Bandford Forum - A list of Christian Sacrafices - Part 1

Bacon and Eggs - an offering to Christ? - Image from ChildofMidnight at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"In a most curious Sermon preached at Blandford Forum, Dorsetshire, Jan. 17, 1570, by William Kethe, Minister, and dedicated to Ambrose Earl of Warwick, 8vo. p. 18, speaking of the Jews, he says, "for the Synnes they daylie committed, they would be very busie in offryng Sacrifices and exercising themselves in Ceremonies;" adding, " a lyke kynde of policie was practised by the Papistes in the tyme of Poperie (in England) to bynde God to forgeve them theyr Sinnes. For whereas, in the tyme of Christmasse, the disorders were marvelous in those dayes, (and how it is now God seeth,) at Candlemasse, which some counte the ende of Christmasse, the Papistes would be even with God, by the tyme [they had offered hym a Bribe, and such a Bribe (beyng a Candle or Taper) as a very meane officer would take foule scorae of, though he could do a man but small pleasure in his sute. Shroft Tuesday was a day of great Glottonie, Surfeiting,and Dronkennes, but by Ashe Wensday at night, they thought God to be in their debt..." [cont.]

Brand 1813

[Jewish (and Catholic) people had a really horrible time in much of old intolerant England - including facing genocide and expulsion - please take this anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic sermon for its folkloric value only.]  

Banning the Wakes in Exeter and Somersetshire

Exeter Morris Men dancing!

"When an order was made in 1627 and in 1631, at Exeter, and in Somersetshire, for the suppression of the Wakes [I think these where Wakes on the night before the parish church's saint day, associated with dancing, music and drink, and the feasting on the day itself], both the Ministers and the People desired their continuance, not only for preserving the memorial of the dedication of their several Churches, but for civilizing the parishioners, composing differences by the mediation and meeting of friends, increasing of love, and unity, by these feasts of charity, and for the relief and comfort of the poor."

Brand 1813

 






  

 

Map - Exeter

Early translation into English from Kernowec (Cornish) of The Tale Of Ivan - part 4

St Levan Church (Llanlavan is probably Saint Levan - My poor knowledge of Cwmraeg (Welsh) would suggest so anyway, Llan in Welsh being roughly equivalent to a parish area) - image © Copyright Tim Heaton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

[cont...] "...17 And as they were going by the fields of the houses in the meadow, not having gone far from Ivan, robbers fell upon them :

18 And they began to cry out, and With the cry which the merchants made, Ivan also shouted Thieves! thieves !

19 And at the shout which Ivan gave, the robbers left the merchants. And when they came to Market-Joy, there they met again.

20 Oh, Ivan! said they, we are bound to thee, had it not been for thee, we should have been lost men. Come with us, and thou shalt be welcome.

21 And when they were entering the house where they were accustomed to lodge, I must, said Ivan, see the man of the house.

22 The host ! replied they ; what dost thou want with the host ? here we have the hostess, and she is young. If thou must see the host, go to the kitchen, and thou shalt see him.

23 And when he came to the kitchen, he saw the host, and he was an old man, and weak, and turning the spit.

24 Oh ! quoth Ivan, here I will not lodge, but in the next house. Not yet, replied they ; sup with us, and thou shalt be welcome...." [cont...]

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1818

Proverb on the contagious nature of poverty on all levels of society

"After a famine in the stall. 
Comes a famine in the hall."  - Somerset

Ray 1768



[Easy to interpret - look after the lowly if you wish the wealthy to flourish.]

Porridge proverb from Somerset

"She will as soon part with the pot as the porridge" - Somerset

Ray 1768

[Could be to do with starvation and poverty, but more likely to be about meanness - someone who wont give anything away!]

Saying about eating diffrerent food

""I am loth to chainge my mill" - Somerset

i.e. Eat of another dish."

Ray 1768

Macabre somerset proverb about chickens

A Capon... By Mai-Linh Doan via Wikipedia  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

"The chicken crams the capon." - Somerset

Ray 1768












[This is actually very grim - a capon is the carcus of a castrated male chicken.  Thus my reading is that it is saying that a weak will dine on the flesh of another who is weaker... Nice... Bit like the whole mad cow thing as well...]

