Customs

Saturday 1 May

May Day

Sat 1 May from 06:00
Custom

Oxford May Morning

Sets off from High Street by Magdalen Tower, Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Dance
- May Day
Sat 1 May from 10:00
Custom

Padstow May Day

Golden Lion Hotel, Padstow, Cornwall
Sat 1 May 13:30 16:00
Custom

Knutsford Royal May Day

Sets off from Knutsford Heath, Cheshire

Sunday 2 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Heavy cake Sunday at Penzance No longer kept CornwallOn the first Sunday after May Day families from Penzance went out together to Rose Hill, Poltair and other villages near by.
All friends round the Wrekin No longer kept ShropshirePeople from round Wellington in Shropshire used to climb the Wrekin on the Sunday after May Day, and on the three Sundays following, to drink a health to all friends round the Wrekin.
Ringing the old bailiff out at Buckingham No longer kept BuckinghamshireA visitor to Buckingham on the first Sunday after May Day found the main street lined with townspeople and villagers crying that they were ringing the old bailiff out.
Rowan gathered on the second of May Lore and belief Northern EnglandA twig of rowan gathered on the second of May and wound with many yards of red thread was set in the window to keep witches away.
Rowan crosses on Roodmas Eve Lore and belief AberdeenshireOn 2 May, the eve of the Invention of the Holy Cross, people in Aberdeenshire made crosses of rowan twigs and set them over their doors and windows.
Rowan and honeysuckle in the byres on 2 May No longer kept BanffshireThe farmers of Fordyce guarded their cattle against witchcraft by putting boughs of rowan and honeysuckle in their cow houses on 2 May.

Monday 3 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Reading the gospel at the springs No longer kept Berkshire, CheshireIn the parish processions a gospel was read at the springs to bless them, a custom kept at Sunningwell in Berkshire until 1688.
The crowfoot on Holy Cross Day Lore and belief EnglandThe feast of the Finding of the Cross on 3 May belonged to the crowfoot, or buttercup, which by then turned the grass gold.
Gang Week in the North No longer kept Northern EnglandOn one of the three days before Holy Thursday the minister, churchwardens and parishioners walked the bounds of the parish, praying for the fruits of the earth and guarding the parish's rights.
The bull kept from the cows till Crouchmas No longer kept EnglandThe bull was kept from the cows until Crouchmas, the feast of the Finding of the Cross on 3 May, and from the heifers until Lammas.
The Bezant at Shaftesbury No longer kept DorsetOn Rogation Monday the mayor and aldermen of Shaftesbury went down the hill in procession to Enmore Green to pay for the town's water with a calf's head, a gallon of ale, two penny loaves, gold-laced gloves and the Bezant.
Gang Monday Land at Edgcott No longer kept BuckinghamshireAt Edgcott in Buckinghamshire about an acre of land, called Gang Monday Land, was let for three pounds a year to pay for cakes and beer for those who walked the parish bounds in Rogation week.
Loaf, cheese and ale for the bounds at Clifton Reynes No longer kept BuckinghamshireEveryone living in Clifton Reynes who walked the parish boundaries in Rogation week was given ale from a bequest of land, married people a small loaf, a piece of cheese and a pint, single people half a pint.
The boy in the boundary oven No longer kept BuckinghamshireWhere a Buckinghamshire house had been built with its oven jutting over the parish boundary, a boy was put into the oven during the Rogation perambulation to keep the line unbroken.
Possessioning in Derbyshire No longer kept DerbyshireIn a small Derbyshire village in 1818 the Rogation perambulation had become possessioning, a march of the constable, labourers and boys with an axe, a mattock and an iron crow.
The noble in a bowl at Swinford Ferry No longer kept BerkshireWhen the Cumnor parishioners beat their bounds in Rogation week, they crossed at Swinford Ferry and took hold of the twigs on the far bank to claim the whole breadth of the Thames for the parish.
The seven-yearly bounds money at Husborne Crawley No longer kept BedfordshireOnce every seven years an estate at Husborne Crawley in Bedfordshire had to pay four pounds on Rogation Day towards walking the parish bounds.
The dismal day of 3 May Lore and belief Highlands, PerthshireA Highlander would begin nothing of consequence on the day of the week on which 3 May fell, a day he called the dismal day.
Processioning with flower poles at Wolverhampton No longer kept StaffordshireOn the Monday and Tuesday of Rogation Week the clergy and choir of Wolverhampton walked the town behind charity children carrying long poles dressed with every flower in season, chanting the Benedicite.
The Gospel in the Chequer Inn cellar at Standlake No longer kept OxfordshireAt Standlake the minister's Rogation Week procession stopped in the cellar of the Chequer Inn, where he read the Gospel at the head of a barrel.
Youling the orchards at Keston and Wickham No longer kept KentIn Rogation Week the young men about Keston and Wickham in Kent ran shouting into the orchards, circled each tree and chanted a rhyme for a good crop.
Llantwit’s Anwyl Day and the pirate O’Neil No longer kept GlamorganOn 3 May Llantwit Major kept Llantwit's Anwyl, its darling or pet day, in memory of the capture of an Irish pirate named O'Neil.

