Custom transcribed: Polish Holy Saturday Swieconka

It is interesting as a researcher into customs and traditions is that although one naturally assumes that the custom landscape is fossilised and never changes, bar a few revivals; hovever this is far from the truth and just as commentators wrongly bemoan the loss of British customs (the revivals far outweigh those demised); it would be wrong to say that new customs do not develop or are imported from the diaspora of other nations. The Swieconka is one such custom like the Christingle or Advent crown which appears to be spreading through the churches, although unlike the later it appears to be only Roman Catholic churches for reasons which will be clear as we progress

So what are Swieconka?

Made by children, the foods within have a symbolic message and meaning. The Good Shepherd website helpfully records the interpretations of the components:

“A Yeast Cake (Babka): Reminiscent of the Risen Lord.

Colourful dyed eggs: Symbolise hope in Christ’s Resurrection and new life.

Bread: Symbolic of Jesus, the Bread of Life.

A Lamb figure: Represents The Paschal Lamb.

Horseradish: Symbolises the bitterness and harshness of the Passion of Jesus.

Salt: A necessary element of our physical life and to preserve us from corruption.

Polish Salami (Kielbasa): Indicative of God’s mercy and generosity.

Sprigs of Greenery: Represents joy in Spring and the Resurrection & finally some Spring Flowers.”

 

How far has it spread?

My first experience of the custom was at the Good Shepherd Catholic church, Arnold, where in an area of third or even fourth generation Polish settlers it has been well established and certainly dates back 30 years or older.

Nottingham and Newark have a long established Polish community and in Catholic churches the blessing of the Easter food, or  ‘Swieconka’ is undertaken. Such baskets have been done in Arnold’s Good Shepherd at least since the 1980s. A cursory enquiry on the internet suggests that it considerably widespread. From  the Immaculate conception in Clevedon Somerset to Harrogate in Yorkshire from St Mary’s Leek Staffordshire to the Ely in Cambridgeshire.

The website for Immaculate conception Clevedon, Somerset states:

“The blessing of the Easter food, or the ‘Swieconka’ is a tradition that is very dear to the heart of every Pole. Traditionally, food is brought to the church in a basket, with a linen cover, and blessed by the parish priest on Holy Saturday morning. After the blessing, the food is set aside until Easter morning when the head of the house shares blessed egg, symbol of life, with his family and friends.”

St Joseph’s Church Harrogate (North Yorkshire) states that:

“ On Holy Saturday Morning, around 130 people attended the Blessing of Easter Baskets – Święconka. Fr Stephen led the liturgy, and three young people read prayers in Polish.  It was a wonderful occasion in preparation for the celebration of Easter.”

In Essex, Witham’s Catholic church records:

“We will celebrate the polish tradition of Swieconka (sh-vee-en-soon-kah) again this year. Everyone is invited to join our polish brothers and sisters on Holy Saturday afternoon.
Baskets of Easter food will be blessed – bread and baked goods, meats and eggs. The baskets are decorated with ribbons and Easter evergreen. In gratitude to God for all His gifts and his grace the Easter food is sanctified with the hope that in the joy of the resurrection, we too will be blessed by His goodness and mercy.”

In Southampton, the tradition has attracted local press interest. In the Southern Daily Echo, the article Food blessing is new ingredient for city’s rich cultural mix 2008 records that:

“Hundreds of people from Southampton’s Polish community attended St Edmund’s Catholic Church bringing decorated baskets containing samples of tradition food to be blessed. The typical “Swieconka” basket contains hard-boiled shelled and painted eggs, bread, salt, ham, smoked sausage, horseradish, butter and cake. All of the food that was brought to the church on Saturday was decorated with spring flowers, colourful ribbons and an Easter lamb moulded from sugar or chocolate.”

A more recent adopter of the custom is St Clare’s Catholic church, Fagley, in Bradford (West Yorkshire)

“Once again, St Clare’s Fagley will celebrate Święconka – the blessing of the Easter baskets – with members of the Polish community on Holy Saturday.  This event has taken place over the past 6 years here at St Clare’s and the numbers are growing steadily – over a hundred and twenty people gathered, among them 50 children, many of whom attend our parish schools. Fr Paul Redmond, the parish priest, will lead the service of blessing with the prayers in Polish and English.”

The spread had attracted the attention of the Church times, where David Self in an 2007 article, Mass and Swieconka in the Fens states that:

“Immigrants can be both a source of revival and of new growth for parishes.”

He continues:

“In the town, there may be some typical Fen suspicion of the incomers. But the parish priest, Fr John Doman, believes they are accepted in the church partly because the congregation became used to a Polish pope, partly because the newcomers are conservative by nature, and partly because they so obviously want to be there. There was no trouble, for example, with the introduction of Swieconka, a Polish Holy Saturday service in which food-baskets are blessed.”

Which is an interesting observation. However, what is not evident yet is the tradition spreading beyond its Polish diasporan population and out of the Roman Catholic church into other denominations or even to a more secular tradition.

 

Custom survived: Laxton Court Day

After the rather tense discussion at the Jury Day there was a bit of a tense feeling in the village hall. Traditionally, the Court Leet meet in the Dovecote but during the Covid pandemic, social distancing led to the village hall being adopted and as such it has continued. It certainly led to it being easier to observe and photograph. As mentioned in the fine village journal The Open Field:

“Until last year the venue was The Dovecote, but the small rooms do not lend themselves to either the larger numbers attending in recent years or providing enough space for current health recommendations. Last year the move was made to the Village Hall, which looks like being the venue of choice from now on.”

