Folklore of England

The year ahead

Sunday 27 September 2026

Monday 28 September 2026

Tuesday 29 September 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Half an Apple Goes to the Core Lore and belief SuffolkThe 1849 edition of Brand prints a rhyme said to be proverbial in Suffolk for Michaelmas and the apple season.
The Old Mayor’s Geese at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireNottingham chose its mayor on Michaelmas Day, and Deering's History of Nottingham records that the outgoing mayor used to give hot roast geese at his house that morning, before the election of his successor.
Chopping Sticks and Counting Hobnails Still kept London, ShropshireAt Michaelmas the new sheriffs of London went by barge to Westminster to be sworn in at the Court of Exchequer, where the City also paid two ancient quit rents.
Burying the Mace at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireOn Michaelmas Day, when Nottingham's new mayor took office, the corporation went in procession to St Mary's Church.
The Lawless Hour at Kidderminster No longer kept WorcestershireWhen Kidderminster chose its bailiff at Michaelmas, the town-house bell gave the signal for an hour in which the townspeople pelted each other with cabbage stalks in the main streets.
The Moon and the Michaelmas Floods Lore and belief EnglandAn old weather saying held that you could count the floods of the coming season from the moon on Michaelmas Day.
Goose on Michaelmas Day Lore and belief EnglandRoast goose was the Michaelmas dinner, when stubble geese were at their best, and it was said that whoever ate goose that day would never want money all year.

Wednesday 30 September 2026

Thursday 1 October 2026

Friday 2 October 2026

Sunday 4 October 2026

Tuesday 6 October 2026

Saturday 10 October 2026

Sunday 11 October 2026

Wednesday 14 October 2026

Thursday 15 October 2026

Saturday 17 October 2026

Sunday 18 October 2026

Sunday 25 October 2026

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Thursday 29 October 2026

Friday 30 October 2026

Saturday 31 October 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Cake Night at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on the eve of All Saints the good wives made a cake for everyone in the family, so the evening was generally called Cake Night.
Fire and red low No longer kept EnglandDugdale noted in one of his almanacs of 1658 that on All Hallow Even the master of the family used anciently to carry a bunch of lighted straw about his corn.
Lating the Witches No longer kept LancashireOn Hallowe'en a party led by an old woman went round the bigger houses near Longridge Fell asking for lating candles, one for each person in the household.
Burning the Nuts Lore and belief England, Ireland, ScotlandOn Hallowe'en a pair of nuts was named for a lad and a lass and laid in the fire.
Nutcrack Night Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England Hallowe'en was called Nutcrack Night, from the nuts cracked, eaten and thrown on the fire.

Sunday 1 November 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Ringing for all Christian souls No longer kept EnglandBefore the Reformation the church bells were rung all night at Allhallowtide for all Christian souls.
The Cheshire souling song Still kept CheshireOn the eve of All Souls' Day parties of boys in Cheshire went souling from door to door, singing for apples, pears, plums, beer or money.
Souling in Staffordshire No longer kept StaffordshireTollett noted that on All Saints' Day the poor of Staffordshire went from parish to parish souling, begging and singing for soul cakes or anything else to make them merry.
Seed cake at Allhallows No longer kept WarwickshireBrand's servant, a Warwickshire man, told him that in that county a seed cake was had at Allhallows, marking the end of wheat sowing.
All-Hallowtide revels at the Middle Temple No longer kept LondonThe young lawyers of the Middle Temple counted All-Hallowtide as the start of Christmas, and in the reign of Charles I they chose a Master of the Revels for the season.

Monday 2 November 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Tindles at Findern No longer kept DerbyshireAt Findern in Derbyshire the boys and girls went every year on the evening of All Souls' Day to the common and lit a number of small fires among the furze, which they called Tindles.
The Shropshire soul-cake heap No longer kept ShropshireAubrey wrote that in his time, in Shropshire and elsewhere, a high heap of soul cakes was set on the board on All Souls' Day, lying one upon another like the shewbread in the pictures of old Bibles.
Old Hob No longer kept CheshireA correspondent told Hone of a Cheshire frolic called Old Hob, in which a man carried a dead horse's head covered with a sheet to frighten people.
Soul-mass cakes No longer kept Herefordshire, LancashireOn All Souls' Day in Lancashire and Herefordshire the well-off used to hand out oaten cakes, called soul-mass cakes, to the poor.

Thursday 5 November 2026

Friday 6 November 2026

Monday 9 November 2026

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Thursday 12 November 2026

Friday 13 November 2026

Sunday 15 November 2026

Monday 16 November 2026

Tuesday 17 November 2026

Friday 20 November 2026

Sunday 22 November 2026

Monday 23 November 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

St Clement’s pot No longer kept StaffordshirePlot's Staffordshire recorded an old custom of going about on the night of St Clement's Day to beg drink to make merry with.
The smiths’ ode for St Clement No longer kept LondonThe secretary of the Benevolent Institution of Smiths, writing from Southwark in 1825, asked Hone not to forget St Clement, the smiths' saint.
Clementing in Worcestershire No longer kept WorcestershireA correspondent born in Worcestershire remembered boys going in a band from house to house on the afternoon of St Clement's Day.
Old Clem at Woolwich No longer kept Kent, LondonOn the evening of St Clement's Day the blacksmiths' apprentices of Woolwich dockyard chose one of their seniors to be Old Clem, in a greatcoat, a mask, an oakum wig and a long white beard.

Wednesday 25 November 2026

Monday 30 November 2026

Saturday 5 December 2026

Sunday 6 December 2026

Wednesday 16 December 2026

Saturday 19 December 2026

Monday 21 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Blowing the Yule-Girth at York No longer kept YorkshireAn old custom book of the city of York, printed by Leland, set down that on St Thomas's Day before Yule the sheriffs heard a mass of St Thomas at All Hallows on the Pavement.
St Thomas’s onion Lore and belief EnglandMother Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open, printed under St Thomas's Day, told a girl that this was the best time of year to learn who her husband would be.
Apple wassailing on St Thomas’s Day No longer kept Staffordshire, WorcestershireSt Thomas's Day falls on the shortest day, as the couplet has it, St Thomas gray, St Thomas gray, the longest night and the shortest day.
Going a-gooding No longer kept Kent, Staffordshire, WarwickshireOn St Thomas's Day, the shortest day, poor women went round the parish begging money or food for Christmas, and gave sprigs of holly, mistletoe, palm or primroses in return.

Thursday 24 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Rumbald Night at Folkestone No longer kept KentHasted recorded that the fishermen of Folkestone used to pick out eight of the largest and best whitings from every boat on its return from the whiting fishery and sell them apart.
Frumenty on Christmas Eve No longer kept YorkshireMr Beckwith told the Gentleman's Magazine in 1784 that in the country about Rotherham frumenty had always been the breakfast and supper on Christmas Eve within his memory.
The threepenny loaf at Aston Hall No longer kept WarwickshireOn Christmas Eve at the house of the Holt family at Aston, near Birmingham, a table was set in the hall after supper with a brown loaf bearing twenty silver threepences on top, a tankard of ale, pipes and tobacco.
Hagmena at Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandLittle troops of boys and girls at Newcastle upon Tyne and other places in the north of England went from house to house a few nights before Christmas, on Christmas Eve and on Christmas night, knocking and singing.
Greening the church Still kept EnglandOld church calendars marked Christmas Eve with the words templa exornantur, churches are decked.
Old folks’ night in Cumberland No longer kept CumberlandA Cumberland correspondent told Hone that with Christmas Eve began a round of feasts and merrymakings that kept farmhouse fires and candles burning until the small hours night after night.
The Quainton thorn No longer kept BuckinghamshireAfter the calendar change of 1752, crowds went to see whether the famous thorns would blossom on the new Christmas Day.
Bees singing on Christmas Eve Lore and belief EnglandAlongside the belief that the cattle knelt in their stalls at midnight on Christmas Eve, it was said that the bees sang in their hives at the same hour.
Ivy or his breeches No longer kept OxfordshireAubrey recorded that in several parts of Oxfordshire it was the custom at Christmas for the maidservant to ask the manservant for ivy to decorate the house.
The Christmas standard at Leadenhall No longer kept LondonStow recorded that at Christmas every London house and parish church was decked with holm oak, ivy, bays and whatever else was green, and the conduits and standards in the streets were dressed too.
The Lord of Misrule No longer kept EnglandStow wrote that at Christmas the king's house, and the house of every nobleman of honour, had a Lord of Misrule or Master of Merry Disports, and that the Lord Mayor of London and each of the sheriffs had one too, each trying to make the rarest pastime.
The Christmas waits Still kept Cumberland, Lanarkshire, LondonThe waits were bands of musicians who played through the streets at night for two or three weeks before Christmas, usually finishing on Christmas Eve, and then called at the houses for a Christmas box.
The cock crows all night Lore and belief EnglandIt was held that on the night before Christmas the powers of darkness were helpless and no evil could touch mankind.
The Yule candle No longer kept EnglandAlongside the Yule log a candle of great size, called the Yule candle or Christmas candle, lit the table through the evening.
Kissing under the mistletoe Still kept EnglandBrand found that mistletoe was kept out of churches, where one sexton told him it had once been put up and the clergyman at once ordered it down, but that it was hung in state in the kitchen.
Mistletoe at York Minster No longer kept YorkshireStukeley, writing in the eighteenth century, said that within the last hundred years mistletoe had been carried to the high altar of York Minster on Christmas Eve.
The Yule log and the mock Lore and belief Cornwall, EnglandThe Yule log was brought in with ceremony on Christmas Eve and lit from the saved remains of the year before.
The Christmas mummers Still kept England, PembrokeshireThe mummers, called guisers in Scotland, set out on Christmas Eve to visit the chief houses of the parish and act the play of St George.
Hoodening Still kept KentAt Ramsgate the Christmas festivities began with a hoodening.
The kneeling oxen Lore and belief Cornwall, DevonIn west Devon and Cornwall it was believed that at midnight on Christmas Eve the oxen in their stalls knelt as if in prayer, and after the change of calendar they were said to do it only on Old Christmas Eve.
The Christmas Eve orchard wassail Still kept Devon, Hampshire, NorfolkOn Christmas Eve in parts of Devon the farmer, his family and friends ate hot cakes dipped in cider, then carried cake and cider to the chief apple tree in the orchard.
The ashen faggot Still kept DevonIn Devon the Yule log took the form of the ashen faggot, a bundle of ash sticks bound with bands of ash, ideally nine of them.

Friday 25 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Ice to bear a goose Lore and belief LincolnshireEllis gave a Lincolnshire saying about the winter's ice.
Red apples at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on Christmas Day the singing boys came into the church with large baskets of red apples, each with a sprig of rosemary stuck in it, and gave them to the whole congregation.
Christmas carols in Scilly church No longer kept Isles of ScillyHeath's account of the Isles of Scilly described the islanders singing carols in church on Christmas Day.
Hunting owls and squirrels on Christmas Day No longer kept SuffolkA man brought up in a village not far from Bury St Edmunds told Brand that when he was a boy the youths there had a country custom of hunting owls and squirrels on Christmas Day.
Crying Yule in Yorkshire No longer kept YorkshireBlount wrote that in Yorkshire and other northern parts the people would cry Ule, Ule even in the churches after the Christmas service, as a token of rejoicing, while the common sort ran about the streets singing a rhyme of puddings and nuts.
A male first foot on Christmas morning Lore and belief EnglandEllis recorded a set of Christmas beliefs alongside the vessel-cup carol.
The apple Florentine No longer kept BedfordshireAt Potton in Bedfordshire and the places round about, some sixty years before Hone's Year Book, every Christmas entertainment had an apple Florentine on the table, of which all the guests ate.
The bells under the valley Lore and belief NottinghamshireNear Raleigh in Nottinghamshire, a Hone correspondent wrote, there was a valley said to have been made by an earthquake centuries before, which swallowed a whole village and its church.
Alexander and the King of Egypt No longer kept CumberlandA Whitehaven correspondent sent Hone the printed text of the mummers' play acted there every Christmas by companies of boys.
The Yorkshire gooding carol No longer kept YorkshireOn Christmas morning children in Yorkshire went gooding from house to house, carrying a small Christmas tree as the badge of their errand.
The boar’s head at Queen’s College Still kept OxfordshireThe boar's head was once the first dish of every great Christmas dinner, carried in with minstrelsy and a carol, and Aubrey said that before the civil wars it came to the table in gentlemen's houses with a lemon in its mouth.
Christmas weather lore Lore and belief Devon, England, ScotlandAn old song in the Harleian manuscripts foretold the year by the weekday of Christmas: a Sunday Christmas meant a good winter, a fair summer and peace, while a Saturday one brought storms that killed man and beast, failing crops and dying children.
Christmas pie and plum porridge Still kept EnglandEvery family once made a great Christmas pie, which Misson found stuffed with neats' tongues, chicken, eggs, sugar, raisins, peel and spice, and Brand said that in the north of England goose was always its chief ingredient.
The hackin No longer kept EnglandAn old tract called Round about our Coal Fire described how an English gentleman had all his tenants and neighbours into his hall at daybreak on Christmas morning.
Yule doughs No longer kept County Durham, EnglandBakers once baked a little image of paste at Christmas, called a yule dough or dow, and gave one to each of their customers, just as chandlers gave their customers Christmas candles.
West Country church carols Still kept Cornwall, DevonDavies Gilbert, who published the old carols of the West of England with their tunes, said that on Christmas Day they were sung in place of the psalms in all the churches, above all at the afternoon service, with the whole congregation joining in.
Wrestling for the boar’s head No longer kept EssexAt Hornchurch the lessee of the tithes, which belonged to New College, Oxford, provided a boar's head, dressed and garnished with bay leaves, every Christmas Day.
The Cumnor Christmas feast No longer kept BerkshireAfter evening service on Christmas Day the tithe-paying parishioners of Cumnor went to the vicarage to be given bread, cheese and ale.
The Glastonbury Thorn Still kept SomersetGlastonbury tradition said Joseph of Arimathea stuck his hawthorn staff into Wearyall Hill, where it grew and blossomed every Christmas Day.