Old Harry

"Eat thy meat and drink thy drink, and stand thy ground old Harry" - Somerset

Collected by Andrew Paschal of Chedsey, Somerset.

in Ray 1768

Barnstaple Fair - a song - (part 5)

Fairground ride - By Iantresman (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

[cont...] "...Then sing of merry England, and roast beef, old English fare, Sir !
A bumper to the town and trade of Barum and its Mayor, Sir !
Boiled beef, roast beef, squab pie, pear pie, and figgy pudden, plenty,

When eight or nine sit down to dine, they'll find enough for twenty,

And after dinner for dessert, the choicest fruits you'll share, Sir !
E'en walnuts come from Somerset to Barnstaple Fair, Sir!
Then sing of Barum's jolly town, and Barum's jolly Mayor, too,
No town in England can be found old Barum to compare to!

I will not sing of Bullock fair, and brutes whose horrid trade is
To shut our window blinds, and block up all the ladies,
Nor of the North walk, rush and crush, where fools at horses stare, Sir ! 

When Mister Murray brings his nags to Barnstaple Fair, Sir !

But sing of Barum's jolly town and Barum's jolly Mayor, too !
No town in England can be found, old Barum to compare to !
The "Ball" one night, the "Play" the next, with private parties numerous,
Prove Barnstaple people's endless efforts, Sir, to humour us,

And endless, too, would be my song, if I should now declare,
All the gaieties, and rarities of BARNSTAPLE FAIR!
Then loudly sing "God save the King," and long may Barum thrive O !
May we all live to see the "Fair," and then be all alive O !."

 

Hewett 19000

Map - Barnstaple

Map - Bratton (Flemming? Down?)

Map - Ilfracombe

Barnstaple Fair - a song (part 2)

Fairground ride - By Iantresman (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

[cont.] "...OH, Devonshire's a noble county, full of lovely views, Miss!

And full of gallant gentlemen for you to pick and choose, Miss !

But search the towns all round about there's nothing can compare, Miss !

In measurement of merriment with Barnstaple Fair, Miss!

Then sing of Barum's merry town, and Barum's merry Mayor, too,

I know no place in all the world, old Barum to compare to !

There's nothing happens in the year but happens at our fair, Sir !

'Tis then that everything abounds that's either new or rare, Sir !

The Misses make their start in life its gaieties to share, Sir !

And ladies look for beaux and balls to Barnstaple fair, Sir!

Then sing of Barum's merry town, and Barum's worthy Mayor, too,

I know no place in all the world old Barum to compare to !

The little boys and girls at school their nicest clothes prepare, Ma'am !

To walk the streets and buy sweetmeats and gingerbread so rare, Ma'am !

Their prime delights, to see the sights that ornament our Square, Ma'am !

When Powell brings his spangled troop to Barnstaple Fair, Ma'am !

Then sing of Barum's merry town, and our indulgent Mayor, too,

I know no place in all the world old Barum to compare to !

If milk be scarce though grass be plenty, don't complain too soon, Dame !

For that will very often happen in the month of June, Dame !

Though cows run dry while grass runs high, you never need despair, Dame !

The cows will calve and milk you'll have to Barnstaple Fair, Dame !

Then sing of Barum's wealthy town and its productive fair, too,

And drink the Corporation, and the head of it the Mayor, too !..."  [cont...]

Hewett 1900

The Parson and Clerk rocks of Dawlish

"On the south-east coast of Devon, about twelve miles from Exeter, lies the picturesque town of Dawlish. It possesses a long stretch of sandy beach, which encloses a small bay of the English Channel. At the southern extremity may be seen two rocks, lying a short distance from the mainland, known as the Parson and Clerk. The story of these rocks, as told by the gossips of Dawlish is as follows :
 

A certain bishop of Exeter fell sick, and thinking that the pure air of this charming village would restore his lost energy took up for a time his residence there.

An ambitious priest, whose aim was to succeed to the See in the event of his superior's demise, frequently rode to Dawlish accompanied by his clerk to make enquiries after the condition of the dying bishop. The clerk was usually the priest's guide; but one night, in a tremendous storm, while crossing Haldon they lost their way, and worn out with the long journey found themselves miles out of the beaten track, The priest boiled over with rage. He abused the clerk, and exclaimed " I would rather have the Devil himself, than you, for a guide." At this moment a horseman rode by and volunteered to pioneer them to Dawlish. They thanked him and jogged comfortably along at his side, unmindful of time, distance, or invalid. The storm still raged and the long ride had sharpened their appetites, therefore, as they approached a brilliantly-lighted mansion, they gladly accepted the stranger's invitation to partake of his hospitality. They enjoyed a sumptuous repast, and indulged freely in the good wine provided so lavishly by their host.

