Shrovetide

Next: Tuesday 9 February 2027

Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins: pancakes, pancake races and, in a few towns, mass football games.

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The year from Saturday 27 February

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Folklore from the old calendars

Ashes that outlived the Reformation Still kept EnglandGiving ashes on Ash Wednesday was said to be almost the only Catholic custom to survive the Reformation under Henry VIII.
Bacchus verses on the Eton doors No longer kept BuckinghamshireOn the Monday before Shrove Tuesday the boys of Eton wrote verses about Bacchus in every kind of metre and fixed them to the college doors.
Barring Out the Master No longer kept CumberlandAt Fasten's Even the scholars of the free school at Bromfield claimed an old right to shut their master out for three days.
Buttermilk and a buried pancake on Shrove Tuesday Lore and belief WalesIn Wales it was said that anyone who drank buttermilk on Shrove Tuesday would never have freckles or sunburn, and that burying a piece of pancake brought luck for the next twelve months.
Clacking at doors on Ash Wednesday No longer kept EnglandOn Ash Wednesday boys went about clacking at doors, begging eggs or scraps of bacon to make a feast among themselves.
Cock broth for Shrovetide husbands No longer kept EnglandOn Shrove Tuesday the boys threw at cocks and killed them, and the birds went into the pot.
Cock-throwing given up at Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandBy 1777 the Shrove Tuesday sport of throwing at cocks had been given up at Newcastle upon Tyne.
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.
Collop Monday and Bloody Thursday No longer kept Northern EnglandA northern rhyme named each day of Shrovetide by what it brought, from Collop Monday through Pancake Tuesday to a Bloody Thursday.
Collops on fried bread No longer kept Northern EnglandOn the Monday before Shrove Tuesday northern households dined on collops and eggs.
Crowdy and the ring in the Manx pancakes No longer kept Isle of ManOn the Isle of Man, crowdy was eaten for dinner on Shrove Tuesday instead of for breakfast, and supper was meat with a large pudding and pancakes.
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.
Eggs on the Saturday before Shrove Sunday No longer kept Northern EnglandEggs were the dish for the Saturday before Shrove Sunday, the first of a run of set foods for the days leading into Lent.
Fitz-Stephen’s Shrovetide No longer kept LondonThe earliest account of Shrovetide sport in England comes from William Fitz-Stephen, who died in 1191.
Flowers, flowers, high-do No longer kept EnglandEllis noted that in some places at Shrovetide, if flowers could be found so early in the year, the younger children carried a small garland about to collect a few pence.
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.
Fugies and cock-fight dues at Applecross No longer kept Ross and CromartyOn Fastern's E'en, until the middle of the eighteenth century, cock-fights were held in many Scottish schools with the master presiding and keeping every runaway cock, called a fugie, as his perquisite.
Going a-shroving near Salisbury No longer kept WiltshireIn the days before Shrovetide the boys round Salisbury went from door to door singing for apples, dumplings, cheese or pancake.
Great A, little A, this is pancake day No longer kept Northern EnglandIn parts of the north of England girls spent some of Shrove Tuesday playing battledore and shuttlecock, singing a rhyme as they played.
Guttling Tuesday No longer kept WalesIn Wales Shrove Tuesday was still sometimes called Guttling or Guttes-Tuesday, from the feasting that came before the Lenten fast.
Hobthrust and the Fassen’s-eve cock Lore and belief Northern EnglandIn some northern farmhouses a cock and bacon were boiled on Shrove Tuesday evening, and everyone was expected to eat their fill.
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.
Jack o’ Lent at Polperro No longer kept CornwallAt the start of Lent, Polperro people carried a straw figure in old clothes round the village and then burnt it, shot at it or otherwise disposed of it.
John Gladman’s Riding No longer kept NorfolkHone found in the Norwich records how in 1440 John Gladman made a public disport with his neighbours at Shrovetide.
Knappan on the Berry Sands No longer kept PembrokeshireOn Shrove Tuesday every year the rough ball game of knappan was played on the Berry Sands between the parishes of Nevern and Newport in Pembrokeshire.
