Folklore of West Country

16 March, not tied to the day

Folklore from the old calendars

Bees moved only on Good Friday No longer kept DevonIn Devon bees were never moved from one place to another except on Good Friday.
Mother Shipton and Ham Hill Lore and belief SomersetMid-Somerset labourers believed a prophecy of Mother Shipton that Ham Hill would be swallowed by an earthquake at noon on Good Friday 1879, and Yeovil flooded at the same moment.
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.
The cross on the ass’s back Lore and belief West CountryIn the west of England it was believed that the dark cross on a donkey's shoulders was a mark of honour given by Christ, and that before he rode an ass no donkey carried it.