In the midst of their merriment news was brought that the bishop was dead. The priest was eager to be off to secure the first chance of promotion, now that the bishop was out of the way. So master and man mounted their steeds and made ready to depart. But the horses were not anxious to go. They were whipped and spurred but all in vain. "Devil take the brutes," exclaimed the priest in his rage. "Thank you, sir," said their host, "Gee up." The horses did "gee up ! "with a vengeance, and galloped madly for the cliffs : then over they went, that of the clerk first, then followed the parson and his steed plump on their backs and there they are to this day looking see-ward (sea), monuments of disappointed ambition."

Hewett 1900

 

1815 (1515?) Stockleigh Pomeroy meal times

Stockliegh Pomeroy - David Smith [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

"MEAL TIMES.
A wee-bit and breakfast,
A stay-bit and dinner,
A nummit and a crummit,
And a bit arter supper.

Could our forbears ever have known the joys of hunger ?

MEAL HOURS A.D. 1515.
To rise at five and dine at nine,
To sup at five and bed at nine,
Will make a man live to ninety-nine.

Our meal- hours and time of rising in the morning have considerably changed in the course of three centuries. As our ancestors rose at five they needed the "wee-bit" especially in the winter season. Persons of quality would sometimes dine as late as ten and supper was at five or six in the evening, and all the family were in bed at nine. They sounded the curfew, which warned them to put out their fires at six in the winter and between eight and nine in the evening during the summer time."

Hewett 1900

Map - Stockleigh Pomeroy

[Not sure if this is really folklore, but I am going to include it anyway...]

Introduction to Saint Columb silver ball hurling article, mentioning Flora Day at Helston

Flora-day at Helston - by Rod Allday [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"Of all the counties of England which possess certain definite and peculiar characteristics which distinguish them from the rest, there is none, perhaps, so strikingly marked in this way as the far-away county of Cornwall. So remote is it from the great centres of civilisation and commerce, stretching itself away from the rest of England, and reaching out into the vast Atlantic, as though it would shake hands with the land of the “Stars and Stripes”—living upon its own resources, self-satisfied and self-contained—it goes on in its quiet, sober, sleepy way, disturbed only by a general election or some great religious awakening.

Is it any wonder that superstitions linger long and find it hard to die in this land of pixies, pasties, and pilchards? And is it surprising that strange customs which have come down through the ages, clinging from generation to generation with strong tenacity, should still obtain among the people in spite of the advent of the railway and the board- school? Every parish holds on to its “feast,” and every town boasts of its “fair,” while each village and hamlet has a special feature or function of its very own.

Helstone—dreamy, picturesque Helstone — has its “Flora-day,” when its inhabitants turn out en masse, and to the lively stains of a brass band dance through the streets from one end of the town to the other..." [cont.]

Burrow 1899

Map - Helston 

 The Boy's Own Annual. Volume 21. 1898 - 1899

Crying the Neck near Newton Abbot

Cider Press from Smith Hayne Farm, Devon - Richard Human [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"There are some slight differences in performing the ceremony. I have seen this done in the neighbourhood of Newton Abbot, at a farm situated on the western slope of Haldon. All the reapers (between twenty and thirty) formed a semicircle, with the farmer in their midst, and the ladies of the family close at hand. The head man held the "neck" above his head, and waved it quickly to and fro, and gave the first shout of " a-neck ! a-neck !"

The rest took up the cry and waved their sickles. After this the cyder-firkin was passed round from mouth to mouth. Then a start was made for the farmer's kitchen, where a substantial supper of beef, pork, vegetables, figgy-pudden, cream, junkets, and gallons of cyder awaited the hungry reapers. When justice had been done to the viands, tobacco and long churchwardens (clay pipes) were produced. More and much cyder at last provoked merriment and indescribable tumult. Some recounted their experiences in winter by flood, snowstorm, and hurricanes. Others their interviews with the Dowl on lonely hills, their wanderings over swampy meadows in the footsteps of Jack-o-lantern. Others their efforts to resist the evil eye, and the malignant devices of the witch. Some sung delightful old songs (specimens of which will be found at the end of this book) ; and not until the daylight streamed through the diamond-shaped window-panes did they seek their beds. I should say that the wives and elder children of the men were also partakers of the harvest-supper. The neck is carried into the house and hung over the centre of the kitchen table for a year, and when replaced by the new neck it is given to the best beast in the stall."

