On this blog I have recoded the big egg rolling sites, the traditional ones which have a long surviving or revived history, however one has been conspicuous by its absence – perhaps one of the most famous ones – Preston’s Avenham egg roll. Unlike many customs were appear to know when it began, in 1867 and from the onset it appeared, like it is now to be an organised affair. An account in the Liverpool Mercury fortunately records the first one:
“I never saw the festival of Eastertide don such an air of thorough-going festivity in any town as in Preston. On Easter Sunday – a day, happily, of radiant sunshine and evenly-tempered breeze, inviting everyone to pleasant strolling – the park was full of folk, and its slopes were dotted with thousands of people broken into hundreds of happy-faced and ever-varying groups quite refreshing to look upon. But the sight of all others which had most seductive attractions for me was one which embodied what I am told was an old and long observed local custom, of a quaintly curious character. ‘The children at Eastertide are all supplied with what are called ‘pace’ eggs – eggs boiled in different dyes by which they are stained, and some very beautifully, with various colours. These eggs are taken to the park on Easter Sunday and Monday, and rolled by the youngsters against each other, for the sole purpose, so far as I could guess, of seeing which would be soonest broken. Thousands of eggs were rolled in every direction, children were everywhere laughing and capering in infantile pleasure, the elders were looking on with a more staid and demure, but not less hearty enjoyment, and altogether the scene was one of the strangest and yet most thoroughly happy and enjoyable that I have seen for years.”
It is also fortunate for being filmed early on in the history of the motion picture in 1901 and despite the formality of dress the photographer and above correspondent would still be greeted by this scene over a hundred years later, albeit only on Monday and not Sunday.
Little had changed when Brian Shuel in his 1985 National Trust Guide to Traditional Customs of Britain reported:
“Hundreds of children gather in Preston, to roll eggs down the grassy slopes of Avenham Park on Easter Monday afternoon. I am sure they have no idea why; they do not compete, or even communicate with each other, it is simply a thing to do, and whether they are Anglo-Saxon, Asians, West Indians or Chinese, the sight of these kids enthusiastically and earnestly trundling bright coloured easter eggs doen the hill until they break is really quite extraordinary.”
Indeed, Brian Shuel is correct in what he says at the end; many British customs could be accused of being rather lacking in diversity in their participation and attendance; although I appreciate it’s not intended, I did observe that everyone seemed to engage in the rolling, in its essence devoid of any obvious faith or cultural connotations.
Shuel states there is no competition but unlike other Lancashire sites there is far more organisation here. The custom has developed into a fun family day with stalls, including the obligatory face painting, and a rather impressive selection of Easter Bonnets up for judging. The roll itself is timed at regular intervals which sees the most attendees but does not mean there is no one rolling either side of it.
Egg-city day
What is particularly interested in the tenacity of this custom. The first time I attended snow lay think on the ground in some places but still there were large crowds ready to enjoy the breaks in the sunshine. This year, heavy rain was on the forecast and as anyone in the west will know, the forecast never likes to disappoint there. Yet despite all this, at the timed rolls and either side their were kids of all ages rolling with great glee. In fact this time there would be an added level of enjoyment as the hill itself had quickly become a mud slide. So not only did the eggs roll well but the children (and an occasional adult) running after them. Thankfully, the custom of wearing your new clothes for Easter has largely vanished, otherwise they would be even more stern words at home. However, everyone had accepted it would be muddy.
Avenham Park egg rolling has certainly changed; although the terminology Pace-eggs I still heard the locals used. These were decorated by wrapping the eggs in onion skins, boiling them which would give the shells a sort of golden mottled effect.
Egged on
One of the curiosities that seems to be only found from my experience at Avenham is the rolling of Chocolate Easter eggs, oddly to preserve them to be eaten later in a tightly tied plastic bag. This does not appear to have spread to other Lancashire sites from my observation nor in any adoption elsewhere where real eggs are the thing. Whilst it may be increasingly easier to use a chocolate egg my observation suggests that the rolls are less satisfying as is the pulverisation and explosion the eggs make as they finally succumb to the elements. Although the swinging them around by their plastic bag handle had the same satisfaction as spinning a num-chuk I would imagine. Plus there is no risk of any shells being used by those pesky Lancashire witches as was once common belief and required all shells to be crushed!
Why is egg rolling so enduring? Why does it appear to be spreading in fact? I think the answer lies in jointly a look to reviving old customs and looking for something that is fun and easy for all get to involved. Preston has certainly understood the importance of their egg rolling tradition and it seems its at no risk of being scrambled!
In search of traditional customs and ceremonies 