Saturday 26 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

The Northumberland sword dancers Still kept NorthumberlandA correspondent of the Table Book, describing the miners of Northumberland, wrote that the old custom of sword dancing at Christmas was kept up there only by the pitmen.
Beating the lapstone No longer kept WiltshireAt Nettleton, near Burton, the shoemakers kept up a practical joke on the day after Christmas called beating the lapstone.
Goose pies in the North Riding No longer kept YorkshireA memoir of Christmas in the North Riding of Yorkshire, printed in the Gentleman's Magazine in 1811, told how large goose pies were made on St Stephen's Day.
Christmas boxes Still kept England, LondonThe day after Christmas was called Boxing Day because tradesmen's boys, apprentices and servants went round the customers collecting money in their Christmas boxes.
The Inner Temple Christmas No longer kept LondonThe lawyers of the Inner Temple kept Christmas with elaborate mock ceremony.
The servants’ holiday at Chester No longer kept CheshireCheshire farm servants were hired from New Year's Eve to Christmas Day, and then took six or seven days off, leaving their masters to manage alone.
Stephening No longer kept BuckinghamshireOn St Stephen's Day the whole parish of Drayton Beauchamp went to the rectory and claimed the right to as much bread, cheese and ale as they liked at the rector's expense.
Bleeding the horses No longer kept EnglandIt was an old belief that on St Stephen's Day horses should be galloped hard and then bled, to keep them free of disease for the coming year.

Monday 28 December 2026

Thursday 31 December 2026

Friday 1 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

If the grass grows in Janiveer Lore and belief Northern EnglandA saying still heard in the north of England in Ellis's day warned against a mild start to the year: if the grass grows in January, it grows the worse for it all the year.
Verses for luck at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireA manuscript account of Eton College written in 1560 records that on the feast of the Circumcision, New Year's Day, the boys played for small New Year's gifts before and after supper.
No light from the house on New Year’s Day Lore and belief EnglandEllis's edition of Brand gathers several warnings for New Year's Day.
Opening the Bible on New Year’s morning Lore and belief EnglandIn some parts of the country the Bible was consulted on New Year's morning to learn what the year would bring.
Take out, then take in Lore and belief LincolnshireIn Lincoln and the country round it people held that it was unlucky to carry anything out of the house on New Year's morning before something had been brought in.
New Year cakes at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireA visitor to friends at Cambridge was woken at seven on New Year's morning by the familiar Good Friday cry of one a penny, two a penny, buns, all hot.
New Clothes on New Year’s Day Lore and belief EnglandHone notes from Forster's Perennial Calendar that many people made a point of wearing something new on New Year's Day and thought it unlucky not to.
Kiss ’em and Sugar Toast No longer kept EnglandA Table Book correspondent described seeing the new year in at a village party.
The Fair First-foot at Preston Lore and belief LancashireA gentleman of Preston told Notes and Queries that for many years he had called on an elderly lady early on New Year's Day at her own request, because he was fair-complexioned and so thought to bring good luck for the year.
New Year’s Gifts No longer kept EnglandGiving presents on New Year's Day was once general in England, though by Chambers's day it had shrunk to parents and elders giving to children.
Coventry God-cakes No longer kept WarwickshireAt Coventry it was the custom to eat God-cakes on New Year's Day.
Jack of Hilton No longer kept StaffordshireHilton Hall in Staffordshire kept a hollow brass figure about a foot high, known across the county as Jack of Hilton, which was filled with water and set by the fire so that steam blew from its mouth like a bellows.
The New Year Wassail Bowl Still kept Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, WarwickshireAt the New Year the head of an English household gathered his family round a bowl of spiced ale called lamb's wool and drank their health with the old greeting wass hael, and the bowl went round.
The Hutton Conyers Pie Court No longer kept YorkshireThe lord of the manor of Hutton Conyers held his court on the first day of the year, when the shepherds of six townships around the moor came to keep their right of sheep-walk.
Riding the Stang on New Year’s Day No longer kept Cumberland, WestmorlandA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1791 reported that in Westmorland and Cumberland crowds gathered early on New Year's morning carrying baskets and stangs, or stout poles.

Tuesday 5 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The fire for the Magi’s star No longer kept StaffordshireBlount recorded that the people of Staffordshire made a fire on the eve of Twelfth Day in memory of the blazing star that led the three Magi to the manger at Bethlehem.
Wassil Eve near Leeds No longer kept YorkshireMr Beckwith remembered in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1784 that near Leeds, when he was a boy, many families asked their relations, friends and neighbours in on the twelfth eve of Christmas for cards and a supper at which mince pies were essential.
Holly Night at Brough No longer kept WestmorlandOn Twelfth Night the people of Brough in Westmorland carried the holly tree, though by 1827 an ash was used, since ash was plentiful there.
The Walsall Penny Dole No longer kept StaffordshireThomas Moseley gave lands in Warwickshire in trust for the town of Walsall in 1453, and on Twelfth Night eve, the anniversary for his soul and his wife Margaret's, the bellman went about calling on everyone to kneel and pray for them.
Twelve Fires and the Ox’s Cake No longer kept Gloucestershire, HerefordshireOn Twelfth Night eve Herefordshire farmers and their servants lit twelve small fires and one large one on the highest part of a wheat field, drank old cider and hallooed, and fifty or sixty other fires might be seen at once across the country.
Wassailing the Apple Trees Still kept DevonOn Twelfth Night eve the Devon farmer took his men into the orchard with a pitcher of cider, and they circled one of the best-bearing trees and drank to it three times with a rhyme wishing it hats full, caps full and sacks full of apples.

Wednesday 6 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Hazard for the groom-porter No longer kept LondonThe Gentleman's Magazine for January 1731 reported that on Twelfth Day the king and the Prince of Wales made their offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh at the Chapel Royal, and that at night the royal family played at hazard for the benefit of the groom-porter.
Lobscouse and Ponsondie No longer kept CumberlandIn Cumberland and other northern parts of England, Twelfth Night ended the Christmas holidays with a dance in a large room from seven o'clock until twelve.
The Twelfth Night Wassail at Court No longer kept EnglandThe Royalle Book of Henry VII's household laid down how the king kept Twelfth Day, going crowned in his robes and offering gold, myrrh and incense.
The Hobby Horse of Paget’s Bromley No longer kept StaffordshirePlot's Natural History of Staffordshire records a Twelfth Day custom at Paget's Bromley, now Abbots Bromley, which had gone out by the seventeenth century.
The King of the Bean No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Night a large cake was baked with a bean inside, and the family and friends cut it by lot: whoever found the bean was King of the Bean for the night, and in England there was always a queen too, sometimes found by a pea.
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh Still kept LondonOn Twelfth Day the king used to go in procession with heralds and the knights of the Garter, Thistle and Bath to the Chapel Royal at St James's, and offer gold, frankincense and myrrh in imitation of the Magi.

Thursday 7 January 2027

Monday 11 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Plough Monday morris at Claybrooke No longer kept LeicestershireAulay Macaulay, in his History and Antiquities of Claybrooke of 1791, wrote that every Plough Monday a company of morris dancers came into Claybrooke from the neighbouring villages of Sapcote and Sharnford.
Cock in the pot on Plough Monday No longer kept EnglandTusser counted Plough Monday among the ploughman's feast days, and Tusser Redivivus of 1744 explained the rhyme that went with it.
Goose-dancing in Scilly No longer kept Isles of ScillyHone's Table Book, quoting the Monthly Magazine of January 1827, says that at Plough Monday time the young people of the Isles of Scilly went goose-dancing.
Plough Monday Still kept LincolnshireOn the first Monday after Twelfth Day farm lads dragged a plough decked with ribbons, the Fool Plough, from house to house, led by a man dressed as an old woman called Bessy and a Fool, sometimes with morris or sword dancers.

Tuesday 12 January 2027

Wednesday 13 January 2027

Thursday 14 January 2027

Sunday 17 January 2027

Wednesday 20 January 2027

Monday 25 January 2027

Saturday 30 January 2027

Sunday 31 January 2027

Monday 1 February 2027

Tuesday 2 February 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Beans in the Candlemas waddle Lore and belief SomersetRay's Collection of Proverbs has a Somerset rule for Candlemas: sow or set beans on Candlemas waddle.
The Candlemas Candle at Lyme Regis No longer kept DorsetA Dorset gentleman told Hone of a household custom he remembered from boyhood at Lyme Regis.
Throw Candle and Candlestick Away Lore and belief EnglandCandlemas marked the point in the year when the days had grown long enough to manage without lights at evening prayers.
God Send Us the Light of Heaven No longer kept EnglandCandlemas takes its name from the blessing of candles by the clergy and their carrying in procession on the feast of the Purification.
Fair Maid of February Lore and belief EnglandCountry people tied certain flowers to the saints whose days fell when they came into bloom.
If Candlemas Day Be Dry and Fair Lore and belief England, ScotlandChambers found a belief all over Christendom that fine weather at Candlemas meant a long winter and a poor harvest, while a wet and stormy Candlemas was a good omen.

Wednesday 3 February 2027

Thursday 4 February 2027

Friday 5 February 2027

Tuesday 9 February 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Sown on Shrove Tuesday Lore and belief EnglandThe Book of Knowledge of 1703 held that whatever was planted or sown on Shrove Tuesday would always stay green.
Flowers, flowers, high-do No longer kept EnglandEllis noted that in some places at Shrovetide, if flowers could be found so early in the year, the younger children carried a small garland about to collect a few pence.
Great A, little A, this is pancake day No longer kept Northern EnglandIn parts of the north of England girls spent some of Shrove Tuesday playing battledore and shuttlecock, singing a rhyme as they played.
The football over Alnwick Castle wall Still kept NorthumberlandBrand was told, and saw for himself on 5 February 1788, that at Alnwick the town waits came playing to the castle at two o'clock every Shrove Tuesday.
The freshmen’s caudle at Merton No longer kept OxfordshireAnthony a Wood described how the freshmen of Merton College were put through their paces on Shrove Tuesday in 1647.
The pan’s hot No longer kept OxfordshireIn Oxfordshire the children went from door to door on Shrove Tuesday singing a shroving rhyme and begging for halfpence.
Dough-nut Day at Baldock No longer kept HertfordshireAt Baldock in Hertfordshire the children looked forward to Shrove Tuesday long beforehand and called it Dough-nut Day.
The noon bell at Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandAt Newcastle upon Tyne the great bell of St Nicholas's church was tolled at twelve o'clock on Shrove Tuesday.
Stoning the doors in Scilly No longer kept Isles of ScillyHeath's account of the Isles of Scilly says that every Shrove Tuesday, once the throwing at cocks was over, the island boys spent the evening throwing stones at the doors of the houses.
Cocks for the Poor Rate at Pinner No longer kept MiddlesexIn the hamlet of Pinner, by Harrow on the Hill, throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday was a parish occasion, and the money it raised went towards the poor rate: the accounts record twelve shillings received for cocks at Shrovetide in 1622.
Ringing the Pancake Bell in York Minster No longer kept YorkshireAt York it was an old custom that on Shrove Tuesday the apprentices, journeymen and servants of the city were free to go into the minster and ring the pancake bell.
Shrove Tuesday Weather Lore and belief EnglandThe Shepherd's Almanack of 1676 recorded two pieces of weather lore for Shrove Tuesday.
Fitz-Stephen’s Shrovetide No longer kept LondonThe earliest account of Shrovetide sport in England comes from William Fitz-Stephen, who died in 1191.
Throwing at Cocks No longer kept England, NorfolkThrowing sticks at a tethered cock was an old and cruel Shrove Tuesday sport, which Hone was glad to see dying out among decent people.
The Hoddesdon Curfew and the Pancakes No longer kept HertfordshireA correspondent told Hone that the old curfew bell at Hoddesdon, once rung for putting out all fire and candle light, was still rung at four in the morning on Shrove Tuesday, as it had been time out of mind.
Football Day at Kingston No longer kept Middlesex, SurreyA Quaker travelling to Kingston upon Thames on Shrove Tuesday 1815 was told by the coachman that it was Football Day.
The First Pancake No longer kept EnglandBy custom the first pancake off the pan was given to the laziest member of the household or the last one out of bed, though since nobody would own to it, it usually went to the dog.
The Pancake Bell Still kept EnglandOn Shrove Tuesday the church bells were set ringing in the morning, and one bell in particular, the Pancake Bell, told every household that it was time to start frying.
Ludlow Rope-pulling No longer kept ShropshireOn Shrove Tuesday the Ludlow corporation handed a thick rope, thirty-six yards long, out of a window of the Market Hall at four o'clock.
Lent Crocking No longer kept Dorset, WiltshireIn Dorset and Wiltshire boys went shroving in small bands, armed with the year's broken crockery.
Holly Boy and Ivy Girl No longer kept KentLate in the eighteenth century a Kentish village kept a Shrovetide custom in two halves.
Threshing the Hen No longer kept Cornwall, WalesA hen that had not laid before Shrove Tuesday was counted useless.
Barring Out the Master No longer kept CumberlandAt Fasten's Even the scholars of the free school at Bromfield claimed an old right to shut their master out for three days.
The Pancake Greaze Still kept LondonAt eleven on Shrove Tuesday a verger of Westminster Abbey with a silver baton led the school cook, in white apron, jacket and cap, into the schoolroom carrying a pancake.

Wednesday 10 February 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Wind on Ash Wednesday Lore and belief NorfolkIt was a proverb in Norfolk that wherever the wind lay on Ash Wednesday, there it would stay for the whole of Lent.
Staying Away from the Commination Lore and belief EnglandOn Ash Wednesday the Church of England reads the Commination, the curses against impenitent sinners, with the people answering Amen to each.
The King’s Cock Crower No longer kept LondonThrough Lent an officer of the royal household called the King's Cock Crower used to crow the hours each night within the palace instead of calling them like a watchman, in memory of the cock that called St Peter to repentance.
Jack-a-Lent No longer kept EnglandOn Ash Wednesday, the Shrovetide cocks being done with, a thin scarecrow of a puppet called a Jack-a-Lent was set up and pelted with sticks.
The Oxford Penny No longer kept OxfordshireOn St Scholastica's Day in the reign of Edward III a battle broke out between the students of Oxford and the townsmen and lasted three days.