Mon 3 May 10:00 16:00
Custom

Holywood May Day

Sets off from The Maypole, Holywood, County Down
Mon 3 May 12:00 15:00
Custom

Laa Boaldyn at Cregneash

Cregneash Folk Village, Cregneash, Isle of Man
Mon 3 May from 13:30
Custom

Ickwell May Day

Sets off from Ickwell Green, Bedfordshire

Wednesday 5 May

Thursday 6 May New moon

Folklore from the old calendars

Well-dressing at Tissington Still kept DerbyshireOn Ascension Day the five wells of Tissington were dressed with boards spread with wet plaster and set with flowers into pictures, texts and patterns.
Beating the bounds Still kept EnglandOn Holy Thursday, or in Rogation week before it, the minister, parish officers and schoolboys walked the parish boundary, the boys striking the marks with peeled willow wands.
The Ince oatmeal dole No longer kept LancashireEdward Richardson, who owned an estate in the township of Ince, directed in 1784 that for fifty years after his death oatmeal should be given out to the poor of the neighbourhood on Ascension Day.
The Old Brine at Nantwich No longer kept CheshirePennant was told that the old people of Nantwich sang a hymn of thanksgiving on Ascension Day for the blessing of the brine that made the town's salt.
Hailing the Lamb on Ascension morning Lore and belief DevonIn many villages round Exeter people went out on Ascension morning to hail the Lamb.
The Tyne barges on Ascension Day No longer kept NorthumberlandOn Ascension Day the magistrates, the River Jury and other officers of Newcastle kept an old custom of going the bounds of the town's jurisdiction on the river in their barges, to guard against encroachments.
Baked peas at Evesham on Holy Thursday No longer kept WorcestershireBrand's servant Betty Jelkes, who had lived for some years at Evesham, told him of an old custom of the town's market gardens.
The smock race at Newburn No longer kept Leinster, NorthumberlandBrockett's glossary of north-country words mentions the smock race on Ascension Day, run by young countrywomen for a fine holland smock trimmed with ribbons.
New College at the Bartlemas well No longer kept OxfordshireAubrey wrote about 1690 that the fellows of New College had gone every Holy Thursday, time out of mind, between eight and nine in the morning, to the hospital of St Bartholomew near Oxford.
Holy Thursday wells at Brewood and Bilbrook No longer kept StaffordshirePlot saw the wells at Brewood and Bilbrook in Staffordshire adorned with boughs and flowers on Holy Thursday, a custom he said was kept at all the gospel places, wells, trees or hills, where the gospel was read on the bounds.
Hunting the ram at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireAbout Whitsuntide, on Holy Thursday as Aubrey thought, the Eton schoolboys hunted a ram until they killed it and then made a venison feast of it.
Seggs on the doorstep for Ascension No longer kept YorkshireNear York children used to lay rushes, called seggs, on their doorsteps to mark Ascension Day.
No work in the Penrhyn quarries on Ascension Day Lore and belief CaernarfonshireThe slate quarrymen at Lord Penrhyn's quarries near Bangor would not work on Ascension Day, believing an accident was certain if they did.
Damming the gutters at Exeter No longer kept DevonWhen the parishes of Exeter went their bounds the boys dammed up the water channels in the streets and splashed passers-by.
Points for the boys that were whipped at Chelsea No longer kept London, MiddlesexWhen Chelsea parish walked its bounds in 1679 the churchwardens paid for a dinner, for points for the boys, and four shillings to the boys that were whipped at the boundary marks so they would remember them.
St Margaret’s Westminster walks to Kensington No longer kept LondonThe parish of St Margaret, Westminster, fed its bounds walkers at Kensington every Rogation tide, with bread, ale, fish, cream and cheese.
Kemes against Emlyn at St Meugan’s No longer kept Cardiganshire, PembrokeshireOn Ascension Day the men of Kemes played knappan at St Meugan's against the men of Emlyn, who were joined by the men of Cardiganshire.