The Jury sat among the audience ready to interject and facing them at the main table were the Court’s three officers, with some members of the estate and parish council sat on the sides. The three court officials were:

The Steward, who is a solicitor appointed by the Lord of the Manor. The current incumbent has filled this role of ensuring any legal requirements are undertaken, for 15 years.

The Bailiff, a local farmer who presented the Presentation paper from the previous week and would be the source of information of the cases

The Clerk to the Gaits & Commons, a local farmer, whose role combines the duties of Secretary and Treasurer. managing funds from various sources made available to the Open Fields and those who farm them.

Court in the act

Each of the three Open Fields has a Foreman who holds a permanent appointment. And the current incumbents are all are Laxton farmers descended from at least one previous generation who farmed here such is the tradition in the village.

The Court was opened by a welcome and the traditional proclamation. The Steward then called up the members of the Jury

Who then arm outstretched upon the bible, would be sworn in. At the end of each swearing each member would kiss the bible ceremonially. This is then the Jury sworn in the following year and the foreman who would oversee next years homage or jury day.

Then the Steward began to call the names on the Manor Suit Roll, these were list of people living within the manor boundaries all of which are eligible for the Jury and are obliged to attend. Understandably as this court was held on a Thursday in a working week many were not and so times have to change. However, if they were absent the bailiff called out ‘ absent’ and still a 2p essoign, a type of fine, was rather ceremoniously placed on the table. A one point the call was ‘very absent’ to which the Steward stopped and enquired what he meant by this and the bailiff said the person was dead. This called for a quick analysis of whether the Roll was up to date, after this it was decided that was anomaly and they continued.

See you in court

Once this happened the Court moved onto the details arising from last Court to see if they had been addressed; most had but there were still some overdue issues it seemed and then on the details of this year’s presentation paper. The discussion was the made up of the various transgressions which had been discussed in the pub the week before and the suggested fines; which in most cases the Steward agreed and in some cases, the bailiff would then delve into his book to see if there was any historical precedent for it – on one matter the Steward admitting that it was an unusual case and in this matter, the book and the knowledge of the Bailiff was invaluable. The issues were generally small matters, not keeping boundaries and sykes clear. Or in the words of the court  ‘ploughed too far’, which would be ploughing beyond the end of a strip into the adjoining roadway and therefore reducing the width of the roadway and potentially making access to the strips difficult, and ‘not shovelling in’, which means, in effect, not clearing up behind them when they have been ploughing Certainly they were less varied then those which can be read in the archives.  For example, the 4d ‘for not ringing her swine’, 3s 4d in 1661 ‘for scolding a disturbance to the neighbours’, and the 1s ‘for not suffering the water to have passage out of the Hall Lane through the Hall wood accordingly as hath been formerly’ also indicating how the powers have also changed no doubt in what was enforceable. Perhaps showing the power in the village that of 1681 Laxton tenants made allowed Augustine Hynde and his father before him to graze animals in ‘Rongsicke feilde’, not because he had a right to do, but ‘because he was an eminent man and we could not dispute it with him’. What again was interested in that there no real appeals from those fined until the contentious issue from the previous week was raised. This appeared to again get quite heated with members of the Jury interjecting their opinions and views. At one point it being argued that the issue was beyond the aspects of the Court. I shall not embarrass the individual involved but it was evident that this was still a court with power and where views were considered and discussed like in any court.

Settled out of court?

Indeed, Laxton’s Court Leet still has powers were other Court Leets have become simple pantomimes as such. When in 1977, the Administration of Justice Act these powers were at risk, the then Steward who was representative of Tallents Solicitors in Newark, prevented this and as such the village would be the only place to retain this.  I was not sure to be honest that the issue was fully resolved, it certainly lead to some anger and heated discussion. Once all the matters from the Court had been addressed again the Bailiff rose to their feet to give the final proclamation and the court closed. As this was also a good opportunity to discuss wider issues the meeting more to local matters which lay outside the limits of the court. Afterall, why miss the opportunity for a quorate meeting!

To be able to see one of the only remaining medieval Court leets in power was a real privilege and one hopes that this microcosm of ancient farming life continues and weathers the threats that modern agriculture has.

Custom survived: Jury Day at Laxton

This year I was fortunate enough to be invited to witness the Laxton Jury Day and Court Day; the later I shall discuss in December, which I have been fascinated by many years. I had tried unsuccessfully before to attend but this year I was invited to attend. Much has been written about the unique survival that is Laxton and I can only briefly discuss it here. Of course, it is the calendared events which interest us here. And every final Thursday in November twelve local farmers who compromise the Jury, who are also called the Homage, who then come and inspect the fields and particularly the sykes and drains. These stakes mark where each strip should join the bordering sykes and gaits which remain uncultivated to secure access. Any transgressions, including ploughing too far or not far enough, are recorded and presented at the Court Leet the following week. With each transgression is a suggested fine agreed by the Jury, and the Court has the legal power to enforce them. A particularly unique situation at Laxton is the retention of the three fields which undertake crop rotation – a fascinating survival as every GCSE Geography student will tell you!

Field study

The land has been part of a landed estate as far back as records survive being first recorded in map form for the then landowner, Sir William Courten, in 1635 and despite a consolidation and reduction on the strips between about 1906 and 1913, the overall layout remains the same today. I have never come across a village with so many houses called ‘farms’ although the number of actual farms has diminished and despite about 50% of the village being now in private hands, the farms are still owned by the landlord and worked by tenant farmers. It is worth noting the key points about the farming system are that any farm tenancy includes the strips designated for that farm and although occasionally the landowner may make minor adjustments, generally, the strips worked now, were the same worked by his father and grandfather and by someone else before him. Hence the affection and significance they have in the community.