Saturday 13 February 2027

Sunday 14 February 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Valentine pence in Oxfordshire No longer kept OxfordshireIn Oxfordshire the children went about on Valentine's Day collecting pence and singing a short rhyme asking each householder for a valentine.
Catching valentines before sunrise No longer kept NorfolkIn Norfolk children tried to catch one another for valentines on St Valentine's morning, and took special care to catch any elderly people in the family who were likely to be generous.
Good Morrow, Valentine at Weston Favell No longer kept NorthamptonshireReviewing John Cole's little history of Weston Favell, near Northampton, in 1827, Hone noted the village's round of customs.
The Valentine Letter-shower Still kept EnglandBy the 1860s the drawing of valentines had given way to sending anonymous letters.
When the Birds Choose Their Mates Lore and belief EnglandAmong the common people it was believed that St Valentine's Day was the day on which the birds chose their mates, and that something of the same influence lay on young men and women, so that a partner chosen by lot or chance that day was in some degree binding.
Good Morrow, Valentine No longer kept HertfordshireIn many parts of Hertfordshire the poorer children gathered on Valentine's morning and went together to the house of the chief person of the place, who threw wreaths and true lovers' knots to them from a window.
Lynn Mart Still kept NorfolkKing's Lynn's great annual mart was granted by Henry VIII to begin the day after Candlemas, and after the change of calendar in 1752 it was proclaimed on Valentine's Day.
Drawing Valentines No longer kept England, ScotlandThe old ceremony of St Valentine's Day was a lottery.

Sunday 21 February 2027

Thursday 25 February 2027

Monday 1 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The crows begin to search Lore and belief Northern EnglandAmong the proverbial sayings for St David's Day that Ellis found still current in the north of England was a short rhyme about the crows.
The serjeant-porter’s leek No longer kept LondonThe Flying Post of 1699 reported that on St David's Day the king, according to custom, wore a leek in honour of the ancient Britons.
Oats and barley in the clay Lore and belief EnglandRay's collection of English proverbs gives a farming rule for St David's Day: it was the time to put oats and barley into the ground.
Wetting the block No longer kept Berkshire, HampshireThe first Monday in March was when country shoemakers stopped working by candlelight, and they used to meet that evening to wet the block.
Swig Day at Jesus College No longer kept OxfordshireOn St David's Day Jesus College, Oxford, the college of the Welsh, filled a great silver-gilt bowl holding ten gallons with swig and passed it round the guests at its table.
A peck of March dust Lore and belief EnglandMarch was expected to be a dry, blustery month, and its dust was welcomed because dry weather was wanted for sowing and planting.
The Ancient Britons’ procession No longer kept LondonSt David's Day in London was the anniversary of the Honourable and Loyal Society of Ancient Britons, founded in 1714, which kept it in aid of the Welsh charity school in Gray's Inn Road.
Hanging Taffy No longer kept LondonOn St David's Day the English used to mock the Welsh by making a stuffed figure of a Welshman, with hay-filled breeches and coat, a hat, shoes and a wooden sword, and hanging it from a public tree.

Tuesday 2 March 2027

Wednesday 3 March 2027

Friday 5 March 2027

Sunday 7 March 2027

Thursday 11 March 2027

Saturday 13 March 2027

Saturday 20 March 2027

Sunday 21 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Double flowers from Palm Sunday sowing Lore and belief GloucestershireMr R.
A bundle of box for Palm Sunday No longer kept ShropshireDomesday Book records under Shropshire a tenant who paid for half a carucate of land with a bundle of box twigs on Palm Sunday.
Fig Sunday at Kimpton No longer kept HertfordshireAt Kempton in Hertfordshire, as the book spells Kimpton, it had long been the custom for the villagers to eat figs on Palm Sunday, which they called Fig Sunday.
Hail be thou our King No longer kept SurreyDives and Pauper, printed in 1496, describes the priest in the Palm Sunday procession drawing up the veil before the rood and falling to the ground with all the people, saying three times Ave Rex Noster, hail be thou our King.
No palm, no hand Lore and belief EnglandAn old saying held that whoever did not have a palm in his hand on Palm Sunday would have his hand cut off.
Hiring an angel for Palm Sunday No longer kept LondonLondon churchwardens' accounts show parishes paying players for the Palm Sunday procession.
Cakes from the steeple No longer kept EnglandA Protestant dialogue of 1554, quoted by Brand and Hone, mocked the old Palm Sunday processions, saying hardly one in ten thousand knew what they meant.
The palm cross in Nantswell No longer kept CornwallBefore the Reformation people went on Palm Sunday to the well of Our Lady of Nantswell at Little Conan in Cornwall, carrying a cross made of palm.
The Caistor gad-whip No longer kept LincolnshireEvery Palm Sunday a man from Broughton came to the north porch of Caistor church during the first lesson and cracked a great ox-whip, the gad-whip, three times.
Going a-palming No longer kept LondonEarly on Palm Sunday men and boys went out from London to gather willow or sallow branches with their grey, velvety buds, which stood in for palms.

Thursday 25 March 2027

Friday 26 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The witches’ Good Friday meeting Lore and belief LancashireGood Friday was believed in Lancashire to be the witches' great day of gathering.
The passion-dock pudding No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England a herb pudding was a dish nobody went without on Good Friday, and its chief ingredient was the leaves of the passion-dock.
Paste egging at West Derby No longer kept LancashireA Liverpool correspondent wrote to Hone on Good Friday 1826 about paste egging around West Derby, kept up by the young country people.
The Good Friday sermon at Paul’s Cross No longer kept LondonFor a long time a learned man chosen by the bishop preached every Good Friday afternoon at Paul's Cross, the timber pulpit on stone steps in St Paul's churchyard, on the Passion.
Creeping to the cross at Durham No longer kept County DurhamBefore the Reformation a gold crucifix kept inside the image of Our Lady of Bolton in Durham Abbey was taken out every Good Friday, and everyone in the church crept to it.
The clerk’s Good Friday cakes No longer kept Devon, DorsetIn some parishes of Dorset and Devon the parish clerk carried a few white cakes round to every house as an Easter offering.
Washing Molly Grime No longer kept LincolnshireIn Glentham church a tomb carries a carved figure the people called Molly Grime.
Hot cross buns Still kept England, LondonIn London and all over England, though not in Scotland, Good Friday began with the street cry of hot cross buns, and a plate of them on every breakfast table.
Good Friday bread Lore and belief EnglandBread baked on Good Friday was kept in the house all year, in the belief that a little of it grated into water would cure almost any illness, and diarrhoea especially.

Saturday 27 March 2027

Sunday 28 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Easter sacrament ring Lore and belief BerkshireIn Berkshire it was a popular belief that a ring made from a silver coin given at the communion would cure convulsions and fits of every kind.
Sunshine at Easter and Whitsun Lore and belief EnglandAn old country saying held that the weather of Easter Day foretold that of Whit Sunday seven weeks later, so that if the sun shone at Easter it would shine at Whitsun too.
Clearing the winter hearth on God’s Sunday No longer kept EnglandMedieval sermon books say Easter Day was called in some places God's Sunday, and describe a household custom that went with it.
Little Devil Doubt and the pace-eggers Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England groups of lads went pace-egging at Easter, singing at doors for eggs and strong beer and promising not to come again until the next year.
Tansies at Easter No longer kept EnglandA tansy was a pudding or cake of eggs, cream and sugar flavoured with the young leaves of the herb tansy, and it was the dish of Easter.
Eggs and green sauce at Gray’s Inn No longer kept LondonDugdale records that the gentlemen of Gray's Inn who came to breakfast on Easter Day, after the service and communion, were given eggs and green sauce.
Buckles and spurs at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireA Yorkshire clergyman told Brand that on Easter Sunday the young men of the villages took the girls' shoe buckles, and on Easter Monday the young women took the men's shoes and buckles in return.
New clothes for Easter Still kept Dorset, EnglandEveryone was supposed to wear at least one new thing on Easter Day, or have no luck all year.
The red herring on horseback No longer kept OxfordshireIt was said that at Queen's College, Oxford, the first dish brought to table on Easter Day was a red herring riding away on horseback.
Sugar-cupping at Dropping Tor No longer kept DerbyshireNear Tideswell in the Peak, children and young people used to go on Easter Sunday to the Dropping Tor, a spring that dripped from the rock.
The Twickenham Easter cakes No longer kept MiddlesexTwickenham once divided two great cakes among its young people in church on Easter Day.
The Lostwithiel prince No longer kept CornwallEach Easter Sunday the freeholders of Lostwithiel chose one of their number in turn to play a prince.
The sun dancing on Easter morning Lore and belief England, IrelandIn the middle districts of Ireland a fat hen or some bacon was put in the pot on the evening of Holy Saturday, and nobody dared taste it before cock-crow.
Pace eggs Still kept Cheshire, Lancashire, ScotlandThe pace or pasch egg, once given at Easter all over Christendom, was still handed out by children and country people in Lancashire in Chambers's day.

Monday 29 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Nottingham corporation at St Anne’s Well No longer kept NottinghamshireDeering's History of Nottingham records that by a custom beyond memory the mayor and aldermen of Nottingham and their wives walked out on Easter Monday, after morning prayers, to St Anne's Well outside the town.
Tilting on the Thames at Easter No longer kept LondonFitzStephen, writing in the twelfth century and quoted by Stow, describes a water game played by the young men of London in the Easter holidays.
Old Vinegar and the Moorfields cudgel players No longer kept LondonIn the old days the cudgel players' sports in Moorfields began on Easter Monday.
Greenwich Fair at Easter No longer kept KentEaster Monday and Tuesday were holidays in most London trades, and on the Monday Greenwich Fair began.
The corporation at ball on the Forth No longer kept NorthumberlandCorporations once went out in state to play at ball at Easter.
The old women’s trap-ball at Bury No longer kept SuffolkA correspondent told Hone of a ball custom still kept every year at Bury St Edmunds.
Cock eggs on the Solway Still kept CumberlandA Maryport man told Hone that Cumberland families sent each other's children presents of eggs at Easter, and the price of eggs rose for weeks before Good Friday.
The sheriffs’ breakfast at Chester No longer kept CheshireEvery man married in Chester who had not finished his first year of marriage had to give the drapers' guild a silver arrow as a prize for archery.
Easter football on the Roodee No longer kept CheshireAt Easter the mayor and corporation of Chester and the city's twenty guilds went in procession to the Roodee to play football.
Going a-pudding-pieing No longer kept KentAt Easter young people in Kent went holiday-making to public houses to eat pudding-pies, which they called going a-pudding-pieing.
The Spital Sermon Still kept LondonOn Easter Monday and Tuesday the boys of Christ's Hospital walked in procession to the Mansion House and went with the Lord Mayor, aldermen and their ladies to Christ Church, where a bishop preached the Spital Sermon and the children sang an anthem.
The Epping Hunt No longer kept EssexHenry III confirmed to the citizens of London the right to hunt around their city, and the Lord Mayor and aldermen once rode out to hunt in state.
Riding the Black Lad No longer kept LancashireEvery Easter Monday a stuffed figure of a man was carried on horseback round the streets of Ashton-under-Lyne, while its followers begged drink at every public house and fired at it.
The Coleshill hare No longer kept WarwickshireBy an old custom at Coleshill, if the young men of the town caught a hare and brought it to the parson before ten o'clock on Easter Monday, he had to give them a calf's head, a hundred eggs and a groat for their breakfast.
The Biddenden Maids Still kept KentTwenty acres at Biddenden, called the Bread and Cheese Lands, paid for a dole at Easter; Hasted in 1790 counted six hundred cakes given to churchgoers and loaves and cheese to parishioners.
Clipping the churches No longer kept WarwickshireA Warwickshire correspondent remembered being taken as a child every Easter Monday to watch the charity-school children clip the churches of Birmingham.
Taking the shoes at Durham No longer kept County DurhamIn Durham on Easter Monday the men claimed the right to take off the women's shoes, and on Easter Tuesday the women did the same to the men.
Lifting at Easter No longer kept Cheshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, WarwickshireIn Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire, men lifted the women on Easter Monday and the women lifted the men on Easter Tuesday.

Thursday 1 April 2027

Friday 2 April 2027

Saturday 3 April 2027

Tuesday 6 April 2027

Wednesday 14 April 2027

Thursday 15 April 2027

Tuesday 20 April 2027

Wednesday 21 April 2027

Friday 23 April 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

St George cries go, St Mark cries ho Lore and belief WiltshireAubrey noted a Wiltshire proverb pairing two April saints' days two days apart, St George's on the 23rd and St Mark's on the 25th.
Riding the George at Leicester No longer kept LeicestershireAt Leicester the riding of the George was one of the chief ceremonies of the town year.
Blue coats for St George No longer kept EnglandHone recorded that until the beginning of the nineteenth century people of fashion wore coats of blue cloth on St George's Day.
When the bull leads the herd Lore and belief EnglandHone quotes an old book on husbandry for signs of rain in cattle.
The swan against the wind Lore and belief SurreyA man living on the Thames at Kingston told Hone that when a swan flew any distance against the wind, however fine the weather looked, a wind of almost hurricane strength was certain within twenty-four hours, and usually within twelve.
The mail-coach procession No longer kept LondonKing George IV, born on 12 August, moved the keeping of his birthday to St George's Day, and on the king's birthday the London mail coaches went in yearly procession.
The St George’s Day bells at Chester No longer kept CheshireIn 1609 or 1610 the sheriff of Chester, Robert Amory, had three silver bells made to be run for by horses on the Roodee every St George's Day, the winner keeping the best bell for a year.

Saturday 24 April 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Riddling the ashes Lore and belief EnglandCottage families on St Mark's Eve sifted the ashes over the hearth-stone at night, hoping not to find in the morning the footprint of anyone who would die that year.
The dumb cake Lore and belief NorthamptonshireA correspondent near Peterborough told Hone that girls in his district still made the dumb cake on St Mark's Eve.
Joe Brown the church watcher Lore and belief YorkshireIn Yorkshire a watcher at the church door at midnight on St Mark's Eve, Old Style, was said to see the souls of all who would be buried there within the year go into the church in the order they would die, those to drown coming in splashing and struggling.
The church-porch watchers of Burton Lore and belief LincolnshireIn the north of England it was believed that anyone who watched in the church porch from eleven till one on St Mark's Eve would see the ghosts of all who would be buried there in the coming year.