Hewett 1900

Map - Newton Abbot

Mothering Sunday in Devon (part 1)

Seakale - David Baird [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 "In many parts of Devonshire and other western counties, the fourth Sunday in Lent is observed as a holiday, under the title of Mothering Sunday. Servants, apprentices, and young working-folks in general visit their parents, and between them make up very happy home parties. The previous Saturday is a busy day, for the mother is looking forward with great pleasure to the morrow's meetings and festivities. She busies herself in preparing the materials for a good dinner for the joyous youngsters, and gives them the very best she can afford. Of course the mothering-cake is her chief care. It is big and rich, and must be well baked, sugared, and ornamented with fanciful designs. The dinner on Sunday consists of a hind quarter of lamb with mint sauce, a well-boiled suet pudding, seakale, and cauliflower, wheat furmity, with home-made wines. The day is one of mirthful enjoyment, mutual congratulations, and benevolence. The remains of the feast are usually distributed amongst needy neighbours who are unable to purchase these delicacies for themselves..." [cont.]

Hewett 1900

Devon cure for inflamation

Raw Beef - By BrokenSphere (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"Scour the inflamed part with strong brine, afterwards wash with plenty of soap, plenty too of hot water. Eat much raw beef for nine days."

Hewett, 1900

Unlucky in Devon - 14

Sneeze - By CDC (CDC Public Health Image library ID 11162) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It is unlucky -

"To sneeze before breakfast."

Hewett 1900

Lucky in Devon - 6

  Baby Joe Weaning Some rights reserved by Fimb http://www.flickr.com/photos/fimbrethil/3481256556/sizes/l/

It is lucky -

"To wean a child on Good Friday."

Hewett 1900

Isabella and the seven sons

Bickleigh Bridge - Neil Kennedy [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"She, too [Isabella Courtney of Powderham], it was, who met a man on Bickleigh Hill, near Tiverton, carrying a basket containing seven of his baby children, to whom he intended to give "a swim in the river Exe at Bickleigh Bridge." On being asked by her what he was carrying, he replied, "Puppies not worth rearing." Presently he confessed that his wife had given him seven sons at a birth, and fearing the lack of food and raiment, he had determined to drown them. The countess adopted them, and provided for their upbringing out of the proceeds of her estates at Tiverton and Chumleigh."

Hewett 1900

Map - Powderham
Map - Bickleigh Bridge
Map - Tiverton
Map - Chumleigh

[Hooray! Chumleigh! A story that involves mid Devon! Amazingly little about this area - all I need to do now is find a story to fill the vast hole of silence around Holsworthy...]

Bream - Saint Levan's "Choke-Child"

A Small Bream - or "Choke-Child" -  http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimpenfish/2618563143/sizes/z/in/photostream/ - Some rights reserved by zimpenfish

 "Though St. Levan's Church is somewhat decayed, a little of the ornamental work that adorned it is still to be seen. It consists of some curious carving, which evidently at one time recorded the events in the life of the saint. There are repetitions of one especial device; it is that of two fish on a hook. We have already mentioned that St. Levan, when he had caught one fish, did not attempt to take more: his fishing was for food, not for sport. But one evening, when he was catching his supper, there was a strong pull on his line, and on drawing it in he found two breams on his hook. The good saint needed only one; but wishing to be impartial, he would not keep either, but threw them both back into the sea. Again they came on the hook, and were again thrown back; but when they appeared on it a third time, St. Levan thought that there must be some reason for so singular an occurrence, and carried them both home. When he reached his hut at Bodellen, he found his sister, St. Breage, and her two children come to visit him, and he was glad that he had caught two fish. They were cooked for supper. The children had walked far, and were very hungry. They ate fast and carelessly, and a bone stuck in the throat of each, and choked them. Since that time the bream has been called by the fishermen of St. Levan "choke-child.""

Valentine (undated)

Map - Saint Levan Church

[I have not been able to find the location of "Bodellen", any help would be appreciated]