Custom contrived: Whitby Krampus Run

Whitby is a delightful seaside town which a considerable amount of history but it lacks any calendar customs compared to nearby Scarborough and so the arrival of the Krampus run is to be considerably welcome even though it makes no sense whatsoever to have it in the town let alone Britain being a custom restricted central Europe Austria, Croatia and Slovenia but no worries because in a strange way it fits in well with Whitby’s burgeoning Gothic (and Goth) Steampunk scene. For those unaware the Krampus, is a demon who accompanies St Nicholas when he visits the houses of children on the 5th December. Whilst St Nicholas gives out gifts to the good children, the Krampus punishes the naughty often collecting into a bag carried on its back.

Despite the first Whitby Krampus Run being 2015 it has now firmly established itself. For the 9th run the BBC reported in the 2023 article by Julie Bryson Whitby Krampus Run: Festive folklore marked in Yorkshire town reported that:

“Mr Mitchell said the idea for the event was sparked by a holiday souvenir. In 2003, we went to the Czech Republic and picked up this wooden figure who we didn’t know much about,” he said. “We did our research and thought – this will be fun! And it’s grown into what it is today.” He said the Krampus parades which take place in Austrian villages can be wilder than the one they have created, with Krampus often seen running into crowds and whipping them…..We have had to tailor it for our audience.”

As such the article continues to describe the run

“Organiser Laurence Mitchell said: “About 50 people joined Whitby Krampus Run in the North Yorkshire town…Some were dressed as Krampus, in full “fells outfits” including wooden masks – and others were dressed as animals such as foxes or reindeer….Speaking ahead of the popular event, Mr Mitchell said: “We have reindeer heads on sticks, and an old dog cart that’s pulled up the hill that has music and speakers on. We also have drummers and fire performers, who will all stop along the way to perform for the crowds.”
Mr Mitchell said the event is designed to bring together European and local traditions, and those taking part will be experience a “salt blessing” where they will be showered in Whitby Sea Salt. Others carry a model of the Whitby Wyrm, a dragon-like creature which legend has it used to live on the headland by Whitby Abbey. Events also include a snowball fight, with fake snowballs, and a stand-off between a fox and the parade’s drummers, the Krampus Krumpettes.”

The costumes are absolutely incredible and it is evident this is no DIY pastiche which the impressive masks being scary and realistic. Much of the morning is spent with small groups of Krampuses (Krampi?) processing and posing for photographs around the narrow streets of the town to the delight and fear of the people and children going about their day.

Then in the afternoon all the Krampuses assembly at the band stand at the harbour side of the town to make their procession or run around the town. The costumes glistened in the bright December light with children being equally delighted and scared worrying they would end up in a krampus bag. The light begins to fail the Krampus become even scarier and as night has fallen accompanied with eerie Germanic techno music they reach the cliffs overlooking the bay and start to dance, swirling around and scaring the audience.

Custom demised: The Feast of the Conception of Our Blessed Lady, the Chapel of the Savoy, London

John Strype, in his 1822 Ecclesiastical Memorials notes that on the 8th of December was the conception of our blessed Lady and that:

“ a goodly procession at the Savoy by the Spaniards, the priest carrying the Sacrament between his hands, and one deacon carrying a censer censing, and another the holy-water stock, and a number of friars and priests singing; and every man and woman, knights also and gentlemen, bearing green tapers burning, and eight trumpets blowing; and when they ceased, then began the sackbuts to play, and when they had done, there was one who carried two drums on his back, and one came after beating them. And so done, they went about the Savoy, now singing, and a while after playing again, and by-and-by came singing into the church, and after that they went to mass.”

Whilst many Catholic churches make the feast day their processions are not as grand as that once down in the 16th century and it no longer happens at the Savoy chapel.

Custom contrived: The Santa Fun Run

Christmas appears to be celebrated earlier and earlier each year many claim but one colourful reminder that its time to sort the presents is the Santa fun run or dash – a bizarre blur of red and white, bearded and non bearded Santa impersonating runners. Often run by the local branch of the rotary club they are found up and down the country from Bedfordshire to Yorkshire.
Santa Fun run start from late November to to late December – the earliest being Skipton on the last weekend of November and last on Christmas Eve which must be pretty confusing to any children awaiting the real Father Christmas that day!

Naughty or nice? 

