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
punishment, 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 obedience 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 unfrequently, holes and trenches are dug; in
these, filled up and 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-tree planted before each door, as the signal
for their friends to assemble and make merry with them. About eight
o’clock the candidates 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 Twinlaw or Tounlaw 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 Rottenrow 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,[38] preceded by music, and accompanied by a large concourse of
people in carriages, &c. Having paraded the streets, the new freemen and
the 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.
[38] It appears by a traditionary account that at one time they were
met by women dressed up with ribbons, bells, and garlands of
gumflowers, who welcomed them with dancing and singing; they were
called _timber-waits_, probably a corruption of _timbrel-waits_,
players on timbrels, waits being an old appellation for those who play
on musical instruments in the street.
In the _Lonsdale Magazine_ (1828, vol. iii. p. 312) occurs the
following: On Wednesday (St. Mark’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 principal 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 the
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 beverage. After this they dined together at
one of the public-houses. The expenses incurred in this “Walking the
Fair” were defrayed by the parish funds.--_Hist. of Wednesbury_, 1854,
p. 153.
APRIL 26.] ROGATION SUNDAY.
Rogation Sunday received and retains its title from the Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday immediately following it, which are called _Rogation
Days_, derived from the Latin _rogare_, to beseech; the earliest
Christians having appropriated 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 Rogation 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 Roman
_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 Rogation Week; and in some
parts it is still known by the other names of Cross Week, Grass Week,
and Gang or Procession Week: Rogation, 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. Supplications and abstinence are yet enjoined by the
Reformed Church, and also such part of the ceremony of the processions
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 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, and 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 the beholding of God’s benefits, for the increase
and abundance 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 superstitious a nature to warrant their
continuance.--Brady, _Clavis Calendaria_, 1815, vol. i. p. 348.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
A certain estate in Husborne Crawley has to pay 4_l._ 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 Enmore Green, which lies in the valley below.
From two or three wells or tanks, situate in the village, the water
with which the town was provided was carried up the then precipitous
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
connected with its observances beyond the details of the expenses
incurred from year to year. On the morning of Rogation 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 somewhat difficult
to describe.[39] 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;[40] and many traditions prevailed of the exceeding value
to which in earlier times it sometimes reached, and of the active part
which persons of the highest rank in the neighbourhood took in its
annual celebration.
[39] 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 manor.--_Book of Days_, vol. i. p. 585.
[40] 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 1500_l._--_History of Dorset_, 1803, vol. ii. p.
425.
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; bear well top;
God send us a youling sop!
Every twig, apple big;
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 anathematize 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 Æolus, 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 Kent_, vol. i. p.
109.
OXFORDSHIRE.
At Stanlake, says Plot, the minister of the parish, in his procession in
Rogation 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 Rogation 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
appropriate 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 Roman offerings of the
Primitiæ, 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 returning 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 Wolverhampton 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 perambulations. 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, _History 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 may’st think upon
Me, when thou yerely go’st procession.”
APRIL 29.] ASCENSION EVE.
YORKSHIRE.
The following extract is taken from the _Whitby 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,” “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 important
functionary, the bailiff 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 “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.
lx. p. 719), I think the day before Holy Thursday, all the Clergy,
attended by the singing men and 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 3_l._ 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 jovial band of young people,
celebrating the day with song and dance. Aubrey (in _MS. Lansd._ 231)
says, in Cheshire, when they went in perambulation, they did blesse the
springs, i.e. they did read a gospel at them, and did believe the water
was the better.
Formerly there existed at Frodsham the following custom:--In the
walking of the boundaries of the parish the “men of Frodsham” passed,
across the brook dividing it from Helsby (then in the adjoining parish
of Durham), the Frodsham 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 that 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
Tissington 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 conclusion 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 offered 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, lxiv. pp. 115,
226; _Jour. of the Arch. Assoc._ 1852, vol. vii p. 205; vide _Times_,
May 19th, 1874.
DEVONSHIRE.
A correspondent of the _Gent. Mag._ (1787, vol. lvii, 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 the Islands of Scilly_ (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 water 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 ducking; each
parish asserting its own prerogative in this respect.
ESSEX.