Crying the Mare

24 September · Hertfordshire and Shropshire

No longer kept

In 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. He shouted that he had her, and the rest chanted back and forth until they agreed to send her to a neighbour whose corn was still standing. The last farmer in the district had to keep her all winter. Hartshorne, writing of Shropshire, said the custom was fast wearing away.

'I have her!' 'What have you?' cried the rest. 'A mare, a mare, a mare!'

From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 2, p. 378. Read the original

Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks

We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.

Also on this day

Folklore from the old calendars

The Kirn No longer kept ScotlandIn Scotland the words harvest home were unknown, and the feast at the end of harvest was the kirn or kirn supper, thought to be named from the churn of cream served at it.
Crying the Neck Still kept Devon, West CountryIn Devon the last handful of standing corn was called the nack or neck.
The Cripple Goat No longer kept Inner HebridesOn Skye the farmer who finished his harvest first sent the last handful he had cut to the next farmer still at work, calling it the cripple goat.
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.

Crying the Mare

Also on this day

Questions and comments

Image credits