Leaden cocks at Shrovetide No longer kept EnglandWhen throwing at live cocks was stopped, toy cocks on heavy lead stands were put up for the boys at Shrovetide wakes and fairs, and whoever knocked one over kept it.
Leek pasties at Earls Barton No longer kept NorthamptonshireOn Shrove Tuesday the shoemakers of Earls Barton carried a chaff-cutter and a heap of leeks onto the village green and chopped them in public for leek pasties.
Lent Crocking No longer kept Dorset, WiltshireIn Dorset and Wiltshire boys went shroving in small bands, armed with the year's broken crockery.
Ludlow Rope-pulling No longer kept ShropshireOn Shrove Tuesday the Ludlow corporation handed a thick rope, thirty-six yards long, out of a window of the Market Hall at four o'clock.
Pancakes and grey peas at Leeds Lore and belief YorkshireAt Leeds it was said that anyone who ate pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and grey peas on Ash Wednesday would have money in their pocket all the year.
Pancakes from the church leads at Sheffield No longer kept YorkshireAt Sheffield, pancakes were said to be thrown from the church roofs on Shrove Tuesday as the clock struck twelve.
Peas and pork on Shrove Monday No longer kept West CountryIn the West Country the Monday before Ash Wednesday was called Shrove Monday, and peas and pork were eaten on it as surely as pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
Raffling for Oranges at Newark No longer kept NottinghamshireA Newark correspondent wrote to Hone in 1825 of a custom he had never heard of elsewhere.
Ringing the Pancake Bell in York Minster No longer kept YorkshireAt York it was an old custom that on Shrove Tuesday the apprentices, journeymen and servants of the city were free to go into the minster and ring the pancake bell.
Sauty Bannocks and Dreaming Bannocks No longer kept HighlandsIn the Highlands the Fastern's E'en supper ended with sauty bannocks, made of eggs and meal with plenty of salt and toasted on the gridiron.
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.
Shrove Tuesday Weather Lore and belief EnglandThe Shepherd's Almanack of 1676 recorded two pieces of weather lore for Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove Tuesday weddings at Kilrush No longer kept MunsterIn Kilrush Shrove Tuesday was the busiest wedding day of the year, and the Catholic priests were marrying couples from sunrise until midnight.
Shrovetide cockfights at Crosthwaite school No longer kept CumberlandAt Shrovetide the scholars of the school in Crosthwaite parish each brought a cock to fight at the school, and gave the master a present of money for allowing it.
Shying at buried cocks at Manchester school No longer kept LancashireAt the grammar school in Manchester the master provided cocks on Shrove Tuesday, which were buried up to their necks for the boys to shy at, and he was well paid for them.
Six silver glaives for the Chester runners No longer kept CheshireEvery Shrove Tuesday the shoemakers of Chester gave the drapers a leather football before the mayor at the cross on the Roodee, and the game was played from there to the Common Hall.
Sown on Shrove Tuesday Lore and belief EnglandThe Book of Knowledge of 1703 held that whatever was planted or sown on Shrove Tuesday would always stay green.
Stoning the doors in Scilly No longer kept Isles of ScillyHeath's account of the Isles of Scilly says that every Shrove Tuesday, once the throwing at cocks was over, the island boys spent the evening throwing stones at the doors of the houses.
The apprentices’ egg feast No longer kept EnglandThe Saturday before Shrove Tuesday was the egg feast, and apprentices once kept it as a great holiday.
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 Ba’ of Scone No longer kept PerthshireChambers knew of no place where Shrovetide football was played with more energy than Scone, near Perth.
The Bromfield silver bell and churchyard football No longer kept CumberlandWhen the Bromfield scholars had barred out their master at Fastings Even, one of the terms they always won was a cock-fight and a football match.
The Cock-penny No longer kept Ross and Cromarty, ScotlandCock-fighting was a regular Shrovetide sport, and in many schools it was sanctioned by the master, who took a small fee from each boy called the cock-penny.

Folklore from the old calendars

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