Once a Year: Some Traditional British Customs

by Homer W. Sykes

Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- The Haxey Hood Game -- Burning the Clavie -- Goathland Plough Stots -- Wassailing the Apple Tree -- The Baddeley Cake -- Dicing for Maids Money -- Carlows Charity Woodbridge -- Westminster School Pancake Greaze -- Shrove Tuesday Skipping -- Hurling the Silver Ball -- Company of Marblers and Stone Cutters -- Ashbourne Royal Shrove Tide Football -- The Tichbourne Dole -- Da"me Elizabeth Marvyn Charity -- Pax Cake Distribution -- Henry Travice Charity -- The Britannia Coconut Dancers -- Chulkhurst Charity -- Bottle Kicking and Hare Pie Scrambling -- Hungerford Hocktide -- Stowell Court Candle Auction -- Padstow Hobby Horse -- Minehead Hobby Horse -- Barwick in Elmet Maypole -- Gawthorpe May Day Procession -- May Morning Celebrations -- Knutsford Royal May Day -- Helston Furry Dance -- Abbotsbury Garland Day -- Whitby Penny Hedge -- Beating the Bounds at the Tower Liberty -- Dunting the Freeholder -- Arbor Day -- Castleton Garland Day -- Grovely Forest Rights -- Wicken Love Feast -- Ickwell May Day -- Weighing-in Ceremony -- Bread and Cheese Throwing -- Cheese Rolling -- Bampton Morris Dancing -- Bellerby Feast -- Southwold Trinity Fair -- Pinner Fair -- The Glorious Fourth of June -- Warrington Walking Day -- Mayor of Ock Street -- Yarnton Meadow Rights -- Pretty Maid's Charity -- The Glove is up -- John Knill Ceremony -- Burrator Reservoir Ceremony -- The Burry Man -- Grasmere Rush-Bearing -- Burning the Bartle -- Knighthood of the Old Green -- Abbots Bromley Horn Dance -- Painswick Clyping Ceremony -- Egremont Crabapple Fair -- Hinton Punky Night -- Twyford Bell Ringers -- Dungworth Caking Night -- Cliffe Bonfire -- Turning the Devil's Stone -- Ottery Tar Barrel Rolling -- Hatherleigh Fire Festival -- Firing the Fenny Poppers -- Antrobus Soul Caking -- Wareham Court Leet -- Laxton Jury Day -- Broughton Tin Can Band -- The Devil's Knell -- Bampton Mummers -- Handsworth Sword Dance -- Marshfield Paper Boys -- Allendale Tar-barrel Parade -- Ripon Sword Dance -- Aldermaston Candle Auction -- Ripon Horn-Blower -- John Sayer Charity -- Farthing Bundles -- Bibliography.

Paperback

First published September 1, 1977

Reviews

[Lit Bug (Foram) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, dreamy book with short accounts of traditional British festivals (no longer celebrated) but which are an important part of the British heritage, with beautiful B/W large photographs around half-a-century old.

My favorite tradition is the 5th of November Gun Powder Plot "Guy Fawkes" day celebration - the book is vivid, informative, short and an easy read - but extremely interesting for those having no knowledge whatsoever about traditional customs in Britain apart from the much-popular and commercialized Christmas celebrations.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, evocative photographs of British customs. