British Popular Customs, Present and Past / Illustrating the Social and Domestic Manners of the People. Arranged According to the Calendar of the Year.

July.] COMMENCEMENT DAY.

July.]

COMMENCEMENT DAY.

Cambridgeshire.

In the University of Cambridge, the first Tuesday in July is usually the Commencement 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 in 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. Ævi Kalend. vol. i. p. 341.

Northumberland.

In the History of Alnwick (1822, pp. 241-244) the following 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 adjacent 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 bailiff proclaims the fair in the name of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, and calls over the names of the various townships that owe suit and service; viz. the townships of Chatton and Chillingham, four men, Coldmarton and Fowbury, four men; Hetton and Hezebrigge, four men; Fawdon and Clinch, four men; Alnham 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 inhabitants 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 before 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 castle. 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 of Edinburgh, it was usual for one of the city 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 the 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 the race-ground.

The 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 line of march, from a constant accession of boys, who were every morning on the look out for this procession, and who preferred, according to their own phrase, “gaun down wi’ the purse,” to any other way. Such a dense mass of these finally surrounded the officer and his attendant drummer that, long before the procession reached Leith, both had wholly disappeared. Nothing of the former remained visible but the purse, and the top 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 marched down to Leith every day in full costume. Having arrived upon the sands, the greater part, along with the drummer, took their station at the starting-point, where the remainder surrounded the heights. The march of these veterans to Leith is thus humorously described by Ferguson:—

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 rendezvous 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 S., 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, on 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 the procession, a number of men carried a large wreath of flowers. The different officers belonging to this institution wore their respective insignia, and the whole society dined together.

July 1.]

IRELAND.

July 1.]

IRELAND.

Mason, in his Stat. Acc. 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.

July 5.]

Leicestershire.

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 Customs and Charities, p. 219.

July 7.] ST. THOMAS À BECKET’S DAY.

July 7.]

ST. THOMAS À BECKET’S DAY.

Cornwall.

The festival called Bodmin Riding was kept on Sunday and Monday after St. Thomas à 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 morning 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 days, 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 usually numerous in Bodmin, it is directed by the mayor and the masters of the occupation, “that at the Rydyng every master 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.[74] “Take him before the mayor of Halgaver;” “Present him in Halgaver Court,” are old Cornish proverbs.—Parochial History of Cornwall, 1868, vol i. p. 104. Murray, Handbook for Cornwall, 1865, 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 à Becket, and was so called from this day being the anniversary of the Archbishop’s translation from his tomb to his shrine, and as such was fixed for this purpose, as a means of gathering together a greater multitude for the celebration of this solemn day.

Northamptonshire.

In some parts of this county the Sunday after St. Thomas à Becket’s Day goes by the name of Relic Sunday.—Time’s Telescope, 1822, p. 192.

July 9.]

Staffordshire.

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 resorted 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.]

IRELAND.

July 12.]

IRELAND.

At Maghera, County Down, on the 12th of July, the anniversary of the battle of Aughrim, the Orangemen assemble, walk in their insignia, and dine together.—Mason, Stat. Acc. of Ireland, 1844, vol. i. p. 594.

July 15.] ST. SWITHIN’S DAY.

July 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:

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 1505-6, is the following entry, which implies a gathering on this saint’s day:—

“Itm. Saintt Swithine farthyngs the said 2 yeres, 30s. 8d.”

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.

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. Kenelm’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. Kenelm on the feast of the saint, 17th of July. On the Sunday after this fair, St. Kenelm’s wake was held, at which a curious custom was practised, called “Crabbing the Parson,” the origin 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 simmering the savoury dish the lady had provided for her household; 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 disposing 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.

July 20.]

ST. MARGARET’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 Bassingborne, gives the various subscriptions and expenses connected with it:—

Memorandum:—Received at the play held on St. Margaret’s day, A.D. MDXI., in Basingborn of the holy martyr St. George.

Received of the Township of Royston xii^s. Tharfield vi^s viii^d, Melton v^s iiii^d, Lillington x^s vi^d, Whaddon iv^s iiii^d, Steeplemenden iiii^s, Barly iv^s i^d, Ashwell iiii^s, Abingdon iii^s iv^d, Orwell iii^s, Wendy ii^s ix^d, Wimpole ii^s vii^d, Meldreth ii^s iv^d, Arrington ii^s iv^d, Shepreth ii^s iv^d, Kelsey ii^s v^d, Willington i^s x^d, Fulmer i^s viii^d, Gilden Morden i^s, Tadlow i^s, Croydon i^s i^d, Hattey x^d, Wratlingworth ix^d, Hastingfield ix^d, Barkney viii^d, Foxten iv^d, 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^s v^d.

