak, or else two young men must take the maiden (i.e.,
the cook) by the arms, and run her round the market-place
till she is ashamed of her laziness. In Christmas holidays,
the tables were all spread from the first to the last ; the
sirloins of beef, the minced pies, the plum-porridge, the
capons, turkeys, geese, and plum-puddings, were all brought
upon the board. Every one eat heartily, and was welcome,
which gave rise to the proverb, " Merry in the hall when
beards wag all." Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 531.
Soar's Head. Aubrey, in a MS. dated 1678, says :
" Before the last civil wars, in gentlemen's houses at
Christmas, the first diet that was brought to table was a
boar's head with a lemon in his mouth."
Christmas Book. A book in which people were accustomed
to keep an account of the Christmas presents they received.
Nares' Glossary (Halliwell and Wright), 1857, vol. i. p. 11.
Bustard. The bustard, says Timbs (Something for Every-
body, 1861, p. 148), has almost disappeared; but within
memory it might be seen in the Christmas larders of large
inns.
Christmas Candles. These were candles of an uncommon
size, and the name has descended to the small candles which
children light up at this season. Hampson (Med. JEvi Kalend.
vol. i. p. 109), alluding to the custom, says, in some places
candles are made of a particular kind, because the candle that
is lighted on Christmas Day must be so large as to burn from
the time of its ignition to the close of the day, otherwise it
will portend evil to the family for the ensuing year. The poor
were wont to present the rich with wax tapers, and yule
candles are still in the north of Scotland given by merchants
to their customers. At one time children at the village
schools in Lancashire were required to bring each a mould
candle before the parting or separation for the Christmas
holidays.
Christmas Carols. The Christmas carol (said to be derived
from cantare to sing, and rola, an interjection of joy) is of
very ancient date. Bishop Taylor observes that the ' Gloria
in Excelsis/ the well-known hymu sung by the angels to the
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 457
shepherds at our Lord's Nativity, was the earliest Christmas
carol. In the early ages of the Church bishops were accus-
tomed to sing these sacred canticles among their clergy. The
oldest printed collections in England are those of Wynkyn
do Worde, 1521, and of Kele soon after. Warton, in his
History of English Poetry, notices a licence granted in 1562
to John Tysdaio for printing " Certayne goodly carowles to
be songe to the glory of God ;" and again, " Crestenmas
carowles auctorisshed by my lord of London." See N. & Q.
ktli S. vol. x. p. 485. In the sixteenth century the popularity
of carol-singing occasioned the publication of a duodecimo
volume, published in 1642, entitled, " Psalmes or Songs of
Sion, turned into the language, and set to the tunes of a
strange land. By W(illiam) S(layter), intended for Christ-
mas carols, and fitted to divers of the most noted and common
but solemne tunes, everywhere in this land familiarly used
and knowne." See Athenceum, December 20th, 1856 ; Sandy's
Christmas Carols, 1833.
Decorations. Tradition, says Phillips in his Sylva Fieri/era
(1823, vol. i. p. 281), asserts that the first Christian church
in Britain was built of boughs, and that this plan was
adopted as more likely to attract the notice of the people
because the heathens built their temples in that manner,
probably to imitate the temples of Saturn which were always
under the oak. The great feast of Saturn was held in
December, and as the oaks of this country were then without
leaves, the priests obliged the people to bring in boughs and
sprigs of evergreens ; and Christians, on the 20th of the
same month, did likewise, from whence originated the present
custom of placing holly and other evergreens in our churches
and houses to show the arrival of the feast of Christinas.
The name of holly is a corruption of the word holy, as Dr.
Turner, our earliest writer on plants, calls it Holy and Holy
tree. It has a great variety of names in Germany, amongst
which is Christdorn; in Danish it is also called Christorn;
and in Swedish Christtorn, amongst other appellations.
A correspondent of Book of Days, speaking of this custom
(vol. ii., p. 753), says tho decking of churches, houses, and
shops with evergreens at Christmas springs from a period far
anterior to the revelation of Christianity, and seems proxi-
458 CHltlSTMAS DAY. [DEC. 25.
mately to be derived from the custom prevalent during the
Saturnalia of the inhabitants of Rome, ornamenting their
temples and dwellings with green boughs.
The favourite plants for church decoration at Christmas
are holly, bay, rosemary, and laurel. Ivy is rather objec-
tionable, from its associations, having anciently been sacred
to Bacchus. Cypress seems inappropriate from its funereal
relations. One plant, in special, is excluded the mistletoe.
Ibid. p. 753.
Game Pies. These were formerly made at the season of
Christmas. In the books of the Salters' Company, London,
is the following
" Eeceipt. Fit to make a moost choyce paaste of gamya
to be eten at ye Feste of Chrystmasse " (17th Richard II A.D.
1394). A pie so made by the company's cook in 1836 was
found excellent. It consisted of a pheasant, hare, and a
capon ; two partridges, two pigeons, and two rabbits ; all
boned and put into paste in the shape of a bird, with the
livers and hearts, two mutton kidneys, forced meats, and egg-
balls, seasoning, spice, catsup and pickled mushrooms, filled
up with gravy made from the various bones. See Timbs'
Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 148.
Mince Pies. These were popular under the name of
" mutton pies " so early as 1596 : Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 755.
They were also known as Shred and Christinas pies. Thus, in
Sheppard's.EJpV/raws(1651, p. 121), we find the following:
" No matter for plomb-porridge or Shrid pies ;" and
Herrick, alluding to the custom of setting a watch upon the
pies the night before Christmas, says :
" Come guard this night the Christmas pie,
That the thief, though ne'er so sly,
With his flesh-hooks don't come nigh,
To catch it."
Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 527), quoting from an
old tract, printed about the time of Elizabeth, or James I.,
says they were also called Minched pies.
Selden, in his Table Talk, tells us that mince pies wore
baked in a coffin-shaped crust, intended to represent the
cratch or manger wherein the infant Jesus was laid. This
statement may be regarded, however, as improbable, as i
BilC. 25.] CHHISV.rIAS DAY. 459
old English cookery books the crust of a pie is generally
called " the coffin."
Minced pies, says Timbs (Something for Everybody, 1861,
p. 149), were derived from the paste images and sweetmeats
given to the Fathers of the Vatican at Home on Christmas
Eve. Eating minced pies at Christmas was formerly a test
of orthodoxy against recusants.
Mistletoe. At what period mistletoe came to be recognised
as a Christmas evergreen, is not by any means certain. Wo
have Christmas carols in praise of holly and ivy of even
earlier date than the fifteenth century, but allusion to mistle-
toe can scarcely be found for two centuries later, or before
the time of Herrick. Coles, too, in his Knowledge of Plants,
1656, says of mistletoe, "it is carried many miles to set up
in houses about Christmas-time, when it is adorned with :
white glistening berry." In the tract, Round about our Cccl-
Fire, publii-lud early in the last centuiy, we arc told the
rooms were embowered with holly, ivy, cypress, bays, laure 1 ,
and mistletoe. Brand (Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 523;
thinks that mistletoe was never put in churches among ever-
greens but by mistake or ignorance ; for, says he, it was the
heathenish, or profane plant, as having been of such distinc-
tion in the pagan rites of druidism, and it had its place
therefore assigned it in kitchens, where it was hung in great
state. See Timbs' Things Not Generally Known, 1856, pp.
159-160.
Lord of Misrule. His office was to preside over the fes-
tivities of Christmas, and his duties consisted in directing
the various revels of the season. In some great families, and
occasionally at Court, lie was also called the Abbot of Misrule,
corresponding with the French Abbe de Liesse, a word which
implies merriment. Stow, in his Survey of London, alluding
to this whimsical custom says : " In the feast of Christinas
there was in the king's house, \\lu-resocver he lodged, a Lord
of Misrule, or master of merry disports, and the like, had yo
in the house of every nobleman of honour, or good worship,
were he spiritual or temporal. The Mayor of London, and
either of the sheriffs, hail their several lords of misrule, ever
contending, without quarrel or offence, who should nmkii tho
rarest pastime to delight the beholders, these lords beginning
460 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEO. 2$.
their rule at Allhallowed Eve, continued tlie same till the
morrow after the Feast of the Purification, commonly called
Candlemas Day, in which space there were fine and subtle
disguisings, masks, and mummeries, with playing at cards for
counters, iiayles, and points, in every house, more for pastimes
than for game."
Leland (Collectanea, de Rebus Anglicis, 1770, vol. iii.,
Append, p. 256), speaking of the year 4 Henry VII., 1489,
says : " This Christmas I saw no disguisings, and but right
few playes ; but there was an Abbot of Misrule that made
much sport, and did right well his office." It appears that
large sums of money were expended by this king upon these
masquerades and sports, as the following extracts from his
"Privy Purse Expenses" will show :
" Dec. 24 (1491). To Eingley, Lorde of Mysrewle, upon a
preste, 5Z.
" Oct. 24 (1492). To Eingley, Abbot of Mysreule, 5Z.
" Jan. 2 (1494). For playing of the Mourice daunce, 21.
" Jan. 15 (1494). To Walter Alwyn, in full payment for
the disguising made at Christenmas, 14Z. 3s. 4d.
" March 3 (1490). To Jacques Haulte, in full payment
for the disguising at Christenmas, 32Z. 18s. Q^d.
"Jan. 2 (1503). To the Abbot of Misrule, in rewarde,
61 13s. 4<Z.
" Feb. 12 (1503). To Lewis Adams, that made disguysings,
10*."
The Lord or Abbot of Misrule at Court, says Hampson,
(Med. JEvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 117) was usually a writer of
interludes and plays, and the office was not unfrequently held
by a poet of some reputation. Such, for example, was George
Ferrers, " in whose pastimes Edward the Sixth," we are told
by Warton, " had great delight." There can be no doubt,
however, that scandalous abuses often resulted from the
exuberant licence assumed by the lord of misrule and his
satellites, and consequently we find their proceedings de-
nounced in no measured terms by Prynne, and other zealous
puritans. See Book of Dai,s, vol. ii. p. 742.
Stubbes, a morose puritan in the days of Elizabeth, deno-
minates the lord of misrule "a grand captaine of mischiefe,"
and has preserved a minute description of all his wild doings
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 4f>l
in the country, of which the following is a summary. He
says that the lord of misrule on being selected, takes twenty
to sixty others, " lyke hymself," to act as his guard, who are
decorated with ribbands and scarfs and bells on their legs.
Thus, all things set in order, they have their hobby-horses,
their dragons, and other antiques, together with the gaudie
pipers and thunderyng drummers, and strike up the devill's
dance withal. So they march to the church, invading it, even
though service be performing, with such a confused noyse
that no man can hear his own voice. Then they adjourn to
the churchyard, where booths are set up, and the rest of the
day spent in dancing and drinking. Tlie followers of " My
Lord " go about to collect money for this, giving in return
"badges and cognizances" to wear in the hat: and do not
scruple to insult, or even duck, such as will not contribute.
But, adds Stubbes, another sort of fantasticall fooles are well
pleased to bring all sorts of food and drink to furnish out the
feast. See Disraeli, Curiosities of Literature, 1858, vol. ii.
p. 262 ; and Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the People of
England, p. 254.
Mummers. These were amusements derived from the
Saturnalia, and so called from the Danish Mumme, or Dutch
Momme, disguise in a mask. Christmas was the grand scene
of mumming, and some mummers were disguised like bears,
others like unicorns, bringing presents. Those who could
not procure masks rubbed their faces with soot, or painted
them. In the Christmas mummeries the chief aim was to
surprise by the oddity of the masques and singularity and
splendour of the dresses. Everything was out of nature and
propriety. They were often attended with an exhibition of
gorgeous machinery. Fosbroke's Encyclopaedia of Antiquities,
1840, p. 669; see Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, 1801, pp.
124, 189, 190 ; also N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. x. pp. 464, 465,
vol. xi. p. 271, vol. xii. p. 407 ; 3rd S. vol. i. p. 66, voL iv.
p. 486.
Pantomime. The Christmas pantomime or harlequinade
is, in its present shape, essentially a British entertainment,
and was first introduced into this country by a dancing
master of Shrewsbury named Weaver in 1 702. One of his
pantomimes, entitled The Love* of Mars and Venus, met
4G2 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25.
with great success. The arrival, in the year 1717, in London
of a troupe of French pantomimists with performing dogs,
gave an impetus to this kind of drama, which was further
developed in 1758 by the arrival of the Grimaldi family, the
head of which was a posture-master and dentist. Under
the auspices of this family the art of producing pantomimes
was greatly cultivated, and the entertainment much relished.
Joseph Grimaldi, the son of the dentist, was clever at in-
venting tricks and devising machinery, and Mother Goose,
and others of his harleqiiinades, had an extended run. At
that time the wit of the clown was the great feature, but,
by-and-by, as good clowns became scarce, other adjuncts
were supplied, such as panoramas or dioramic views ; and
now the chief reliance of the manager is on scenic effects,
large sums of money being lavished on the mise en scene.
This is particularly the case as regards the transformation
scene i.e., the scene where the characters are changed into
clown, harlequin, &c., as much as 1000Z. being frequently
spent on this one effort. In London alone a sum of 40,OOOZ.
is annually expended at Christinas time on pantomimes.
The King of the Peacocks, a pantomime produced at the
London Lyceum Theatre during the management of Madame
Vestris, cost upwards of 3000. Even provincial theatres,
such as those of Manchester or Edinburgh, consider it right
to go to considerable expense in the production of their
Christmas pantomime. Chambers' Encyclopaedia, 1874, vol.
vii. p. 237 ; see Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature, 1858,
pp. 116-130; N. & Q. Mh S. vol. v. pp. 193-95.
Plum-Porridge. This, says Misson, was a "sort of soup
with plumbs, which is not at all inferior to the pye." Dr.
Rimbault says, was not this the same as plum-pudding ?
Pudding was formerly used in the sense of stuffing or force-
meat, as we now say black-puddings. Porridge, on the
other hand, was used in the sense of our pudding. Thus
Shakspeare talks of " porridge after meat," meaning pudding
after meat. JV. & Q. 2nd S. vol. xii. p. 489.
Snapdragon. A very favourite pastime at this season.
Although so prevalent in England, it is almost unknown in
Scotland. See Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 738.
A writer in the Pantalogia (1813, vol. x.) thus describes
DEC. 25.] CHBI8TMA8 DAT. 463
this sport : It is a kind of play, in which brandy is set on
fire, and raisins thrown into it, which those who are unused
to the sport are afraid to take out, but which may be safely
snatched by a quick motion and put blazing into the mouth,
which being closed, the fire is at once extinguished. A
correspondent of N. & Q. (2nd S. vol. vii. p. 277) suggests as
a derivation the German schnapps, spirit, and drache, dragon,
and that it is equivalent to spirit-fire. The game has also
been called flap- and slap-dragon at different times. Shaks-
peare, for example, in the second part of Henry IV. act ii.
sc. 4, makes Falstaff answer :
" And drinks off candles' ends for flap-dragons."
And in Loves Labours Lost, act v. sc. 1 :
" Thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon."
See also the Tatler, No. 85.
Christmas Sports. Among the various games and sports
of an olden Christmas, says Dr. Rimbault, were card-playing,
chess, and draughts, jack-pudding in the hall ; fiddlers and
musicians, who were regale 1 with a black-jack of beer and
a Christmas pie ; also singing the wassail, scrambling for
nuts, cakes, and apples ; dancing round standards decorated
with evergreens in the streets ; the famous old hobby-horse,
hunting owls and squirrels, the fool plough, hot cockles, and
the game of hoodinan-blind. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. xii. p. 489.
Christmas Tree. Various suggestions have been made as
to the origin of the Christmas tree. Mr. Timbs, in his
Something for Everybody (1861, p. 127), suggests its being
traceable to the ancient Egyptians and their palm-tree,
whicli produces a branch every month, and therefore held to
be emblematical of the year. The Germans may bo said to
claim it as peculiar to themselves, as buing indicative of their
attachment to Christianity ; they identify it with the apostolic
labours of St. Maternus, one of the earliest, if not the very
first, of the preachers of the Gospel among them. They have
a legend of his sleeping under a fir-tree, and of a miracle
that occurred on that occasion. Mr. MacCabe (N. d Q. 3rd
S. vol. viii. p. 489), however, thinks the Christmas tree is
traceable to the Roman Saturnalia, and was not improbably
first imported into Germany with the conquering legions of
464 CHBISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25
Drusus. The Christmas tree, such as we now see it, with
its pendent toys and mannikins, is distinctly portrayed in
a single line of Virgil (Georg. ii. 389) :
" Oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu."