The oldest running one – not literally of course – claims to be Lincoln’s being 18 years old in 2023. Not only that as Doug Scott organiser of the event states the location and effort required it pretty unique:
“Of course there are lots of Santa Fun Runs and dashes around the country but what makes this one – I think – quite special is the backdrop. So you’re starting in Castle Square and going through historic uphill Lincoln with a sea of red flowing through the beautiful Lincoln so it does make it a bit special.

No sleigh for Santa

It is certainly a popular one:

“Even last year, it was very successful – it was very cold, in fact – for the first time we almost had to cancel, because it was ice with rain on the forecast, so we had about 1,200 runners last year, as of today, we’re expecting to have around 1,600 or 1,700 this year, with about 1,000 spectators to be cheering them on.”

Most other Santa Fun runs appeared in the 00s such as nearby Stamford’s in 2008 in the delightful Burghley Hall, Glasgow’s in 2008, Battersea Park in 2006, Marlow’s in 2004. However, deeper research reveals that the oldest and the original was Newton’s in 2001 as reported by Gavin Grosvenor in the Powys County Times – The December day when the streets of Newtown turned red with 4,000 Santas:

“However it is important to remember the first ever Santa Run was held in Newtown in 2001 and held three world records by 2004.
A record 4,260 runners donned the famous red suit and hat and white beard to run around the streets of Newtown – a year after the largest charity Santa Run and Aerobic Santa events were recorded in the town.
While imitation is flattering, the fact so many other towns across the UK staged their own events in the years which followed saw the original event in Newtown suffer.”

Sadly the Newton event has lapsed as the article continues:

“The once annual event was organised by Newtown and District Dial-a-Ride, a community charity providing transport for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Half of the proceeds from the run go to Dial-a-Ride and the other half to a charity of each competing Santa’s choice.
The event raised at least £150,000 for charity during 10 successful years but its decline in runners culminated in just 200 runners taking on the course for the final edition in 2011- bringing to an end a brief but glorious period in the town’s history.”

Whilst this event lapsed others have thrived. Some even did virtual runs during the Covid pandemic. What is strange is how many would not enter a race but the fact it has an association with Santa and involves dressing up appears to attract athletes and non-athletes alike, young and old. As a modern custom and one that raises a considerably amount of charity money it is in no fear of disappearing and a cursory look on the internet will find many opportunities and indeed from November to Christmas you can attend one or maybe even two a week!

Custom demised: Hallowtide Master of the Revels at Middle Temple, London.

Thistleton-Dwyer in his 1911 British Popular Customs Present and Past records a long lost Hallowtide custom selected from the Whitelocke’s 1860 Memoirs of Bulstrode Whitelocke which was associated with the lawyers of Middle Temple, London which was current in the reign of. He notes that the lawyers considered All Hallow Tide as the beginning of Christmas and thus associated themselves for the festive objects connected with the season:

“In 1629 they chose Bulstrode Whitelocke as Master of the Revels, and used to meet every evening at St. Dunstan’s Tavern, in a large new room, called “The Oracle of Apollo,” each man bringing friends with him at his own pleasure. It was a kind of mock parliament, where various questions were discussed as in our modern debating societies, but these temperate proceedings were seasoned with mirthful doings, to which the name of revels was given and of which dancing appears to have been the chief.”

On All Hallows Day it is noted that:

“the Master as soon as the evening was come, entered the hall followed by sixteen revellers. They were proper, handsome young gentlemen, habited in rich suits, shoes and stockings, hats and great feathers. The master led them in his bar gown, with a white staff in his hand, the music playing before them. They began with the old masques; after which they danced the Brawls, and then the master took his seat, while the revellers flaunted through galliards, corantos, French and country dances, till it grew very late. As might be expected, the reputation of this dancing soon brought a store of other gentlemen and ladies, some of whom were of great quality, and when the ball was over the festive party adjourned to Sir Sydney Montague’s chamber, lent for the purpose to our young president. At length the court ladies and grandees were allured, to the contentment of his vanity it may have been, but entailing on him serious expense, and then there was great striving for places to see them on the part of the London citizens. To crown the ambition and vanity of all, a great German lord had a desire to witness the revels, then making such a sensation at court, and the Templars entertained him at great cost to themselves, receiving in exchange that which cost the great noble very little—his avowal that ‘Dere was no such nople gollege in Christendom as deirs”

All of which is now forgotten.