Jury service

I turned up at the local pub, the Dovecote Inn, which has been central to the tradition for many years. Here I was warmly welcomed by the members of the Jury and some local curious people. The Jury overseen by an appointed bailiff has a different elected foreman for each of the three fields. Also, part of the group is the Steward who represents the Estate which was until recently the Crown but now nearby Thoresby, passing to them in 2020. These roles are life roles and indeed the fields themselves pass through the families and rarely pass into ‘outsiders’ hands. After warming with some teas, coffees and some early mince pies a large tractor with a trailer set up with straw bales for seating backed into the car park and we ascended the trailer to sit down. It was certainly a hold on to your hats situation as the trailer hurtled along the lanes and into the field which was being surveyed.

Field study

Soon we arrived at the field and here there was some confusion as to where the foreman was sending the team but soon grasping hammers and buckets full of posts two groups jumped out and soon disappeared down a lane. I jumped out to witness the action but soon realised a better experience might be following the steward who had his book ready to write down any transgressions firmly in hand. Therefore, I quickly rushed up to catch up with this group. Here the foreman was observing the previous post locations and guiding the insertion of new ones to mark the boundaries. At one point he observed some encroachment of the boundary, and this was duly noted in the book for future fining. The owners assembled took the potential of a fine very well I felt; particularly well when after some complaints from the foreman of the activity; the same offence was noticed at his strips! Too much hilarity I might add. Soon the different groups started to head to the central point where the tractor lay and after some brief discussion with the land agent and concerns over the survival of a tradition ill fitted to modern technology. After watching some evident pride from the Jurymen’s ability to find a suitable point for the boundary posts; I am not sure how well the observation from the Thoresby estate representative when he observed how well GPS would be to mark the exact location of the boundaries. Rather missing the point that the marking of these boundaries by posts probably has not changed in a 1000 years!

Working lunch

We got back on the tractor trailer and rather happy to have the job done the Jury returned back to the pub to eat a hearty meal and discuss the matters pressing from the Steward’s little book! Here the Bailiff convened a rather informal meeting of the Jury as they awaited the meal. With a weighty tone as reference, he asked for field back on what the jury had seen. Thus, a rather unusual discuss started about how much the transgressions should be fined with ostensibly those responsible. The discussion on how much to pay or whether the transgression should be let off with a warning was couched with injections such as ‘well you charged me £10 last time’ ‘it’s his second offence so it should be £20’ whilst these were perhaps trivial amounts of money, there were serious points to make. Despite some heated debate, the issues were put to bed for the week and we would await next month’s court’s thoughts on the matter.

Custom demised: Lost November 5th rhymes

Many of us are familiar with the bonfire rhyme or bonfire prayer:

“Pray remember

The Fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot;

For I know no reason

Why Gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Hollo boys! Hollo boys! Hurrah.”

Which has become a children’s nursery rhyme as well

If you attend an event in Sussex you will also here the following verse no doubt:

“A penn’orth of bread to feed the Pope,

A penn’orth of cheese to choke him;

A pint of beer to wash it down,

And a good old faggot to burn him.”

But across the country there were local variants many recorded in Alexander Andrew’s 1783 Long ago-A Journal of Popular Antiquities which appear to have been largely lost. In Derbyshire:

“Remember, remember,

Th’ fifth o’ November,

Th’ gunpowder plot,

Shall ne’er be forgot!

Pray gi’s a bit o’ coal,

Ter stick in th’ bun-fire hole!

A stick an’ a stake,

For King George’s sake—

A stowp an’ a reel,

Or else wey’ll steal.”

In Lincolnshire:

“Remember, remember

The fifth o’ November!

Guy and his companions’ plot:

We’re going to blow the Parliament up!

By God’s mercy we wase catcht,

With a dark lantern an’ lighted matcht!”

 Northamptonshire the following was chanted:

“Gunpowder treason!

Gunpowder treason!

Gunpowder treason plot!

I know no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fox and his companions

Did the scheme contrive,

To blow the King and Parliament

All up alive.

But, by God’s providence, him they catch,

With a dark lantern, lighting a match!

Hollo, boys! hollo, boys! make the bells ring!

Hollo, boys! hollo, boys! God save the king! Hurrah.”

In Clifton in Nottinghamshire the following was recorded:

“Please to remember

The fifth of November.

Old Guy Faux

And gunpowder plot

Shall never be forgot,

While Nottingham castle

Stands upon a rock!

In Oxfordshire:

“The fifth of November,

Since I can remember,

Gunpowder treason and plot;

This was the day the plot was contriv’d,

To blow up the King and Parliament alive;

But God’s mercy did prevent

To save our King and his Parliament.

A stick and a stake

For King James’s sake!

If you won’t give me one,

I’ll take two,

The better for me,

And the worse for you.”

In Poor Robin’s Almanack for the year 1677 is the following:

“Now boys with

Squibs and crackers play,

And bonfire’s blaze

Turns night to-day.”

In some parts of the north of England the following song is sung:

“Happy was the man,

And happy was the day,

That caught Guy

Going to his play,

With a dark lanthorn

And a brimstone match

Ready for the prime to touch.

As I was going through the dark entry

I spied the devil.

Stand back! Stand back!

Queen Mary’s daughter.

Put your hand in your pocket,

And give us some money

To kindle our bonfire. Hurrah.”

All these variants appear to have disappeared as a standard was written down and spread around via media sources – a trend that continues today!

Custom occasional: Proclamations of the accession of the monarch

“EDWARD VI, by the grace of God King of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in earth the supreme head, to all our most loving, faithful, and obedient subjects, and to every of them, greeting.