Consult Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
(1849, 2nd ed. p. 846, in verb. " oscillum "), where there is
given an engraving "from an ancient gem (Maffei, Gem.
Ant. iii. 64) representing a tree with four oscilla hung upon
its branches." Any one looking into that valuable work will
see at once that it is an exact picture of a Christmas tree.
A correspondent of Book of Days (vol. ii. p. 787) says,
within the last twenty years, and apparently since the
marriage of Queen Victoria with Prince Albert, previous to
which time it was almost unknown in this country, the
Christmas tree has been introduced into England with the
greatest success.
The Vessel-Cup. There is a very pretty custom, now
nearly obsolete, of bearing the " vessel," or, more properly
the \\assail-cup, at Christmas. This consists of a box con
taining two dolls, dressed up to represent the Virgin and th>
Infant Christ, decorated with ribbons and surrounded ty
flowers and apples ; the box has usually a glass lid, is covereu 1
over by a white napkin, and carried from door to door on the
arms of a woman ; on the top, or in the box, a china bason is
placed, and the bearer on reaching a house, uncovered the box
and sung the carol known as the " Seven Joys of the Virgin."
The carrying of the " vessel-cup " is a fortuitous specula-
tion, as it is considered so unlucky to send any one away
unrequited, that few can be found whose temerity is so
great as to deter them from giving some halfpence to the
singer.
In Yorkshire, formerly, only one image used to be carried
about that of the Saviour, which was placed in a box
surrounded by evergreens, and such flowers as could be
procured at the season. The party to whose house the figure
was carried were at liberty to take from the decorations of
the image a leaf or a flower, which was carefully preserved
and regarded as a sovereign remedy for the toothache. Jour
of Arch. Assoc. 1853, vol. viii. p. 38; Book of Days, 1864
vol. ii. p. 725 ; Brand, Pop. Antiq. vol. i. p. 454.
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 4G5
Turkey. The turkey has graced the Christinas table from
the date of its introduction into England, about the year
1524. Tnsser mentions the bird as forming part of the
Christmas fare in 1587 :
" Beefe, mutton, and porke, shred pies of the l3st ;
Pig, veale, goose, and capon, and turkie well drest."
Waits. Musicians who play by night for two or three
weeks before Christmas, terminating their performances
generally on Christmas Eve. It is uncertain, says a corre-
spondent of Book of Days (vol ii. p. 742), whether the term
Waits denoted originally musical instruments, a particular
kind of music, or the persons who played under certain
special circumstances. There is evidence in support of all
these views. At one time the name of waits was given to
minstrels attached to the king's court, whose duty it was to
guard the streets at night and proclaim the hour, something
in the same manner as the watchmen were wont to do in
London before the establishment of the metropolitan police.
Down to the year 1820, perhaps later, says the same writer
(p. 743), the waits had a certain degree of official recognition
in the cities of London and Westminster. In London, the
post was purchased ; in Westminster, it was an appointment
under the control of the high constable and the court of
burgesses. A police inquiry about Christmas time in that
year brought the matter in a singular way under public
notice. Mr. Clay had been the ofiicial leader of the waits
for Westminster, and, on his death, Mr. Monro obtained the
post. Having employed a number of persons in different
parts of the city and liberties of Westminster to serenade tho
inhabitants, trusting to their liberality at Christmas as a re-
muneration, he was surprised to find that other persons were,
unauthorized, assuming the right of playing at night, and
making applications to the inhabitants for Christmas boxes.
Sir K. Baker, the police magistrate, promise:! to aid Mr.
Munro in the assertion of his claims, and the result, in several
cases, showed that there really was this " vested right " to
charm the ears of the citizens with nccturnal music. At
present, however, there is nothing to prevent any number of
such itinerant minstrels from plying their midnight calling.
2 K
466 CHRISTMAS DAY. [DEC. 25.
See two interesting articles on the subject by Mr. Chappell
in N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. vi. pp. 489, 509.
Yule-clog or Yule-log. This was generally lighted on
Christmas Eve, and was, says Soane, as large as the hearth
would admit of, or the means of the rejoicers could supply ;
and, in some of the northern counties of England, so long as
the log lasted, the servants were entitled to ale at their
meals. At one time custom prescribed that it should be
lighted with a brand of the last year's block, which had
been carefully put by and preserved for that purpose, as we
find it recorded by Herrick :
" Come bring with a noise,
My merrie, merrie boys,
The Chrisliuas log to the firing;
While my good dame, she
Bids ye all be free,
And drink to your heart's desiring.
With the last year's brand
Light the new block, and
For good success in his spending,
On your psalteries play
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a tiending." *
It is also requisite that the maidens who blow a fire,
should come to the task with clean hands :
" Wash your hands, or else the fire
Will not tiend to your de-ire ;
Unwash'd hands, ye maidens, know,
Dead the fire though ye blow."
BERKSHIRE.
At Cumnor the parishioners, who paid vicarial tithes,
claimed a custom of being entertained at the vicarage, on the
afternoon of Christmas Day, with four bushels of malt
brewed into ale and beer, two bushels of wheat made into
bread, and half a hundred weight of cheese. The remainder
was given to the poor the next morning after divine service.
Lysons' Magna Britannia, 1813, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 271.
* To Teend is to kindle, or to burn, from the Anglo-Saxon Tendan
to set on fire.
DEC. 25.] CHBISTMAS DAT. 467
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
By the will of John Popple, dated the 12th of March,
1830, 41. yearly is to be paid unto the vicar, churchwardens,
and overseers of the poor of the parish of Burnham, to
provide for the poor people who should be residing in the
poorhouse, a dinner, with a proper quantity of good ale and
likewise with tobacco and snuff Old English Customs and
Charities, 1842, p. 4.
Up to about 1813, a bull and boar, a sack of wheat, and a
sack of malt were given away to the poor by the lord of the
manor of Prince's Risborough about six o'clock every
Christmas morning. This practice was then discontinued,
and for about five or six years after the discontinuance, beef
and mutton were distributed to the poor about Christmas in
lieu of the above articles. Ibid. p. 66.
The following extract is taken from the Gent. Mag. (1753,
voL xxiii. p. 49): At Quainton, above two thousand people
went, with lanterns and candles, to view a blackthorn in that
neighbourhood, and which was remembered to be a slip from
the famous Glastonbury thorn, and that it always budded on
the 24th, was full blown the next day, and went all off at
night. The people finding no appearance of a bud, it was
agreed by all that December 25th (New Style) could not be
the right Christmas Day, and accordingly refused going to
church, and treating their friends on that day as usual. At
length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the
neighbouring villages, in order to appease them, thought it
prudent to give notice that the Old Christmas Day should
be kept holy as before.
This famous hawthorn was supposed to be sprung from
the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who having fixed it in the
ground with his own hand on Christmas Day, it took root
immediately, put forth leaves, and the next day was covered
with milk-white blossoms.* See Hearne's History and
Antiquities of Glastonbury, 1722.
* Collinson, in his History of Somersetshire (1791), allndes to tho
miraculous walnut-tree, which grew in the Abbey churchyard of
Glastonbury, and never budded forth before the feast of St. Barnabas,
viz., llth June, and on that very day shot forth leaves, and nourished.
2 H 2
468 CHRISTMAS DAY. [DEC. 25.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
At Clare Hall, in Cambridge, a collar of brawn is always
provided for the Fellows' table on Christmas Day, which
comes up every day during the twelve days and then makes
another and last appearance on Candlemas Day. A sprig of
ivy with berries is stuck in the centre of the top"; the berries
are first dipped in flour, probably to represent the hoar
frost. Time's Telescope, 1863, p. 338.
CORNWALL.
Hitchins, in his History of Cornwall (1824, vol. i. p. 718),
gives the following account of the Christmas plays, which at
one time were performed in this county at Christmas. He
says, the lads who engage in these theatrical representations
appear fantastically dressed, decorated with ribbons and
painted paper, with wooden swords, and all the equipage
necessary to support the several characters they assume. To
entertain their auditors, they learn to repeat a barbarous
jargon, in the form of a drama, which has been handed down
from distant generations. War and love are the general
topics, and St. George and the Dragon are always the most
prominent characters. Interludes, expostulations, debate,
battle, and death, are sure to find a place among the mimicry ;
but a physician who is always at hand immediately restores
the dead to life. It is generally understood that these
Christmas plays derived their origin from the ancient
crusades, and hence the feats of chivalry and the romantic
extravagance of knight-errantry that are still preserved in
all the varied pretensions and exploits. See Every Day
Book, 1827, vol. ii. p. 122.
It was customary at one time in Cornwall on the last
Thursday that was one clear week before Christmas Day,
which was anciently called jeu-nhydn, or White Thursday,
for the tinners to claim a holiday, because, according to
tradition, on this day black tin or ore was first melted or
turned into white tin or metal in these parts. Hitching,
History of Cornwall. 1824, vol. i. p. 725.
DEO. 25.] CHBI8TMA8 DAT. 469
CUMBERLAND.
In this county, and in all the great towns in the North
of England, about a week before Christmas, what are called
Honey-Fairs are held, in which dancing forms the leading
amusement. Time's Telescope, 1824, p. 297.
DERBYSHIRE.
Christmas festivities are well observed in Derbyshire ;
mummers or guisers go from house to house, and perform a
play of St. George. They are dressed up in character
and decorated with ribbands, tinsel, and other finery, and on
being admitted into the house commence their performance
by St. George announcing himself by beginning his oration:
" I am St. George, the noble champion bold,
And with my glittering sword
I've won three crowns of gold ;
It's I who fought the fiery dragon,
And brought it to the slaughter;
And so I won fair Sabra,
The king of Egypt's daughter.
Seveu have I won, but married none,
And bear my glory all alone,
With my Sword in my hand,
Who dare against me stand ?
I swear I'll cut him down
With my victorious brand."
A champion is soon found in the person of Slasher, who,
accepts the challenge. St. George then replies in a neat
speech, when they sing, shake hands, and fight with their
wooden swords, and Slasher is slain. The King then enters,
saying : " I am the King of England, the greatest man
alive," and after walking round the dead body, calls for,
" Sir Gay, one of the chiefcst men in the world's wonder,"
who shows his wonderful courage and prowess in calling for
a doctor. The doctor, on making his appearance, gives a
long and quaint account of his birth, parentage, education,
and travels, whilst perambulating around the fallen Slasher,
and ends his oration by saying :
' Here take a little out of my bottle,
And put it down thy throttle."
470 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25.
The dead man is thus cured, and having received the
advice of, "Rise, Jack, and fight again, the play is ended."
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 206.
DORSETSHIRE.
It appears that in some parts of this county the mummers
still go round at Christmas-tide, performing a species of
play. See N. & Q. 5ih S. vol. ii. p. 505.
ESSEX.
On Christmas day at Hornchurch the lessee of the tithes,
which belong to New College, Oxford, supplies, says Hone,
(Every Day Book, 1827, vol. ii. p. 1649), a boar's head
dressed and garnished with bayleaves, &c. In the after-
noon it is carried in procession into the mill-field adjoining
the churchyard, where it is wrestled for and afterwards
feasted upon at one of the public-houses by the rustic
conqueror and his friends with all the merriment peculiar
to the season.
The following appeared in the Daily News of January
5th, 1852 : By ancient charter or usage in Hornchurch a
boar's head is wrestled for in a field adjoining the church,
a boar, the property of the parish, having been slaughtered
for the purpose. The boar's head, elevated on a pole and
decorated with ribbons, was brought into the ring where
the competitors entered, and the prize was awarded. See
Morant, History of Essex, 1768, vol. i. p. 74.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
It was formerly the custom of the city of Gloucester to
present to the Sovereign at Christmas a lamprey-pie with a
raised crust. The custom is of great antiquity, and as
Henry I., of lamprey-loving celebrity, frequently held his
Court during Christmas at Gloucester, it may have originated
in his time. In 1530 the Prior of Lanthony at Gloucester
sent " cheese, carp, and baked lampreys " to Henry VIII. at
Windsor, for which the bearer received twenty shillings.
Tighe and Davis, Annals of Windsor, p. 562.
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 471
During the Commonwealth it appears from the following
entry in the corporation minutes that the pie was sent to the
members for the city :
" Item. Paid to Thomas Snffield, cook, for lamprey-pies
sent to our Parliament men, 08 OOs. OOd."
In 1752 it appears to have been the custom to present a
lamprey-pie to the Prince of Wales, as appears by Mr.
Jesse's book, George Selwyn and his Contemporaries (vol. i. p.
153), where is printed the following letter from Mr. Alder-
man Harris to George Selwyn, then M.P. for Gloucester :
" Gloucester, 15th January, 1752.
" SIR, At the request of Mr. Mayor, whose extraordinary
hurry of business will not afford him leisure to direct
himself, I am desired to acquaint you that by the Gloucester
waggon this week is sent the usual present of a lamprey-pie
from this Corporation to His Koyal Highness the Prince of
Wales. It is directed to you ; and I am further to request
the favour of you to have the same presented with the
compliments of this body, as your late worthy father used
to do..
" Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
" GAB. HARRIS.
" P.S. The waggoner's inn is the King's Head, in the
Old Change." N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. ix. p. 184.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
In this county, and also in Worcestershire, it is considered
very unlucky for new shoes or tanned leather to be received
into the house during the Christmas week or on New Year's
Day. See N. & Q. btli S. vol. iii. p. 7.
KENT.
At one time the festivities of Christmas were commenced
at Ramsgate by a curious musical procession. The following
* Another correspondent of N. & Q. (2nd S. vol. ix. p. 185) says that
it was formerly the custom to send to the King the first lamprey caught
in the river at the commencement of the seuson; it was stewed, that
being the best way of cooking this fish.
472 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. ^< > .
account is taken from Busby's Concert Room and Orchestra
Anecdotes (1825, vol. i. p. 73) :
A party of young people procure the head of a dead horse,
which is affixed to a pole about four feet in length, a string
is tied to the lower jaw, a horsecloth is then attached to the
whole, under which one of the party gets, and by frequently
pulling the string keeps up a loud snapping noise, and is
accompanied by the rest of the party grotesquely habited
and ringing hand-bells. They thus proceed from house to
house, sounding their bells and singing carols and songs.
They are commonly gratified with beer and cake, or perhaps
with money. This is provincially called a hodening ; and
the figure above described a " hoden," or wooden horse.
This curious ceremony is also observed in the Isle of
Thanet on Christmas Eve, and is supposed to be an ancient
relic of a festival ordained to commemorate our Saxon
ancestors' landing in that island.
LANCASHIRE.
The following description of primitive manners in the
houses of the gentry at Christmas is extracted by Baines
(Hist, of Lancashire, vol. iii. p. 294) from a family manu-
script of the Cunliffes, of Wycoller, in Lancashire, and refers
to an age antecedent to the wars of the Parliament : " At
Wycoller-Hall the family usually kept open house the
twelve days at Christmas. Their entertainment was a large
hall of curious ashler wood, a long table, plenty of furmerty,
like new milk, in a morning, made of husked wheat boiled,
roasted beef with fat goose and a pudding, with plenty of
good beer for dinner. A roundabout fire-place, surrounded
with stone benches, where the young folks sat and cracked
nuts, and diverted themselves ; and in this manner the sons
and daughters got matching without going much from home."
See Med. Mm Kalend. vol. i. p. 91.
ISLE OF MAN.
Train, in his History of the Isle of Man (1845, vol. ii. p.
