Chapter VIII: Preface (8)

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 the following rhyme is said after twelve o’clock:--

“April fool’s gone past,
You’re the biggest fool at last;
When April fool comes again
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, 1860. Admitted at the White Gate. It is particularly requested that no gratuity be given to the Warders or their Assistants.” The hoax succeeded remarkably well, and 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; the 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 upon returned home highly disgusted.

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 Gowk another mile.”

Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 140.

APRIL 3.] ST. RICHARD’S DAY.

Aubrey, in _MS. Lansd._ 231, says: “This custome is yearly observed at Droitwich, in Worcestershire, where, on the day of St. Richard, 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, notwithstanding the power of the parliament and soldiers, and the salt water returned again and still continues. This St. Richard 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, OR _HOKE_ DAY.

A popular holiday mentioned by Matthew Paris and other ancient writers. It was usually kept on the Tuesday following 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_, 1797) says that “Hokeday, or Hock Tuesday (_Dies Martis, quem quindenam Paschæ vocant_), 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 _hoke_ or _hock_ seems to be totally unknown, and none of the derivations yet proposed seem to be deserving of our consideration.[34] 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 England, 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 Kenilworth, 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 soon after the Reformation, on account of the scenes of riot which it occasioned.

[34] 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. Ævi 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
_Hockzeit_, the German word for a wedding. Skinner mentions a
derivation from the Dutch _hocken_, _desidere_, and adds, “mallem
igitur deducere ab A.S. _Heah-tid_.” Kennett (_Paroch. Antiq._ p. 495)
suggests the Saxon _headœg_, which answers to the French
_haut-jour_.--See Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. pp. 184-191.

It will be seen that this Coventry play was founded on the statement which had found a place in some of our chronicles 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 be 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 of 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.

In the registers of the parish of St. Laurence, under the year 1499, we have:

“Item, received of Hock money gaderyd of women, xx^{s.}

Item, received of Hock money gaderyd of men, iiij^{s.}”

In the parish of St. Giles, under the date 1535:

“Hoc money gatheryd by the wyves (women), xiij^{s.} 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,
3_s._ 4_d._”

Higgins, in his _Short View of English History_, says that, “At Hoctide the people go about beating brass instruments, and singing old rhymes in praise of their cruel 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 Book_.--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 are 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. The proceedings commenced on Friday evening with a supper, at which the fare was macaroni, Welsh rare-bits, watercress, salad, and punch. To-day--John O’Gaunt’s Day--known in the town as “Tuth” Day, the more important business of the season is transacted at the Town Hall, from the window of which the town-crier blows the famous old horn, which has done service on these occasions for many long years. The tything or “tuth” men thereupon proceed to the high constable’s 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.[35]--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. i. p. 429.

[35] 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 and jollity over what was called the cuckoo-ale.--_Morning
Post_, May 17th, 1821.

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:

“O 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 regarded thys most worthy commodyte of your countrey? I mean 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 purchased hawles to kepe St. Georges feast in.”--Preface to the _Laboryeuse Journey and Serche of John Lyelande for Englande’s Antiquitees_ 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 _Ram Alley_, alludes to the custom among the knights:--

“Do you bandy tropes? By Dis I will be knight,
Wear a blue coat on great St. George’s Day,
And with my fellows drive you all from Paul’s.”

Dodsley’s _Old Plays_, vol. v. p. 486.

In Epigram 33 of _The Seconde Bowle_, by Thomas Freeman, 4to, 1614, quoted also in Dodsley’s _Old Plays_, vol. xii. p. 398, its this distich:

“With’s eorum nomine keeping greater sway,
Than a Court blew coat on St. George’s Day.”

Dr. Forster, in his _Perennial Calendar_ (1824, p. 185), mentioning an allusion to this dress in Reed’s _Old Plays_ (vol. xii.), observes that it was probably 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.

The 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. At Windesor. To the children for the spoures.”