Thu 6 May from 11:00
Custom, day 1 of 7

Tissington Well Dressing

St Mary’s Church, Tissington, Derbyshire

Friday 7 May

Fri 7 May Tissington Well Dressing day 2 of 7 · From 11:00

Saturday 8 May

Sat 8 May from 07:00
Custom

Helston Flora Day

Guildhall, Helston, Cornwall
Sat 8 May Tissington Well Dressing day 3 of 7 · From 11:00

Sunday 9 May

Sun 9 May Tissington Well Dressing day 4 of 7 · From 11:00

Monday 10 May

Mon 10 May Tissington Well Dressing day 5 of 7 · From 11:00

Tuesday 11 May

Tue 11 May Tissington Well Dressing day 6 of 7 · From 11:00

Wednesday 12 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Beltane at Callander No longer kept PerthshireA correspondent sent Hone Jamieson's account of Beltane, kept in Scotland on Old May Day.
Over May hill Lore and belief EnglandMay was called a trying month for people who had been long ill.
Turning out the cattle on Old May Day No longer kept EnglandJohn Aikin, whose Natural History of the Year Hone quoted, said Old May Day was the usual time for turning cattle out into the pastures, though the grass was often still very bare.
The cowherds’ Beltan at Logierait No longer kept PerthshireThe minister of Logierait told the Statistical Account of Scotland that a festival called Beltan was held every year in the parish on the first of May, Old Style.
Horns on Old May Day at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireDr E.
Cattle onto Burgh Marsh at Old May Day No longer kept CumberlandThe cattle and horses of Burgh by Sands went onto the great marsh by the Solway at Old May Day.
A month before Clamme the cuckoo sings Lore and belief MontgomeryshireIn Montgomeryshire it was said that if the cuckoo sang a month before Clamme, the Welsh Calan Mai or May Day, the hay would be so heavy that the farmer would sing for joy a month before August.