127), says : The Christmas festival is introduced by young
DEC. 25.] CHKISTMAS DAY. 473
persons perambulating the various towns and villages in the
evenings, fantastically dressed, and armed with swords,
calling as they proceed, " Who wants to see the White Boys
act ? " When their services are engaged they, like the
Scotch guisards or Quhite boys of Yule, perform a rude
drama, in which St. George, Prince Valentine, King of
Egypt, Sambo, and the Doctor are the dramatis personce.
It was customary in the Isle of Man for every family that
could afford it to have a brewing called Jough-ny-nollick, i.e.,
Christmas drink, prepared for the festivities of the season.
On such occasions one brewing-kettle generally served a
whole neighbourhood, which gave rise to the monk's
proverb, " To go about like a brewing-pan." Ibid. p. 127.
MIDDLESEX.
Malcolm, in his Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of
London (1811, p. 259), speaking of Christmas Day, says :
" It was a day of grand difference in the judgment of some,
and in the City of London some opened their shops, but to
stop mutinying they were shut up again ; yet do very few
understand what the difference is that is now embraced in
the judgments of those who desire the reformation from
Popish innovation, but to give such further satisfaction
herein, it is the opinion of these that it is a day wherein it
is very fit for the people of God to congregate in the church
to hear the Word of God preached, but not a holiday or
such a day as is of absolute necessity to be kept holy ; it is a
day wherein it is no sin for a man to follow his calling, and
he must not by a Popish innovation adore the day."
Inns of Court. There were anciently great doings in the
halls of the Inns of Court at Christmas. At the Inner
Temple early in the morning the gentlemen of the Inn went
to church, and after the service they repaired into the hall
to breakfast with brawn, mustard, and malmsey. At the
first course at dinner was " served in, a fair and large Sore's
head upon a silver platter, with minstralsye." Dugdale's
Orig. Jurid,
A correspondent of N. & Q. (5/A S. vol. ii. p. 507), alluding
to the time-honoured custom of the Boar's Head Feast at
474 CHRISTMAS DAY. [DEC. 25.
St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, says the boar's head is still
served up at Queen's College, Oxford (see p. 477), but I do
not think it can be more enjoyable than the Christmas custom
used to be at Clerkenwell, with the hall strewn with rushes,
the gigantic yule-log drawn in by the sons of the host (the
late proprietor), with the accompanying announcement, by
bugles, and the bringing in of the boar's head, the " cook
dressed all in white," singing the good old carol (printed by
Wynkyn, de Worde, 1521), copies of which being in the hands
of the guests, who joined in the chorus, rendering the whole
scene so pleasant as never to be forgotten. The loving cup
was never omitted, and of course wassail was duly brought
in, " y 6 Lorde of Mysrewle doing his duty ' passing well.' "
The following is an exact copy of the carol :
"CAROLL AT YE BBYNGYNE IN YE BOEE'S HEED.
Caput apri differo
Reddens laudem Domino.
The bore's heed in hande bringe I,
With garlens gay and rosemarie,
I pray you all synge merrilie,
Qui estis in convivio.
The bore's heed I understande,
Is the chefe servyce in this lande,
Loke wherever it be fonde,
Servlte cum cantico.
Be gladde lordes, both more and lesse,
For this hath ordeyned our st-jwarde
To chore jou all this Christmasse,
The bore's heed with mustarde."
Subjoined is a copy of the invitation the late host and
his predecessor used to issue, which is a curious produc-
tion :
" We'll passe aboute y lovynge cuppe,
And sende ye wassaile rounde ;
With myrthe and songes of chy valrie,
These goodlye Halles shall sounde.
[Here is an illustration of the north side of the Gate.]
" Samuel Wickens, ye Grande Mayester of ye Priorye of
Sainte John, Grectinge welle hys ryght trustye and welle
beloved friends, dothe herebye summon them to hys couucill -
DEC. 25.] CHKISTMAS DAY. 475
to be holden in y* Greate Halle of y 8 Priorye, aforesaide, on
y* ninthe c daye of laiiuarie, anno Domini, one thousande
eighte hundrede and seventie- three, to adjudycate on y*
qualitie of hys viandes : that is to saye, roaste beefe and
plumbe puddynge, and with a cordialle greetinge in y* was-
saile boule and y e lovynge cuppe, perpetuate to alle tyme and
to tyme oute of mynde a ryghte goodlye and lastynge fellow-
ehipe. Ye Boare's heade will be broughte into ye halle, and
y e chante will be sange, at sixe of the clocke, at which tyme
y* Feast will begine."
NORFOLK.
At Yarmouth before the Reformation it was a custom for the
prior and monks, and afterwards for the dean and chapter,
or the farmer of their parsonage, to provide a breakfast for
the inhabitants of the town every year on Christmas Day,
which custom continued till the 21st of Elizabeth, when, on
account of a grievous plague which carried off two thousand
of the inhabitants in one year, and on consideration of the
ruinous condition of the parsonage-house, it was agreed that
Thomas Osborne, who was then farmer of the parsonage,
should pay 51. a year to the churchwardens for the use
of the town in lieu of the said breakfast. After the plague
had ceased, the breakfast was resumed and continued as usual,
till the reign of James I., when William Gostlynge, then
farmer, absolutely refused to provide it or to pay an equiva-
lent composition, upon which the town preferred a complaint
to the dean and chapter, who promised not to countenance
him in such a non-conformity to the terms of the lease by
which he held of them. Finally, Mr. Gostlynge was obliged
to sign an agreement, whereby he engaged to pay yearly to
the town in lieu of the breakfast, IOL, which was distributed
to poor fishermen, &c., and 51. for his default, in before
refusing to provide the breakfast. This continued till the
making of a new agreement, between the corporation and
Mr. Gostlynge, of a grant of nomination and appointment
of preachers and ministers in the town, since which it seems
that both breakfast and composition shared the fate of all
human institutions and sank into oblivion. Parkin, History
of Great Yarmouth, 1776, p. 330.
476 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Cole, in his History of Weston Favell (1827, p. 60), says
Christmas Day is ushered in by the ringing of the bells of
the church, precisely at twelve o'clock, called the midnight
peal, till which time many of the inhabitants sit round the
jovial fire, whence at twelve o'clock they emerge into the
midnight air to listen to the peals of the bells of the neigh-
bouring churches.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
In Alnwick a custom existed of giving sweetmeats to
children at Christmas time, called Yule Babies, in commemo-
ration of our Saviour's nativity. History of Alnwick, 1822,
p. 262.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
The inhabitants of North Clifton were formerly ferry free.
In consequence, the ferryman and his dog were indulged with
a dinner each at the vicar's at Christmas. The ferryman
also on that day received of the inhabitants a prime loaf of
bread. N. & Q. bth S. vol. ii. p. 509.
Near Raleigh there is a valley said to have been caused by
an earthquake several hundred years ago, which swallowed
up a whole village, together with the church. Formerly, it
was the custom of the people to assemble in this valley every
Christmas Day morning to listen to the ringing of the bells
of the church beneath them. This, it was positively stated,
might be heard by placing the ear to the ground and hearken-
ing attentively. As late as 1827 it was usual on this morning
for old men and women to tell their children and young
friends to go to the valley, stoop down, and hear the bells
ring merrily. The villagers heard the ringing of the bells
of a neighbouring church, the sound of which was com-
municated by the surface of the ground. A similar belief
exists, or did a short time ago, at Preston, in Lancashire.
Ibid. p. 509.
OXFORDSHIRE.
In the buttery of St. John's College, Oxford, an ancient
candle socket of stone still remains, ornamented with the
DEC. 25.] CHKISTMAS DAT. 477
figure of the Holy Lamb. It was formerly used to burn the
Christinas candle in, on the high table at supper during
the twelve nights of this festival. Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849,
vol. i. p. 467.
It was formerly a custom for the butcher of Merton
College, about Christmas time, to invite the scholars to
a treat at his house, when he used to provide a bull for the
steward to knock down with his own hands, whence this
treat was called The Kill-Bull. Pointer, Oxoniensis Academia,
1749, p. 23.
The following account of the ancient custom of bringing
in a boar's head at Queen's College, Oxford, is taken from
a MS., in the Bodleian Library, quoted in the Antiquary
(1873, vol. iii. p. 47):
There is a custom at Queen's College to serve up every
year a boar's head, provided by the manciple against Christ-
inas Day. This boar's head being boyl'd or roasted, is laid
in a great charger, covered with a garland of bays or laurell
as broad at bottom as the brims of the chargers. When the
first course is served up in the refectory on Christmas Day,
in the said college, the manciple brings the said boar's head
from the kitchen up to the high table, accompanied with one
of the tabarders (i.e., the scholars), who lays his hand on
the charprcT. The tabarder sings a song, and when he comes
to the chorus all the scholars that are in the refectory joyn
together and sing it :
" The boar's head in hand bear I,
Bedeck d with bays and rosemary,
And I pray you muster merry be,
Quotquot estis in convicio.
CHORUS. Caput apri defero
liviid'.us laudet Domino.
The boar's head, s I understand,
Is the bravest dish in the land,
Being thus hedeck'd with a gay garland,
Let us aercire concivio.
CIIOBUS. Caj.td apri, <&
478 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25,
m.
Our steward has provided this
In honour of the King of bliss,
Which on this day to be served is,
In Reginensi atrio.
CHORUS. Caput apri," &c.
According to Mr. Wade (Walks in Oxford, 1817, vol. i.
p. 128) the usage is in commemoration of an act of valour
performed by a student of the college, who, while walking
in the neighbouring forest of Shotover, and reading Aristotle,
was suddenly attacked by a wild boar. The furious beast
came open-mouthed upon the youth, who, however, very
courageously, and with a happy presence of mind, rammed
in the volume, and crying Grcecum est, fairly choked the
savage.
In an audit-book of Trinity College for the year 1559,
Warton found a disbursement "pro prandio Principis
natalicii" A Christmas prince, or Lord of Misrule, he
adds, corresponding to the Imperator at Cambridge, was a
common temporary magistrate in the colleges of Oxford.
See Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 498 ; The Antiquary,
1873, vol. iii. p. 53; Wood, in his Athence Oxonienses,
alludes to the Christmas prince at St. John's and Merton
Colleges.
Mummings at Christmas are common in Oxfordshire. At
Islip some of the mummers wear masks, others, who cannot
get masks, black their faces and dress themselves up with
haybands tied round their arms and bodies. The smaller
boys black their faces, and go about singing
" A merry Christmas and a happy new year,
Your pockets full of money, and your cellars full of beer."
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 466.
t Dr. Lee, in JV. & Q. (5th S. vol. ii. pp. 503-505), has
given a curious old miracle play, the text of which he says
was taken down by himself from the lips of one of the per-
formers in 1853.
Aubrey informs us that in several parts of Oxfordshire it
was the custom for the maidservant to ask the man for ivy
to decorate the house, and if he refused or neglected to fttch
DEC. 25.] CHBISTMAS DAT. 479
in a supply the maids stole a pair of his breeches, and nailed
them up to the gate in the yard or highway. A similar
usage prevailed in other places, when the refusal to comply
with such a request incurred the penalty of being debarred
from the well-known privilege of the mistletoe. See Book of
Days, vol. ii. p. 753.
SCH.LY ISLES.
Troutbeck, in his State of the Stilly Isles (1796, p. 172),
gives the following account of how Christinas was celebrated
in his time. The young people, he says, exercise a sort
of gallantry among themselves, which they call goose-
dancing, when the maidens are dressed up for young men
and the young men for maidens. In the day time they
dance about the streets in masquerade, vieing with each other
who can appear the most uncouth. In the evenings they
visit their neighbours in companies, where they dance and
make their jokes upon what has happened in the islands.
By this sort of sport according to yearly custom and tolera-
tion, there is a spirit of wit and drollery kept up among the
people. The maidens, who are sometimes dressed up for sea
captains and other officers, display their alluring graces
to the ladies, who are young men equipped for that purpose ;
and the ladies exert their talents to them in courtly addresses,
their hangers are sometimes drawn, &c., after which, and
other pieces of drollery, the scene shifts to music and dancing,
which being over they are treated with liquor and then go
to the next house of entertainment.
They have a custom also of singing carols at church on
Christmas Day, to which the congregation make contributions
by dropping money into a hat carried about the church
when the performance is over. Heath's Account of the Scilly
Isles, p. 125.
SOMERSETSHIRE.
At West Hatch the reeve or bailiff to the manor provided
at the lord's expense a feast on Christmas Day, and dis-
tributed to each householder a loaf of bread, a pound and
a half of beef, and the like quantity of poj'k, undressed, and
the same evening treated them with a supper. Collinson,
History of County of Somerset, 1791, vol. ii. p. 186.
480 CHRISTMAS DAT. FDEC. 25,
The following lines are sung at the Christmas mmnmings
in this county :
" Here comes I, liddle man Jun,
With my zword in my han !
If you don't all do,
As you be told by I,
I'll zend you all to York,
Vor to make apple-pie."
Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 466.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
In Shaw's History of Staffordshire (1798-1801) is men-
tioned a custom formerly prevalent in the parish of Great
Barr, for the rector on every Christmas Day to give to each
person, great and small, of his parish that came to his house,
so much bread, beef, mustard, and vinegar as they could eat.
Latterly, however, money was given instead.
Plot, in his Natural History of Staffordshire (1G86, p. 434),
gives the following account of a jocular custom celebrated in
olden times at Bromley Abbots. He says : Within memory,
at Abbots or Pagets Bromley, they had a sort of sport which
they celebrated at Christmas (on New Year and Twelfth
Day) called the Hobby-horse Dance from a person who carried
the image of a horse between his legs, made of thin boards,
and in his hands a bow and arrow which, passing through
a hole in the bow and stopping upon a shoulder it had in it,
he made a snapping noise as he drew it to and fro, keeping
time with the musick ; with this man danced six others,
carrying on their shoulders as many reindeer heads, three
of them painted white, with three red, with the arms of the
chief families (viz., of Paget, Bagot, and Wells), to whom the
revenues of the town chiefly belonged, depicted on the palms
of them, with which they danced the hays and other country
dances. To this hobby-horse dance there also belonged
a pot, which was kept by turns by four or five of the chief
of the town, whom they called reeves, who provided cake
and ale to put into this pot ; all people who had any kind-
ness for the goodantcnt of the institution of the sport, giving
pence a piece for themselves and their families, and so
foreigners too that came to see it, with which money (the
DUO. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 481
charge of the cakes and ale bsing defrayed) they not only
ivmhvtl their church, but kept the poor too, which charges
are not now perhaps so cheerfully borno.
There is an ancient payment made by the chamberlain of
the corporation of Stafford, of an annual sum of money,
generally six shillings, at Christmas, for the purchasing
of plums, to be distributed among the inhabitants of certain
old houses in the liberty of Forebridge.
The origin of this payment is ascribed, by general reputa-
tion to the bounty of some individual who heard from some
poor children a complaint on Christmas Day that they had
no plums for a pudding ; and it is reported that he counted
the houses then in the place, and made provision for the
supply of a pound of plums for each house. The money
received is laid out in plums, which are divided into equal
quantities, and made up into parcels, one for each of the
houses, fifteen or sixteen in number, entitled by the established
usage to receive a portion, without reference to the circum-
stances of the inhabitants. Old English Customs and
Charities, p. 5.
SUFFOLK.
Brand (Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. p. 489) alludes to a custom
practised in the neighbourhood of Bury St. Edmunds among
the young men, of hunting owls and squirrels on Christmas
Day.
In 1358, at Hawstcad, the customary tenants paid their
lord at Christmas a small rent, called offering silver. Eleven
of them paid iu all xviij d - In 1386 the Christmas offerings
made by the master for his domestics amounted to xiiij d< for
seven servants. Cullum, History of Hawstead, 1813, pp.
13-14.
WESTMORELAND.
At Kendal, if a man be found at work in Christmas week
his fellow-tradesmen lay violent hands on him, and carry
him on a pole to the ale-house, where he is to treat them.
Southey's Common Place Book, 1851, 4th series, p. 354.
2 i
482 CHRISTMAS DAY. [DEC. 25.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
At Bewdley it was the custom for the bellman to go round
on Christmas morning, ringing his bell in several parts of
the town, and singing the following doggerel, first saying,
" Good morning, masters and mistresses all, I wish you all a
merry Christmas":
" Arise mistress, arise,
And make your tarts and pies,
And let your maids lie still ;
For if they should rise and spoil your pies
You'd take it very ill.
