Folklore of South East

2 February

5 February, not tied to the day

6 February, not tied to the day

7 February, not tied to the day

10 February

14 February

48 days before Easter

Shrove Tuesday

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
Crying to Bacchus at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireOn Shrove Tuesday, as soon as the clock struck nine, every boy in Eton school yelled a Greek cry to Bacchus as loud as he could.
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.
Fitz-Stephen’s Shrovetide No longer kept LondonThe earliest account of Shrovetide sport in England comes from William Fitz-Stephen, who died in 1191.
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.
Holly Boy and Ivy Girl No longer kept KentLate in the eighteenth century a Kentish village kept a Shrovetide custom in two halves.
Hurdles on the windows at Teddington No longer kept MiddlesexShrove Tuesday football at Teddington was played with such spirit that careful householders protected their windows with hurdles and bushes.
Shrove Tuesday football at Dorking No longer kept SurreyDorking played football through its main streets every Shrove Tuesday, and shopkeepers barricaded their fronts for the afternoon.
The apprentices’ Shrove Tuesday No longer kept LondonUntil a few years before Hone wrote, Shrove Tuesday was the great holiday of the London apprentices.
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 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.
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.
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.
The pancake on the crow at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireIn Queen Elizabeth's time the cook at Eton fastened a pancake on Shrove Tuesday to the crow, the iron ring that served as a knocker, on the school door.

Folklore of the South East

2 February

5 February, not tied to the day

6 February, not tied to the day

7 February, not tied to the day

10 February

14 February

48 days before Easter

Shrove Tuesday

Image credits