Wed 12 May Tissington Well Dressing day 7 of 7 · From 11:00

Friday 14 May

Saturday 15 May

Sunday 16 May

Whitsun

Monday 17 May

Folklore from the old calendars

The Greenhill Bower Still kept StaffordshireLichfield's show fair was held on Whit Monday, when members of the corporation and the town's best tradesmen walked in procession from the guildhall to Greenhill.
The Eynsham timber No longer kept OxfordshireAt Eynsham the townspeople might cut down on Whit Monday as much timber as they could haul by hand into the abbey yard, the churchwardens first marking the trees.
The Chester Whitsun plays Still kept CheshireChester's mystery plays were said to have been written by Randall Higgenett, a monk of Chester Abbey, and played on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Whitsun week.
Greenwich Fair No longer kept KentFor Londoners Whit Monday meant Greenwich Fair, and from early morning crowds poured along the Kent Road and down the river to it.
Drop handkerchief at the Devon revels No longer kept DevonA correspondent remembered from his boyhood in Devon that at the fairs and revels of Easter and Whitsuntide young men and women formed a ring to play drop handkerchief.
The Whitsuntide hirings in Cumberland No longer kept CumberlandFarm servants in Cumberland were hired by the half year at Whitsuntide and Martinmas.
Necton guild No longer kept NorfolkIn 1817 Major, later Colonel, Mason of Necton Hall set up a guild of rural sports on the afternoons of Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday, to gather the Whitsun holidays of the Norfolk villages at Necton.
Peppard Revel No longer kept OxfordshireThe Reading Mercury of 24 May 1819 advertised Peppard Revel for Whit Monday.
The stick blow at the Lancashire Whitsun fair No longer kept LancashireAt Whitsuntide fairs in parts of Lancashire a trick was played in which one person held a stick over another's head and a third, unseen, struck the stick so that it came down smartly on the victim.
The Boy’s Bailiff at Wenlock No longer kept ShropshireIn Whitsun week Much Wenlock kept a custom called the Boy's Bailiff.
Hocking and pigeon-holes at the Brentford Whitsun ale No longer kept MiddlesexA Brentford vestry of 1621 recorded that the townspeople had long met at Whitsuntide in their church house to eat and drink together, keeping up neighbourly feeling and raising a common stock for the church, the orphans and the poor.
Fetching in the Fly at Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireOn a day in the Whitsun holidays the master cook of Oxford for that year rode out on horseback with his brother cooks, all in silk doublets, to Bartholomew's or Bullingdon Green to fetch in the Fly.
The Corby toll Still kept NorthamptonshireEvery twentieth year on Whit Monday the people of Corby blocked every road into the parish and demanded a toll from all who passed.
Winlaton Hopping No longer kept County DurhamThe ironworking village of Winlaton held its hopping on the Monday and Tuesday after 14 May, with shows and stalls along Front Street.
The millers’ riding at Hinckley No longer kept LeicestershireAt Hinckley's Whit Monday fair the millers of the nearby villages used to ride in a decorated cavalcade, a show that had fallen out of favour until it was revived with new characters in 1786.
Rosley Fair from Whit Monday No longer kept CumberlandRosley Fair on its open hill opened on Whit Monday.
Whitsun jaunts to Islington and Newington No longer kept LondonOver the Whitsun holidays Londoners poured out to Islington, Newington and the villages nearby to eat and drink.
Whitsun rides in Moorfields No longer kept LondonAt Whitsuntide children paid for rides at the fairground in Moorfields, going up and down on the swings.
The Fool and the Megen No longer kept WalesAt Whitsuntide Welsh morris dancers, nine men with ribbons on their clothes and bells at their knees, danced to the tune of Country Bumpkin.
Guessing the man in green at Whitsuntide No longer kept WalesAt Whitsuntide the Welsh morris dancers were sometimes joined by a man dressed in green and entirely covered with ivy, leaves and flowers.
Nettles on the sluggard’s latch on Whit Monday No longer kept WalesEarly on Whit Monday farm boys and others went round the village with noise and song to wake the lazy, leaving a bunch of nettles tied to the latch of every sluggard's door.
Sweethearts paired for the Whit Monday dance No longer kept WalesIn the late eighteenth century, about a fortnight before Whitsun, Welsh farm boys went to a secluded spot in the woods and told each other their sweethearts' names, and the girls did the same.

Tuesday 18 May

Folklore from the old calendars

A hot May makes a fat churchyard Lore and belief EnglandAmong the weather proverbs Hone gathered from Dr Forster were two about May.
When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn Lore and belief EnglandAmong the farming proverbs Dr Forster collected and Hone printed in May was one that read the season from the cuckoo.
Eton Montem and the salt-bearers No longer kept BuckinghamshireAt the Eton Montem the scholars marched in military dress to Salt Hill, while salt-bearers in fancy costume stopped travellers on the roads and gave a pinch of salt to everyone who paid toward the captain's purse, which could reach a thousand pounds.
The mock mayor of Costessy No longer kept NorfolkOn Whit Tuesday the poor of Costessy, near Norwich, elected a mock mayor in imitation of the Norwich city guild.
St Conwall’s Well near Huntingtower No longer kept PerthshireSt Conwall's Well, near Ruthven Castle or Huntingtower outside Perth, belonged to a saint whose day was kept on 18 May.