Custom survived: The Bodmin Wassail

The Bodmin wassail is one of the few surviving house visiting wassails and has been on my to do list for some time. I did plan to attend in 2020, but as we all know Covid struck and despite plans to revive in 2021 and 2022 they were not full bodied revivals I believe and indeed one of these years it was cancelled last minute. 2023 was the year then to attend! So I organised myself to get down to Bodmin the day before so I could attend.

Always held on the 6^th or 5^th if the 6^th is a Sunday, the custom dates at least back to the will of one Nicholas Sprey, a three-time mayor of Bodmin who died in 1624. He bequeathed the sum of 13s 4d for an “annual wassail cup” aiming “the continuance of love and neighbourly meetings” and to “remember all others to carry a more charitable conscience”. It is possible that Sprey, a Town Clerk and once MP for Bodmin may have established the custom for he directed that the wassail cup should be taken to the mayor’s house each year on the 12th day of Christmas, raising funds as it passed through the town. This stipend was withdrawn in 1838 the stipend but as we know the custom continued which suggests it doubtlessly had an earlier origin.

I arrived at the old town hall, now a museum to see the wassailers assembling on the steps. They are without exception the best dressed of any wassails, being dressed as they describe on their website as:

“top hat and tails, smart outfits comprised of “gentlemen’s hand-me-downs” – clothes acquired from the local gentry and passed down from one wassailer to another over the decades.”

Assembled on the steps in their black morning suits and notable top hats, they certainly look like a scene from another era and as they processed around the town certainly looked even more distinctive. The group chatted to the curious onlooker as they assembled and it was interesting to hear how long some members had been in the group; and heartening to see their was a relative new recruit in their ranks.

The day begun at the offices of Bodmin Town Council and soon in a curious crocodile they made their way where they were greeted by the  mayor and local councillors. Here the wassail cup was removed from the case and dutifully filled with wine for the first wassail with the Mayor. The wassail bowl is an important part of the custom; the cup usually being made of wood and decorated with holly, laurel and later tinsel. In Bodmin, however, it was always made of pottery. The original bowl of course has long gone, it was made of pottery. Apparently, according to a Mr. Tom Green Snr, a wassailer for around 70 years finishing late 1980s, it disappeared following the outbreak of the Second World War. At that time it disappeared having last being seen on display on top of a plant pot in a shop in Honey Street in Bodmin. Thus the wassailers continued without a drinking vessel.

In 2008 a former mayor John Chapman donated a specially commissioned bowl, made by Lostwithiel potter John Webb. When not on wassail service it is displayed throughout the year in the Tourist Information Centre in Bodmin’s Shire Hall.  Of this Vic Legg, who has been part of the wassailing tradition for 33 years said:

“John has been a keen supporter of the tradition, as was his father and grandfather, and we are extremely grateful to him for this generous gift…We’ve carried on without a bowl since before the war, visiting houses, pubs and residential homes, but now we can fill it up with beer or cider and offer people a drink, the original intention when Nicholas Sprey bought the first wassailing cup all those years ago. Having the new bowl makes a tremendous difference as we can use it as the focal point of the wassail.”

The receptible for collection had become closer to the tradition method too, when 2014, a new leather purse was donated replacing the plastic ice cream tub. Apparently, it inspired by the lyrics from one wassail song:

 “We’ve got a little purse made of stretching leather skin. We want a little of your money, to bind it well within.”

They started as traditional with one of three of their traditional wassail songs:

“Chorus

For singing Wassail, Wassail, Wassail,

And Johnney come to our jolly Wassail.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Pockets of money and a cellar of beer.

Chorus

If Master and Mistress be sitting at ease,

Put your hands in your pockets and give what you please.

Chorus

If Master and Mistress are both wide awake,

Please go to the cupboard and bring us some cake.

Chorus

Here comes a ship out in full sail,

Ploughs the wide ocean in many a gale.

Chorus

If you’ve got an apple I hope you’ve got 10,

To make some sweet cider ‘gainst we comes again.

Chorus

Come knock on the knocker and ring on the bell,

I hope you’ll reward us for singing Wassail.