Where it hath pleased Almighty God, on Friday last past in the morning to call unto his infinite mercy the most excellent high and mighty prince, King Henry VIII of most noble and famous memory, our most dear and entirely beloved father, whose soul God pardon; forasmuch as we, being his only son and undoubted heir, be now invested and established in the crown imperial of this realm, and other his realms, dominions, and countries, with all regalities, pre-eminences, styles, names, titles, and dignities to the same belonging or in any wise appertaining:

We do by these presents signify unto all our said most loving, faithful, and obedient subjects that like as we for our part shall, by God’s grace, show ourself a most gracious and benign sovereign lord to all our good subjects in all their just and lawful suits and causes, so we mistrust not but they and every of them will again, for their parts, at all times and in all cases, show themselves unto us, their natural liege lord, most faithful, loving, and obedient subjects, according to their bounden duties and allegiances, whereby they shall please God and do the thing that shall tend to their own preservations and sureties; willing and commanding all men of all estates, degrees, and conditions to see our peace kept and to be obedient to our laws, as they tender our favor and will answer for the contrary at their extreme peril.”

Thus reads the oldest surviving Proclamation of the King that of Edward IV and whilst early Proclamations were made by the monarch over time a accession council set the date and made the announcements. However, nowadays news spreads very quickly. Within seconds of an official or even unofficial announcement the world knows so when Charles ascended to the British Throne one might expect a Twitter tweet or a Facebook feed to do the job but of course this might well have happened on top of a more of the most traditional custom of the proclamation. Indeed at the Proclamation I attended the Lord Mayor stated:

“In an age where modern methods of communication convey news around the globe in an instant, the proclamation is no longer the means by which people learn for the first time that they have a new Monarch. Today, however, is one of the first occasions when communities have an opportunity to come together and reflect on the moment in our nation’s history when the reign of our longest-serving Monarch came to an end and our new Sovereign succeeded.”

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What is interesting is that the proclamation works as a cascade mechanism. The first official or principal public proclamation being that at St James’s Palace. This being read by the Garter King of Arms from the balcony overlooking Friary court. This then is repeated by the City of London at the Royal Exchange. This then progressed to the separate countries of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and then it dissolved to the counties, then the cities and then the boroughs…I was half expecting at some point a person dressed in ceremonial robes shouting the proclamation through my letterbox at one point!

The High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Paul Southby gave the proclamation on the banks of the Trent at 1pm however I failed to attend this feeling the Nottingham city proclamation sat outside the impressive town hall. Thus, I attended the City of Nottingham’s proclamation.  By the time I had reached there a large number of people had attended, many previously laying the flowers in memory of Her Majesty the Queen. The flag was at half mast and a large number of dignitaries were arriving, many of whom had driven over from the earlier proclamation at the county offices. Despite there being a fair sized crowd I still managed to get right in front, they must have believed me to an official photographer. 

Soon the town crier appeared and rang the bell to start the proceedings and out processed the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Cllr Wendy Smith, Sir John Peace, the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire; the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Paul Southby; City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen; Sheriff of Nottingham, Cllr Nicola Heaton and other special dignitaries. The Lord Mayor naturally referred to the recent events stating that:

 “Our sadness at this time is shared by people across the globe, as we remember with affection and gratitude the lifetime of service given by Queen Elizabeth II, our longest-reigning Monarch.”

She continued to explain that:

“The basis on which our monarchy is built has ensured that through the centuries the Crown has passed in an unbroken line of succession. Today’s ceremony marks the formal Proclamation to the people of Nottingham of the beginning of our new King’s reign. The proclamation of the new Sovereign is a very old tradition which can be traced back over many centuries.   The ceremony does not create a new King. It is simply an announcement of the accession which took place immediately on the death of the reigning monarch.”

The amassed stood on a special platform to witness the Proclamation facing stoically into the crowd as the Proclamation was read:

“Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George: We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm and Members of the House of Commons, together with other members of Her late Majesty’s Privy Council and representatives of the Realms and Territories, Aldermen and Citizens of London, and others, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign to bless His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.

Given at St. James’s Palace this tenth day of September in the year of Our Lord two thousand.”

The flag being raised for the Proclamation temporarily but also a curious custom where the mace bearer turned the ceremonial mace over; a tradition undertaken in cities which had been visited by the monarch as a sign of respect.  There was a curious moment where the tape recording used to play the National Anthem did not appear to work. To be honest with a city as notable as Nottingham I would have thought that they might have managed some live music. Come what may though the Lord Mayor used their initiative and got the crowd to join in three rounds of ‘God Save the King’.  Then finally the tape worked, and the crowd sung ‘God save the King’ many I am sure for the first time.

The Proclamation over I left the City to experience it all over again at Gedling Borough council. Here the Mayor and Mayoress were joined by the councillors, the current MP Tom Randall and the previous MP, now Baron, Vernon Coaker. The reading was of course exactly the same but less people were assembled and after the singing of God Save the King, for the second time that day…for me…the party processed down to a small monument in the grounds of the park which had become a temporary memorial for the Queen.  The custom of course is a rare one but naturally also a very historic one and who knows when we shall hear it again.

Custom revived: Egmanton pilgrimage, Nottinghamshire

The UK has a number of pilgrim locations – Walsingham, Canterbury – being well known and each have their set days in which pilgrimage would be particularly valuable. Our Lady of Egmanton is not one of those places which comes to mind when the world pilgrimage is raised. But a pilgrimage site it is and for three set feast days in the year – it becomes the focus of those seeking devotion. Being a Marian shrine- the Assumptiontide – is the most important. Thus, on the first Saturday of August the church becomes a pilgrim site.

Lady Luck?

Why Egmanton? That is a good question. It is believed that the shrine was established when apparition of the Virgin Mary to a local woman in nearby Ladywood, sometime prior to the 12th century. A similar tradition is of course associated with Walsingham but there a firm date and name of the women are given. It seems a bit coincidental for the church which became a stopping off point for Walsingham to have a similar story. Come what may the shrine did become a site of pilgrimage. There is evidence of pilgrims is evident at the church with the discovery of pilgrim ampulla and the scratched crosses on the door jam said to have been done as evidence of the completion of a vow. Then in 1547 it was destroyed.

In many cases that would have been that if it was not for the Duke of Newcastle. He had a desire to restore the shrine to its former glory employing Ninian Cowper to improve much of fabric, repaint and return the effigy of Our Lady. Such a splendid job being done that upon opening the door and seeing it one is at first shocked by its splendour.

Once the church had been restored it seemed obvious that pilgrimage would be soon revived.  A Guild of Our Lady of Egmanton society was formed  in 1912 and regular assumption tide pilgrimages begun in 1929. The ceremony consists of Mass, outside afternoon procession of the effigy of Our Lady and benediction. with pilgrims coming from Leicester, Leeds, Sheffield, Lincoln, and more locally. A year later the Rev. Alfred Hope Patten, who had restored the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, made the trip along with a group of his people and gifted a banner to the church, which is still there today. Since then many other pilgrimages have been made to Egmanton. It has been a popular pilgrimage for members of the Anglo Catholic movement and on its Golden Jubilee in 1979, the High Mass was undertaken by the Lord Bishop of Southwell, the Rt. Revd. John Denis Wakeling. Even today those attending came from different both geographically and religiously with a congregation made up of High church Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Orthodox.

I asked the question about the relationship between the diocese, the local vicar and the use of the church for Anglo-Catholic services. I was informed that it had been a fraught one and originally, a vicar was appointed to close the church down as surplus to requirements in the 1930s instead this appeared to springboard the further revival. It has not been plain sailing since though with some incumbents refusing to attend and sitting in the vicarage when the pilgrimage was on. Today there appears to be a more ecumenical approach.

Lady Day

Bar a lady in the church, which was also open, it is usually only open Thursday afternoon, there was little sign that this was a pilgrimage day. I crossed the road into the village hall where a splendid array of cakes and food was being prepared including one of the most delightful pavlovas I had ever seen! Soon a few people appeared and became to make their way to the church. In the past there had been a formal procession around the village as described below:

“I visited Egmanton as a pilgrim on several occasions in the late 1980s and early 1990s and on a couple of occasions helped carry the portable statue of Our Lady along the village street and back to the church. It was all rather charming in a very Anglo-Catholic way –  some of the villagers getting on with their Saturday afternoon gardening as we pilgrims wended our way past, and some of the artificial silk flowers falling out of the holder on the plinth as we processed along…symbolic of graces bestowed by Our Lady I decided.”

I was told that in the 1960s the Marian statue was being carried into the church proudly when it hit against a low yew tree branch fell of its platform and smashed on the floor. The effigy had been borrowed so the congregation were keen to to repair it and fortunately it was put back together as good as new! This would happen before the service but the organisers this year felt that due to covid numbers may well be down and so it was not organised. Which of course was disappointing and one hope it returns in the near future. Today the pilgrims flowed many touching the carved crosses left by medieval pilgrims of the past.

The service begun with devotions to the effigy of our lady within the shrine beside the altar and one feels like we are brought back to the pre-Reformation time. Soon the church filled with incense and song. The most remarkable was an elderly lady who stood up and gave a spine-tingling Ave Maria….then after the service back to sample that pavlova!

All in all Egmanton pilgrimage can be seen as one of the purest of the revived pilgrimages. It isn’t overly gaudy or over commercialised but it fulfils the need to connect spiritually with a place, a moment in religious history, and it is more evocative because of it. A small pilgrimage perhaps but one which connects with the real heritage of our Christian past.

Custom contrived: Queen’s Birthday service and procession, Southwell

This year being a jubilee year the celebration of Queen has been everywhere, from shop windows to suburban streets, the country has been on full on royal revels and rejoicing. However, one town has been celebrating the Queen annually for much longer. This is Southwell. Southwell is a very picturesque small town which as I have said before should have more traditions especially considering the delightful ancient minster.

The Queen’s birthday surprisingly is not celebrated much in the United Kingdom, bar a gun salute and Trooping the Colour. However, in much of the Commonwealth it is annually celebrated and is indeed a national holiday in such places. Not so here, so Southwell’s tradition is on the Sunday closest to the Queen’s official birthday in June.

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It’s my birthday and I’ll have two if I want to!

Indeed although Elizabeth II’s real birthday is in April, the tradition of celebrating a set date irrespective of who the king or queen is, is older. This set monarch’s birthday has been celebrated in the United Kingdom since the reign of King George II in 1748 being subsequently determined by  at first the British Empire and then the Commonwealth of Nations and the date set by each country depends on that country although to make use of supposed good weather in the northern hemisphere June is set.

Originally Queen Elizabeth II’s was the same as her father the second Thursday but was changed in 1959, and since then her Official Birthday has since then been celebrated on the second Saturday of June. Southwell undertake it usually the day after.

Queening up for the day

The service starts with a procession of the dignitaries attending this civic event and in the bright June sunshine it is an eye catching spectacle. Just a way down from the entrance of the Minster, mace bearer lead the Queen’s representative in the county, the Lord-Lieutenant, the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, officers of the local army and judges in their ceremonial robes. They processed through the Minster archway and were created by the dean and church officials for the final procession into the church for the service.

How long the service has been undertaken I have been unable to fully discover but one of the local attendees suggested since the silver jubilee, another said the 80s, however the earliest newspaper account I can locate is from 1994 but it is clear that it was already been established by then:

“SWORD CARRIED TO SERVICE TRADITION was broken on Sunday when Mrs Richard Abel Smith, the first woman High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, took part in the Queen’s official birthday service in Southwell Minster. Instead of wearing her ceremonial sword, it was borne in front of her by grand-daughter Amelia Beaumont (6), who travelled from Ireland for the occasion. The sword was used by Mrs Abel Smith’s father, General Sir Douglas Kendrew, when he was Governor of Western Australia. Preacher at the service was the Bishop of Southwell, the Rt Rev Patrick Harris, and prayers were led by the high sheriff’s chaplain, the Rev Keith Turner, Vicar of Linby-cum-Papplewick. The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry were ushers and Nottinghamshire Constabulary Band provided music before and after the service.”

Little did I know but I was to attend the last one before the national Covid lockdown. The year after it went digital and was reported more than any time before by the press. An article on the Southwell Minster website, the Queen’s Birthday Service: A Unique Celebration of Public Service in Nottinghamshire, reported that the then High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Dame Elizabeth Fradd, explained that:

“The Queen’s Birthday Service is usually a grand occasion at Southwell Minster but this year, like so much else, it will take a very different form. It will also have a new significance as a result of the pandemic and the public’s renewed appreciation of the value and importance of public service in all its forms.”

The Queen’s representative in Nottinghamshire is the Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Peace, who said:

“What I see in local communities, across Nottinghamshire and across the country is an unprecedented crisis; what provides room for hope is the commitment to work together for the common good. Front line workers of all kinds deserve the public’s praise and appreciation but it is just as important to recognise the immense contribution of those behind the scenes. As Her Majesty said in her speech to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day: ‘We will succeed, and that success will belong to every one of us’. Following Her Majesty’s lead, this online service will be an occasion for us to demonstrate our pride in all aspects of public service and common endeavour. I invite everyone to join us online for this special celebration.”

Southwell’s Queen’s birthday celebration may be a small custom but it is certainly unique and worthy of attending.

Custom contrived: Dancing in the May at Laxton

“Dawn jig on misty mount – walking through the mist towards Castle Hill, Laxton, and hearing bells jingling in the distance at 5.15 am on Tuesday, it was easy to imagine you had stepped into a scene from a Thomas Hardy novel.”

Newark Advertiser Friday 04 May 1990 by Samantha Pease

Arriving in Laxton the only indication anything is going on is the sign at the top of the lane down to the castle with its instruction to remember to not disturb the neighbours – riotous bunch these Morris…mind you I say only indication…when I turned up a man appeared carrying a horses head over his shoulder and realising he must know the way…I followed him! Due to a rather dodgy gate I missed the exact start of the custom but in a way that added to it; the sounds of the assembled teams singing a May song as the first glints of the Sun arose tentatively on the horizon, was magical…as the author alludes to above.  The custom established on this old castle mound with its extensive views across Nottinghamshire and beyond has the feel of some older custom and so I was interested to know more of its origins and despite a splendid book which has brought the forgotten Morris traditions of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire greater acknowledgement the more recent history of this customs appears to have been forgotten about!

May be older than it looks!

Another newspaper cutting from 2002 is interesting for it states that:

The dancing was done at Castle hill after a two year absence because of the foot and mouth crisis.

But also:

“It was also the first time at the event for the newly-formed Rattlejag Morris from Retford.”

A year later:

“Dance return – Morris dancers return to Castle Hill, Laxton on May Day, after the foot and mouth crisis prevented them from performing there last year. The event, hosted by the Rattlejag Morris Dancers of Retford, starts at sunrise at about 5.29 am, and finishes with a cooked breakfast.”

Thus indicating that the custom predated the Rattlejag Morris and further digging was required. In 2007 the Newark advertiser stated that 

“The welcome has been performed by morris dancers at the village’s motte and bailey castle site every May 1 for 35 years.

It was carried out by Broadstone Morrismen for many years but Rattlejag Morris took over 15 years ago.”

 

This would date it back to 1972 but so far I cannot find any information recording this fact and the Broadstone Morris appear to be extinct. The earliest reference I can found is from the Newark advertiser which records for the Friday 28 April  1989:

“Members of Retford based Broadstone Morris Men plan to dance at sunrise on Laxton Castle Hill. The dancing is due to start at 5.32 am and will be followed by a cooked breakfast”

The year later on The Retford Gainsborough and Worksop Times of 1993 record:

“The Broadstone Morris Men begin their summer programme on May 1 when they will be up early to see the sun rise at 530am and celebrate in traditional dance style The public are warmly invited to join them at Castle Hill Laxton “

Then on the 12th May 1994:

“May Day dancers On May Day the Broadstone Morris Dancers came and danced at sunrise on the hill of the castle ruins at Laxton It was a lovely morning and breakfast was served for anyone who wanted it “

On the 30th April 1999 Tiggy Trotter gives a vivid account of the custom for the younger readers of the Newark Advertiser Retford based Broadstone Morris as the following account informs us.

“Early risers mark start of summer Dear boys and girls, Have you ever thought about getting up at 4.30 m to watch the Morris dancers welcome in the summer of May 1st. I can tell you that it is a most memorable experience for those who can muster the enthusiasm to rise at such a time…..if it is fine the scene at Laxton is spectacular. As the sun begins to rise above the mote, the head of the team, known as the squire starts by singing an unaccompanied solo, Summer is a comin’un.“

Whatever happened to Broadstone I do not know, but what is excellent to know that rather than let this custom die, that team who made their 2002 debut would be one day running it!