Sunday 25 April 2027

Monday 26 April 2027

Friday 30 April 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Fetching the elm on May Eve in Cornwall No longer kept CornwallBorlase wrote that the Cornish people of the towns went out into the country on May Eve and cut down a tall elm, which they brought back with rejoicing.
Dun-pickles on the downs Lore and belief WiltshireIt was said in Wiltshire that the dun-pickles, or moor buzzards, came down in great numbers on the downs before rain.
The storm cock Lore and belief EnglandBefore a storm the mistle thrush was said to sing especially loud and to keep on singing until the rain began, and for this it was called the storm cock in some places.
The Swinton May-singers No longer kept LancashireIn 1861 a man at Swinton, near Eccles, was surprised one April evening by a party of singers on his lawn with a flute and a clarinet.

Saturday 1 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The milkmaids’ garland No longer kept LondonOn May Day the London milkmaids went round their customers' houses in their best clothes, dancing to a fiddle or pipe and tabor for the annual present.
The Hitchin Mayers No longer kept HertfordshireA letter from Hitchin in 1823 told Hone how, soon after three on May morning, townspeople and labourers paraded the streets singing the Mayers' Song and fixed large branches of may to the doors of nearly every respectable house.
The battle on Rochester bridge No longer kept KentIreland's Views of the Medway tells of a yearly May Day fight on Rochester bridge between the boys of Frindsbury and the boys of the neighbouring town of Strood.
May gads on Maypole Hill at Horncastle No longer kept LincolnshireStukeley recorded in 1724 that there was a Maypole Hill near Horncastle in Lincolnshire.
The Headington garlands No longer kept OxfordshireL.
Rise up, maidens No longer kept NorthumberlandBrand was more than once woken early on May morning in Newcastle by a woman singing in the streets with several garlands in her hands, which he believed she sold to anyone who would buy.
Whitethorn over the door against witches Lore and belief EnglandReginald Scot, in his Discovery of Witchcraft, recorded that people hung in their entries, among other things, hawthorn gathered on May Day to keep witches away.
A dish of cream for the hawthorn No longer kept SuffolkIn most Suffolk farmhouses it was an old custom that any servant who could bring in a branch of hawthorn in full blossom on the first of May earned a dish of cream for breakfast.
Sycamore boughs at the Cornish door No longer kept CornwallBorlase, the historian of Cornwall, wrote that the Cornish still decked their doors and porches on the first of May with green boughs of sycamore and hawthorn.
Fishing for the ring in the May syllabub No longer kept NorthumberlandHutchinson's History of Northumberland describes a syllabub made for the May feast from milk warm from the cow, sweet cakes and wine.
The poor May Lady at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireAt Cambridge on May Day children dressed up a doll in a grotesque fashion and called it the May Lady.
May branches at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireA manuscript account of Eton School in 1560 says that on the day of St Philip and St James, 1 May, the boys who wished might rise at four o'clock, if the weather was fair and the master allowed it, to gather May branches, provided they could do it without wetting their feet.
Cows’ horns on May night at Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireAubrey noted that the boys of Oxford blew cows' horns and hollow canes all through the night before May Day.
The Magdalen tower on May morning Still kept OxfordshireOn May Day the choristers of Magdalen College gathered at the top of the college tower to usher in the spring.
The Raine’s school bride No longer kept LondonA correspondent told Hone that every May Day a girl from Raine's charity school at St George in the East, near London, was chosen to be married.
The Maidens’ Portion at Sutton Coldfield No longer kept WarwickshireJohn Herman, the Sutton-born Bishop of Exeter under Henry VIII (better known as Bishop Vesey), did much for his native town, and left money whose interest was to be shared every year among four poor maidens of good character, born or long living in Sutton, who had married in the past year.
May goslings at Skipton No longer kept YorkshireAt Skipton in Craven the children kept May Day as a second April Fools' Day, making their companions May goslings, or geese.
Cheese rolling at Randwick Still kept GloucestershireC.
May Day at Lynn No longer kept NorfolkA correspondent told Hone that at Lynn the children raced to be first up on May morning, and those out early sometimes nailed up the doors of sleepy friends through the latch.
The printers’ May feast at Stationers’ Hall No longer kept LondonRandle Holme wrote in 1688 that the journeymen printers, with the letter founders and ink makers, held a general feast every year at Stationers' Hall on or about May Day, paid for by half a crown from each guest.
Dining with Duke Humphrey No longer kept LondonIn old St Paul's stood the tomb of Sir John Beauchamp, which the ignorant called the tomb of Humphrey, the good Duke of Gloucester, though he lay at St Albans.
The master sweeps’ May-day dinner No longer kept LondonOn 1 May 1826 the new United Society of Master Chimney Sweepers gave its apprentices a dinner at the Eyre Arms in St John's Wood instead of letting them go about the streets for money, and handbills warned householders not to give to the sweeps' May-day collections.
The Kingsthorpe garlands at Northampton No longer kept NorthamptonshireA Northampton correspondent told Hone in 1826 that on May morning girls from Kingsthorpe and the other villages round came into the town carrying May garlands from house to house, to show, as the townspeople said, what flowers were in season, and were given a trifle at each door.
The liars’ contest at Temple Sowerby No longer kept WestmorlandAt Temple Sowerby in Westmorland, time out of mind, people gathered on the green on May Day to hold a contest in the noble art of lying.
Birch for a sweetheart, alder for a scold No longer kept CheshireIn Cheshire young men used to put birch boughs over their sweethearts' doors on May Day, and marked the house of a scold with an alder bough.
The Paddington May-dance No longer kept London, MiddlesexHone remembered Jack-o'-the-Greens, figures dressed out in ribbons and flowers from the village May games, coming into the London suburbs to dance.
Dr Parr’s maypole at Hatton No longer kept WarwickshireSamuel Parr, the great Greek scholar and parson of Hatton near Warwick, was a keen patron of the May games.
The Debden May garland No longer kept EssexOn May morning little girls in the parish of Debden went from house to house with garlands of different sizes, the large ones with a doll dressed in white in the middle, singing a carol that began with rambling all the night.
The Queen of the May Still kept EnglandIn the old May games the fairest girl of the village was crowned Queen of the May.
The Strand maypole No longer kept LondonParliament ordered every maypole in England and Wales taken down in 1644.
The great shaft of Cornhill No longer kept LondonSt Andrew Undershaft takes its name from the great maypole that was set up every May morning in the street outside its south door, taller than the church steeple.
May Fair in Piccadilly No longer kept LondonThe fair that gave Mayfair its name was held near Piccadilly through the month of May.
May music at Penzance No longer kept CornwallA Penzance man told Hone that on May Eve young men and women sat up at a public house until midnight, then went round the town with fiddles and drums calling out the rest of their party.
Henry VIII goes a-Maying on Shooter’s Hill No longer kept Kent, LondonStow wrote that on May morning every Londoner who could walked out into the meadows and woods to enjoy the flowers and the birdsong.
Mrs Montagu’s dinner for the sweeps No longer kept LondonEvery May Day Elizabeth Montagu, the bluestocking hostess, gave a dinner for the chimney sweeps of London at her house in Portman Square.
The sweeps’ garland and Jack-in-the-green Still kept LondonMay Day was the great festival of London's chimney sweeps.

Sunday 2 May 2027

Thursday 6 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.

Saturday 8 May 2027

Tuesday 11 May 2027

Wednesday 12 May 2027

Sunday 16 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Whitsun ale No longer kept EnglandEvery Whitsuntide the churchwardens held a parish feast, usually in a barn near the church, where all agreed to be friends for once in the year.
The Burford Whitsun deer hunt No longer kept OxfordshireThe people of Burford once claimed the right to hunt deer in Wychwood Forest on Whit Sunday.
Wishing at sunrise on Whit Sunday Lore and belief EnglandAn old belief held that whatever a person asked of God on Whit Sunday morning, at the moment the sun rose and played, would be granted.
Strewing Yatton church with grass No longer kept SomersetHone quoted Collinson's History of Somerset that John Lane, a gentleman of Yatton, left half an acre of ground called the Groves to the poor for ever.
The Whitsun morris Still kept EnglandWhitsuntide was the great season for morris dancers.

Monday 17 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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 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.
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.
The Boy’s Bailiff at Wenlock No longer kept ShropshireIn Whitsun week Much Wenlock kept a custom called the Boy's Bailiff.
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.
Peppard Revel No longer kept OxfordshireThe Reading Mercury of 24 May 1819 advertised Peppard Revel for Whit Monday.
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.
The Whitsuntide hirings in Cumberland No longer kept CumberlandFarm servants in Cumberland were hired by the half year at Whitsuntide and Martinmas.
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.
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.

Tuesday 18 May 2027

Wednesday 19 May 2027

Thursday 20 May 2027

Sunday 23 May 2027

Thursday 27 May 2027

Saturday 29 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Oak Apple Day Still kept EnglandThe anniversary of Charles II's return in 1660 was kept by wearing oak leaves in the hat and on horses' heads, for the oak at Boscobel that hid him after Worcester.
Oak boughs for Penderell and King Charles No longer kept LondonRichard Penderell, one of the brothers who hid Charles II after the battle of Worcester, was buried in the churchyard of St Giles in the Fields, and it was once the custom to dress his monument with oak branches every 29 May.
Royal Oak, the Whigs to provoke No longer kept NorthumberlandBrand remembered that the boys of Newcastle had a taunting rhyme for Royal Oak Day, which they shouted at anyone they met on 29 May without oak leaves in his hat.
Lawless Day at Exeter No longer kept DevonMany people in Exeter believed that on 29 May the law took no notice of any breach of the peace short of downright riot, so the day was called Lawless Day.
Oliver at Tiverton No longer kept DevonA correspondent told Hone that at Tiverton on 29 May young men dressed in the style of the seventeenth century and armed with swords paraded the streets collecting money.

Sunday 30 May 2027

Monday 31 May 2027

Tuesday 1 June 2027

Wednesday 9 June 2027

Friday 11 June 2027

Saturday 12 June 2027

Tuesday 15 June 2027

Wednesday 23 June 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Marching Watch No longer kept LondonIn medieval London a watch of at least two thousand men paraded the city on Midsummer Eve and again on the eves of St Peter and St Paul.
The Midsummer watch at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireUntil the reign of Charles I every householder of means in Nottingham sent a man, armed with pike, musket or halberd, to keep a general watch on Midsummer Eve.
Catching fern seed Lore and belief EnglandBecause the seed of the fern is too small to see, people reasoned that whoever held it would become invisible.
Midsummer men Lore and belief EnglandOn Midsummer Eve girls set sprigs of orpine in clay on a slate or potsherd and called them Midsummer men.
Watching in the church porch Lore and belief EnglandIn England it was believed that anyone who sat up fasting all night in the church porch on St John's Eve would see the spirits of those who were to die in the parish in the coming year.
The Ripon welcome table No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on Midsummer Eve, every householder who had moved into a new neighbourhood during the year set a table in the street before his door with bread, cheese and ale for anyone who cared to come.
Bede’s Well on Midsummer Eve No longer kept County DurhamAbout a mile west of Jarrow stood Bede's Well, where until about 1740 sick children were brought to be dipped; a crooked pin was dropped in and the well was laved dry between each dipping.
Three nails for the falling sickness Lore and belief EnglandLupton's Book of Notable Things gives a cure for epilepsy tied to Midsummer Eve.
Snake stones at Midsummer Lore and belief Cornwall, Scotland, WalesBorlase found it a common belief in most of Wales, throughout Scotland and in Cornwall that about Midsummer Eve snakes met together in companies.
The Burford dragon and giant No longer kept OxfordshirePlot's History of Oxfordshire records that the people of Burford, within living memory in 1677, made a dragon every year and carried it up and down the town with great jollity on Midsummer Eve, adding a giant as well for no reason anyone knew.
The Cumwhitton wake on St John’s Eve No longer kept CumberlandHutchinson's History of Cumberland says that the parish of Cumwhitton held its wake on the eve of St John, with the lighting of fires and dancing.
The Cooks’ bonfires on the Sandhill No longer kept NorthumberlandThe ordinary of the Company of Cooks at Newcastle, drawn up in 1575, bound the fellowship to keep up at its own cost the town's two bonfires on the Sandhill, as the ancient custom was.
Green birch on the sign-posts at Little Brickhill No longer kept Buckinghamshire, LondonThe herbalist William Coles remembered riding through Little Brickhill, a town on the London road between Dunstable and Stony Stratford, and finding nearly every sign-post decked with green birch.
Bonfires of amity in London No longer kept LondonStow, quoted by Hone, described how in June and July, on the eves of feast days, bonfires were made in the London streets with every man giving wood or labour.
Farthing Loaf Day No longer kept WorcestershireBy an old bequest of a local spinster, a farthing loaf was given on Midsummer Eve to everyone born in Church Street, Kidderminster, rich or poor, who cared to claim it, and the day was known as Farthing Loaf Day.
Shoes in the form of a T Lore and belief DorsetA Dorset man writing for the Year Book said Midsummer Eve was the great night for girls to find out whom they would marry.
The Midsummer rose Lore and belief EnglandAmong the Midsummer Eve charms that a girl in the Connoisseur owned to trying was the rose.
The black dog at Whiteborough No longer kept CornwallBrand recorded that a Midsummer bonfire was once made on Whiteborough, a burial mound on St Stephen's Down near Launceston.
Midsummer torches in Cornwall No longer kept CornwallBorlase, quoted by Hone, wrote that on Midsummer Eve the Cornish people lit bonfires and walked round them with torches tarred and pitched at the end.
The Chester Midsummer show Still kept CheshireChester set its watch on St John's Eve with a great pageant.