Chorus”

The songs are the most important element of the wassail. Bodmin’s tradition has three, which is unique amongst wassail traditions – they usually have just one. Their website states:

“The first is sung on arrival before we enter the house or premises. The second was passed on to us by Mr Charlie Wilson, and is often sung during the eating, drinking, storytelling, fundraising and singing that goes on at each stop. The third is sung as we leave, thanking our hosts for their hospitality: “So now we must be gone to seek for more good cheer, where bounty will be shown, as we have found it here, in our Wassail.”

Of this first song the website notes:

“The verses are not always sung in this order, or indeed all of them sung at each stop. It is possible that in the chorus the word Johnney was originally ‘joy’, as in most wassails, but this is how Bodmin Wassail inherited the song.”

The old song is sung as they leave:

“Chorus
Wassail, Wassail, Wassail, Wassail,
I am joy, come to our jolly Wassail.

This is our merry night,
For choosing King and Queen,
Then be it your delight,
That something may be seen,
In our Wassail.

Chorus

Is there any butler here?
Or dweller in this house,
I hope he’ll take a full carouse,
And enter to our bowl,
In our Wassail.

Chorus

We fellows are all poor,
Can’t buy no house nor land,
Unless we do gain,
In our Wassail.

Chorus

Our Wassail bowl to fill,
With apples and good spice,
Then grant us your good will,
To taste here, once or twice,
Of our Wassail.

Chorus

So now we must be gone,
To seek for more good cheer,
Where bounty will be shown,
As we have found it here,
In our Wassail

Chorus”

As the website states:

“The old song is sung as they leave, sometimes in its entirety, and sometimes just the last verse and chorus. It has been around and sung, in either complete or truncated form, since at least the late 19th century, according to the late Wassailer Tom Green, Snr. A printed copy of the song was carried around on Wassail night. This copy was believed to have been lost until it came into the possession of Vic Legg in the mid 1970s via his colleague Vic Barratt. His father, Vic Barratt, Snr, had been a Wassailer for a short period in the 1940s and passed it down to his son.”

After around an hour here, taking advantage of the fine spread of food, the wassailers disappeared into a taxi to start a rather gruelling especially in the rather dreadful weather tour of at first residential homes, then local businesses and finally public houses of the town. At each place they would announce themselves with a wassail song.

The weather continued to be grim when we caught they entering a pub along Bodmin high street, despite singing and no doubt indulging in hospitality the entire morning there was no sign of fatigue as they song heartly and were received rapturously by those in the pub. After chatting and laughing with regulars there was a nod around the wassailers who then broke into their out song, grabbed hats and umbrellas and went their way to the next pub. And so, it went on through the town. Their repertoire varied little except for some poetry and discussion of the history of the songs to the local folk group who were keen to hear. I left them at their last pub, less packed and with a slightly more bemused assemblage, before the entered the dark gloom to finish some private sings and then rest for another year!

Bodmin’s wassail tradition is one indeed to be proud of. There are other wassails in Cornwall and beyond but these tend to be revivals. This is the oldest recorded and continually attended custom, even the pandemic did not prevent some wassailing, that being a socially distanced one of the Mayor….and no one mentioned it was probably bending the rules then,…but in a way that underlines the love Bodmin has for the wassail.

​

Custom demised: New Year Day gift giving

New Year’s Day is generally a day now of recovery from celebrating the night before. Some families may have a New Year’s day meal but for many years it was New Year’s day not Christmas that was the day for gift giving.

Fosbroke, in his Encyclopædia of Antiquities, notices the continuation of the Roman practice of interchanging gifts during the middle and later ages; a custom which prevailed especially amongst our kings, queens, and the nobility. According to Matthew Paris, Henry III., following the discreditable example of some of the Roman emperors, even extorted them from his subjects.

In Rymer’s Fœdera a list is given of the gifts received by Henry VI. between Christmas Day and February 4th, 1428, consisting of sums of 40s., 20s., 13s. 4d., 10s., 6s. 8d., and 3s. 4d.

In the reign of Henry VII. the reception of the New Year’s gifts presented by the king and queen to each other and by their household and courtiers, was reduced to a solemn formula.

Agnes Strickland, in her Lives of the Queens of England (1864), quotes the following extract from a MS. of Henry VII.’s Norroy herald, in possession of Peter Le Neve, Esq.:

“On the day of the New Year, when the king came to his foot-sheet, his usher of his chamber-door said to him, ‘Sire, here is a New Year’s gift coming from the queen;’ then the king replied, ‘Let it come in.’ Then the king’s usher let the queen’s messenger come within the yate” (meaning the gate of the railing which surrounded the royal bed, instances of which are familiar to the public in the state bedrooms at Hampton Court to this day, and it is probable that the scene was very similar), “Henry VII. sitting at the foot of the bed in his dressing-gown, the officers of his bed-chamber having turned the top sheet smoothly down to the foot of the bed when the royal personage rose. The queen, in like manner, sat at her foot-sheet, and received the king’s New Year’s gift within the gate of her bed-railing. When this formal exchange of presents had taken place between the king and his consort, they received, seated in the same manner, the New Year’s gifts of their nobles. ‘And,’ adds the herald, assuming the first person, ‘I shall report to the queen’s grace and them that be about her, what rewards are to be given to them that bring her grace New Year’s gifts, for I trow they are not so good as those of the king.’”

In the 4^th series of Notes and queries it is recorded that:

“there is in the possession of the Marquis of Bath, Longleat, a manuscript, which contains a list of moneys given to King Henry VIII. in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, as New Year’s gifts. They are from archbishops, bishops, noblemen, doctors, gentlemen, &c. The amount which the king’s grace complacently pocketed on this occasion was 792l. 10s. 10d.”

Honest old Latimer, however, says Hone in his 1836 Every Day Book states that instead of presenting Henry VIII. with a purse of gold, put into the king’s hand a New Testament, with a leaf conspicuously doubled down at Hebrews xiii. 4, which, on reference, will be found to have been worthy of all acceptation, though not, perhaps, well accepted.

A manuscript roll of the public revenue of the fifth year of Edward VI. has an entry of rewards given on New Year’s Day to the king, officers, and servants, amounting to 155l. 5s., and also of sums given to the servants of those who presented New Year’s gifts to the king.

Thistleton-Dwyer in his 1836 Popular customs states that:

“During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the custom of presenting New Year’s gifts to the sovereign was carried to an extravagant height. Indeed, Dr. Drake is of opinion that the wardrobe and jewelry of Queen Elizabeth were principally supported by these annual contributions on New Year’s Day. He cites lists of New Year’s gifts presented to her from the original rolls published in her “progresses” by Mr. Nichols; and from these it appears that the presents were made by the great officers of state, peers and peeresses, bishops, knights and their ladies, gentlemen and gentlewomen, physicians and apothecaries, and others of lower grade, down to her Majesty’s dustman. The presents consisted of sums of money, costly articles of ornament for the queen’s person or apartments, caskets studded with precious stones, valuable necklaces, bracelets, gowns, embroidered mantles, smocks, petticoats, looking-glasses, fans, silk stockings, and a great variety of other articles. The largest sum given by any of the temporal lords was 20l.; but the Archbishop of Canterbury gave 40l., the Archbishop of York 30l., and the other spiritual lords, 20l. and 10l. Dr. Drake says, that although Elizabeth made returns to the New Year’s gifts, in plate and other articles, yet she nevertheless took sufficient care that the balance should be in her own favour.”

And that:

“In the reign of James I. the money gifts seem to have been continued for some time, but the ornamental articles presented seem to have been few and of small value. No rolls, nor, indeed, any notices of New Year’s gifts presented to Charles I. seem to have been preserved, though probably there were such. The custom, no doubt, ceased entirely during the Commonwealth, and was never afterwards revived, at least, to any extent worthy of notice. Mr. Nichols mentions that the last remains of the custom at court consisted in placing a crown-piece under the plate of each of the chaplains in waiting on New Year’s Day, and that this custom had ceased early in the nineteenth century.”

The New Year’s gifts, says Chambers in his Book of Days presented by individuals to each other were suited to sex, rank, situation, and circumstances. From Bishop Hall’s Satires (1598), it appears that the usual gift of tenantry in the country to their landlords was a capon; and Cowley, addressing the same class of society says:

“Ye used in the former days to fall Prostrate to your landlord in his hall,When with low legs, and in an humble guise,Ye offer’d up a capon sacrificeUnto his worship, at a New Year’s tide.”

Ben Jonson, in his Christmas Masque, among other characters introduces:

“New Year’s gift in a blue coat, serving-man like, with an orange, and a sprig of rosemary on his head, his hat full of brooches, with a collar of gingerbread, his torch-bearer carrying a marchpane, with a bottle of wine on either arm.”

