Hone's Every-Day Book

William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements (2 vols, 1825-1827).

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Two volumes, 1825 to 1827. Later editions bind it with the Table Book, and old sets turn up second-hand.

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251 to 275 of 411 entries

15 July

Folklore from the old calendars

Corpse Candles Lore and belief CarmarthenshireIn Wales the exhalations seen in churchyards, called corpse candles, were taken as a sign of a funeral to come.
Family Spectres of the Highlands Lore and belief HighlandsSome great Highland families were believed to have a warning spirit of their own that visited them.
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.
The Banshee Lore and belief Highlands, IrelandHone, following Brand, notes that certain families were believed to have their own warnings of a coming death, some by the appearance of a bird and others by a tall woman in white who shrieked about the house.
The Fetch Lore and belief IrelandIn Ireland a fetch was the ghostly double of a living person, and seeing it foretold either long life or a death close at hand: if it was seen in the morning the person would live long, if in the evening they would soon die.
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.

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
Lammas Towers No longer kept East Lothian, Midlothian, West LothianUntil about the middle of the eighteenth century the cowherds of Lothian kept Lammas with towers.
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.