Thursday 24 June 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Well-flowering at Buxton Still kept DerbyshireFollowing Tissington's example, several Derbyshire towns took up dressing their wells.
Sir Thomas Parkyns’s wrestling No longer kept NottinghamshireSir Thomas Parkyns, a Nottinghamshire squire, was a keen wrestler who trained his servants and neighbours, showed them off in public and wrote a book called The Cornish Hug Wrestler.
Thomas Oken’s bonfires No longer kept WarwickshireThomas Oken of Warwick, in a deed of 1571, charged his feoffees to pay a few shillings every year to the neighbours of his bonfire and of three other bonfires in the High Pavement ward.
The sermon in green boughs Still kept OxfordshireOn St John the Baptist's Day a sermon was preached at Magdalen College from a stone pulpit in the corner of the first court, and the court was hung with green boughs so that the preaching would look like the Baptist's in the wilderness.
Pouring lead for a husband’s trade Lore and belief EnglandA chapbook owned by Brand's editor gave a way for a girl to learn what trade her future husband would follow.
Midsummer boughs at the stall door Lore and belief EnglandReginald Scot, listing the charms people used against witches, wrote that they hung boughs hallowed on Midsummer Day at the door of the stall where the cattle stood.
St John’s verses and bonfire at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireThe account of Eton School written in 1560 describes how, for as long as the custom lasted, the boys on St John the Baptist's Eve decorated their beds with pictures and wrote verses on the life and deeds of the saint, fair copies of which were pinned to the bed-posts for the learned to read.
Crowning the tin-mine poles No longer kept CornwallIn Cornwall the boundary of each tin mine was marked by a long pole with a bush at the top.
Midsummer cushions No longer kept NorthumberlandIn Northumberland on Midsummer Day stools were dressed with a cushion of flowers.

Sunday 27 June 2027

Monday 28 June 2027

Tuesday 29 June 2027

Friday 2 July 2027

Saturday 3 July 2027

Sunday 4 July 2027

Tuesday 6 July 2027

Wednesday 7 July 2027

Friday 9 July 2027

Monday 12 July 2027

Thursday 15 July 2027

Saturday 17 July 2027

Sunday 18 July 2027

Wednesday 21 July 2027

Sunday 25 July 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Garlands on the Graves on St James’s Day No longer kept LondonThe Argus newspaper of August 1790 reported that on St James's Day, which had fallen on a Sunday, crowds went to St James's churchyard to honour the graves of their friends.
Hops before St James’s Day Lore and belief HerefordshireAmong the folk lore of St James's Day Chambers gives a Herefordshire saying about the county's hop crop.
Knill’s Games at St Ives Still kept CornwallJohn Knill of St Ives left the income of an estate to trustees to pay for prizes in racing, rowing and wrestling, to be held every fifth year for ever round the mausoleum he built in 1782 on a high rock near the town.
The Mutton Pie at Cliffe No longer kept KentSt James's Day was reckoned the day oysters came in, and Hone records the vulgar belief that whoever ate oysters on it would never want money.

Monday 26 July 2027

Saturday 31 July 2027

Sunday 1 August 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

At Latter Lammas Lore and belief EnglandAn old proverb put off anything that would never happen until latter Lammas, a second Lammas that never comes.
Burning Fern for Rain Lore and belief Scotland, StaffordshireA letter of 1 August 1636 from the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery to the high sheriff of Staffordshire said that the king was about to pass through the county.
Glove Silver No longer kept England, SuffolkIt was once the custom in England to give servants money on Lammas Day to buy gloves, which was called glove silver, in the teeth of the proverb that a cat in mittens catches no mice.
Lammas, the Loaf-Mass No longer kept England, YorkshireThe first of August stands in the old almanacs as Lammas Day, and was also called the Gule of August.
St Wilfrid’s Feast at Ripon Still kept YorkshireRipon honoured its patron St Wilfrid with an annual feast.
The Exeter Lammas Glove Still kept DevonExeter's Lammas Fair was opened with a glove of immense size, stuffed and carried through the city on a very long pole dressed with ribbons and flowers, followed by music, the parish beadles and a crowd.
Doggett’s Coat and Badge Still kept LondonThomas Dogget, a Dublin-born comic actor and a keen supporter of the Hanoverian succession, gave a waterman's coat and silver badge to be rowed for on 1 August 1715, the first anniversary of George I's accession, and at his death left money to keep the prize going for ever.

Wednesday 4 August 2027

Thursday 5 August 2027

Friday 6 August 2027

Monday 9 August 2027

Tuesday 10 August 2027

Sunday 15 August 2027

Monday 16 August 2027

Tuesday 17 August 2027

Wednesday 18 August 2027

Tuesday 24 August 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Shooting at the Standard in Finsbury Fields No longer kept LondonStow wrote that before his time the lord mayor, sheriffs and aldermen of London used to go out at Bartholomew-tide into the fields at Finsbury, where the citizens had gathered, and shoot at the standard with broad and flight arrows for games.
St Bartholomew’s Dusty Mantle Lore and belief EnglandSt Bartholomew's Day falls forty days after St Swithin's, when the forty days of rain promised by a wet St Swithin's Day should be over.
Bartholomew Pig and Fairings No longer kept LondonBy the time of Ben Jonson's comedy of 1614 Bartholomew Fair had lost nearly all its trading character and was given over to eating, drinking and amusement, and it had become an established custom to eat roast pig there.
Rabbits for the Boys at Bartholomew-tide No longer kept LondonThe German traveller Hentzner, in England in 1598, wrote that every year on St Bartholomew's Day, when the fair was held, the mayor with the twelve principal aldermen walked in a neighbouring field, in his scarlet gown with a gold chain about his neck.
The Scholars’ Disputation on Bartholomew Eve No longer kept London, YorkshireA correspondent from Morley, near Leeds, reminded Hone of a custom little noticed by antiquaries: on the eve of St Bartholomew scholars from different schools met for disputation, to try their proficiency in learning, as Stow and the astrologer Lilly both mention.
Strewing Rushes at Dorrington No longer kept LincolnshireOn St Bartholomew's Day at Dorrington, near Sleaford, maidens in their best clothes used to walk in procession to a small chapel in the parish and strew its floor with rushes.
The Croyland Knives No longer kept LincolnshireBecause St Bartholomew was flayed alive, a knife became his emblem.

Wednesday 25 August 2027

Tuesday 31 August 2027

Wednesday 1 September 2027

Thursday 2 September 2027

Friday 3 September 2027

Saturday 4 September 2027

Friday 10 September 2027

Tuesday 14 September 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Fools Fair at Lincoln No longer kept LincolnshireA cattle fair held in the Broad Gate at Lincoln on 14 September was known as Fools Fair.
The Holy Rood Buck in Richmond Park No longer kept SurreyOn Holy Rood Day the king's huntsmen hunted their free buck in Richmond New Park with bloodhounds.
The Rood of Grace No longer kept KentThe crucifix at Boxley Abbey, the Rood of Grace, drew pilgrims because its figure of Christ moved its eyes, lips and head.
The Eton Nutting Holiday No longer kept BuckinghamshireAn old manuscript about Eton recorded that on a certain day in September, most likely Holy Rood Day, the scholars had a holiday to go out and gather nuts.
Nutting on Holy Rood Day No longer kept EnglandHoly Rood Day, the feast of the Holy Cross, was the day for going out to gather nuts in the hazel woods.

Saturday 18 September 2027

Sunday 19 September 2027

Tuesday 21 September 2027

Thursday 23 September 2027

Friday 24 September 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Harvest Goose No longer kept EnglandTusser advised the farmer that when harvest was in he should give his ploughman a harvest home goose.
The Norfolk Horkey No longer kept NorfolkIn Norfolk the harvest home was the horkey.
Burning the Witch No longer kept YorkshireIn the East Riding, on the evening the last of a farmer's corn was cut, the reapers heaped eight or ten small piles of dried peas together in the field and set them alight.
The Harvest Catch in Norfolk No longer kept Essex, NorfolkThe last thing before parting at a Norfolk harvest supper was a health-drinking catch sung first to the mistress and then to the master.
Crying Largess No longer kept East Anglia, Essex, HertfordshireIn Suffolk the harvest lord would leave the field to ask any passer-by for a largess, then stand his reapers in a ring and call from a gate post while they answered with a groan and then three great shouts.
Crying the Neck Still kept Devon, West CountryIn Devon the last handful of standing corn was called the nack or neck.
Crying the Mare No longer kept Hertfordshire, ShropshireIn Hertfordshire and Shropshire the reapers left the last few stalks standing and tied them up as the mare, then threw their sickles at it until one cut it down.
The Corn Baby and the Mell Supper No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England the harvest feast was the mell supper.
Harvest Home and the Hock Cart No longer kept EnglandIn the southern counties the reapers chose a lord of the harvest to bargain with the farmer and lead the work, and in Buckinghamshire a lady as well, with fines for anyone who got the order of drinking wrong.

Not tied to a day

Told of England, but not tied to a day of the year.