An orange stuck with cloves was a common present, and is explained by Lupton, who says that the flavour of the wine is improved, and the wine itself preserved from mouldiness, by an orange or lemon stuck with cloves being hung within the vessel, so as not to touch the liquor.

Thistleton-Dwyer also adds that:

“When pins were first invented, and brought into use about the beginning of the sixteenth century, they were a New Year’s gift very acceptable to ladies, instead of the wooden skewers which they had hitherto used. Sometimes, however, in lieu of pins, they received a composition in money, called pin money, an expression which has been extended to a sum of money secured by a husband on his marriage for the private expenses of his wife.

Gloves, too, were customary New Year’s gifts. They were far more expensive than nowadays, and occasionally a sum of money was given instead, which was called glove money.”

Now no one gives gifts it seems on New Year’s Day least of all to the monarch

Custom demised: Great Yarmouth Christmas breakfast

Many of us have a large Christmas meal but in Yarmouth a custom was established to provide a Christmas breakfast. According to Charles Parkin’s 1776 History of Great Yarmouth:

“At Yarmouth before the Reformation it was a custom for the prior and monks, and afterwards for the dean and chapter, or the farmer of their parsonage, to provide a breakfast for the inhabitants of the town every year on Christmas Day, which custom continued till the 21st of Elizabeth”

It is started that it was established: 

“on account of a grievous plague which carried off two thousand of the inhabitants in one year, and on consideration of the ruinous condition of the parsonage-house, it was agreed that Thomas Osborne, who was then farmer of the parsonage, should pay 5l. a year to the churchwardens for the use of the town in lieu of the said breakfast.”

However, after the plague had ceased, the breakfast resumed and continued as usual, till the reign of James I. This was when according to Parkin:

“William Gostlynge, then farmer, absolutely refused to provide it or to pay an equivalent composition, upon which the town preferred a complaint to the dean and chapter, who promised not to countenance him in such a non-conformity to the terms of the lease by which he held of them. Finally, Mr. Gostlynge was obliged to sign an agreement, whereby he engaged to pay yearly to the town in lieu of the breakfast, 10l., which was distributed to poor fishermen, &c., and 5l. for his default, in before refusing to provide the breakfast.”

This seemed a convenient arrangement and again Parkin continues to note:

“This continued till the making of a new agreement, between the corporation and Mr. Gostlynge, of a grant of nomination and appointment of preachers and ministers in the town, since which it seems that both breakfast and composition shared the fate of all human institutions and sank into oblivion.”

Understandably despite the sentiment it has never been revived!

Custom contrived: Guildford Twelfth Night celebrations

Guildford’s Twelfth Night celebrations, always held on the night is a great smorgasbord of the customs associated with the old celebrations associated with the day and a more rousing and enjoyable twelfth night celebration you couldn’t find I’d say.

The Twelfth Night at Guildford founded by Pilgrim Morris founded in 1972. The groups dressed as characters from a plough or Mummer’s Play tour a number of Guildford’s pubs injecting a necessary shot of jollity into a drab winter’s night. As they tour around a fair number of followers are attracted to their infectious fun. Their costumes in themselves were a riot of craziness and eccentricity covered with ribbons and adorned with Chrimbo iconography one even included a miniature Father Christmas!

I arrived at the first pub having travelled across the capital from the Jeffrey’s museum’s Twelfth night and came across them mid mummer’s play as St George was being speared by a Saracen in such a rather cramped location that I feared as he feel he would hit his head on a table.

At the play’s conclusion seeing the revival of St George to cheers one of the Morris mean appeared with a cake and urged people to eat. Some were rather reluctant whereas others upon finding the purpose dived in and took a piece hoping to find the pea and bean. The pea and bean, hidden in the cake, being a Twelfth Night tradition, whosever would find it would be King or Queen of Misrule. The taker was unsuccessful. However, soon a partaker looking like they’d swallowed something a bit odd, reached into his mouth and extracted a hard bean – a cheer went out and he was celebrated as the King for the night.

There was then a sword dance again in the rather small area and it was perhaps thankful the swords were not the sharp kind.  One of the Morris then moved a chair and upon standing on it began to chalking the beam as traditional for epiphany. Their version slightly different:

“Finally, at each place, three crosses are chalked onto the beams to protect the house and bring good luck for the next year.”