Whilst you are sleeping in your bed,
I the cold wintry nights must tread,
Past twelve o'cL >ck. Ehe !"
Kidderminster Shuttle, Dec. 2nd, 1871.
At Yardley such of the poor as are excluded from partaking
of certain doles on account of receiving regular weekly
relief, are all'' wed one shilling each out of a general charity
fund at Christmas, under the name of plum-pudding money,
to the extent of about 42. Edwards, Old English Customs
and Charities, p. 23.
YORKSHIRE.
Blount tells us that, in Yorkshire and other northern
parts, after sermon or service on Christmas Day, the people
will, even in the churches, cry " Ule ! Ule ! " as a token of
rejoicing ; and the common sort run about the streets sing-
ing:
'Vie! Ule! Ule! Ule!
Three puddings in a pule,
Crack nuts and cry Ule ! "
Sue Brand, Pop. Antiq. 1849, vol. i. pp.
476-477.
One never-failing remnant of the olden time observed in
this county, says Soane (Curiosities of Literature}, was the
cheese, which had been especially made and preserved for
the season. It was produced with much ceremony by every
rustic dame, who, before she allowed it to be tasted, took a
sharp knife and scored upon it rude resemblances to the cross.
To this were added the mighty wassail bowl brimming with
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAT. 483
lamb's-wool, and furmity made of barley-meal, which last was
also an essential of the breakfast-table.
Between Christmas Day and the New Year it is customary
in the North Riding of Yorkshire to give every visitor a
slice of "pepper cake" (a spiced gingerbread cake) and
cheese and a glass of gin.
In the North Biding of Yorkshire it is also the custom
for the parishioners, after receiving the Sacrament on
Christmas Day, to go from church directly to the ale-house,
and there drink together as a testimony of charity and
friendship. Aubrey, MS. quoted in Time's Telescope, 1826,
p. 293.
At Filey, on Christmas morning before break of day, there
existed formerly the greatest uproar, by numbers of boys
going round from house to house, rapping at every door, and
roaring out, " I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy
new year," which words were vociferated again and again
till the family awoke and admitted the clamorous visitor;
who, if he were the first,* was treated with money or cheese
and gingerbread, which were also distributed, but less
liberally, to subsequent visitors. No persons (boys ex-
cepted) ever presumed to go out of doors till the threshold
had been consecrated by the entrance of a male. Females
had no part in this matter, and if a damsel, lovely as an
angel, entered first, her fair form was viewed with horror as
an image of death. Cole, Antiquities of Filey, 1828, p. 137.
At Huddersfield the children carry about a " wessel-bob,"
or large bunch of evergreens hung with oranges and apples,
and coloured ribbons, singing the following carol :
" Here we come a wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a wandering
So fair to be seen.
C7toru.
For it is in Christmas time
Strangers travel far and near,
So God bless you and send you a happy
New year.
The custom of first footing seems to have been confined in other
places to New Year's Morning.
2 i 2
484 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25.
We are not daily beggars,
That beg from door to door.
But we are neighbours' children,
Whom you have seen before.
Call up the butler of this house,
Put on his golden ring,
Let him bring us a glass of beer,
And the better we shall sing.
We have got a little purse
Made of stretching leather skin,
We want a little of ^-our money
To line it well within.
Bring us out a table
And spread it with a cloth ;
Bring out a mouldy cheese,
Also your Christmas loaf.
God bless the master of this house,
Likewise the mistress too,
And all the little children
That round the table go.
Good master and mistress,
While you're sitting by the fire,
Pray think of us poor children
Who are wandering in the mire."
N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. xi. p. 144.
Some years ago it was the custom in Leeds, and the
neighbourhood, for children to go from house to house singing
and carrying what they called a " wesley-hob." This they
kept veiled in a cloth till they came to a house door, when
they uncovered it.
The wesley-bob was made of holly and evergreens, like a
bovver, inside were placed a couple of dolls, adorned with
ribbons, and the whole affair was borne upon a stick. Whilst
the wesley-bob was being displayed, a song or ditty was sung.
At Aberford, near Leeds, two dolls are carried about in
boxes in a similar way, and such an affair here is called a
wesley-box. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. vi. p. 494.
At Eipon, on Christmas Day, says a correspondent of the
Gent. M^g. (1790, vol. Ix. p. 719), the singing boys come into
the church with large baskets full of red apples, with a sprig
of rosemary stuck in each, which they present to all the con-
gregation, and generally have a return made them of 2d.,
4d., or 6d., according to the quality of the lady or gentleman.
DEC. 25.] CHBI8TMA8 DAT* 485
The sword or morisco dance used to bo practised at
Richmond, during the Christinas holidays, by young men
dressed in shirts ornamented with ribbons folded into roses,
having swords, or wood cut in the form of that weapon.
They exhibited various feats of activity, attended by an old
fiddler, by Bessy in the grotesque habit of an old woman, and
by the fool almost coveied with skins, a hairy cap on his
head, and the tail of a fox hanging from his head. These
led the festive throng, and diverted the crowd with their
droll antic buffoonery. The office of one of these characters
was to go about rattling a box:, and soliciting money from
door to door to defray the expenses of a feast and a dance in
the evening. History of Richmond, 1814, p. 296.
In Sheffield, a male must be the first to enter a house on
the morning of both Christmas Day and Now Year's Day ;
but there is no distinction as to complexion or colour of
hair. In the houses of the more opulent manufacturers,
these first admissions are often accorded to choirs of work-
people, who, as " waits," proceed at an early hour and sing
before the houses of their employers and friends Christmas
carols and hymns, always commencing with that beautiful
composition :
" Christians, awake, salute the happy morn,
Whereon the Saviour of mankind was bom."
On expressing their good wishes to the inmates, they are
generally rewarded with something warm and occasionally
with a pecuniary present.
Among the class called " respectable," but not manu-
facturers, a previous arrangement is often made ; that a boy,
the son of a friend, shall come and be first admitted, receiving
for his good wishes a Christmas-box of sixpence or a shilling.
The houses of the artisans and poor are successively besieged
by a host of gamins, who, soon after midnight, spread them-
selves over the town, shouting at the doors, and through key-
holes, as follows :
a Au wish ya a murry ChrismaB,
A 'nppy new year,
A* pockit full of munny,
An' a celler full a' beer.
486 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 25
Go 1 bless the maester of this 'ouse
The mistriss ail-so,
An' all the little childrun
That round the table go.
A apple, a pare, a plom, an' a cherry ;
A sup a' good ale mak' a man murry," &e.
The same house will not admit a second boy. One is suffi-
cient to protect it from any ill-luck that might otherwise
happen. A penny is the usual gratuity for this service.
N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. v. p. 395.
WALES.
A custom prevails in Wales of carrying about at Christmas
time a horse's skull dressed up with ribbons, and supported
on a pole by a man who is concealed under a large white
cloth. There is a contrivance for opening and shutting the
jaws, and the figure pursues and bites everybody it can lay
hold of, and does not release them except on payment of a
fine. It is generally accompanied by some men dressed up
in a grotesque manner, who, on reaching a house, sing some
extempore verses requesting admittance, and are in turn
answered by those within, until one party or the other is at a
loss for a reply. The Welsh are undoubtedly a practical
people, and these verses often display a good deal of clever-
ness. This horse's head is called Mari Lwyd, which I have
heard translated " Grey mare." Lywd certainly is grey, but
Mari is not a mare in Welsh.* N. & Q. 1st S. vol. i. p. 173.
Upon Christmas Day, about three o'clock in the morning,
the Welsh in many parts used to assemble in church, and
after prayers and a sermon, continue there singing psalms
and hymns with great devotion, till it was daylight ; and if,
through age or infirmity, any were disabled from attending,
they never failed having prayers at home, and carols on our
* This custom was also practised in one or two places in Lancashire
about the year 1840. The horse was played in a similar way, but the
performer was called " Old Ball." It is no doubt a vestige of the old
"hobby-horse." Ibid. p. 245.
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY. 487
Saviour's nativity. This act of devotion was called Pulijen,
or the crowning of the cock. It was a general belief among
She superstitious that instantly
" At his warning,
Whether in sea, or fire, in earth, or air,
Th' extravagant, and erring spirit, hies
To his confine "
During Christmas time, the cock was supposed to exert
liis power throughout the night, from which no doubt origi-
nated the Welsh word " Pulgen " as applied to this custom.
Bingley's Tour Bound North Wales, 1800, vol. ii. p. 226.
At Tenby it was customary at 4 o'clock on Christmas
morning for the yonng men of the town to escort the rector
with lighted torches from his residence to church. Mason's
Tales and Traditions of Tenby, 1858, p. 4.
Sometimes also before or after Christmas Day the fisher-
men of Tenby dressed up one of their number whom they
called the " Lord Mayor of Pennyless Cone," with a covering
of evergreens and a mask over his face ; they would then
carry him about, seated on a chair, with flags flying, and a
couple of violins playing before him. Before every house
the " Lord Mayor " would address the occupants, wishing
them a merry Christmas and a happy new year. If his
good wishes were responded to with money his followers gave
three cheers, the masquer would himself return thanks, and
the crowd again cheered. Ibid. p. 5.
SCOTLAND.
In some parts of Scotland, he who first opens the door on
Yule Day expects to prosper more than any other member of
the family during the future year because, as the vulgar
express it, "He lets in yule." On opening the door, it is
customary with some to place in the doorway a table or
chair covered with a clean cloth ; and, according to their
own language, to " set on it bread and cheese to yule." Early
in the morning, as soon as any one of the family gets out of
bed, a new besom is set behind the outer door, the design
being to " let in yule," These superstitious, in which yulo
488 CHKISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 2.
is not only personified, but treated as a deity, are evidently
of heathen origin, It is common also to have a table covered
in the house, from morning until evening, with bread and
drink upon it, that every one who calls may take a portion,
and it is considered particularly inauspicious if any one
comes into a house and leaves ifrwithout doing so. Whatever
number of persons call on this day, all must partake of the
good cheer. Mcd. jEvi Kalend. vol. i. p. 48 ; see Jamieson,
Etymol. Diet., Art. Yule.
Any servant uho is supposed to have a due regard to the
interests of the family, and is not at the same time emanci-
pated from the yoke of superstition, is careful to go early to
the well on Christmas morning to draw water, pull the corn
out of the sack, and also to bring kale from the kitchen
garden. This is intended to insure prosperity to the family
(Ibid. p. 99). It is in fact Ihe same as the Usque Cashrichd,
which was noticed among the superstitious customs of the
first of January. See p. 17.
The doings of the guisards (that is, masquers), eays
Chambers (Pop. Rhymes, 1870, p. 169), form a conspicuous
feature in the New Year proceedings throughout Scotland.
The evenings on which these personages are understood to
be privileged to appear, are those of Christmas, Hogmanay,
New Year's Day, and Handsel Monday. Dressed up in
quaint and fantastic attire, they sing a selection of songs
which have been practised by them some weeks before.
There were important doings, however, one of a theatrical
character. There is one rude and grotesque drama (called
Galatian) which they are accustomed to perform on each of
the four above mentioned nights, and which in various
fragments or versions exists in every part of Lowland
Scotland. The performers, who are never less than throe,
but sometimes as many as six, having dressed themselves,
proceed in a band from house to house, generally contenting
themselves with the kitchen for an arena, whither in man-
sions, presided over by the spirit of good humour, the whole
family will resort to witness the scene of mirth. Soe
Chambers' Pop. Rhymes, p. 170.
DEC. 25.] CHRISTMAS DAY. 489
ANGUS-SHIRE.
At Christmas and the New Year, the opulent burghers
begin to feast with their friends, and go a round of visits,
which takes up the space of many weeks. Upon such
occasions the gravest is expected to be merry, and to join iu
a cheerful song. Sinclair, Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1793,
vol. v. p. 48.
FOBFABSHIBE.
From the same authority we learn that, in the parish of
Kirkden, on Christmas Day, the servant is free from his
master, and goes about visiting his friends and acquaintances.
The poorest man must have beef or mutton on the table, and
what they call a dinner with their friends. They amuse
themselves with various diversions, particularly with shooting
for prizes, called here wad-shooting, and many do but little
business all the Christmas week. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 509.
ABERDEENSHIRE.
Christmas morn is welcomed at St. Fergus by liberal
libations of drinkiny-sowins, or, as they are called by the old
people, Itnottinfj-sowins ; and by the gathering of friends and
neighbours around the social hearth. That the humblest
householder in the parish may have his Christmas cakes, a
distribution of meal, the gift of a benevolent individual, is
annually made by the kirk-session on Christmas Day, to the
poor on the roll. Stat. Ace. of Scotland, 1845, vol. xii. p. 198.
In certain parts also of the county of Aberdeen, the
custom of not working during the three days of Christmas
(Old Style) is still kept up. Straw, termed " yule straw," is
gathered beforehand, and everything needed for food and fuel
prepared in a similar way, so that the festival may be kept in
peace. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. ii. p. 483.
BANFFSHIRE.
In the account of Keith, given in the Stat. Ace. of Scotland
(1793, vol. v. p. 428), the inhabitants are said to have no
490 CHRISTMAS DAT. [DEC. 2$.
pastimes or holidays except dancing on Christmas and New
Year's Day.
BERWICK-TJPON-TWEED.
Fuller, in his History of Berwick upon Tweed (1799,
p. 446), alluding to the customs of that place, says, there
are four men called town waits, who belong to the borough.
Their business is to walk before the mayor, recorder, and
justices, playing on violins, all the way to and from church
on Christmas Day, the day of the election of a mayor, and
November the 5th. They also are obliged to attend these
gentlemen at their four public dinners.
THE HIGHLANDS.
As soon as the brightening glow of the eastern sky warns
the anxious housemaid of the approach of Christinas Day,
she rises, full of anxiety, at the prospect of her morning
labours. The meal, which was steeped in the sowans-boivie
a fortnight ago to make the Prechdacdan sour or sour
scones, is the first object of her attention. The gridiron is
put on the fire, and the sour scones are soon followed by
hard cakes, soft cakes, buttered cakes, bannocks, and pannich
perm. The baking being once over, the so wans pot succeeds
the gridiron, full of new sowans, which are to be given to
the family, agreeably to custom, this day in their beds.
The sowans are boiled into the consistence of molasses,
when the lagan-le-vrich or yeast-bread, to distinguish it from
boiled sovvans, is ready. It is then poured into as many
bickers as there are individuals to partake of it, and pre-
sently served to the whole, both old and young. As soon as
each despatches his bicker, he jumps out of bed the elder
branches to examine the ominous signs of the day, and the
younger to enter on its amusements. Flocking to the swing,
a favourite amusement on this occasion, the youngest of the
family gets the first " shouder," and the next oldest to him
in regular succession. In order to add more to the spirit of
the exercise, it is a common practice with the person in the
swing and the person appointed to swing him to enter into
a very warm and humorous altercation. As the swinged
DEC. 25.] CHBISTMAS DAY. 491
person approaches the swinger, he exclaims, " Ei mi tu chal"
"I'll eat your kail." To this the swinger replies, with a
violent shove, " Cha ni u mu chal," " You shan't eat my
kail." These threats and repulses are sometimes carried to
such a height as to break down or capsize the threatener,
which generally puts an end to the quarrel.
As the day advances those minor amusements are termi-
nated at the report of the gun or the rattle of the ball clubs
the gun inviting the marksman to the " Jciavamuchd," or
prize shooting, and the latter to " Luchd-vouil," or the ball
combatants both the principal sports of the day. Tired at
length of the active amusements of the field, they exchange
them for the substantial entertainment of the table. Groan-
ing under the "Sonsy-haggis " and many other savoury dainties
unseen for twelve months before, the relish communicated to
the company by the appearance of the festive board is more
easily conceived than described. The dinner once despatched,
the flowing bowl succeeds and the sparkling glass flies to and
fro like a weaver's shuttle. The rest of the day is spent in
dancing and games. Grant, Popular Superstitions of the
Highlands.