Folklore from the old calendars

A Cumberland bidding wedding No longer kept CumberlandBell's Weekly Messenger of 28 May 1797 reprinted from the Cumberland Packet a bridegroom's advertisement for his own wedding.
A Horseshoe on the Threshold Lore and belief England, LondonAubrey said it was very common to nail horseshoes on thresholds to keep out the power of witches, that most houses at the west end of London had one, and that it should be a horseshoe one had found.
A Kiss at Every Meeting No longer kept EnglandUnder the Tudors it was the English custom to greet with a kiss, and women took offence if they were not saluted so.
A pair of gloves for the new moon Lore and belief NorthumberlandA Newcastle reader told Hone of a custom he called very common and very pleasant.
A pie sat on a pear tree No longer kept NorfolkA correspondent wrote to Hone on 3 May 1826 about a drinking game at Yarmouth dinners once the cloth was drawn and the ladies had gone.
A Piece of Coffin for the Cramp Lore and belief EnglandAmong the country cures of 1831 were several charms.
An hour-glass in the coffin No longer kept LondonA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1746 recalled stopping in Clerkenwell churchyard in June 1718 to watch a gravedigger who had come upon a long-rotted coffin.
An Open Grave on Sunday Lore and belief EnglandChambers printed a correspondent's collection of sayings about death.
Anne Jefferies and the fairies Lore and belief CornwallMoses Pitt wrote an account of his family's former servant Anne Jefferies, born at St Teath in Cornwall in 1626.
Arthur o’ Bower Lore and belief EnglandAmong the nursery songs of a collection published in 1825, which the Year Book praised, is one headed to be sung on a high wind.
Arthur’s Round Table Lore and belief HampshireThe great round table hanging at the east end of the old chapel of Winchester Castle, by then the county hall, was long believed to be King Arthur's own, and legend said Arthur had built the castle in 523.
Barton Mere and the Price of Corn Lore and belief SuffolkBarton Mere, about four miles from Bury St Edmunds, swells to twelve or fourteen acres in some years and shrinks to a pond or dries out in others.
Bearing the Bell No longer kept EnglandHone noted that horse racing, with its rules for training, weights and prizes, was already settled in the reign of James I.
Bells Against Storms and Spirits Lore and belief EnglandChurch bells were blessed and dedicated to a saint before they were hung, and their ringing was believed to scatter storms and drive away evil spirits, which could not bear the sound.
Bells for Benighted Travellers No longer kept Berkshire, Lincolnshire, London, OxfordshireChambers gathers old bequests made for travellers lost at night.
Black Shuck Lore and belief Cambridgeshire, NorfolkChambers found a belief in a spectral black dog in almost every county: large, shaggy, with fiery eyes, haunting places where evil had been done.
Black’s the White of My Eye Lore and belief England, StirlingshireQuarrelling women would cry that nobody could say black's the white of their eye, meaning no one could justly speak ill of them, and Brand believed the saying came from the old fear of the evil eye.
Bleeding at the Fall No longer kept EnglandOur ancestors, the Year Book says, made a habit of being bled every spring and autumn.
Bone Skates in Moorfields No longer kept LondonFitzStephen's description of London in the twelfth century tells how, when the marshes of Moorfields froze, the young men tied the leg-bones of animals under their feet with thongs and slid over the ice, pushing themselves along with iron-shod poles.
Breaking a Piece of Money No longer kept EnglandA couple promising to marry would break a piece of gold or silver between them, the woman keeping one half and the man the other.
Buttercups and yellow butter Lore and belief EnglandIt was widely believed that the buttercups covering the meadows in May gave the butter its rich yellow colour at that season.
Canterbury pilgrim signs No longer kept KentPilgrims returning from the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury wore small leaden signs in their hats or as brooches, and many were later found in the mud of the Thames.
Card-cutting Lore and belief EnglandChambers printed what his contributor believed was the first account in English of the popular art of telling fortunes with ordinary playing cards.
Chairing the lord at Easthampstead No longer kept BerkshireAt Easthampstead, near Bagshot Heath, there was once a custom when a new lord of the manor came in.
Charms against Witches at Bridlington Lore and belief YorkshireA Bridlington correspondent of the Table Book, writing on 30 July 1827, recalled the ways people in that part of Yorkshire kept witches off.
Clubs Trump at Basing House No longer kept HampshireBasing House, the Marquis of Winchester's great fortified mansion, held out for the king through a long siege until it was stormed on 14 October 1645.
Coffins from the Fire Lore and belief SuffolkChambers's Suffolk correspondent listed the household omens of death.
Come, butter, come Lore and belief EssexAdy, in his Candle in the Dark of 1655, told of an old Essex woman who came into a house where the maid had churned a long time and could not make the butter come.
Cornish Hurling Still kept CornwallHone describes hurling as peculiar to Cornwall: a contest between two sides of forty to sixty men, often two parishes, for a wooden ball about three inches across, covered with silver, sometimes gilt, and often bearing the motto Fair play is good play.
Cornish Wrestling and the Hug Still kept CornwallHone set Cornish wrestling beside hurling as a sport the Cornish delighted in, and explained that it differed from the Devon style: Cornwall was famous for the hug, Devon for kicking shins, and kicks were not allowed in Cornwall unless both men agreed.
Crackling leaves and love powders Lore and belief EnglandDr Ferrand, in his Love Melancholy of 1640, complained that silly girls still tried feats they had learned from their mothers or nurses to learn about their loves.
Creeping through the holed stone Lore and belief CornwallBorlase recorded a holed stone in a Cornish parish through which people crept to cure pains in the back and limbs, and through which children were drawn to cure rickets.
Cromwell’s Fortunate Day Lore and belief EnglandPeople once believed that each person had days specially bound up with their destiny, and 3 September seemed Oliver Cromwell's lucky day, since he won at Dunbar on 3 September 1650 and at Worcester on the same day in 1651.
Crowning St Crispin at Newcastle No longer kept County Durham, NorthumberlandOn 29 July 1822 the cordwainers, or shoemakers, of Newcastle kept the feast of their patron St Crispin by crowning him.
Cunning men of Sussex No longer kept SussexChambers wrote that a hundred years before, the trade of conjurer or cunning man was common and not thought disgraceful.
Curling and the Bonspiel Still kept Northumberland, ScotlandHone describes curling as a parish game of Scotland, played in winter when the waters would bear, and also known in Northumberland and other northern parts of England.
Cutting the Nails Lore and belief East AngliaAn East Anglian rhyme gave a meaning to cutting your nails on each day of the week: health on Monday, wealth on Tuesday, news on Wednesday and a new pair of shoes on Thursday.
Dancing in the hog’s trough No longer kept East Anglia, West CountryA clergyman writing to Chambers about marriage customs among East Anglian labourers said that when a younger sister married before the elder, the elder had to dance in the hog's trough.
Darrell’s Stile Lore and belief WiltshireAubrey first put about the dark story of Littlecote: a midwife brought blindfold to a great house one night delivered a child, which the master at once thrust into the fire.
Demands joyous No longer kept EnglandChambers thought our ancestors, with few books and no newspapers, passed long winter evenings telling old stories and putting riddles to each other.
Drawing blood from a witch Lore and belief Devon, SomersetA woman of Wiveliscombe believed her daughter had been bewitched for a year by an old neighbour, Mrs Burges, and consulted old Baker, the Devonshire wizard, who gave her a charm and a medicine.
Dressing the chimney for summer No longer kept EnglandA correspondent signing C.
Edward Rose’s Roses Still kept SurreyEdward Rose, a citizen of London who died in the seventeenth century, left the parish of Barnes twenty pounds a year for ever on two conditions: that the railing round his grave be kept up, and that rose trees be planted there and kept flourishing.
Egyptian Days Lore and belief EnglandChambers sets out under 2 January the old belief in unlucky or Egyptian days, on which it was dangerous to begin any work, journey or enterprise.
Fairy rings Lore and belief EnglandThe rings of taller, darker grass found in meadows were said to be the traces of fairies dancing hand in hand by moonlight, and were called fairy rings.
Fasting spittle and a cat’s tail Lore and belief EnglandA mock prescription in the Yea and Nay Almanack of 1678, which Hone reprinted, takes for granted two familiar cures for sore eyes: rubbing them first thing in the morning with fasting spittle, that is spittle before eating, or with a cat's tail.
Friday, the Unlucky Day Lore and belief EnglandA correspondent who collected the superstitions still current in 1831 found respectable tradesmen and merchants who would not do business, be bled or take physic on a Friday, because it was an unlucky day.
Frost Fair on the Thames No longer kept LondonWhen the Thames froze hard at London, a fair grew up on the ice with booths, skittles, swings, dancing and gaming tables.
Frozen-out Gardeners No longer kept LondonIn a hard frost, when no work could be done on the land, bands of men went through London and the market towns as frozen-out gardeners.
Gabriel’s Hounds Lore and belief Northern England, YorkshirePacks of phantom hounds were believed to pass overhead on dark, cloudy nights, heard yelping but seldom seen.
Gerard the Giant’s staff No longer kept LondonIn the high hall of an old inn in Basing Lane, called Gerard's Hall, stood a great fir pole reaching to the roof, with a ladder of the same length beside it.
Giving Away the Cradle Lore and belief SuffolkA mother who gave away all her baby's clothes, or the cradle, was sure to have another baby.
Giving the Fico No longer kept EnglandIn old England the deepest sign of contempt was to bite your thumb at someone, setting the nail against the teeth and then flinging the hand towards him.
Goats and the Devil’s Comb Lore and belief England, ScotlandPeople in both England and Scotland held that a goat is never seen for a whole twenty-four hours together.
God Almighty’s birds Lore and belief Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, OxfordshireIn most parts of the country martins and swallows were held to be sacred birds, and killing one was thought a greater sin than killing any other harmless bird.
God bless the cattle Lore and belief EnglandA writer on the oddities of the law found in Rolle's Abridgment a note that in the country, when people passed cattle, they said 'God bless them'.
Greeting the New Moon Lore and belief HerefordshireIn notes made about 1678 and printed by Chambers, John Aubrey recorded that Highland women curtsied to the new moon.
Grinning through a Horse-collar No longer kept DorsetWhen his Dorset village celebrated the peace in August 1814, W.
Halifax gibbet law No longer kept YorkshireUnder the old custom of the liberty of Halifax, a thief taken with stolen goods was tried before the accuser and local representatives, with no oaths sworn, and if found guilty was beheaded on the Halifax gibbet on the next market day.
Hertfordshire morris men in Clerkenwell No longer kept Hertfordshire, LondonIn June 1826 a correspondent watched a company of morris dancers from a Hertfordshire village in Rosoman Street, Clerkenwell.
Hobson’s Choice Still kept CambridgeshireThomas Hobson, the Cambridge carrier who died on 1 January 1631, kept a large stable of horses to hire out to the university men, but would never let a horse go out of its proper turn.
Houseleek against lightning Lore and belief EnglandOld writers held that the bay tree was never struck by lightning, and that whoever wore a bay leaf was safe from thunder.
In a merry pin No longer kept SomersetA carved oak peg tankard said to have come from Glastonbury Abbey held two quarts and was once fitted inside with eight pegs, marking off half a pint each.
Irish football at Copenhagen House No longer kept LondonA correspondent told Hone in 1826 that in fine weather Irishmen played football every Sunday afternoon in the fields between Oldfield's dairy and Copenhagen House near Islington, from three o'clock until dusk.
John Barleycorn Still kept England, ScotlandFor 21 October, after a harvest with a good barley crop, Hone printed Burns's version of the old ballad of John Barleycorn.
John Gladman’s Riding No longer kept NorfolkHone found in the Norwich records how in 1440 John Gladman made a public disport with his neighbours at Shrovetide.
Killing the Pig by the Moon Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk correspondent told Chambers it was thought unlucky there to kill a pig in the wane of the moon, for the pork would then waste in the boiling.
King Richard’s Well Lore and belief LeicestershireOn the field of Bosworth, fought on 22 August 1485, is a spring from which tradition says Richard III drank during the heat of the battle.
Knives cut love Lore and belief EnglandGiving a knife, scissors, a razor or anything sharp to a sweetheart or friend was thought unlucky, because it would cut love and friendship.
Lady Howard’s Hound Lore and belief DevonLady Howard of Fitzford, a beautiful and wealthy Devon woman of the time of James I, was said to have been cruel to her only daughter and to have married four times.
Leaping the ditch at Preston No longer kept LancashireA Preston correspondent told Hone that every newly elected burgess of the town had to leap over, or more often into, a wide ditch on Preston Marsh by the Ribble.
Lifting the shepherd’s bride No longer kept SussexIn a set of notes printed under 19 November, a correspondent signing himself Jehoiada recorded a wedding custom of the South Downs shepherds called lifting.
Lord Craven’s horse could smell a fire Lore and belief LondonWilliam, Earl of Craven, soldier and devoted servant of the Queen of Bohemia, stayed in London through the great plague of 1665 to help the sick and keep order.
Lord Lyttelton’s warning Lore and belief SurreyThomas, second Lord Lyttelton, a notorious rake, told friends that a bird had fluttered at his window and a woman in white had warned him he would die at midnight on the third day.
Love Tokens No longer kept EnglandA correspondent told Hone that in olden times enamoured maids and gentlewomen gave their chosen swains little handkerchiefs as love tokens, about three or four inches square, embroidered round, with a button or tassel at each corner and a small one in the middle.
Lucky and unlucky finds Lore and belief EnglandMelton's Astrologaster recorded the belief that anyone who found a four-leaved grass in the fields would soon after find some good thing, and that it was bad for a man or woman to lose a hose garter.
Lydford Law No longer kept DevonAn old English proverb ran that at Lydford they hanged and drew a man first and heard his case afterwards.
Maiden’s Garlands Still kept Derbyshire, HampshireWhen a young unmarried woman died, a garland was carried before her coffin to the grave and then hung up in the church in her memory.
Marrowbones and cleavers No longer kept LondonAmong the London poor it was an old institution for butchers' men to serenade a wedding with marrowbones and cleavers, as Hogarth showed in his picture of the Industrious Apprentice's marriage.
Marry in Lent Lore and belief East AngliaThe same East Anglian correspondent gave Chambers two sayings about choosing when and whom to wed.
Marrying in a Smock Lore and belief Cumberland, EnglandIt was once a common belief that a man who married a woman wearing nothing but her shift would not be answerable for any debts she brought with her.
Mary Dore, the witch of Beaulieu Lore and belief HampshireWarner's Topographical Remarks on south west Hampshire, of 1793, told of Mary Dore, the parish witch of Beaulieu, who had died about fifty years before.
Master John Shorne and the devil in the boot No longer kept BuckinghamshireJohn Shorne, rector of North Marston, whose will is dated 8 May 1308, was honoured as a saint without ever being made one.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Lore and belief EssexThomas Ady, writing in 1655, knew an old Essex woman who had lived in Queen Mary's time and learned many popish charms then.
Money in your pocket for the cuckoo Lore and belief EnglandAmong country people in some parts of the kingdom it was thought very unlucky to have no money in your pocket when you heard the cuckoo for the first time in the season.
Money Spinners Lore and belief EnglandTo make sure of always having money in your pocket, the 1831 list advised putting in it the small spiders called money spinners, or keeping in your purse a bent coin or one with a hole in it.
Mr Fox Still kept EnglandHalliwell believed Benedick's line in Much Ado about Nothing, it is not so, nor 'twas not so, but indeed God forbid it should be so, came from a nursery story Shakespeare had heard as a child, and Chambers retells it.
Mushrooms Once Seen Lore and belief SuffolkIt was said in Suffolk that mushrooms will not grow any more once they have been seen.
Never Count the Catch Lore and belief West CountryIn the west of England it was believed that if you counted the fish you had caught, you would catch no more.
Ninepenny Marl Still kept WiltshireA correspondent told Hone in July 1826 of an ancient game played by the shepherds of Salisbury Plain and the village people round about, called Ninepenny Marl, which he had never seen described in print.