May I have this dance?

A 2002 newspaper account describes the costume and it what can be seen today:

“Dancing started at 5.30 am. Traditional costumes of flat caps with ribbons, open-necked white shirts, black waist-coats with ribbons and black trousers and shoes were worn.”

Each dance accompanied by a fiddle or a squeezebox has its own meaning and this year the team discovered more traditional local dancers. The clashing of sticks in the air represents the warding off of evil spirits, and the sticks are also used to strike the ground to initiate the dibbing action used by farmers when sowing their seeds.”

The dancing was memorising weaving in and out the sound of bells and squeezebox filling the air. At certain times another May carol was sung again filling the air with tingling melodies on this very crisp dawn. Each year following on it would appear from the Broadstone Morris tradition other teams were invited. Joining the Rattlejag in white with green and blue were local team the Trentside Holmes Morris who stood out in their glaring white in the darkness. They put on a great show of Cotswold Morris dancing and clearly enjoyed being involved.

 

Standing or rather looming rather ominously over the proceedings was that man with his horse’s skull, forming a large owd oss, covered in greenery with its ‘owner’ hidden under a cloak. It added some mystery to the event, especially when upon asking about it, the members of Rattlejag did not know who he was or where he came from! At the end everyone assembled was encouraged to do an en-mass Morris dance and dutifully everyone did! A fair size crowd clung to the top of the old castle and looked on. It was evident that Laxton’s May is becoming a regular ritual for its attendees as well many of whom had made the effort in dressing ‘in the May’ and they stood cheek by jowl with locals who also felt compelled to get up so early!

One cannot agree more with the summing up The Newark Advertiser‘s piece from 2002:

“The sun now well up and the dancing nearly done, the sound and smell of sizzling bacon brings on a healthy appetite…what a way to start the day.”

Laxton’s May Day is a splendid custom, very evocative, and should be on anyone’s list of customs to experience.

 

 

Custom contrived: Nottingham’s St Patrick Day parade

“Nottingham has a growing Irish community which is very apparent on a day like today”.

Patrick’s Day has been celebrated by an annual procession in Nottingham since 2000 which may surprise you that means it is only slightly younger than that help in Dublin and thus rightfully should be remarked upon as a custom in its own right.

The week starts when a ceremonial shamrock is given to the Mayor at the town hall which is then blessed at a Mass of St Patrick at Our Lady and St Patrick’s Church in Robin Hood Way, The Meadows. This starts the festivities which really do showcase the Irish community and its importance to the city. Each year a city from Northern Ireland or the Republic is chosen to lead the procession flanked by impressive Irish wolf hounds. The impartial reporter of 16th March 2017 gives a good flavour of the event: 

“FERMANAGH will be represented at a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Nottingham tomorrow (Friday). The 10 day festival finishes with a city centre parade led by local representatives, including chief marshalls Eileen Dowling and Siobhan Begley, both of whom were born in Fermanagh. Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have been invited to attend the event as part of an initiative each year in which the city hosts a different county from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Marching bands from across the city will take part and there will be a selection of Irish food on offer and a chance for Nottingham residents to learn about Fermanagh from SDLP Councillor John Coyle, Sinn Fein’s Thomas O’Reilly, Ulster Unionist’s Chris Smyth, Tourist Development Officer Edward McGovern and Tanya Cathcart of Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism.
A civic reception will take place at Nottingham Council House hosted by Lord Mayor Mohammed Saghir.” 

The procession is lead by a member dressed as St Patrick dressed as a Bishop and starts at the Forest ground just outside of the city. Behind him were symbols of the day and many children taken from schools across the city and of course the compulsory band. Once in the square there are speeches and a detailed events programme of Irish music and dancing. As one looks around seeing a sea of green, leprechauns, shamrocks and lava bread on stalls it is evident that the city has gone all out for St Patrick. Many people had coloured their hair or wore green hats, some had hats of Guinness pints or even harps.

 

Some may ask is St. Patrick’s Day just another excuse to go to the pub? Well drinking was on many people’s minds especially as all the pubs around the square were heavy with green glad people (some may have been pretending to be Robin Hood of course it is Nottingham after all) and their doorways with green balloons aplenty. Asked this question by the Nottingham evening post it is clear that the event superseded any desire in many to drink:

 “I have two choices, go to the pub and drink all day, or come out and see all the different events and parades with my kids, the answer is a simple one, it isn’t all about the Guinness”.

Nottingham’s St Patrick Day parade is a great day out devoid of the embarrassment that might sadly associate itself with St George’s Day implied or subconscious. A real day to celebrate Irish culture and identity. A good day to people watch and find the most Irish cliched dress. A day awash with green so much that even Robin Hood joins the start of the procession!

Custom survived: Building bonfires for Guy Fawkes

“Don’t you Remember,
The Fifth of November,
‘Twas Gunpowder Treason Day,
I let off my gun,
And made’em all run.
And Stole all their Bonfire away.”

Charlton in Otmoor – 1742

Bonfires and Guy Fawkes Night are synonymous so much that the name Guy Fawkes appears to be disappearing and it is now called bonfire night. But why did bonfires become associated with a remembrance which you would think would not want to celebrate with the very thing which was avoided!