OBKNET.
A writer in the Stat. Ace. of Scotland (1845, vol. xv. p.
127), speaking of Westray, says: One custom in this parish
and common to Orkney at large, is that of allowing the
servants four or five days' liberty at Christmas to enjoy
themselves, only the most necessary part of domestic work,
with due attention to the bestial on the farm, is done on
these days. The master of the house has also to keep up
a well-furnished table for all his servants at this season.
IRELAND.
At Culdaff, previous to Christmas, it is customary with
the labouring classes to raffle for mutton, when a sufficient
number can subscribe to defray the cost of a sheep. During
the Christmas holidays they amuse themselves with a game
of kamman, which consists in impelling a wooden ball with
492 ST. STEPHENS DAY. [DEC. 2b.
a crooked stick to a given point, while an adversary en-
deavours to drive it in a contrary direction. Mason, Stat.
Ace. of Ireland, 1814, vol. ii p. 160.
DEC. 26.] ST. STEPHEN'S DAT.
FOE some unexplained reason St. Stephen's Day was a
great period with our ancestors for bleeding their horses,
which was practised by people of all ranks, and recommended
by the old agricultural poet Tusser, in his Five Hundred
Points of Husbandry (chap. xxii. st. 16), who says :
" Yer, Christmas be passed, let Iwrsse be let Wood,
For manie a purpose it dooth him much good ;
The day of S. Steeven old fathers did use ;
If that do mislike thee, some other day chuse."
Mr. Douce says that the practice was introduced into this
country by the Danes.
Naogeorgus, according to his translator, Barnaby Googe,
refers to it, and assigns a reason :
" Then folio weth Saint Stephen's Day, whereon doth every man,
His horses jaunt and course abrode, as swiftly as he can,
Until they doe extreemely sweate, and then they let them blood ;
For this being done upon this day, they say doth do them good,
And keepos them from all maladies, and sickiiesse through the yeare,
As if that Steven any time took charge of horses heare."
In explanation, it may be stated that the Saint was the
patron of horses, and that on this day, which the Germans
call Der grosse Pferdstag, the Pope's stud was physicked
and bled for the sake of the blood which was supposed to be
a remedy in many disorders.
Aubrey, in his Remains of Gentillsme (MS. Lansd. 226),
says : " On St. Stephen's day, the farrier came constantly
and blouded all our cart-horses." In the "Receipts and
Disbursements of the canons of St. Mary in Huntingdon,"
is the following entry : " Item, for letting our horses blede
in Chrystmasse weke, iiij d ." Med. 2Evi Kalend. 1841, vol. i.
p. 118.
DEC. 26.] ST. STEPHEN'S DAT. 493
Christmas Boxes is a term now applied to gifts of money
at Christmas given away on St. Stephen's Day, commonly
called Boxing Day, whereas, anciently, it signified the boxes
in which gifts were deposited. These boxes closely re-
sembled the Eoman Paganalia, for the reception of con-
tributions at rural festivals ; from which custom, with certain
changes, is said to have been derived our Christmas Boxes.
At Pompeii have been found earthen boxes, in which money
wus slipped through a hole. Aubrey found one filled with
Roman denarii. Timbs' Something for Everybody, 1861, p.
152 ; see JV. & Q. 3rd S. vol. xi. pp. 65, 107, 164, 245 ;
sco also Fosbroke's Enclyclopcedia of Antiquities, 1840, p. 662.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
In Bedfordshire there formerly existed a custom of the
poor begging the broken victuals the day after Christmas
Day. -Times Telescope, 1822, p. 298.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
It is stated in the Parliamentary Returns in 1786, that some
laud, then let at 12Z. per annum, was given by Sir Hugh Kite
for the poor of the parish of Clifton Reynes. It appears from a
book, in the custody of the minister, dated 1821, compiled by
an antiquary for a history of the county, that the rector holds
a close of pasture-ground called Kites, which had been formerly
given to support a lamp burning in the church of Clifton
Reynes, but which was subject to a charge of finding one
small loaf, a piece of cheese, and a pint of ale to every
married person, and half-a-piut for every unmarried person,
resident in Clifton on the feast of St. Stephen, when they
walked in the parish boundaries in Rogation week. The
close was annexed to the rectory in the 12th of Elizabeth.
Old English Customs and diarities, 1842, p. 120.
There Was formerly a custom in the parish of Drayton
Beauchamp called Stephening. All the inhabitants used to
go on St. Stephen's Day to the rectory, and eat as much
bread and cheese and drink as much ale as they chose at tho
expense of the rector,
494 BT. STEPHEN'S DAY. [DEC. 26.
The usage gave rise to so much rioting that it was discon-
tinued, and an annual sum was distributed instead in propor-
tion to the number of the claimants. In time, the number of
inhabitants, however, increased so considerably, that about
the year 1827 the custom was dropped. Ibid. p. 121.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
St. Stephen's Day was formerly observed at Cambridge.
Slicer, a character in the old play of the Ordinary says,
" Let the Corporal
Come sweating under a breast of mutton, stuffed
With pudding."
This, says the annotator, was called St. Stephen's pudding ;
it used formerly to be provided at St. John's College, Cam-
bridge, uniformly on St. Stephen's Day. Dodsley's Old
Plays, 1721, vol. x. p. 229 ; Med. Mm Kalend. vol. i. p. 119.
ISLE OF MAN.
Hunting the wren has been a pastime in the Isle of Man
from time immemorial. In Waldron's time it was observed
on the 24th of December, though afterwards it was observed
on St. Stephen's Day. This singular ceremony is founded
on a tradition that, in former times, a fairy of uncommon
beauty exerted such undue influence over the male popula-
tion, that she, at various times, induced, by her sweet voice,
numbers to follow her footsteps, till by degrees she led them
into the sea where they perished. This barbarous exercise
of power had continued for a great length of time, till it was
apprehended that the island would be exhausted of its de-
fenders, when a knight-errant sprang up, who discovered
some means of countervailing the charms used by this siren,
and even laid a plot for her destruction, which she only
escaped at the moment of extreme hazard by taking the form
of a wren. But though she evaded instant annihilation, a
spell was cast upon her by which she was condemned, on
every succeeding New Year's Day, to reanimate the same
form with the definite sentence that she must ultimately
DEC. 26.] ST. STEPHEN'S DAY. 495
perish by human hand. In consequence of this legend, on
the specified anniversary, every man and boy in the island
(except those who have thrown off the trammels of supersti-
tion) devote the hours between sunrise and sunset to the
hope of extirpating the fairy, and woe be to the individual
birds of that species who show themselves on this fatal day to
the active enemies of the race ; they are pursued, pelted, fired
at, and destroyed, without mercy, and their feathers preserved
with religious care, it being an article of belief that every
one of the relics gathered in this laudable pursuit is an effec-
tive preservative from shipwreck for one year; and that
fisherman would be considered extremely foolhardy who
should enter upon his occupation without such a safeguard ;
when the chase ceases, one of the little victims is affixed to
the top of a long pole with its wings extended, and carried in
front of the hunters, who march in procession to every house,
chanting the following rhyme :
" We hunted the wren for Kobin 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."
After making the usual circuit and collecting all the money
they could obtain, they laid the wren on a bier and carried it
in procession to the parish churchyard, where, with a whimsi-
cal kind of solemnity, they made a grave, buried it and sang
dirges over it in the Hanks language, which they call her
knell. After the obsequies were performed, the company,
outside the churchyard wall, formed a circle and danced to
music which they had provided for the occasion.
At present there is not a particular day for pursuing the
wren : it is captured by boys alone, who follow the old custom
principally for amusement. On St. Stephen's Day a group
of boys go from door to door with a wren suspended by tho
legs, in the centre of two hoops crossing each other at right
angles, decorated with evergreens and ribbons, singing lines
called Hunt the Wren. If at the close of this rhyme they are
fortunate enough to obtain a small coin, they give in return a
feather of the wren ; and before the close of the day the little
bird may sometimes be seen hanging about featherless. The
ceremony of the interment of this bird in the churchyard, at
496 ST. STEPHEN'S DAT. [DEC. 26.
the close of St. Stephen's Day, has long since been abandoned ;
and the sea-shore or some waste ground was substituted in its
place.
NORFOLK.
It is an old custom in the town of East Dereham, to ring a
mnffled peal from the church tower on the morning of St.
Stephen's Day. N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. iii. p. 69.
OXFORDSHIRE.
The three vicars of Bampton, give beef and beer on the
morning of St. Stephen's Day to those who choose to partake
of it. This is called St. Stephen's breakfast. Southey's
Common Place Book, ih S. 1851, p. 395.
YORKSHIRE.
A correspondent of the Gent. Mag. (1811, vol. Ixxxi. pt.
i. p. 423) says, that in the North Biding of Yorkshire on
the feast of St. Stephen large goose pies are made, all of
which they distribute among their needy neighbours, except
one, which is carefully laid up, and not tasted till the Purifi-
cation of the Virgin, called Candlemas.
On this day, also, six youths, clad in white and bedecked
with ribbands, with swords in their hands, travel from one
village to another, performing the " sword dance." They are
attended by a fiddler, a youth whimsically dressed, named
" Bessy," and by one who personates a physician. One of
the six youths acts the part of a king in a sort of farce,
which consists chiefly of music and dancing, when the
" Bessy " interferes while they are making a hexagon with
their swords, and is killed. Times Telescope, 1814, p. 315.
WALES.
On St. Stephen's Day, everybody is privileged to whip
another person's legs with holly, and this is often reciprocally
done till the blood streams down. Southey's Common Place
Book (1851, kth S. p. 365). In Mason's Tales and Traditions
of Tenby (1858, p. 5) this custom is alluded to as being
celebrated at that place.
DEO. 28.] HOLY INNOCENTS' DAT. 497
IRELAND.
On the anniversary of St. Stephen it is customary for
groups of young villagers to bear about a holly-bush adorned
with ribbons, and having many wrens depending from it.
This is carried from house to house with some ceremony, the
" wren-boys " chanting several verses, the burthen of which
may be collected from the following lines of their song :
" The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,
Although he is little, his family's great,
I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat.
My box would speak if it had but a tongue,
And two or three shillings would do it no wrong;
Sing holly, sing ivy sing ivy, sing holly,
A drop just to drink, it would drown melancholy.
And if you draw it of the best,
I hope in Heaven your soul may rest;
But if you draw it of the small,
It won't agree with the wi en-boys at all ;" &c., &c.
A small piece of money is usually bestowed on them, and the
evening concludes in merry-making with the money thus
collected. Croker, Researches in the South of Ireland, 1824,
p. 233.
DEO. 28.] HOLY INNOCENTS' DAT.
IN consequence probably of the feelings of horror attached
to such an act of atrocity as Herod's murder of the children,
Innocents' Day used to be reckoned about the most unlucky
throughout the year ; and in former times no one who could
possibly avoid it began any work or entered on any under-
taking on this anniversary.* To many Childermas Day
* In the play of Sir John Oldcnetle, the prevalence of this belief
is instanced by an objection urged to an expedition proposed on u
Friday : " Friday, quoth'a, a dismal day ; Candlemas-day this year
was Fiiday. "
2 K
498 HOLY INNOCENTS' DAT. [DEC. 28.
was especially inauspicious. It is said of the equally super-
st'tious and unprincipled monarch, Louis XI., that he would
never perform any business, or enter into any discussion
about his affairs, on this day, and to make to him then any
proposal of the kind was certain to exasperate him to the
utmost. We are informed too that, in England, on the occa-
sion of the coronation of King Edward IV., that solemnity
which had been originally intended to take place on Sunday,
was postponed till the Monday, owing to the former day being
in that year the festival of Childermas. This idea of the
inauspicious nature of the day was long prevalent, and is
even yet not wholly extinct. To the present hour the
house wives in Cornwall, and probably also in other parts of
the country, refrain scrupulously from scouring or scrubbing
on Innocents' Day. Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 776.
It was, moreover, not considered lucky upon this day to
put on new clothes or pare the nails.
In 1517, h >wever, King Henry VIII., by an order, en-
joined, " that lie King of Cockneys, on Childermas Day, should
sit aud have due service ; and that he and all his officers
should use honest manner and good order, without any waste
or destruction making in wine, brawn, chely, or other vitails ;
and also that he and his marshal, butler, and constable
marshal, should have their lawful and honest commandments
by- delivery of the officers of Christmas, and that the said
King of Cockneys, he, none of his officers, medyl neither in
the buttery nor in the stuard of Christmass, his officer, upon
pain of 40s. for every such meddling ; and lastly, that Jack
Straw and all his adherents should be thenceforth utterly
banisht, and no more to be used in this house, upon pain to
forfeit, for every time, five pounds, to be levied on every
fellow liappening to offend against this rule." Every Day
Book, 1862, vol. i. p. 164.3 ; Dugclale's Orig. Jurid.
It was at one time customary on this day to whip the
juvenile members of a family. Gregory remarks that "it hath
been a custom, and yet is elsewhere, to whip up the children
upon Innocents' Day morning, that the memorie of this
murther might stick the closer ; and, in a moderate propor-
tion, to act over the crueltie again in kind." Gregory also
states another custom, on the authority of an old ritual
DEC. 28.] HOLT INNOCENTS' DAY. 499
belonging to the Abbey of Oseney, communicated to him by
his friend, Dr. Gerard Langbain, the Provost of Queen's
College, Oxford, from which it appears that, at the church
of Oseney, " they were wont to bring out, upon this day,
the foot of a child prepared after their fashion, and put
upon with red and black colours, as to signify the dismal
part of the day. They put this up in a chest in the vestry,
ready to be produced at the time, and to be solemnly
carried about the church to be adored by the people."
Gregorie's Works, Episcopus Puerorum in Die Innocentium,
1684, p. 113.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE .
At Woodchester a muffled peal is rung on this day.
Kalendar of the English Church, 1866, p. 194.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
In Northamptonshire this festival was called " Dyzemas
Day." Miss Baker, in her Glossary of Northamptonshire
Words (1854, vol. i. p. 207), says she was told by a sexa-
genarian on the southern side of the county that, within his
remembrance, this day was kept as sacred as the Sabbath,
and it was considered particularly unlucky to commence any
undertaking, or even to wash, on the same day of the week
throughout the year on which the anniversary of this day
last fell, and it was commonly said, " What is begun on
Dyzemas Day will never be finished."
The source of the ill-omened Dyzemas has not been settled :
its origin has been suggested from Greek due, and mass,
as being expressive of misfortune, evil, peril, in allusion to
the massacre of the Innocents. A correspondent of N. & Q.
('2nd S. vol. iii. pp. 289 and 495) asks if it has not reference
to the name Desmas, given to one of the thieves crucified
with our Lord ; universal tradition seeming to attach Desmas
to the penitent, and Gestas (or Yesmas) to the impenitent
thief? And if the local tradition has any reference to these
names, it would seem as if Desmas was the name of ill-omen.
It has also been suggested that Dyzemas Day is tithe day :
in Portuguese, dizimas ) dizimos, tenths, tithes ; in law Latin,
2 K 2
500 HOLY INNOCENTS' DAT. [DEC. 28.
decimae, the same. Timbs thinks it referable to the old
north-country word disen, i.e., to dress out in holiday finery,
especially at this festive season. Something for Everybody,
(1861, p. 154).
SOMERSETSHIRE.
From time immemorial a muffled peal has been rung on
this festival at Leigh-upon-Mendip. At Wells, also, on this
day, the bells of the cathedral ring out a muffled peal in
commemoration of the martyrdom of the Innocents. Kalendar
of the Church of England, 1866, p. 194.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
At Norton, near Evesham, it is customary, says a corre-
spondent of N. & Q. (1st S. vol. viii. p. 617), to ring first a
muffled peal for the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and
then an unmuffled peal of joy for the deliverance of the
Infant Christ.
IRELAND.
