“Before the last civil wars, in gentlemen’s houses at Christmas, the first diet that was brought to table was a boar’s head with a lemon in his mouth.”
John Aubrey, MS. dated 1678
The Boar’s head is a tradition associated with Christmas particularly in wealthy and high status families and there are a number of such processions recorded, some surviving and others demised. The Boar head was so pivotal to Christmas that it even gained its own carol sung when it was processed.
A bit of a boar
The tradition is associated with a parcel of land which was given to the company in 1343 to clean and dispose of any beast entrails by the then city’s Lord Mayor John Hammond a grocer after complaints were made by the monks at the Greyfriars as they had been discarding their “offal and ordure” into the streets.
Thus on 12th March 1343, the City granted them:
“…a parcel of land in Secollane adjoining the Flete, for the purposes of cleansing the entrails of beasts in the said water”
So they could:
“dispose of the offal in the Flete Ditch.”
To pay for this:
“…for which said butchers to repair and maintain a certain wharf, they and their successors, for ever, rendering yearly to the Mayor of London, at Christmas, a boar’s head.”
The cost to the Butchers according to early accounts stating
“Pd. For a boar to my Lord Mayor £1.4.0d.”
The land apparently has long gone and the practice no longer happens but the fee – a boars head continues to be asked for and delivered to the Lord Mayor apparently every year since although evidence of this is not that forth coming.
Not very boaring!
As I arrived the members of the company were just finishing off their apparent sausage and mash lunch but soon appeared outside resplendent in their furs and hats. As soon as the band arrived they began to organise themselves into a procession. This procession was lead by a bagpipe band with the company being lead by a beadle with his silver staff. In the middle was the boar’s head or rather a rather splendid red papermache head surrounded by plastic fruit carried on a wooden platter by four members of the company. Soon a band had arrived, this time a bagpipe band, the lead this curious procession to the Mansion house to deliver the papermache head to the Lord Mayor…rather pointless but certainly colourful and tuneful!
The procession stopped the traffic and passes a number of London landmarks such as the Museum of London and St Paul’s cathedral on its way. Once it had arrived the Mayor came out to inspect the Boar’s head although apparently a real boars head which is still given to the Mayor and I was informed by one of the company it had already been delivered and eaten…which seemed a bit strange as you would have thought they would have eaten after the procession – albeit a token procession it may be! Overall an extremely colourful event and one which certainly caught the eye and the mobile phones of the public as it went by.
In search of traditional customs and ceremonies 