There were more cheers. 

Off we went to another pub and hear the wassail bowl was out. This a wooden bowl filled with spiced ale and was being offered around and drunk enthusiastically like a communion wine and in a way this was the intentions.

Phil Gorton noted in the Guildford gazette

“In each of the five places that we visited, the Guildford Mummer’s play was performed followed carols and wassail songs – not the boring standard issue ones but traditional versions, some of which are local to Surrey.”

These songs were particularly uplifting at their final pub The Royal Oak where gathered around the stairway and up on the balcony the Morris dancers and accompanied impromptu choir sung their hearts out in their mixture of traditional and not so familiar carols. The custom is so well established now that it has its own followers who regularly attend and know the words of the more obscure and localised carols much as they do around Sheffield.  As noted by Phil again:

“There are always plenty of singers who come along to bolster the unofficial choir and, as happens each year“

The local newspaper recording:

“Up to 150 wassailers, traditionally celebrating twelfth night, toured some of Guildford’s pubs last night (Jan 6th) causing merriment at every venue.

One of the celebrants, morris man Phil Gorton of Farncombe said: “The pubs were packed and it was a riotous night!””

If you are in Guildford or perhaps not and are free on Twelfth Night join the wassail at Guildford for a great experience – second to none as it has something customwise for everyone – including free food and drink!!

Custom demised: Twelfth Night Moseley Dole, Walsall

This demised custom had a great story behind it:

“Thomas Moseley, passing through Walsall, on twelfth eve, saw a child crying for bread, where others were feasting, and, struck by the circumstance, made over the estates at Barcott, &c., to the town of Walsall, on condition that every year one penny should be given each person on that day, so that no one might witness a like sadness.”

And as such established the Moseley Dole as recorded in An abstract of the title – of the town of Walsall, in Stafford, to valuable estates at Bascott, &c., in the county of Warwick, with remarks by James Cottrell, 1818. which reads:

“In 1453 Thomas Moseley made a feoffment of certain estates, to William Lyle and William Maggot, and their heirs, in trust, for the use of the town of Walsall; but John Lyle, son of William Lyle, to whom these estates would have descended, instead of applying the produce of the estates for the use of the town, kept them, and denied that the property was in trust, pretending it to be his own inheritance; but the inhabitants of Walsall not choosing to be so cheated, some of them went to Moxhal, and drove away Lyle’s cattle, which unjustifiable act he did not resent, because he was liable to be brought to account for the trust estate in his hands. At length a suit was commenced by the town against Lyle, and the estates in question were adjudged for the use of the town of Walsall. Accordingly, in 1515, John Lyle of Moxhal, near Coleshill, Warwickshire, suffered a recovery, whereby these estates passed to Richard Hunt, and John Ford, and they, in 1516, made a feoffment of the land, to divers inhabitants of the town of Walsall, in trust, and so it continues in the hand of trustees to this day.”

It is recorded that:

“In 1539 the first mention appears to have been made of the penny dole. On the twelfth eve, being the anniversary for the souls of Thomas Moseley, and Margaret his wife, the bellman went about with his bell, exciting all to kneel down and pray for the souls of Thomas Moseley, and Margaret, his wife; Thomas Moseley never gave this dole, either by feoffment or will; but, because he had been so good a benefactor, in giving his lands, &c., in Warwickshire, the town, by way of gratitude, yearly distributed a general dole of one penny each, to young and old, rich and poor; strangers, as well as townspeople; and this was the origin of the dole.”

However there is some discussion over where the dole really begun:

“The masters of the guild of St. John the Baptist, in Walsall, a religious fraternity, with laws and orders made among themselves, by royal licence, appear at this time to have been the trustees; for they received the rents of these estates, and kept court at Barcott. King John granted to every arch-deacon in England a power of gathering from every ‘fyer householder,’ in every parish, one penny, which were called Peter pence; therefore I am inclined to think this religious fraternity were the beginners of this penny dole, which would enable them immediately to pay their Peter Pence or, perhaps they might stop it in the same manner as the bellman does the lord of the manor’s penny.”

The author of the extract:

“It would be a good thing if this dole was given up, and the rents of these valuable estates, which are now considerable, were all applied to charitable purposes.”

The dole ceased in 1825 after some local resistance it is believed. Twelve alms-houses, were built with the money in the hands of the corporation with the money apparently.