Holy Innocents' Day is with the Irish " the cross day of
tlie year," which they call in their own tongue " La crosfca na
bliana," or sometimes " Diar daoin darg," the latter phrase
signifying " blood Thursday." On this day the Irish house-
wife will not warp thread, or permit it to be warped ; and the
Irish say that anything begun on this day must have an
unlucky ending. The following legend regarding the day
is current in the county of Clare :
Between the parishes of Quin and Tulla in this county
is a lake called Turlough. In the lake is a little island, and
among a heap of loose stones in the middle of the island
rises a white thorn-bush, which is called " Scagh an Earla "
(the earl's bush). A suit of clothes made for a child on the
" Cross day," or " Diar daoin darg," was put on the child
the child died. The clothes were put on a second and on
a third child they also died. The parent of the children at
length put out the clothes on the " Scagh an Earla," and
when the waters fell which for a time covered the bush, the
clothes were found to be full of dead eels. Such is the story ;
and other stories like it are freely told of the consequences
DEO. 3!.] NEW TEAIl's EVE. 501
of commencing work on " the cross day of the year " in
Ireland. N. & Q. 4.th S. vol. xii. p. 185.
DEC. 31.] NEW YEAE'S EVE.
THE last night of the old year has been called Singing-E'en,
from tlie custom of singing carols on the evening of this
day.
This eve is called by the Wesleyan Methodists Watch
Night, because at their principal chapels the ministers and
congregations hold a service to watch out the old year, i.e.,
they pray until about five minutes to twelve o'clock, and
then observe a profound silence until the clock strikes, when
they exult ingly burst forth with a hymn of praise and joy.
Latterly, this service has been very generally observed by
evangelical churchmen. See Timbs' Something for Everybody,
1861, p. 156.
Wassail-bowl. Formerly, at this season, the head of the
house assembled his family around a bowl of spiced ale, from
which he drank their healths, then passed it to the rest, that
they might drink too. The word that passed amongst them
was the ancient Baxon phrase, trass hael ; that is, to your
health. Hence this came to be recognised as the Wassail or
Wassel-bowl. The poorer class of people carried a bowl
adorned with ribbons round the neighbourhood, begging for
something wherewith to obtain the means of filling it. Book
of Days, vol. i. p. 27 ; See Nare's Glossary ( Halliwell and
Wright), 1859, vol. ii. p. 943 ; Antiquarian Eepertory, vol. i.
p. 218 ; Ritson's Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 304.
CORNWALL.
New Year's Day and Eve are holidays with the miners.
It has been said they refuse to work on these days from
superstitious reasons. Hunt's Romances of tfie West of
England, 1871, p. 350.
CUMBERLAND.
At Muncaster, on the eve of the new year, the children
used to go from house to house singing a ditty which craves
502 NE\V TEAK'S EVE. [DEC. 31.
the bounty " they were wont to have in old King Edward's
days." No tradition exists as to the origin of this custom.
The donation was twopence or a pie at every house.
Hutchinson, History of Cumberland, 1794, vol. i. p. 570, note.
DERBYSHIRE.
On New Year's Eve a cold possett, as it is called, made of
milk, ale, eggs, currants, and spice, is prepared, and in it is
placed the wedding-ring of the hostess ; each of the party
takes out a ladle full, and in doing so takes every precaution
to fish up the ring, as it is believed that whoever is fortunate
enough to " catch " the ring will be married before the year
is out. On the same night it is customary in some districts
to throw open all the doors of the house just before midnight,
and to wait for the coming year, as for an honoured guest,
by meeting him as he approaches, and crying, " Welcome ! "
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1852, vol. vii. p. 201.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
On New Year's Eve the wassailers go about carrying with
them a large bowl, dressed up with garlands and ribbons,
and repeat the following song :
" Wassail ! wassail ! all over the town,
Our toast it is white, our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is made of a maplin tree ;
We be good fellows all, I drink to thee.
Here's to our horse, and to his right ear,
God send our maister a happy New Year ;
A happy New Year as e'er he did see
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.
Here's to our mare and to her right eye,
God send our mistress a good Christmas pye :
A good Christmas pye as e'er I did sec
With my wassailing bowl J drink to thee.
Here's to Fil'pail [cow] and to her long tail,
God send our measter us never may fail
Of a cup of good beer, I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it's then yon shall hear.
DEC. 31.] NEW YEAR'S EVE. 503
Be here any maids? I suppose there be .'ome,
Sure they will not lit young men stand on the cold alone;
Sing hey, O maids, come trule buck tlie pin,
And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.
C<>me, butler, come bring us a bowl of the beat :
I hope ymr soul in heaven will rest;
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
Then down fall butler, bowl and all."
See Dixoris Ancient Poems, 1846, p. 19ft
ISLE OF MAN.
In many of the upland cottages it is customary for the
housewife, after raking the fire for the night, and just before
stepping into bed, to spread the ashes smooth over the floor
with the tongs in the hope of finding in it, next morning, the
tract of a foot ; should the toes of this ominous print point
towards the door, then it is believed a member of the family
will die in the course of that year ; but should the heel of
the fairy foot point in that direction, then it is firmly be-
lieved that the family will be augmented within the saint)
period. Train, History of Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 115.
NOTTIMJHAMSHIBE.
Of the New Year's customs observed in this county t'ie
wassail was until recently observed to a considerable extent.
This friendly custom was observed by the young women of
the village, who accustomed themselves to go about from
door to door on New Year's Eve, neatly dressed for the
occasion, and bearing a bowl richly decorated with ever-
greens and ribbands, and filled with a compound of ale,
roasted apples, and toast, and seasoned with nutmeg and
sugar. The bowl was ottered to the inmates with the singing
of the following amongst other versus :
" Good master, at your door,
Our \Ya.<uil we bejjin ;
\W all are maidens ror,
So we pray you let us in,
And drink our wassail.
All hail, wiissal 1
\V s-ail, wassail !
And drink our wassail 1"
Jour, of the Arch. Assoc. 1853, vol. viii. p. 230.
504 HEW YEAR'S EVE. [DEC. 31.
On this night also, in many parts of this county, as well as
in Derbyshire, a muffled peal is rung on the church bells till
twelve o'clock, when the bandages are removed from the bells
whilst the clock is striking, and a merry peal is instantly
struck up ; this is called " ringing the old year out and the new
year in." Jour, of the Arch. Assoc, 1853, vol. viii. p. 230.
OXFORDSHIRE.
It is a custom at Morton College, says Pointer, in his
Oxoniensis Academia (17 -19, p. 24), on the last night in the
year (called Scrutiny Night), for the college servants, all in a
body, to make their appearance in the hall before the warden
and fellows (after supper), and there to deliver up the keys,
so that if they have committed finy great crime in the year
their keys are taken away, and consequently their places,
otherwise they are (if course delivered to them again.
At the opening of the scrutiny the senior Bursar makes
this short speech :
In hoc scrutinio hsec tria sunt proponenda,
Moves servieutium numerus Portionistarum,
Eleutio Hoitulanorum.
ISLE OF WIGHT.
At Yarmouth the following doggerel is sung at the season
of the new year :
" Wassal, wassal to our town !
The cup id white and the ale is brown;
Ti.e cup irf made of the ashen tree,
And so is the ale ot the good barley;
Little mail I, little maid, turn the pin,
Open ti.e door and let us come in;
God be here. <iod be there,
1 wish you all a Happy New Year."
Ualliwell's 1'ojwfar Ithymes, 1849, p. 236.
YORKSHIRE.
At Bradford it is the practice of men and women, dressed
in strange costumes, with blackened faces, and besoms in
hand, to enter houses on New Year's Eve so as to " sweep
out the old year "- -N. & Q. 5th S. vol. i. p. 383.
DEC. 31.] NEW YE Alt's EVB. 505
SCOTLAND.
Hogmanay is the universal popular name iu Scotland for
the last day of the year. It is a day of high festival among
young and old but particularly the young, who do not
regard any of the rest of the Daft Days with half so much
interest. It is still customary, in retired and primitive
towns, for the children of the poorer class of people to
get themselves on that monrng swaddled in a great sheet,
doubled up in front, so as to form a vast pocket, and then
to go along the streets in little bands, calling at the doors
of the wealthier classes for an expected dole of oaten bread.
Each child gets one quadrant section of oat-cake (sometimes,
in the case of particular cases, improved by an addition
of cheese), and this is called their Itogmanay. In expectation
of the large demands thus made upon them, the housewives
busy themselves for several days beforehand in preparing a
suitable quantity of cakes. The children, on coming to
the door, cry " Hogmanay ! " which is in itself a sufficient
announcement of their demands ; but there are other excla-
mations, which either are or might be used for the same
purpose. One of these is :
" Hogmanay,
Trul:olay,
Give us of your white bread, and none of your grey 1"
What is precisely meant by the word hogmanay, or by the
still more inexplicable trollulay, has been a subject fertile in
dispute to Scottish antiquaries, as the reader will find by an
inspection of the ArcluKologia Scolica. A suggestion of the
late Professor Robison of Edinburgh seems the best, that the
word hogmanay was derived from Au qui menez, (" To the
mislctoe go"), which mummers formerly cried in France
at Christmas. Another suggested explanation is, Au qtteux
menez that is, bring to the beggars. At the same time, it
was customary for these persons to rush unceremoniously
into houses, playing antic tricks, and bullying the inmates,
for the money and choice victuals, crying : Tire-liw (referring
to a small money-box they carried), tn<iint du llanc, < / point
506 NEW TEAK'S EVE. [DEC. 31.
du has." These various cries, it must bo owned, arc as liko
as possible to " Hogmanay, trollolay, give us of yonr white
bread, and none of your grey." Chambers' Pop. Rhymes of
Scotland, 1870, pp. 161-165 ; see Hales's Analysis </
Chronology, 1830, vol. i. pp. 50, 51, alsj N. & Q, 5th S.
vol. ii. pp. 329, 517.
In Scotland also, upon the last of the old year, the
children go about from door to door, asking for bread and
cheese, which they call " Nog-money," in these words :
" Get up, gude wife, and biimo sweir (i.e., be not lazy),
And deal your c ikes and cheese while you are here;
For the time will come when ye'll be dead,
And neither need your cheese nor bread."
Brand's Pop. Antiq. 1819, vol. i. p. 14.
LANABKSHIRE.
At the town of Biggar (in the upper ward of Lanarkshire)
it has been customary from time immemorial among the
inhabitants to celebrate what is called " burning out the old
year." For this purpose, during the day of the 31st of
December, a large quantity of fuel is collected, consisting of
branches of trees, brushwood, and coals, and placed in a heap
at the "cross;" and about nine o'clock at night the lighting
of the fire is commenced, surrounded by a crowd of lookers-
on, who each think it a duty to cast into the flaming mass
some additional portion of material, the whole being sufficient
to maintain the fire till next or New Year's Day morning
is far advanced. Fires are also kindled on the adjacent hills
to add to the importance of the occasion.
It is considered unlucky to give out a light to any one on
the morning of the new year, and therefore if the house-fire
has been allowed to become extinguished, recourse must be
had to the embers of the pile. This then accounts for the
maintenance of the fire up to a certain time on New Year's
Day.
Some consider these fires to be the relics of Pagan or of
Druidical rites of the dark ages ; perhaps of a period as
remote as that of the Beltaine fires, the change of circum*
stances having now altered these tires, both as to the particular
DEC. 31.] NEW YEAR'S EVE. 607
season of year of their celebration, and of their various
religious forms. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. ix. p. 322.
MORAYSHIBE.
In the village of Burghead, situated on the southern shore
of the Moray Frith, about nine miles from Elgin, the county
town of Morayshire, the following curious custom is observed :
On the evening of the last day of December (Old Style),
the youths of the village assemble about dusk, and make the
necessary preparations for the celebration of the " Clavie."
Proceeding to some shop they demand a strong empty barrel,
which is usually g ven at once, but if refused taken by force.
Another for breaking up, and a quantity of tar are likewise
procured at the same time. Thus furnished they repair to a
particular spot close to the sea-shore, and commence opera-
tions. A hole about four inches in diameter is first made in
the bottom of the Wronger barrel, into which the end of a
stone pole, five feet in length, is firmly fixed : to strengthen
their hold a number of supports are nailed round the outside
of the former, and also closely round the latter. The tar is
then put into the barrel, and set on fire, and the remaining one
being broken up, stave after stave is thrown in until it is
quite full. The "Clavie," already burning fiercely, is now
shouldered by some strong man, and borne away at a rapid
pace. As soon as the bearer gives signs of exhaustion, another
willingly takes his place; and should any of those who are
honoured to carry the blazing load meet with an accident,
as sometimes happens, the misfortune incites no pity even
among his near relatives. In making the circuit of the
village fiey are said to confine themselves to its old bounda-
ries. Formerly, the procession visited all the fishing-boats,
but this has been discontinued for some time. Having gone
over the appointed ground, the " Clavie " is finally carried to
a small artificial eminence near the point of the promontory,
and interesting as being a portion of the ancient fortifications,
spared probably on account of its being used for this purpose,
where a circular heap of stones used to be hastily piled up,
in the hollow centre of which the "Clavie" was placed still
burning. On this eminence, which is termed the "durie,"
508 NEW YEAE'S EVE. [DEC. 31.
the present proprietor has lately erected a small round
column, with a cavity in the centre for admitting the fire end
of the pole, and into this it is now placed. After being
allowed to burn on the "durie" for a few minutes, the
" Clavie " is most unceremoniously hurled from its place, and
the smoking embers scattered among the assembled crowd,
by whom, in less enlightened times, they were eagerly caught
at and fragments of them carried home and carefully pre-
served as charms against witchcraft. At one time supersti-
tion invested the whole proceedings with all the solemnity
of a religious rite, the whole population joining in it as an
act necessary to the welfare and prosperity of the little com-
munity during the year about to commence.
The " Clavie " has now, however, degenerated into a mere
frolic, kept up by the youngsters more for their own amuse-
ment than for any benefit which the due performance of the
ceremony is believed to secure. N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. ix. p. 38 ;
see also N. & Q. 2nd S. vol. ix. pp. 106, 169, 269 ; and Book
of Days, vol. ii. pp. 789-791.
ORKNEY.
It was formerly the custom in Orkney for large bands
of the common class of people to assemble on New Year's
Eve, and pay a round of visits, singing a song which com-
menced as follows :
" This night it is guid New'r E'en's night,
We're a' here Queen Mary's men ;
And we're come here to crave our right,
And that's before our Lady."
Brand's Pop. Antiq, 1849. vol. i. p. 9; sre
Chambers' Pop. Rhymes of Scotland, 1S10,
pp. 167, 168, 324.
IRELAND.
On the last night of the year a cake is thrown against the
outside door of each house by the head of the family, which
ceremony is said to keep out hunger during the ensuing one.
Croker, Researches in the South of Ireland, 1824, p. 233.
A correspondent of N. & Q. (5th S. vol. iii. p. 7) says, on
DEC. 31.] NEW TEAR'S EVE. 509
Now Year's Day about the suburbs at the County Down side
of Belfast, the boys run about carrying little twisted wisps
of straw, which they offer to persons whom they meet, or
throw into their houses, as New Year's offerings, and expect
to get in return any small present, such as a little money
or a piece of bread.
About Glenarm, on the coast of County Antrim, the " wisp "
is not used, but on this day the boys go about from house to
house, and are regaled with bannocks of oaten bread, buttered ;
these bannocks are baked specially for the occasion, and are
commonly small, thick, and round, and with a hole through
the centre. Any person who enters a house on New Year's
Day must either eat or drink before leaving it.
( 510 )
INDEX.