Item received on the Wednesday after the play, with a pot of ale at Kneesnorth, all costs deducted, i^s vii^d.

Expenses of the said Play.

First paid to the garnement man for garnements and propyrts and playbooks, xx^s.

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^s xi^d.

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^s ii^d.

Item in expences on the play day for the bodies of vi. sheep, xxii^d each, ix^s ii^d.

Item for three calves and half a lamb, viii^s ii^d.

Item paid five days board of one Pyke Propyrte, making for himself and his servant one day, and for his horses pasture vi. days, i^s iv^d.

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^d.

Item to John Beecher for painting of three Fanchoms and four Tormentors.

Item to Giles Ashwell for easement of his croft to play in, i^s.

Item to John Hobarde, Brotherhood Priest, for the play book, ii^s 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 given, and offerings and vows made, at sainted wells of this kind.—Excursions in the County of Norfolk, 1829, vol. ii. p. 145.

July 22.] ST. BRIDGET’S EVE.

July 22.]

ST. BRIDGET’S EVE.

IRELAND.

On St. Bridget’s Eve every farmer’s wife in Ireland makes 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 Encyclopædia of Antiquities, 1840, p. 657.

July 25.] ST. JAMES’S DAY.

July 25.]

ST. JAMES’S DAY.

It is customary in London to begin eating oysters on St. James’s Day, and in the course of the few days following 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 these 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 professedly to keep up the candle. Mr. Thoms 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 the saint by alms giving to their needy brethren.—Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 122; N. & Q. 1st S. vol. i. p. 6.

Kent.

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 the Corporation of Liverpool to give an annual public dinner, in the Exchange, to two or three hundred of the principal inhabitants, on the 25th July and 11th November, the days of the commencement 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 Dale Street, where they passed round a large stone, whitewashed for the 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, 1810, p. 94.

July 26.] MACE MONDAY.

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.

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 (relating, it is like, to that saint), that continued unto twelve at midnight, and then they made an end with good song.”

August.] SWAN-UPPING.

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 partake of a collation. This yearly progress was commonly but incorrectly called “swan-hopping:” the correct designation is shown by the ancient statutes to be “swan-upping,” the swans being taken up and nicked, or marked. A “swan-with-two-nicks” indicated, by his second nick, that he had been taken up twice.[75]

In the accounts of the Vintner’s Company (Egerton MS. 1143, fol. 2,) is the following entry:—

August 1.] LAMMAS DAY.

August 1.]

LAMMAS DAY.

Gule of August, or Lammas Day, is variously explained. Gule, from the Celtic or British 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 Roman 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 of August, otherwise called the Gule or Yule of August, which may be a corruption of the British word Gwul Awst, signifying 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 ancient quarter-days in England, and they continue general in Scotland.—Timbs, Things not Generally Known, 1856, p. 154; see 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, 11d., the granger, 11d., and the cowherd a penny.—Med. Ævi 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 nobility. 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 Book, 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 these 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 Lhargey-graue; by Lord Henry’s Well on the south beach of 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 contiguous.—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,[76] 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 waterman’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 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 when 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 letting the land on lease for the spring and summer quarters, beginning with March and ending in August, and the inhabitants 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 ham, Sussex cheese, strong ale, and Geneva; the men are entertained 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 20l. 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 20l. 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.

Yorkshire.

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 commenced, 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 Ripon.—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 to 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, which was to serve as the place of their rendezvous on Lammas Day. This tower was usually built of sods, for the most part square, about four feet 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 community; 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 demolition of a tower, if effected by those belonging to another, was in proportion to the disgrace of suffering it to be demolished, 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 conveyed 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 neighbours 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 business, answering to, and vieing with each other, that the whole country rang continually 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 farmers’ wives within the district, and ornamented it with ribbons. Things being thus prepared, they marched forth early 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 in front, and those of inferior prowess behind. Seldom did they await the approach of the enemy, but usually went forth 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 sometimes 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; where the lasses and all the people came out to meet them, and 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, after the ceremony was over, the ribbons and napkin that formed the colours were carefully 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.