Custom revived: Lincoln Crying Christmas

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I’ve said this before but some towns and cities lend themselves to having a plethora of customs and traditions. Lincoln is such a place but with its challenging Steep Hill, towering cathedral and Roman ruins it should have collated a number of curious customs – but bar a couple of interesting church services and its Australian breakfast – unfortunately since I reported it in this blog now in abeyance – its rather lacking. That is why the revival of perhaps one of the city’s unique and certainly colourful customs is very welcome.

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

Why should anyone by crying over Christmas you may ask? Not getting the correct present was it? Indigestion from too much stuffing and pudding? Or was it the inevitable argument with the in laws that did it? Not its not the emotional type of crying but crying out as in calling out and the aim of this custom was to inform the citizens of the rules surrounding on the on coming festive period.

I arrive and climbed that famous steep hill – well at least the custom was going downwards – to see a small group assembled dressed in medieval clothing and carrying banners and traditional instruments. The party were called Waites an old English name for such civic musicians.

Waites in themselves are a curious tradition. They were a sort of municipal musicians employed by the Mayor to play at civic ceremonies. Established by Henry III in 1253 in association with watching over the citizens during the curfew and as such they died out as the curfew became redundant and were officially stopped by the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act although apparently they continued to 1857 in Lincoln.

Origin of crying.

“”Evere franchest man and dennyssen inhabite within this Citie schalle have free liberte and sayffegarde in honest mirthe and gam sportis to goo or doe what hym pleys”.

The aim of the crying event being to inform the cities that unless written permission was given by the King, during the 12 days of Christmas no man would be arrested by the city’s authorities. Thus at regular intervals through the evening of the 21st December verses would be delivered either sung or spoken by three Senatours appointed by the Mayor and possibly city Waites. In 1576 for example it was recorded that:

“Christmas myrthe to be proclaimed in ten or twelve places and every Alderman to ride with the Officers”

The first written record of the custom is the words “Crying Christmas” being written on a flyleaf of Entries of the Common Council (1565 – 1599) with the words

“Anno xxv. Officij Willelmi Hynde Communis Clerici Civitatis Lincolniensis”.

An account of 1572 records:

“The old robes which the Officers Cried Christmas withal to be made into decent cloaks for the said officers to cry the same yearly.”

One assumes the custom became obsolete as soon as the Waites died out and it was not until 2007 that it was revived.

Waite for it!

Once the Cathedral clock struck 6pm and the with the steady beat of the drum we were off down into Lincoln. Accompanied with the sound of flutes and trumpets the streets of Lincoln was immediately brightened by this archaic sounds. Understandably as the ground processed downwards they received some interest from onlookers who stopped to take photos and some joined the procession behind making it seem like a real life piped piper procession.

 

At the first place one of the Waites put a horn to his lips and blew and then another called a Senator, read a proclamation:

“The maker Allmyghtye the grounds of all grace, Save this Congregation that here be present and Bryng them all to the Celestyall place, That with paycens wyll here the effect of our intent.”

A further three times these Senators read out their proclamations

“Oure intent & purpose is Auncyent customes to declare that have ben Vsed in this Citie manye yeres ago and noew for to breake them we wysshe ye schuld beware for ther be grevous ponysshmentes for them that wyll do soo.”

and then

“At the tyme of Crystmas, mythe haith ben made throughout all nacyons, of the Crystian faith and styll so to keip it, ye nede not be affrayde for then, was our Savyour bourn as the Scripture saith.”

It was all a bit confusing for the onlookers and indeed this being Friday night there were a few rowdy characters who sought to interject with their views, some somewhat colourful and in all cases fell flat. Indeed the concern with the possible conflict with the large night time economy meant that one year when the 21st fell on a Saturday it was decided not to entertain the notion!

In the market square beneath the shadow of the cathedral some of the Waites then danced weaving in and out of each other. I continued with them until we reached the Mayors parlour when the musicians played and a final proclamation made by the city cryer:

“The eternall Lord, have mercy on your souls this day. vnto other place to bear our tidings we must now away power upon you that ye may do good, the Lord bestow he, that all thynges both good and evil doth well know.”

Then we were all invited in for some festive food and the procession ended for another year. The city informed of the coming of Christmas and their rights and the dark and cold December nights made much better for it.