ABBE de Liesse, 459
Abbot of Misrule, 459
Acres Fair, 3-8
Advent Bel Is, 431
Agatha (St.), 374
Agnes' (SU Day, 47
Agnes' (St.) Eve, 46
Agnes' (St.) Fast, 46
Alaf-mass, 347
Ale, the Whitsun, 278
Allan Day, 395
Alleluia, Funeral of the, 45
All Fools' Day, 184
All Hallow*' Day, 397
All Hallow Mass, 55
All Saints' Day, 404
All Souls' Day, 409
All Souls' Eve, 405
Andermess, 430
Andisop, 431
Andrew's (St.), Day, 429
Andrew's (St.), Under Shaft, 247
Androis Mess, 4HO
Andrys Day, 430
Anne's (St.) Day, 346, 357
Annunciation, Fe-tival of, 180
Apparition of St. Michael, 275
Apples, given away on New Year's
Day, 5
Apples, ducking for, on Halloween,
394
Apple-trees, wassailing of, 450
April Gouks, 187
Apprentices' Feast, 355
Array, Court of, 2S7
Ascension Day, 210
Ash Wednesday. 84
Ashton faggot, 416
Ass-ridlin, 199
Assumption of the Virgin Mary,
357
Aughrim, battle of, 340
Augu.-t, Gule of, 347
Auld Handsil Monday, 19
Avage or Avisage, 416
Bacchus, Verses written in honour
of, 58
Bacon, gammon of, eaten at Easter,
162
Bairn bishop, 291
Bakei's Clem, 423
Balmoral Castle, Halloween at,
401
Banuich Bruader, 90
Baunich Junit, 89
Barchan's (St.) Day, 437
Barnabas' (St.) Day, 310
Barring out, 72
Bartholomew's (St.) Day, 361
Barton Fair, 379
Bay, used as a decoration at
Christmas, 458
Beans, kings created by, 20
Bear-baiting, 385
Beating the Bounds, 210
Beating the Cross, 213
Becket, Thomas-a-, 338
Becket's Fair, 339
Bedfordshire, 151, 205, 290, 374,
439, 493
Bees, Superstition regarding, 451
Bells, 5, 62, 82, 87, 476, 496, 499,
500, 504
Beltein, 223, 269
Berkshire, 119, 152, 191, 194, 233,
340, 377, 439, 466
Bezant, festival at Sliaftesbuiy, 207
Bible, opening of, 011 New Year's
Day, 5
Biddenham Cakes, 1 65
Binding Tuesday, 188
INDEX.
511
Birch, used as a decoration at
Whitsuntide, 281
Black Cheny Fa r, 357
Blaize's (St.) Day, CO
Blasius (St.), 60"
Blayse (St.) Night, 62
Blessing of t.ie Brine, 210
Blood Thursday, 500
Bloody Thursday, 148
Bluecoats, worn on St. George's
Day, 193
Boir's Head, nt Christinas, 455,
470, 473, 477
Boat Sunday, 449
Bo^gons, 32
B.,nHrea, 22.61,313,395
Hounds, U-ating of the, 210
B .unds Thursd ..y, 210
B..x in-,' l>ay, 4l'3
Boy's Bailiff, 287
i: v Bishop, 291, 432
Boyne, battle of, 337
Braggot, 1 17
Braggnt Sunday, 117
Brt-nd, bak.'d MI Good Friday, 149
I'.r.-iid Ma-s. 347
Brices' (St.) Day, 421
Bride -Ale, 278
Bridget's i St.) Eve, 344
Brine, blessing .f the, 210
Buckinghamshire, 6, 58, 60, 135,
169, ^H, 2:: I. 290,291,814,328,
331, 354, 373, 390, 419, 42G, 4U7,
493
Ball-baiting, 3(59, 439
Boll-miming, 421
bun?, mado on Good Friday, 150,
]f>7
Burning out the Old Year, 506
P.uryin' 1'. tf-r.' 3 a
Burying tin- .Maeo. 380
Bastard, t;it :i ut Clui-lma-, 450
Cake Night. 398
Cambridgeshire, 39, 105, 123, 234,
323, 334, 313, 419, 423,426, 46S,
4 ( .4
Candles ortVrvd to St. Blayse, G2
Candle Bearing, 54
Candle Day, 428
Candlemi .- Ba', 57
Candlemas bleez or blaze, 56
Candlemas (.'audio, 55
Candlemas Day, 54
Candlema Eve, 52
Card-playing at Christmas, 4G3
Careing Fair, 118
Careing Sunday, 119
Care Sunday, 121
Carl Sunday, 122
Carlings, 122
Carling Groat, 123
Carling Sunday, 122
Carol Singing, 456
' Catching,' 109
Catherine's (St.) Day, 426
Cathern bowl, 429
Cuttern Day, 426
Chalk-b:.ck-Day, 370
Chare Thursday, 139
Charles I., Kiug of England, exe-
cution of, 50
Charles II., King of England, cele-
bration of Twelfth Night by,
29 ; his Rest-ration, 301
Charlton Fair, 387
Cheese, given away at Christinas,
482
Cheshire, 69, 169, 1f>5. 210, 2:4,
283, 314, 324, 40;>, 4> 9, 441, 446
Childermas Day, 498
Children's Day, 177
Chimney Sweepers' Da 1 ice, 231
Chopping at the Tree 167
Christ's Bed, making of, 158
Christ's Ho.-pital, London, 179,
311, 374, 422
Christ's Presentation, 54
Christmas under the Common-
wealth, 454
Christmas Book, 456
Chri.-tmaa Box, 19, 493
Christmas Candles, 4:">6
Christmas Carols, 457
Christinas Clog, 52, 452
Christmas Day, 452
Christmas Decorations, 457
Christmas Drink, 473
512
INDEX.
Christmas Eve, 446
Christmas Presents, 19
C.iristmas Shorts, 403
Christmas Tree, 4(53
Clome, the, used in wassailing, 21
Cloth Fair, 363
Church-porch, watchinar in the, 200
Ci.urches decorated, 157, 162, 2bO,
281, 457
Claudius Mamertus, Bishop of
Vienne, 204
4 Clavie,' the burning of, 507
Clement's (St.) Day, 4'23 .
Clipping the Chiuvh, 176
Cob loaf stealing, 4. 51
Cobbs, given away on St. Thomas'
D.iy, 442
Cocks and Dumps, 67
Cock Grower, 92
Cock Fighting, 65, 177
4 Cock in the pot,' 39
Cock on the dunghill,' 39
Cock Penny, 79
Cock running, 78
C.ick throwing, 78
Cocque'els, 81
Coelcoeth, 398
Coffin Crusts, 458
Cold Possett, 502
Collar of Brawn, 468
Collop Monday, 57
Columbkill, 310
Columb's (St.) Well, 310
Commencement Day, 334
Compostella, Shrine of St. James
at, 345
Coquerells, 81
Coquillcs, 81
Corn Showing, 172
'Corning, going a-,' 443
Cornwall, 47, 58, 73, 120, 121, 128,
162, 216,235, 275,279,302,315,
324, 338, 339, 378, 395, 431, 446,
468, 501
Corpus Christ! Day, 297
Corpus Christi Eve, 297
Coteswold Games, 292
Court of Array, 287
Coventry Show Fair, 300
dab-Apples, gathered on Michael-
mas Day. ?76
Crabbing the Parson, 341
Crack-nut Sunday, 375
Cracklin Friday, 153
Cramp Ring-j, 49
Cresset-light, 317
Creeping to the Cross, 148
Crispin's ;St.) Day, 388
Cross, Invention of tiie, 275
Cross Day of the Year, 500
Crowdie, 88
Crowning of the Cock, 487
Croyland Abbey, knives given
away at, on St. Baitholomew'd
Day, 367
Cuckoo, 187, 192
Cuckoo AL-, l'J2
Cumberland, 29 72, 159, 163, 279,
291, 310, 315, 35U, 419, 469, 501
Curfew B^ll, 78
Cushion Dance, 253
Cuthbert's (St.) Day, 371
4 Cutting off the fid, Her' s head,' 34
Cymhortha, 110
Cypress, u.-ed as decoration at
Christmas, 458
Daft Days, 505
4 D;irt, throwing the,' 370
David's (St.) Day, 110
D. ad and Living Ford,' 17
Decoration of Churches, 157, 162,
280, 281, 457
Dcptford Fair, 296
Derbyshire, 30, 39, 74, 99, 105,
128, 165, 170, 211, 237, 283,
3'-2, 404, 409, 412, 446, 469,
502.
Desmas, one of the thieves cruci-
fied with our Lord, 499
Devils' Knell, 452
Devonshire, 20, 59, 76, 100, 152,
212, 217,237, 302, 308, 324, 348,
446
4 Dipping,' 5
Dipping Day, 235
Dirge Loaf, 410
Dish Fair, 387
INDEX.
513
Dismal Day, tlie, 275
Distaff's (St.) Day. 36
Doggett. Thomas', 349
Dogs, Whipping of, 386, 387
Dole Bread, 401
Doleiug Day, 443
Dorsetshire, 30, 55, 152, 15^, 20.1,
385, 441, 470
Dough-nut Day, 78
Dover, Robert, 2-J2
Drinking Sowins, 489
Druids, 1, 223
Duek-under-water, 253
Dulce Domura, sung at Win-
chester School, 284
Dumb-cake, 199,312,384
Durham, 303, b71
Dutton, family of, privileged to
license the Cheshire minstrels,
324
Dyzcmas Bay, 499
Eester Day, 161
Kaster Eve, 159
Easter Monday, 1 69
Easter Tuesday, 179
Ecoles Cakes, 3U9
Eccles Wake, 369
Edwatd IV. of England, his Coro-
nation, 498
Eel Fair, 293
Egg-hopping, 329
Egg Saturday, 52
Elecampane, 171
Election of kings by beans, 24
Elizabeth, Queen of England, her
accession observed, 422
Epiphany, 21
Epping Hunt, 171
Ercomvald's (St.) Day, 422
E^sex, 6, 94, 153, 171, 212, 237,
280,378, 416, 470
Eton Montcm, 290
Eve of the Epiphany, 20
Eve of Paul's Tide, 47
Evelyn, John, ls:j 454
Kvil May-day, 24S
Execution of Charles I., King of
England, 50
Fade'-dance, 276
Fag-pies, 119
Fairehild Li-ctnre, 291
Faith's (St.) Day, 3SI
Farthing Loaf Day, 319
Fastren's E'en, 88
Fastyngonge Tuesday, 81
Fern, superstitions connected with,
312
Ferrers, George, 4CO
Festival of Kings, 20
.Viddler's Head, cutting off of the,
34
Fig-one, 15
Fig-pies, 119
Fig-pie Wake, 119
Fig-Mie, 15, 153
Fig-Sundnv, 128, 133
Fires, lighting of, on Eve of the
Epiphany, 22; on St Bla'ze's
Day, 61 ; on St. John's Eve, i! 1 :> ;
on Hallow Eve, 395
' First Foot,' 5, 17, 483
Flag Day 332
Flap-dragon, 463
Flap-jack, 63
Flitting Day, 301
Floralia, 223, 245
Flower of the Well, 17
Flower Sermon, 291
Flowering Sunday, 134
Font-hallowing, 159
Fool-plough, 37
Football, 75, 83, 87, 401
Freemen's Well, the, 201
Friars' Girdles, worn by ladies,
94
Friday in Lide, 120
Fritter Bell, 78
Fritter Thursday, 96
Fruttors Thursday, 96
Funeral of the Alleluia, 45
Furmity, 117,472,483
Furry Festival, 275
Gammon of Bacon, eaten at Easter
K,2
Gang Monday Land, 210
Ganifweek, 21)4
Ganging Day, 380
2 L
514
INDEX.
Garland Day, 243
Garland Sundiy, 376
Gflrlic Sunday, 376
Gaunt, John of, 358
George's (St.) Day, 192
Gerard's Hall, 247
Gestas, one of the thieves crucified
with our Lord, 499
Giants, display of, at Chester, 314
Gregory's (St.) Day, 125
Glastonbury thorn, 34, 454, 467
Gloucestershire, 22, 238, 280, 292,
379, 3h=8, 447, 470, 4!9, 502
Gloves, at Fairs, 297, 348
Glove Money, 4
Glove Silver, 348
God Cakes, 12
Gorldes Day, 148
God's Day,' 14S
God's Friday, 148
' God speed the Plough,' 41
Goluan, 315
Good Friday, 148
Good Friday Bread, 149
' Gooding, goin^-a,' 438
Goodish Tuesday, 86
' Good Morrow, Valentine,' 109
Good Pas Day, 118
Goose, eaten at Michaelmas, 376
Goose Fair, Nottingham, 383
Goose-pies, 196
Gosling, May, 233, 265
Gospel Trees, 208
Gowk, hunt ng the, 188
Grace Cup, 45i)
Grass Week, 204
Green Bower Feast, 289
Greenock Fair, 337
Giimaldi, Joseph, 461
' Grotto, pray remember the,' 345
Guisards, 488
Guisings, 181
Gule of August, 347
Gunpowder Plot, 410
Guy Fawkes, his day, 410
Gyst Ale, 181
Hackin, the, at Christmas, 456
Hailing the Lamb, 212
Hulgavcr Court, 389
Hall' Monday, 58
Hallow E-.e, 394
Hampshire, 77, 119, 187, 238, 281,
284,296, 301, 305, 372,448
Handsel Monday, 19, 488
Harlequinade, 4' 1
Harrow School, shooting at, 357
Hay, strewn in chuiches, 327,
338
Hays, the, 3t
Heaving, 173, 177
Heaving Da\s, 175
Heavy Cake,' 216, 236
Helen's (St.) Day, 274, 360
Hempseed, divination by, DO, 313,
400
Hen-threshinsr, 68
Hentzner, Paul,vioits Bartholomew
Fair, 361
Herb-pudding, 151
Herefordshire, 7, 22, 106, 128, 281,
409,441,448,471
Heriofs Hospital, 303
Hertfordshire, 78, 128, 181, 238,
380, 442
Het Pint, 15
Hi'ary's (St.) Day, 44
Hirings, for servants, 279
Hobby-horse, 236, 461, 463, 486
Hobby-horse Dance, 480
Hobby-hording, 262
Hock Day, ISO
Hock Money, 191
Hock-tide, li*8
Hocktide play at Chester, 189
Hock Tuesday, If- 3
Hodening, 472
Hogmanay, 488, 505
Hoke Day, 189
Holiday of St. Simeon, 54
Hollantide Eve, 396
Holly, used as a decoration a*
Christmas, 458
Holly, its derivation, 457
Holly Boy, 107
Holly Bussing, 180
Holly Night, 35
Holy Cross Day, 372
INDEX.