A similar disbursement occurs thrice in the Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII. in 1530.--_Med. Ævi 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, the King’s grace went a procession at Whitehall, through the hall, and round about the court hard by the gate, certain of the Knights of the Garter accompanying him, viz., the Lord Mountagu, 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 Chancellor 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 Talbot bare the sword, and after him the sergeant-at-arms. And 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 Guynes; 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 ceremonies. And immediately came the king, (the Lord Strange bearing the sword), and the Knights of the Garter, to evensong, which done, they went all up to the chamber of presence. After came the ambassador, and took his barge to London.[36]

[36] See also Machyn’s _Diary_, 1848, p. 195.

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 Reading_, p. 221:

“_Charge of Saynt George._

“First payd for iij caffes-skynes, and ij horse-skynnes, iij^{s.} vj^{d.}

“Payd for makeying the loft that Saynt George standeth upon, vj^{d.}

“Payd for ij plonks for the same loft, viij^{d.}

“Payd for iiij pesses of clowt lether, 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^{s.}

“Payd for roses, bells, gyrdle, sword, and dager, iij^{s.} iiij^{d.}

“Payd for settyng on the bells and roses, iij^{d.}

“Payd for naylls 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 Lysons’ _Magna Britannia_, 1810, vol. ii. pt. ii. pp. 588-590, is the following account of races at one time annually held at Chester on 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 coste chiefly, as I conceive, caused three silver cuppes of good value to be made, the whiche saide silver cuppes were, upon St. George’s Daye, for ever to be thus disposed. All gentlemen that would bringe 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 seconde 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 winne 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 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 the Rood-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 I must not omitt the charge, and the solemnitie made, the first St. George’s daye; he had a poet, one Mr. Davies, who made speeches and poeticale verses, which were delivered at the high crosse before the mayor and aldermen, with shewes of his invention,[37] which booke was imprinted and 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 baner upon the top of the same spire. And this was the original of St. George’s race, with the change thereof.

[37] The following description of this show, written as it appears by
Mr. Amorye himself, is copied from some Cheshire collections, among
the Harleian MSS. No. 2150, f. 356. 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 behoulders upon St. George’s Day next, being the
23rd April, 1610, and the same with more addytions to continue, being
for the kyng’s crowne and dignitie, 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 heare, and blacke beards, very ougly to behoulde,
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-peece of St. George,
and three men to guide him, with a drum before him, for the honor of
Englande.

“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 in
pompe.

“It. One called Mercury to 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 horsebacke 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 an oration for the Prynce, in pompe.

“It. One on horsebacke, with a bell, dedicated to the Prynce, his
armes upon it, in pompe, and to be carried on a septer, and before the
bell, a noyse of trumpets.

“It. One on horsebacke, with a cup for St. George, carried upon a
septer, in pompe.

“It. One on horsebacke, with an oration for St. George, in pompe.

“It. St. George himself on horseback, in complete armor, with his 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 horsebacke, called Envy, with an oration, whom Love will
comfort, in pompe.

“It. One on horseback, called Love, with an oration to maintaine all,
in pompe.

“It. The Maior and his bretheren, at the pentes of this citye, with
ther best apparell, and in scarlet; and all the orations to be made
before him, and seene at the high crosse, as they passe to the Roodye,
wher by Gent shall be runne for by thirr horses, for the two bells on
a double staffe and the cup 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 I 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, as 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
Records._

LEICESTERSHIRE.

At Leicester, the “Riding of the George” was one of the principal solemnities of the town. The inhabitants were 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, _Dict. 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 3_s._ 4_d._ for his 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 elder 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, he 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.] 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 maid will watch her smock,
To find her husband in the dark,
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 credulous 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. Dict._

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 speaks 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 unmarried neither see nor hear anything; but they have terrible dreams, which are sure to be of newly-made graves, 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 the 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, _Pop. Antiq._ 1819, vol. i. p. 192; J. Montgomery, _Vigil of
St. Mark_.

APRIL 25.] ST. MARK’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 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 days preceding Holy Thursday.--_Med. Ævi 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 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.