Old Penglaze and the tinker’s shop No longer kept CornwallA correspondent sent Hone two indoor games of the Cornish country people, which Davies Gilbert had listed with the carols as dying out, though the writer said the carol parties still went from house to house in the western parishes.
Omens of mischance Lore and belief EnglandBourne wrote that omens were in everyone's mouth though only country people heeded them, and that they directed many actions of life.
Paschal wax for the cattle Lore and belief EnglandHone reprinted from Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft a charm to keep cattle from being bewitched.
Penny garden lotteries at Brough No longer kept WestmorlandA correspondent from Brough in Westmorland told Hone that about this time of year, when gardens lie dormant, penny lotteries were often held in the north of England, and a whole garden might be won for a penny.
Peter Priestley’s hiss Lore and belief YorkshireAbout 1790 Peter Priestley was clerk, sexton and gravestone cutter at Wakefield parish church, a man not given to superstitious fears.
Piers Shonkes in the wall Lore and belief HertfordshireIn the north wall of the nave at Brent Pelham is a tomb said to be that of Piers Shonkes, lord of a manor in the parish.
Pond mermaids and horsehair eels Lore and belief SuffolkThe Suffolk clergyman who sent Chambers the local beliefs about animals also reported that horsehairs put into a spring would turn into eels, and one labourer swore he had proved it.
Purkiss the Charcoal-burner Lore and belief HampshireWilliam Rufus was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest on 2 August 1100.
Queen Mary’s Escape from Sawston Lore and belief CambridgeshireIn 1553 Sir John Huddleston sheltered the Princess Mary at Sawston Hall and helped her escape to Framlingham, and a mob loyal to Lady Jane Grey plundered his house.
Rich Man, Poor Man Lore and belief DorsetThe Dorset writer W.
Richard Plantagenet of Eastwell Lore and belief KentThe parish register of Eastwell records the burial of Richard Plantagenet on 22 December 1550, and the Earls of Winchilsea kept a tradition about him.
Ring in the Mire Lore and belief DevonOn the edge of Honiton parish is a dirty little spot called Ring in the Mire, where Honiton, Farway, Sidbury and Gittisham meet.
Robins, martins and magpies Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk clergyman sent Chambers the local beliefs about animals.
Rocking the Empty Cradle Lore and belief EnglandA contributor to Chambers gathered nursery beliefs met with at first hand.
Rose-a-ruby Lore and belief EnglandThe red pheasant's eye of the late summer cornfields was still called rose-a-ruby by country maidens in Chambers's day.
Rosemary for remembrance No longer kept StaffordshireA correspondent from the Staffordshire Moorlands wrote to Hone that flowers and herbs were given meanings that went with the sound of their names, rosemary standing for remembrance and rejoicing, gillyflowers for gentleness and marigolds for mirth and marriage.
Rosemary for Weddings and Funerals No longer kept EnglandRosemary served at both ends of life.
Rough Music No longer kept EnglandWhen villagers learned that a man beat his wife, or that a husband or wife was unfaithful, they gathered outside the house at night with cows' horns, frying pans, kettles, pot lids and pails and made as much noise as they could, jeering and calling out the offence.
Rue and Wormwood against the Plague Lore and belief LondonOn 29 July 1760 a rumour ran round London, nobody could later say how, that the plague had broken out in St Thomas's Hospital.
Selling a wife at Carlisle Lore and belief CumberlandMany people in England believed a man could end his marriage by selling his wife at public auction.
Showers of Blood Lore and belief England, ScotlandOn 25 August 1826 Hone found fresh scarlet spots like blood on a letter lying by his open window, and took them for a specimen of the showers of blood that terrified people in the dark ages.
Sidney’s Oak at Penshurst No longer kept KentAn oak was said to have been planted at Penshurst on the day Sir Philip Sidney was born, and it grew to more than twenty feet round before it was felled, by mistake it was said.
Sitting cross-legged Lore and belief EnglandSir Thomas Browne noted that sitting cross-legged, or with the fingers locked together, was thought unlucky, and friends would warn you off it.
Six Poor Travellers at Rochester No longer kept KentRichard Watts, recorder of Rochester, left his house, Satis House, by his will of 22 August 1579 to be sold to keep up almshouses in the High Street.
Skyreburn Warning Lore and belief Kirkcudbrightshire, YorkshireA Scarborough warning, meaning no warning at all, was an old English saying, and writers explained it by a rough way with thieves at Scarborough or by Thomas Stafford's surprise of Scarborough Castle in 1557.
Sleeping on Bones Lore and belief SuffolkThe Suffolk correspondent who sent Chambers his list of nursery beliefs added two more.
Slunk calves and moonwort Lore and belief Devon, SuffolkGrose recorded the belief, commonly acted on in Suffolk, that a slunk or stillborn calf buried in a highway used by cattle would stop cows casting their calves.
Sops and Ale No longer kept SussexAt Eastbourne the senior bachelor was elected steward of Sops and Ale and kept a set of wooden bowls, trenchers, knives and cups for it.
Spitting on the handsel Lore and belief EnglandA Liverpool correspondent told Hone in 1831 that nailing up horseshoes to keep out witches was the same in every county he had known.
Spur money No longer kept Herefordshire, London, NorthamptonshireAnyone who walked into a cathedral choir wearing spurs could be made to pay a small fine, called spur money, to the choristers.
St Chad’s dust at Lichfield No longer kept StaffordshireSt Chad's bones were moved to Lichfield about the year 700, and his shrine drew so many pilgrims that the village grew into a city.
St Chad’s Well at Battle Bridge No longer kept LondonAt the bottom of Gray's Inn Lane, near Battle Bridge, was a spring named after St Chad whose water was drunk as a purge, and crowds of the bilious once came to take it.
St Cuthbert and the queen Lore and belief County DurhamSt Cuthbert was believed to be unable to bear the company of women.
St Dunstan and the devil’s nose Lore and belief SomersetDunstan, later Archbishop of Canterbury, lived as a young monk at Glastonbury in a tiny cell where he worked as a smith and goldsmith.
St Keyne’s Well Lore and belief CornwallSt Keyne's Well in Cornwall was roofed by the roots of four trees of different kinds, withy, oak, elm and ash.
St Madern’s Well Lore and belief CornwallSt Madern's Well in Cornwall was a popular resort for people seeking relief from aches and pains, and Bishop Hall wrote that he had strictly examined a cure of a cripple there and found neither art nor collusion in it.
St Sepulchre’s bell for the condemned No longer kept LondonOn 8 May 1705 Robert Dowe gave fifty pounds to St Sepulchre's, the church beside Newgate prison, so that a bell would be tolled and an exhortation made to condemned prisoners the night before they were hanged.
Staying In Until the Burial No longer kept County DurhamBrand recalled a village in County Durham where it was the rule that a person should not leave the house until the burial of a near relation.
Stockings Inside Out Lore and belief EnglandIt was thought lucky to put on a garment inside out by accident, especially a stocking.
Suffolk cures Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk clergyman listed for Chambers the cures still trusted in his parish.
Sugared Toast No longer kept West CountryA newcomer to Westbury, in the west of England, described a custom that followed a birth in a well-to-do household.
Swimming a Wizard at Wickham Skeith Lore and belief SuffolkIn July 1825 Isaac Stebbings, a small, spare huckster of about sixty-seven, was accused of bewitching two neighbours whose minds were disturbed, and the village shoemaker blamed him when his wax would neither melt nor mix.
Sworn at Highgate Still kept London, MiddlesexTravellers passing through Highgate for the first time were made to swear a mock oath on a pair of horns in one of the village taverns, with the landlord as priest and a waiter or ostler singing out Amen.
Sworn on the Horns at the Great Bed of Ware No longer kept HertfordshireThe Great Bed of Ware, which Sir Toby Belch mentions in Twelfth Night, is a carved bed nearly eleven feet square that was for ages the wonder of an inn at Ware.
Telling the bees Lore and belief SuffolkIn Suffolk a stray swarm settling on your premises and never claimed by its owner meant a death in the family within the year.
The Apple on the Stream Lore and belief West CountryIn the same western district, to find the body of someone drowned in a river, people sent an apple floating down from above the spot where the body was thought to lie.
The Barguest Lore and belief YorkshireThe Barguest was a goblin said to haunt the streets and lanes of Yorkshire towns and villages at night, and to see it foretold a death or some other disaster.
The Bath prophecy Lore and belief SomersetBath was to be destroyed at noon on 30 March 1809 by an earthquake that would make Beacon Hill meet Beechen Cliff, as an old woman claimed an angel had told her.
The bees’ shrine Lore and belief CornwallChambers printed a Cornish croon, The Brownie Bee, on a grandam's tale of the west.
The Bell of Brinkburn Lore and belief NorthumberlandAmong Chambers's bell legends is one from Brinkburn, a priory hidden in a wooded cleft of the Coquet and invisible from the high ground round it.
The bellman’s verses No longer kept LondonIn seventeenth-century London the bellman was the night watchman, named for the handbell he carried to raise the alarm in case of fire.
The Bible and Key Lore and belief EnglandThe writer of the 1831 list was asked to lend his Bible to a neighbour whose lodger had lost her husband's shirt, since for the charm to work neither Bible nor key could belong to anyone in the house.
The Bishop Has Put His Foot In It No longer kept EnglandWhen milk or porridge was burnt to the pan, old wives and servant girls used to say that the bishop had put his foot in it, or that there was a bishop in the pan.
The Black Dog at Tring Lore and belief HertfordshireIn 1751 an old woman suspected of witchcraft was drowned in the parish of Tring, and the chimney-sweep who led the attack was hanged and left on a gibbet near the spot.
The Black Dog in the Gap Lore and belief BuckinghamshireA cowman from a village near Aylesbury took a short cut to his cows through a gap in a neighbour's hedge, until one night he found it filled by a huge black dog with fiery eyes that grew bigger as he watched.
The Black Dog of Bungay Lore and belief SuffolkOn Sunday 4 August 1577, during morning service in the parish church of Bungay, a violent storm of rain, lightning and thunder made the church seem to quake, and a black dog, or the devil in its likeness, appeared among the congregation.
The Black Dog of Lyme Regis Lore and belief DorsetAt a farmhouse about a mile from Lyme Regis, a black dog used to take the seat opposite the farmer in the chimney corner every evening, and he let it be.
The black ewe with the white face Lore and belief EnglandHone retold a tale from the Hundred Merry Tales, the book known as Shakespeare's Jest Book, of an Oxford scholar learned in astrology who met a herdsman.
The Bleeding of the Murdered Lore and belief EnglandIt was widely believed that a murdered body would bleed afresh when the murderer touched it, and King James I repeated the idea in his Daemonologie.
The Boarstall horn Lore and belief BuckinghamshireTradition said that Boarstall took its name from a wild boar that terrorised Bernwood Forest near Edward the Confessor's palace at Brill.
The Boy of Egremond at the Strid Lore and belief YorkshireBetween Bolton and Barden the River Wharfe squeezes through a rocky cleft little more than four feet wide, called the Strid, which daring people would try to leap.
The Brereton tree Lore and belief CheshireCamden wrote that it was commonly believed, and many had told him, that for some days before the death of the heir of the Brereton family a tree trunk was always seen floating in the lake beside their house.
The Candle over the Clutch Lore and belief NorfolkWhen a Norfolk housewife set a clutch of eggs to hatch, usually thirteen and especially under a goose or duck, she swung a lighted candle over them.
The Clerk of Bow Bell Still kept LondonA cockney is said to be anyone born within the sound of Bow bells, though Chambers notes that Stow never mentions the saying.
The Clifton sturgeon and the Wardour owls Lore and belief Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire, YorkshireChambers listed several omens of death attached to old families.
The Clothes of the Dead Lore and belief SuffolkWhen a dead person's clothes were given away to the poor, people would say that however good they looked they would not last.
The Cobbler and the Witch’s Cat Lore and belief West CountryIn October 1743 a Bristol cobbler died from a cat's bite on his finger.
The Coffin in the Barn at Stevenage No longer kept HertfordshireThe Year Book, quoting the Gentleman's Magazine, tells of a Stevenage farmer who died on 1 February and left his estate to his brothers and then his nephew for thirty years, after which he expected to come back to life and have it again.
The Conyers Falchion Still kept County DurhamWhen a new Bishop of Durham first entered his diocese, the lord of the manor of Sockburn met him at the Tees, at the ford of Neasham or on the middle of Croft Bridge, and presented the falchion with which Sir John Conyers was said to have killed a dragon, worm or flying serpent that devoured men, women and children.
The Corse-House No longer kept CumberlandA Cumberland correspondent told Hone how, within the previous twenty years, the passing bell sent neighbours to call at the corse-house, as the house of mourning was called.
The cuckoo ale No longer kept ShropshireIn Shropshire, until shortly before Chambers wrote, labourers who heard the first cuckoo of the year left their work, made holiday of the rest of the day and drank what they called the cuckoo ale.
The Death-Watch Lore and belief EnglandThe small beetle called the death-watch, which lives in old wood and ticks like a watch, was long thought to foretell a death in the family.
The devil and Winkfield church Lore and belief BerkshireThe same Berkshire correspondent gave the local story of how Winkfield got its church.
The Devil Looking Over Lincoln No longer kept OxfordshireA carved figure of the devil stood on Lincoln College in Oxford, and it was so well known that it gave rise to the saying about the devil looking over Lincoln.
The Devil’s Dandy-dogs Lore and belief CornwallIn Cornwall the phantom pack heard in the sky on wild nights was called the Devil and his Dandy-dogs.
The Devil’s Seat at Yarmouth Lore and belief Berkshire, NorfolkA correspondent collected the superstitions still current in 1831 for the Year Book, which prints them under 29 February.
The dow purse No longer kept CumberlandChambers traced the old custom of a bridegroom giving his bride a gift of money on marriage, known in England as the dow purse.
The Dragon and the Grasshopper Lore and belief LondonThe vane on Bow Church in Cheapside is a gilt copper dragon, and the Royal Exchange carries the grasshopper crest of Sir Thomas Gresham.
The Drumming Well of Oundle Lore and belief NorthamptonshireSome wells were believed to give warning of trouble to come.
The Ducking of Ruth Osborne at Tring Lore and belief HertfordshireOn 30 July 1751 three men were tried at Hertford for the murder of Ruth Osborne, an old woman of Tring.
The Dunmow Flitch Still kept EssexThe priory of Dunmow offered a flitch of bacon to any married couple who would swear that after a year of marriage they had never quarrelled nor wished themselves unmarried.
The Elder and the Lightning Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk child told Chambers's correspondent that it was quite safe to shelter from a thunderstorm under an elder tree.
The Even Ash-leaf Lore and belief DorsetA Dorset girl who wanted to know her future husband picked an ash leaf with an even number of leaflets.
The Feast Week No longer kept MidlandsA correspondent described for Hone the feast week kept in many villages of the Midlands and other counties, the yearly holiday that followed the dedication day of the parish church.
The finding stick Still kept SomersetIt was widely believed that a forked hazel rod would dip towards a vein of lead ore, a seam of coal or a spring of water, and in the mining districts men skilled with it were consulted as trustingly as the local wise man.
The first cuckoo Lore and belief NorfolkIn Norfolk it was believed that whatever you were doing when you first heard the cuckoo in spring, you would be doing most often for the rest of the year.
The fortune-tellers of Norwood No longer kept SurreyA correspondent walking over the Surrey hills in April 1826 looked down from the Woodman inn on Norwood wood, still brown before the leaves came.
The Ghost in the Baynards Gallery Lore and belief SurreyA correspondent who went to see Baynards, an Elizabethan house near Cranley in Surrey built by a descendant of Sir Thomas More, sent Hone an account of it in 1831.
The Ghost in the Club Chair Lore and belief West CountryHone printed a ghost story from a town in the west of England, where a club of twenty-four met weekly to drink punch, smoke and talk politics, each member in his own chair.
The Giant’s Tomb at Morthoe Lore and belief DevonUnder 7 July, the Translation of St Thomas Becket, Hone printed letters about a tomb in the little church of Morthoe on the north Devon coast above Woolacombe Bay.
The Glastonbury waters No longer kept SomersetUnder 30 April 1751 Richard Gough noted in his diary that a Glastonbury man, thirty years ill with asthma, had dreamed he would be cured if he drank from certain waters near the Chain-gate on seven Sunday mornings.
The glove in the church No longer kept NorthumberlandIn the border dales where deadly feuds were common, a man would hang a glove high up in the parish church as a challenge to his enemy, meaning he would fight hand to hand with anyone who dared take it down.