The association is early as soon after the King’s escape, his council encouraged the celebrate with bonfires which were “without any danger or disorder” in 1605. One of the earliest recorded being in Dorchester, by the 1670s in London it had become an organised fire festival by the London apprentices such that in 1682 London’s militia were forced to intervene in when violence ensued and such that the following year bonfires were banned in the capital. When James II came to the thrown, fireworks were banned and the government attempted to reduce the celebrations of the day. It was unsuccessful and when he was deposed in 1688, William of Orange actively encouraged its celebration except keeping the ban on fireworks. In Nottinghamshire earliest reference of Guy Fawkes celebrations appears to 1743 as noted in the borough records. The forest ground in Nottingham is still the location of one of the largest Bonfire night celebrations, and records in 1830 and 1890 record bonfires. Celebrations appear to often cause conflict. In 1834 two shots were shot into the Wing Tavern. A report also notes:

“The anniversary of Guy Fawkes was celebrated in Newark by the ringing of bells, a large bonfire in the market place and plenty of squibs, crackers etc. Blunderbusses, guns and pistols were let off….during the evening to the annoyance of everyone walking the street.”

In a diary written by a William Moss of Mansfield (who worked as a Cooper) is the following entry for 5 November 1841:  

“Gunpowder Plot; but I think it is almost forgotten at Mansfield.  I have neither seen squib nor cracker, nor anything of the kind.  There is one bonfire at the top end of Stockwell Gate and I know not of any more in the town”.

Going ‘chumping’ was a Nottinghamshire term for collecting sticks and deadwood from hedges called ‘chump’ for Bon fires. A Bill Morely recalls the rivalry between local groups which was focused on bonfire night antics, and it is worth quoting at length:  

“Bonfire Night, and the time leading up to it, had its rituals, amazing to look back on (no nonsense about Hallowe’en in those days; I don’t suppose I heard of it until my teens). When the lead-up to Bonfire Night started, the estate split into three gangs: us, that is those who lived on or near the top end of Danethorpe Vale, Collin Green and Edingley Square, a slightly more formal square near the bottom of Caythorpe Rise. Opposite our house, by the wall of the Firs where I was born, was Hooley Street (leading to the orchards which are now Elmswood Gardens), where Hall Street had their bonfire – another gang. So the four gangs built their bonfires, and guarded them against attack from the others. Usually it was the young ones like me who were left to guard the fires whilst the bigger kids went about their business of collecting, or scouting for the enemy, or maybe just clearing off. Sometimes you’d find when you came home from school that the entire bonfire had gone. It wasn’t other gangs though; it was the council, which didn’t want the fires on its property. The most infamous of these council raids was in 1945 or ’46. The day before, or actually on November 5, (incidentally, all bonfires were on November 5, no rubbish about spreading them over three or four weeks like today) the council took Collin Green’s bonfire away. Well, with the returned soldiers saying, according to legend and no reason to disbelieve it, stuff like, “we didn’t fight a war to come home and find our kids can’t have a bonfire”, and the like, they dismantled the garden gates round the Green – all council property, of course – and rebuilt the bonfire with them. And everyone approved, even my very respectable parents. But back to the gangs: there was always a hollow in the middle of the fire, and we sat in there, ready to ward off the enemy coming to nick our fire, or possibly set fire to it. Bit stupid being inside it, of course. And there were pitched battles on the streets of the estate. The members of the other Greens were often friends, but, for a couple of weeks, we’d fight them. The fights were always the same, throwing grass-sods and sticks at each other, and always on the roads of the estate. What did the adults do? Nothing. What did they think, especially those without children? I can’t remember anyone getting hurt, and we didn’t throw stones, so perhaps we unconsciously realised it was a ritual not reality, but there were real frissons of fear and aggression. Collin Green was our main enemy. In fact, as far as I remember, all our actual fights were with them. This was all on a ‘respectable’ estate; these days it would either be much worse and seriously violent, or it just wouldn’t happen. However, we were really frightened of the Hall Street gang (did it really exist?). Hall Street had some fairly rough older boys, or so we thought, but again some of the younger kids from there were friends of mine at school. Anyway, the real fear was that Hall Street would come, and we were seriously scared of that. Did they ever? We certainly never had one of the pitched battles with them. On Bonfire Night, all the boys (girls too) came to the bonfire (on which there’d be a guy) with long poles, on the end of which were tightly bound rags, in flames and we’d set the fire going by thrusting the burning torches into it. I remember the anguish of whether I’d get there in time for the start. My mother seemed to take ages to get the rags sorted out, as no doubt the other mothers did too. Again, there was no penny-for-the-guy stuff, round our way anyway, though the guy was probably another thing to defend in the last two days. The fire always seemed to burn very fast, the guy vanishing in a few minutes, and then it was more or less over, and, no, we didn’t put potatoes or chestnuts in the fire, it was just a fire, nice and primitive.”

These large informal street fires became a thing of the past when in the 1960s the police, local authorities and fire brigade combined to prevent them and in 1963 27 organised sites were provided. In the 1990s regular sites were established in across the country from those set up to raise money for preservation railways such as that done by the Quorn railway (Leicestershire) and various ones to raise money for scouts, WIs and schools. 

Why bonfire?

Historians have often suggested that Guy Fawkes Day served as a Protestant replacement for the ancient Celtic Samhain festival. Another theory is that it transferred from Crispin’s Day celebrations. Over time the bonfire has changed of course. In 2005 David Cannadine commented on the encroachment into British culture of late 20th-century American Hallowe’en celebrations, and their effect on Guy Fawkes Night:

Nowadays, family bonfire gatherings are much less popular, and many once-large civic celebrations have been given up because of increasingly intrusive health and safety regulations. But 5 November has also been overtaken by a popular festival that barely existed when I was growing up, and that is Halloween … Britain is not the Protestant nation it was when I was young: it is now a multi-faith society. And the Americanised Halloween is sweeping all before it—a vivid reminder of just how powerfully American culture and American consumerism can be transported across the Atlantic

Despite the changes there is something still attractive to people and very well attended. People still have the primeval need to feel the warmth of the bonfire.