Tue 18 May from 10:00
Custom

Ballyclare May Fair

Sets off from Main Street, Ballyclare, County Antrim
- Fair or wakes
- Animal Customs

Wednesday 19 May

Thursday 20 May Flower Moon

Saturday 22 May

Sunday 23 May

Folklore from the old calendars

The Trinity garland at Newnton No longer kept WiltshireAt Newnton in North Wiltshire a Trinity Sunday rite recalled King Athelstan's gift of a common and a house for the hayward.
Mown grass in Clee church No longer kept LincolnshireOn Trinity Sunday, the feast of dedication, Clee church was strewn with fresh mown grass.
Nod Beuno calves on Trinity Sunday at Clynnog No longer kept CaernarfonshireCalves and lambs born with the Nod Beuno, a natural mark in the ear, belonged to St Beuno and were brought to his church at Clynnog on Trinity Sunday, the saint's anniversary.
Splashing at Taff’s Well after Easter No longer kept GlamorganAbout seventy years before Trevelyan wrote, the young people of the parish gathered at Taff's Well, a thermal spring a few miles above Cardiff, on the eighth Sunday after Easter.

Monday 24 May

Tuesday 25 May

Wednesday 26 May

Thursday 27 May

Folklore from the old calendars

The Coventry pageants No longer kept WarwickshireBefore the Reformation Coventry was famous for the pageants played on Corpus Christi day, which drew crowds from far and near.
The York Corpus Christi play Still kept YorkshireThe Guild of Corpus Christi at York was bound to put on a Corpus Christi play every year, and it was acted in the city until 1584.
Fern and flowers at the door for Corpus Christi No longer kept FlintshirePennant's manuscript notes that in Wales, on the eve of the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi, the people of Caerwys strewed before their doors a kind of fern they called Red yn Mair.
The Skinners’ procession on Corpus Christi Day No longer kept LondonOn Corpus Christi Day the members of the Skinners' Company of London walked in procession from their hall on Dowgate Hill to the church of St Antholin in Watling Street to hear a service.
The Dean’s gloves on Corpus Christi No longer kept County DurhamThe Durham trades companies' Corpus Christi procession to the cathedral outlived the Reformation and lasted until about eighty years before Henderson wrote.
Holm Cultram fairs at Maundy Thursday and Corpus Christi No longer kept CumberlandThe lordship of Holm Cultram held two fairs a year, one on Maundy Thursday and one on Corpus Christi day.
Torches about the parish on Corpus Christi No longer kept LondonOn Corpus Christi Day the London parish of St Mary-at-Hill hired men to carry torches round the parish, with flags and garlands for the procession.
Corpus Christi knappan at St Meugan’s No longer kept Cardiganshire, PembrokeshireOn Corpus Christi Day the men of Kemes met the men of Emlyn and Cardiganshire at St Meugan's for the second of the two great knappan games held there.

Saturday 29 May

Oak Apple Day

Sat 29 May from 18:30
Custom

Castleton Garland Day

Sets off from Market Place, Castleton, Derbyshire

Customs

Saturday 1 May

Oxford May Morning

Padstow May Day

Knutsford Royal May Day

Sunday 2 May

Monday 3 May

Holywood May Day

Laa Boaldyn at Cregneash

Ickwell May Day

Wednesday 5 May

Thursday 6 May New moon

Tissington Well Dressing

Friday 7 May

Saturday 8 May

Helston Flora Day

Sunday 9 May

Monday 10 May

Tuesday 11 May

Wednesday 12 May

Friday 14 May

Saturday 15 May

Sunday 16 May

Monday 17 May

Tuesday 18 May

Ballyclare May Fair

Wednesday 19 May

Thursday 20 May Flower Moon

Saturday 22 May

Sunday 23 May

Monday 24 May

Tuesday 25 May

Wednesday 26 May

Thursday 27 May

Saturday 29 May

Castleton Garland Day

Sunday 30 May

Image credits

Saturday 1 May

Sunday 2 May

Monday 3 May

Wednesday 5 May

Thursday 6 May🌑 New moon

Friday 7 May

Saturday 8 May

Sunday 9 May

Monday 10 May

Tuesday 11 May

Wednesday 12 May

Friday 14 May

Saturday 15 May

Sunday 16 May

Monday 17 May

Tuesday 18 May

Wednesday 19 May

Thursday 20 May🌕 Flower Moon

Saturday 22 May

Sunday 23 May

Monday 24 May

Tuesday 25 May

Wednesday 26 May

Thursday 27 May

Saturday 29 May

Sunday 30 May

Image credits

Thursday 6 May New moon

Thursday 20 May Flower Moon