The green forester of Fingest Lore and belief BuckinghamshireHenry Burgwash, made Bishop of Lincoln on 28 May 1320, enclosed the common land of the poor at Fingest to enlarge his deer park.
The Green Lady of Thorpe Hall Lore and belief LincolnshireThorpe Hall near Louth was the home of Sir John Bolle, knighted by Elizabeth after the expedition to Cadiz in 1596.
The Grey Geese of Addlestrop Hill Lore and belief GloucestershireOn a hill in the parish of Addlestrop stood a group of stone blocks known from time immemorial as the Grey Geese of Addlestrop Hill, until Warren Hastings, who died on 22 August 1818, carried them off for a rockery in his grounds at Daylesford.
The hair in the left shoe Lore and belief EnglandIt was a common belief that a girl who ran into the fields early in the morning to hear the first cuckoo, and took off her left shoe when she heard it, would find inside a man's hair.
The Hatherleigh Bells No longer kept DevonHone recorded two customs of the bells at Hatherleigh in Devon.
The Healing Ring Finger Lore and belief England, Ireland, SomersetThe wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand from an old belief that a nerve ran from it straight to the heart.
The Hind’s Head on Bracknell heath Lore and belief BerkshireBefore the road through Bracknell was made, an inn called the Hind's Head stood alone on the heath and was said to be a haunt of robbers who murdered their guests.
The interdict furrows Lore and belief EnglandEngland lay under the Pope's interdict from March 1208 until 1214, and it was long remembered in country tradition.
The King and the Tower Lion Lore and belief LondonThe lions kept in the Tower menagerie were named after the reigning kings, and people believed each king's life was bound up with his lion's.
The knotweed love charm Lore and belief NorthamptonshireHone printed for late May John Clare's lines on the charms Northamptonshire village girls tried when out of the old women's hearing.
The Larking Glass at Dunstable No longer kept BedfordshireA Bermondsey reader told Hone in January 1826 that the lark-catchers of Dunstable used a larking glass to bring larks down out of the sky.
The leech weather-glass Lore and belief EnglandA correspondent sent Hone the notes of a gentleman who kept a leech for years in an eight-ounce phial of water on his window frame, as a cheap weather glass.
The Lord of the Tap No longer kept CambridgeshireA correspondent who had it from a man at the fairs of 1766 and 1767 told Hone of an officer at Stourbridge Fair called the Lord of the Tap.
The loving cup Still kept EnglandKing Edward was murdered at Corfe on 18 March 978, stabbed on his stepmother's orders while he drank from a cup she had handed him.
The Luck of Edenhall Lore and belief CumberlandThe Musgrave family of Edenhall kept an old painted glass drinking cup as a treasured heirloom.
The Ludlow Morning Bell No longer kept ShropshireTowns once rang a bell in the morning to tell people when to rise, as well as the curfew at night to send them indoors.
The man in the almanac Lore and belief EnglandOld almanacs marked the days for bleeding and physic by the sign of the zodiac, and printed a figure of a man with each part of his body under its sign.
The Man in the Moon Lore and belief EnglandChambers explains that the Man in the Moon was not the faint face of the full moon but a dusky figure seen on the western side of the moon when it is eight days old.
The Man on the Piebald Horse Lore and belief EnglandThe same list of superstitions of 1831 gives country cures for whooping cough.
The May game at St Martin’s in the Fields No longer kept LondonHone noted from Strype that on 26 May 1555, in the reign of Mary, a gay May game was held at St Martin's in the Fields.
The Mayor of Garrat No longer kept SurreyThe people of Garrat, a hamlet between Wandsworth and Tooting, once chose a president to defend their rights over a small common.
The Mirror Chimney-piece at Charlton Lore and belief KentCharlton House, built by Sir Adam Newton opposite the church, had a marble chimney-piece said to be so highly polished that it worked like a mirror.
The Mordiford dragon Lore and belief HerefordshireA great green dragon was painted on the west end of Mordiford church, and generations of visitors were told it was the likeness of a real one killed in the nearby river Lugg by a condemned criminal.
The New Moon Through Glass Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk correspondent of Chambers kept a night school for rough country lads, and one winter evening they caught sight of the new moon through the schoolroom window.
The Newcastle witch-pricker Lore and belief NorthumberlandOn 26 March 1649 the townspeople of Newcastle petitioned the council about witches, and the magistrates sent to Scotland for a man who claimed to find them by pricking with pins, at twenty shillings for every one he condemned.
The nightingale and the thorn Lore and belief EnglandChambers called the nightingale the bird of April, arriving in England about the middle of the month and at once breaking into full song.
The Oakham Horseshoes Still kept RutlandOn 14 August 1654 John Evelyn rode through Oakham and noted that its barons, the Ferrers, held the town by the right to take a shoe from the horse of every nobleman who passed through with his lord, unless it was redeemed with a sum of money.
The Old Men’s Morris at Hereford No longer kept HerefordshireHone reprinted an account of a morris danced at a horse race near Hereford in 1609, when lords and knights gathered and one gentleman had promised a hobby-horse that would outlast all the racehorses.
The Oxenham bird Lore and belief DevonThe Oxenham family of South Tawton, near Okehampton, were said to be warned of every death among them by a bird with a white breast, which fluttered about the dying person's bed and then vanished.
The Panyer Boy Still kept LondonIn the wall of Panyer Alley, off Paternoster Row, is an old carved stone of a boy sitting on a pannier and pressing a bunch of grapes between his hand and his foot, with an inscription and the date 1688.
The Parson’s Wig and the Black Pudding Lore and belief SomersetIn Somerset, when a black or blood pudding was on the boil, an old wig that had belonged to the parson was much sought after.
The passing bell Still kept EnglandUnder St Mark's Eve Chambers writes of the passing bell, or soul bell, tolled at the time of a death, a custom he thought as old as church bells themselves.
The Phantom Battle of Edgehill Lore and belief WarwickshireA pamphlet published on 23 January 1643 told how, at Christmas time, shepherds and countrymen near Kineton heard drums and the groans of dying soldiers, and then saw the battle of Edgehill, fought two months before, refought in the air between midnight and three in the morning.
The Pig-faced Lady Lore and belief Leinster, LondonThe story of a lady born with a pig's face, told in several languages, usually said a beggar woman cursed a new bride who called her squalling child a pig.
The Plough-day for a New Tenant No longer kept YorkshireIn the North Riding of Yorkshire, when a new tenant took a farm, his neighbours gave him a plough-day: the use of all their ploughs, ploughmen and horses on a fixed day to make his ground ready for sowing.
The Poker Across the Grate Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk correspondent of Chambers listed the beliefs of the household.
The Portland Betrothal No longer kept DorsetThe people of the Isle of Portland seldom married anyone from the mainland.
The Printers’ Chapel No longer kept EnglandRandle Holme wrote in 1688 that every printing house was called a chapel, with the eldest freeman as father of the chapel and its own laws, whose breach cost a fine called a solace.
The Queen Anne’s Farthing Lore and belief EnglandIt was a common belief that a Queen Anne's farthing was worth a fortune.
The reverend dotterel-catcher No longer kept CambridgeshireIn May and June dotterel came to the Gog Magog Hills near Cambridge, where fowlers caught them in nets by imitating their call on a whistle, for the bird was said to be so fond of mimicry that it let itself be walked up to.
The Ripon Horn Still kept YorkshireChambers explains the curfew bell as a town rule that everyone should cover their fires and go indoors when the bell rang, and notes that it was still rung in many English towns at eight or nine o'clock.
The rush charm for thrush Lore and belief DevonIn his piece on rushes and rush-bearing, Chambers gives a Devonshire charm for thrush in a baby.
The rush-bearing wake at Runcorn and Warburton No longer kept CheshireAt Runcorn and Warburton the yearly rush-bearing wake was kept in grand style in Chambers's day.
The rustling lady of Creslow Lore and belief BuckinghamshireThe old manor house at Creslow, once held by the Knights Templars and Hospitallers, had a haunted chamber over its crypt and dungeon.
The Scald Miserable Masons No longer kept LondonIn the 1740s London humourists and a crowd of followers held a mock procession every spring to make fun of the Freemasons and their grand parade.
The Seventh Son Lore and belief Cornwall, Ireland, WalesA seventh son, and still more the seventh son of a seventh son, was believed to have the gift of healing.
The Sherborne bells No longer kept DorsetA correspondent staying at Sherborne on a market day in 1826 counted the bells that rang from four in the morning until nine at night: the church treble, the chimes, the almshouse bell, the school bell, the market bells and Wolsey's great bell.
The Shirt in St Oswald’s Well Lore and belief EnglandHoly wells were also used as divining pools to learn how an illness would end.
The Silent Tower of Bottreaux Lore and belief CornwallBoscastle church had no bells, while the tower at Tintagel nearby had a fine peal of six.
The Sin-eater No longer kept Herefordshire, Shropshire, WalesAubrey recorded that in Herefordshire poor people were hired at funerals to take on the sins of the dead.
The Sisters’ Hammer Lore and belief SurreyA poem printed by Hone, describing the view from Hydon Hill near Godalming, recalls a time-worn legend of the ruined chapel on St Catherine's Hill and the chapel on St Martha's Hill by Guildford.
The sluggard-waker of Trysull No longer kept Shropshire, StaffordshireOn 17 April 1725 John Rudge left the parish of Trysull twenty shillings a year to pay a poor man to go about the church during the sermon, keeping the people awake and the dogs out.
The St Giles Bowl No longer kept LondonWriting of St Ouen, whose shrine at Rouen could win the pardon of one condemned criminal each year, Hone notes how the pains of the condemned were softened in many places, as with the wine and myrrh of the Jews and the dainties given to the condemned in Italian cities.
The Stockwell Ghost Lore and belief SurreyOn 6 and 7 January 1772 the house of Mrs Golding, an elderly lady at Stockwell, was thrown into uproar as crockery, a clock, a lantern and jars of pickles fell and broke with no one near them, and the disturbances followed her to the neighbours' houses.
The tailed men of Strood Lore and belief KentOn St Augustine's day Hone retold from the Golden Legend how the saint came to a town whose people drove him out and pelted him with the tails of thornback and other fish.
The taman of Tipperary Lore and belief County Durham, Munster, NorthumberlandCunning men, sometimes called white witches, were consulted to cure diseases laid on by witches, to find thieves, recover stolen goods and tell of absent friends.
The tame bulls of Beverley Lore and belief YorkshireSt John of Beverley, who died on 7 May 721, founded the monastery in the forest that grew into the town of Beverley.
The tenth wave Lore and belief EnglandCorrespondents of Hone's Year Book took up the old notion that every tenth wave is bigger than the rest.
The Three Kings of Threekingham Lore and belief LincolnshireIn September 870, on St Maurice's Day, the men of Lincolnshire fought a great army of Danes at a place then called Laundon and killed three of their kings.
The Virgilian lots Lore and belief EnglandOne old way of divining was to open the works of Virgil at random and read the lines under the thumb as a prophecy.
The Waggoner’s Horn at Hoddesdon No longer kept HertfordshireCollecting accounts of swearing on the horns at Highgate, Hone heard from the landlady of the Red Lion and Sun there that at the Griffin at Hoddesdon, which her father kept, a new waggoner coming with his team was put through a similar custom.
The Walsingham Way Lore and belief NorfolkThe shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, said to be an exact copy of the Virgin's house at Nazareth, drew pilgrims to rival Loreto and Compostela until Henry VIII, who had once walked there barefoot, had it desecrated.
The Wandering Jew at St Albans Lore and belief HertfordshireThe legend of the Jew doomed to wander until Christ's return is first told in any detail by the chronicler of St Albans Abbey, whose work Matthew Paris carried on.
The Weapon-Salve Lore and belief EnglandThe weapon-salve was an ointment believed to heal a wound when it was spread on the weapon that made the wound, not on the wound itself.
The Weaver of Dean Combe Lore and belief DevonA famous weaver named Knowles of Dean Combe in Devon was seen at his loom the day after his burial, still working.
The Whitworth Doctors No longer kept Northern EnglandHone wrote of country people trusting their health to odd practitioners, and gave the Whitworth Doctors as his example: the Taylor brothers, farriers who became so famous as healers that one attended Lord Thurlow's brother.
The wise fools of Gotham Lore and belief NottinghamshireOn a rise a mile south of Gotham stood the Cuckoo Bush, replanted on the site of the first.
The Witches of Belvoir Lore and belief Leicestershire, LincolnshireJoan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa were servants of the Earl and Countess of Rutland at Belvoir, and fell out with their employers.
The Wychnor flitch No longer kept StaffordshireBeside the Dunmow flitch, Hone set out the similar custom of Wychnor in the Honour of Tutbury, from Dr Plot.
Thirty Days Hath September Still kept EnglandAt the end of February Hone prints the old memorandum of the months for fixing their lengths in the memory, ending with February and its twenty-eight days.
Thunder and the days of the week Lore and belief EnglandAn old almanac of 1556 read the future from the day of the week on which it thundered.
Touching for the King’s Evil No longer kept LondonOn 6 July 1660 John Evelyn watched Charles II begin to touch for the King's Evil, the scrofula that the royal touch was believed to cure.
Touching for the King’s Evil in May No longer kept England, LondonScrofula, the King's Evil, was believed to be cured by the touch of the sovereign.
Trashing No longer kept YorkshireA correspondent writing from Morley on 21 July 1827 described a wedding custom common in parts of Yorkshire called trashing: pelting the couple with old shoes as they came home from church.
True-Love Knots and Bride Favours No longer kept EnglandLovers in the north of England and Scotland gave each other a true-love knot as a token of plighted faith, and Hone derived the name from a Danish word meaning to plight one's troth.
Turn again, Whittington Lore and belief LondonEveryone knew, a Year Book writer said, how the bells of London had encouraged the young Dick Whittington as he left the city in despair, ringing out that he should turn again and be Lord Mayor of London.
Turning Money at the New Moon Lore and belief EnglandA Chelsea reader sent Hone a charm he called well known and almost universal in former days, handed down by grandmothers.
Turning the Chair Lore and belief EnglandThe same list of 1831 gives the small omens of daily life.
Unlucky to save a drowning man Lore and belief EnglandWriting of the great storm of 1703, Chambers noted how late lifesaving came to the English coast.
Waffs, Swarths and Fye-tokens Lore and belief Cumberland, Northumberland, ScotlandThe appearance of a living person, to himself or to others, was widely taken as a token of death.
Watching on the Wake Eve No longer kept EnglandIn notes made about 1678 and printed by Chambers, John Aubrey recorded that before the wake, the feast of a church's dedication, people used to sit up all night fasting and praying.
Wayland’s Smithy Lore and belief BerkshireWayland Smith's Cave is an ancient tomb of upright stones roofed with slabs, beside the Ridgeway in the parish of Ashbury, on the western edge of Berkshire.
Wearing the Willow No longer kept Cambridgeshire, EnglandHone's Cambridge correspondent said the willow was called the Cambridge oak in that county, and Fuller called it a sad tree, from which those who had lost their love made their mourning garlands.
Weathercocks in the Kentish trees No longer kept KentOn Lady Day 1672 John Evelyn rode back from the Kent coast through the best farmed country he had ever seen, the fields as level as a bowling green.
Wedding dinners at the Maison Dieu No longer kept NorthumberlandOn 10 June 1412 Henry IV licensed the Maison Dieu, or House of God, built by Roger Thornton on the Sandhill at Newcastle to feed and clothe the poor.
Weighed Against the Church Bible Lore and belief HuntingdonshireIn 1808 three young women at Great Paxton fell ill with fits, and their neighbours decided they were bewitched and tried charms to find the witch.
What moles foretell Lore and belief EnglandThe Husbandman's Practice, or Prognostication for Ever, of 1658 read a person's nature from the moles on the body, so that a mole over the heart showed a wicked man and one over the spleen someone much given to passion and often sick.
When Hempe Is Spun Lore and belief EnglandBacon recalled a prophecy he heard as a child, when Queen Elizabeth was in the flower of her years: when hempe is spun, England is done.
Whitsun weddings at May Fair Chapel No longer kept LondonBefore the Marriage Act, Whitsuntide was one of the favourite seasons for marrying.
Winning the Whetstone No longer kept EnglandChambers describes the old English way of shaming a liar or a boaster.