Folklore of England

Whit Sunday

Folklore from the old calendars

Huf-cap sold in the church No longer kept EnglandAgainst Christmas, Easter or Whitsunday the churchwardens provided ten or twenty quarters of malt, partly bought from the church stock and partly given by the parishioners, and had it brewed into very strong ale.
No poor rate but the church-ale at Kington St Michael No longer kept WiltshireIn the days of John Aubrey's grandfather the Whitsuntide church-ale paid for the poor of Kington St Michael, a large Wiltshire parish, and no poor rate was needed.
Smoke farthings No longer kept EnglandIn Whitsun week, every householder in England with a chimney once paid a small sum to the cathedral of his diocese.
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 Burford Whitsun deer hunt No longer kept OxfordshireThe people of Burford once claimed the right to hunt deer in Wychwood Forest on Whit Sunday.
The maidens’ gathering by the tree at the church door No longer kept BerkshireAt Whitsuntide the maidens of St Laurence's parish in Reading gathered money for the church beside a tree set up at the church door.
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 Whitsun king in oak leaves No longer kept EnglandAt Whitsun, each village once chose a lord or king at the maypole, and he picked a queen to rule over the games with him.
The Whitsun morris Still kept EnglandWhitsuntide was the great season for morris dancers.
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.

Whit Sunday, not tied to the day

24 May, not tied to the day

Whit Monday

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
Fetching in the Fly at Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireOn a day in the Whitsun holidays the master cook of Oxford for that year rode out on horseback with his brother cooks, all in silk doublets, to Bartholomew's or Bullingdon Green to fetch in the Fly.
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.
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.
Necton guild No longer kept NorfolkIn 1817 Major, later Colonel, Mason of Necton Hall set up a guild of rural sports on the afternoons of Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday, to gather the Whitsun holidays of the Norfolk villages at Necton.
Peppard Revel No longer kept OxfordshireThe Reading Mercury of 24 May 1819 advertised Peppard Revel for Whit Monday.
Rosley Fair from Whit Monday No longer kept CumberlandRosley Fair on its open hill opened on Whit Monday.
The Boy’s Bailiff at Wenlock No longer kept ShropshireIn Whitsun week Much Wenlock kept a custom called the Boy's Bailiff.
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 Corby toll Still kept NorthamptonshireEvery twentieth year on Whit Monday the people of Corby blocked every road into the parish and demanded a toll from all who passed.

Folklore of England

Whit Sunday

Whit Sunday, not tied to the day

24 May, not tied to the day

Whit Monday

Whit Monday, not tied to the day

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