515
Holy Innocents' Day, 497
Holy Rood Day, 372
Holy Thursday, 215
Holy Saturday, 100
Honey Fa ; rs, 469
Hood, throwing the, 32
Hoofing-place, 12
Horns, blown on May Day, 260
Horses, bled on St. Stephen's Day,
19*
I (orscs, clef-orated on May Day, 213
Hut C-K-klcs, 46:5
Hot Cms* Buns, 150, 157
Hot l'i.,t, 15, 17
J.un'ingtl.e Gowk, 183
Hunting the Ram, 354
Hunting the Squirrel, 404, 429,
430, 463, 481
Hunting the Wren, 494
Huntingdonshire, 40, 78, 217, 241,
334
Inns of Court, 306, 473
Ireland, 23, 75, 91, 96, 125, 136,
139, 158, 160, 168, 178, 183, 1H8,
222, 270, 282, 3"0, 310, 321, 329,
337, 340, 344, 370, 375, 383, 403,
408, 42' >, 452, 491, 497, 500, 508
Irving, Washington, his remaiks
on seeing a Maypole, 234
Isle of Axholme, 30
Isle of Man, 8, f, 80. 154, 221,
246, 316, 325, 348, 395,431,442,
449, 472, 4U4, 503
Isle of Than, t, 183,428
Isle of Wight, 87, 504
Ivy, used as a de, omtion at Christ-
ina*, 458, 478
Ivy Girl, 107
Jack and .Tr>an Fair, 385
Jurkof Hilton, 10
Jack O'Lont, 9:5
Jack of May, 261
Jack-|>udding, 463
James' (St.) Day, 344
James (St.) the Less, his day, 234
James' (St.) Palace, 153
Jeu-nhydn, 468
John's (St.) Par, 323
John's (St.) Eve, 311
John O Gaunt's Dav, 191
Jolly Lads, 134
Joseph of Arimathen, legend
regarding h : s start', 467
Judas Iscariot, flogging of, 155
Jough-ny-nollick -<73
Juniper, burnt before cattle, IS
Kenolm's (St.} Day, 341
Kenil worth Of-t'o, Queen E iza-
beth's \isit to, 1S9
Kent, 78, 107, 1 5, 207, 242, 2 ><!,
332, 3h9, :;45, 3,^, 42:!, 4^7, H9,
448, 471
Ket Bank, 220
Kill Bull, the, 477
Kings created by Beans, 20
King's Cook Cr'wer, 92
King of the Bean, 26
King of Cockneys, 498
King of the Millers, 285
Kit-dressing, 231
Knappan, 1 s4
Knives, given away on St. Bar-
tholomew's Day, 367
Knotting-bO wins, 489
Laa'l Brushey, 51
Lad's Valentine, 99
Lady Day, 180
Lady Go'diva, 280, 300
Lady of the Lamb, 297
Lamb Ale, 278
Lambert Simmel, 115
Lambs' Wo..l, 23, 419, 4S3
Lan>mas Day. 347
Lammas Tower.- 1 , 351
Lamprey-pied, 470
Lancashiie, 7, 79. 119, 134, l. r rt,
181, 213, 217, 243, 284, 310, 3 : 1,
345, 355, 368, 369, 384, 385, 3U5,
406, 472
La Sheachanna na bleanagh, 275
Lating or Lceting tlie Witches,
395
Laurel, used as a Chi istmas decora-
tion, 458
516
Lawless Court, at King's Hill, 378
Lawless Hour, at Kiddorminster,
379
Leaping the Well, 201
Leeks, worn on St. David's Day,
110,113
L: ck Pa- tie , 83
Lect Ale, 2,8
Leicestershire, 40, 79, 197, 284, 338
Leith Races, 335
Lent Crocking. 70
Leonard's (St.) Day, 416
Lide, Friday in, 120
Lifting, 173
Lincolnshire, 30, 40, 128, 154, 220,
245, 21)4, 367, 372, 412, 421
Loaf Mass, H47
Looe Fair Day, 236
Long Rope Day, 157
" Looking through the keyhole,"
105
Lord Mayor's Day, 417, 459
Lord Mayor of Pennyless Cone,
487
Lord of Misrule, 339, 459, 474, 478
Louis XI. of France, his supersti-
tion regarding Holy Innocents'
Day, 498
Lotts, the, 350
Low Easter Day, 184
Low Sunday, 183
Luke's (St.) Day, 386
Mace Board, 246
Mace, burying the, 380
Mace Monday, 346
Mainstyr Fiddler, 34
Mallard Night, 44
Mandate Thursday, 140
Margaret's (St.) Day, 343
Mari Lwyd, 486
Mark's (St.) Day, 200, 203
Mark's (St. ) Eve, 199, 200
Marlings, 181
Marlocking, 181
Mart, its meaning, 418
Martinmas, 347
Martin's i St.) Day, 418
Mary's (St.) Day, in Lent, 180
| Matthew's (St.) Day, 373
Maternus (St.), 4 o
Maundy Loaves, 140
Maundy Money, 140
Maundy Thursday, 139
May Bough, 243
May Day, 223
May Duw, 225, 242
May Dolls, 216
May Eve, 215
May Fair, 249
May Feast, 2li3
May Gads, 245
May Games, 225
May Gosling, 233, 2G5
May Lady, 234
May Music, 216
Maypoles, 228
May Queen, 238, 246, 251, 255
May Song*, 232, 233, 238, 240, 242,
251, 255, 257,259,261, 2G2.263,
273
May Syllabub, 257
' Maying, going a,' 224
Michael (St.), Apparition of, 275
Michaelmas Cake, 383
Michaelmas Day, 376
Michaelmas Eve, 375
Michaelmas Goose, 376
Michael's (St.) Bannock, ?.S3
Middlesex, 32, 48, 80, 113. 147,
154, 160, 16(5, 174, 179,187,213,
247, 291, '/97, 305, 316, 326,
344, 345, 316, 349, 355, 357,
361, 374, 396, 406, 413, 429, 473
MMlent Sunday, 113, 116
Midsummer Day, 323
Midsummer Eve, 311
Midsummer Men, 312
Midsummer Watch, 316, 318
Milk Maids' Dance, 231
Millers, King of the, 285
Mince-pies, 458
Minched pies, 458
Minstrels' Festival, 358
Miracle Plays, 283, 298, 3l3, 478
Mischief Night, 217
Misrule, Lord of, 339, 450, 474.
478
INDEX.
517
Mi tlct c,45,S,459
Murk, t c, 446
Modwen's (St.l Day, 390
Molly Grime, figuie iu Gleutljam
Church, 154
Monmouthshire, 407
Morris-dancers, 30, 227, 258
Moseley's Dole, 10
4 Mothering, going a,' 116
Mothering Sunday, 116
Mummers, 430, 4<J1, 469, 478,480
Mumping Day, 441
' Mumping, going a,' 441,
Mutton-pics, 458
Myche, a kind of bread, 96
Nativity of the Virgin Mary, 372
Newark Raffling Day, 51
New Year's Day, 1
New Year's Eve, 501
New Year's Gifts, 1
New Year's Ode, 4
New Year's Offerings, 509
New Year's Song, 19
Newton, Sir Isaac, on the time of
Christ's birth, 453
Nicholas (St.), tradition relating
to, 436
Nicholas' (St.) Day, 432
Nicholas' (St.) Eve, 432
Nickanan Night, 58
Nicking, of Swans, 346
Nod Beuno, 295
Nog Money, 506
Norfolk, 4'2, 81, 95, 100, 107, 166,
183, 293, 298, 344, 370, 449, 475,
496
Northamptonshire, 42, 82, 108,
132, I'JS), 213, 251,281, 286, 305,
306,327, 332,340, 413, 427,430,
449, 476, 499, 503
Northumberland, 9, 83, 175, 180,
201, 214, 257, 282, 294, 298,
306, 318, 327, 332, 335, 389, 476,
Nottinghamshire, 9, 51, 54, 83,
109, 124, 175, 214, 257, 306,318,
380, 383, 397, 413, 442, 449,
476
Nut Crack Night, 394
' Nutting, going a,' 373
Oak Apple Day, 301
Offering Days, 5
Offering Silver, 481
Oiel Verry, 449
Olave's (St.) Day, 346
Old Ball,' 486
Old Christmas Day, 30, 34, 467
4 Old Clem,' 432
Old Michaelmas Day, 380
Old Midsummer Day, 328
Old Year, burning out the, 506
Onion Fair, 373
Oswald's (St.) Day, 355
Oxen, superstition regarding, 447
Oxfordshire, 9, 43, 52, 84, 97, 110,
113, 123, 124, 133, 134, 156, 167,
208, 214, 222, 258, 282, 287, 297,
819, 327, 414, 442, 450, 476, 496,
504
Oysters, eaten on St. James' Day,
344
Pace Eggs, 163
Pack Mi inday Fair, 385
Paganalia, 493
Paignton Fair, 308
Palm Saturday, 126
Palm Sunday, 126
4 Palming, going a,' 127
Pan burn-Bell, 82
Pancakes, 63, 375
Pancake Bell, 62, 87
Pancake Month, 65
Pantomime, 461
Parish Clerks' Meeting, 177
Parkin, 416
Paschal Day, 148
Paschal Taper, 159
Passion-dock, 151
Passion Sunday, 121
Paste-Egg Day, 118
Patrick's Crosses, 133
Patrick's (St.) Day, 135
Patrick's Pot, 137
Paul's (St.) Cathedral, 49
Paul's (St.) Day, 49
Paul's (St.) Eve, 47
Paul Pitcher Night, 48
518
INDEX.
Penderell, Kichard, his monument
decorated on Oak Apple Day,
305
Penny Hedge, the, 209
Penny Loaf Day, 125
Pepper Cake, 483
Pershore Fair Day, 192
Peter's (St.) Day, 331
Peter-Pence, 347
Philips' (St.) Day, 234
Picrous Day, 431
Piepowder, Court of, 364
Pin-money, 4
Pippins, divination by, 397
Piran's (St.) Day, 121
Plough Bullocks, 39
Plough- lights, 37
Plough Monday, 37
Plough Witcbers, 40
Plough Witching, 40
Plowlick Monday, 42
Plum porridge, 462
Plumb -pudding, 462
Plumb-pudding Money, 482
Poisson d'Avril, 184
Pope Joan, 181
Pope-Ladies, 181
Pork Acre, 413
Pot-fair, 323
Preston Guild, 368
' Progging, going a,' 414
Procession Week, 204
Processioning, 208, 213
Psalm Caking, 406
' Pudding-pieing, going a,' 172
Pulgen, 487
Purification of the Virgin Mary, 54
Push-penny, 303
Quaaltagh, 8
Raffling-Pay, at Newark, 51
Ram, hunting the, 354
Ram Feast, 257
Ravenglass Fair, 356
llayer, or Rahere, founder of
Bartholomew Fair, 361
Ream of the Well, 17
Red Spear Knights, 291
Reed Day, 332
Relic Sunday, 340
Restoration Day, 301
Rhyne Toll, the, 390
Richard's (St.) Day, 188
' Riding of the George,' 197
' Riding the Marches,' 292, 307
Rising Peter-,' T3S
Robin Hood, -22C,, 257
Roche's (St.) Day, 350
Rock Day, 36
Rogation Sunday, 204
Rope-pulling, at Ludlow, 85
Rosemary, used as decoration at
Christmas, 458
Rowan-tree, use of, 154, 394
Rowan-tree Day, 274
Rowan-tree Gads, 274
Royal Oak Day, 301
Rumbald Night, 448
Running Lands, 242
Rushes, strewn in churches, 280,
294
Rush-bearing, 33 1, 367
Salmon, superstition regarding,
270
Salt-Silver, 418
Saturnalia, 458, 463
Sauin, 395
Scalding Thursday, 375
Scambling Days, 95
Scarlet Days, at Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge, 278
Scholastica's (St.) Day, 97
Scilly L-les, 84, 479
Scotland, 14, 19, 43, 46, 56, 88,
120, 126, 177, 188, 267,275,292,
301, 307, 309, 320,334, 335,351
382, 394, 399, 408, 410,430, 437
438, 487, 505
Scrutiny Night, 504
Septuagesima, 45
'Setting the Colne,' 213
' Seven joys of the Virgin,' 464
Shaftesbury Bezant, 205
Shamrock, 136, 139
Sharp Tuesday, 86
Sheelali's Day, 139
Sher, Shore, Sheere, Thursday, 146
INDEX.
519
Shier Thursday, 146
Shig-Shai?, 305
Shrewsbury Show, 300
Shrid-pie*, 458
Shrop 3 iiire, 82, 262, 287, 301, 407,
410
Shrove Tuesday, 39
Shying at Leaden Cocks, 67
Shy for Shy,' G7
S'meon (St.), holiday of, 54
Simnel Brea<l, 115
Simnel, Lambert, 115
Simnels, 114
Simnel Sunday, 113
Singed Sheepa' Head*, onriie 1 on
St. Andrew's Day, 430
Singing E'en, 501
Slap-dragon, 4G3
Sloe Fair, 351
Smock Race, 214
Smuchdan, 18
Smugging, 68
Snap-dragon, 462
Sollaghyn, 80
Somersetshire, 34, 86, 95, 262, 282,
328, 479, 500
Song of the Mallard, 44
Song of the Wren, 35
Sonsy-haggis, 491
Soul Cakes, 405
Scaling, going a, 405, 407
Soul Mass Cakes, 409
Sow Duy, 438
Sowans-bowio, 490
Spirit Fire, 463
Squirrels, hunting of, 404, 429, 430,
481
Staffordshire, 10, 23, 34, 86, 203,
208, 215, 263, 287, 340,358, 390,
407, 425, 443, 480
. otfoi ing of, on St. Cuthbcrt's
Day, 371
Stuylace.-s given to the Clergy on
Ascension D;iy, 213
Stephening, 493
St phen's (St.) Day, 492
Stephen's (St.) Pudding, 494
Stir-up-Sunday, 431
Subterranean Christmas Bells, 476
Suffolk, 86, 215, 263, 481
Sugar-Cupping, 165
Surrey, 86, 133, 156, 262, 293, 341,
357, 373, 375
Sussex, 11, 157, 264, 381, 389, 414v
430, 443, 450
Swnn-upping, 346
Swarf Penny, 420
' Sweeping the Girls,' 106
Swisr, 113
Swithins (St.) Day, 341
Swithin'a (St.) Farthings, 341
Sword-dance, 485
Tander, Tandrcw, name given to
St. Andrew's Day, 430
Tansy Cake, 167
Tenbury Fair Day, 192
Tciminalia, 2u4
Tharve Cake, 30
Thomas' (St.) Day, 438
Thomas' (St.) Onion, 439
' Thomasin, going a,' 441
Threshing the Hen, 68
Throwing at Cocks, 06
' Throwing the Dart,' 370
' Throwing the Ho. d,' 32
Tibba's (St.) Day, 438
Timber Waits, 2U3
Timbrel Waits, 203
Tindles, 409
Tinley, 405
Toothache, remedy for, 464
Tooting-horn, 352
Trap and ball, 86
Tuth Day, 192
Trinity Monday, 296
Trinity Sunday, 294
Trolollay, derivation of, 505
Trundling of Eggs, 178
Turkey, 148, 465
Twelfth Cake, 24
Twelfth Day, 24
Twelfth Night, 24
Twelfth Night Cards, 25
Tynwald Day, 325
Usque-Cashrichd, 488
Valentine's (St.) Day, 375
520
INDEX.
Valentine's (St.) Eve, 98
Valentines, 101
Valentine dealing, 105
Valentining, 105
Vessel Cup, 464
Vitas' (St.) Day, 311
Virgin Mavy, Annunciation of, 180;
Assumption of, 357 ; Nativity of,
372 ; Purification of, 54
Wad-Shooting, 489
Waits, 465, 485
Wakes Monday, 404
Wales, 35, 88, 113, 134, 158, 168,
177, 184, 222, 265, 289, 295,297,
320, 390, 398, 410, 425, 445, 486,
496
Walk Money, 183
4 Walking the Fair,' 203
Walnut-tree,legend of a miraculous,
467
Ward Penny, 420
Warwickshire, 12, 175, 300, 410,
443, 450
Wrath Money, 420
Wassail Bowl, 501
Wassail Eve, 23
Wassaile, 28
Wastel, the, 115
Watch Night, 501
Weaver, introduces the Pantomime,
461
Well-dressing, 211
Wesley Bob, 483
Westminster School, tossmg the
pancake at, 80
Westmoreland, 6, 35, 264, 415,
481
Wetting the Block,' 119
Wheel, its origin, 454
Whip-dog Day, 387
Whipping Toms, 79
\VhirlinCakes, 123
Whirlin Sunday, 123
White Sunday, 183
White Thursday, 468
Whitsun Ale, 278
Whitsunday, 278
Whitsun Monday, 283
Whitsun Mysteries, 283
Whitsuntide, 278, 281
Whitsun Tuesday, 290
Whitsun Tryste Fair, 282
' Wigs,' a sort of Cake, 426
Wilfrid's (St;) Feast, 351
Wills .ire, 76, 133, 295, 309, 329,
415
Wives' Eeast, 5 1
Worcestershire, 12, 157, 176, 188,
192, 215, 265, 306,319, 341,41(5,
428, 443, 482, f.OO
Wren, hunting of, 494
Wren-boys, 497
Wroth Money, 420
Wycoller Hall, Christmas at, 472
Yarrow, divination connected with,
273
Yew, Churches decorated with, on
Good Friday, 156
Yorkshire, 12, 23, 43, 56, 87, 90,
110, 123, 133, 148, 157, 160, 167,
200, 209, 274, 299, 320, 329, 331,
333, 341, 351, 3(17,386, 398, 416,
420, 444, 451, 482, 496, 504
Yorkshire Hagmena Song, 14
Youling, 207
Yule, derivation of the term, 453
Yule of August, 347
Yule Babie.-, 476
Yule Can-He, 451
Yule Clog, 452, 465
Yule Day, 487
Yule Log, 453, 465
Yule Straw, 489
Yule-tide, 453
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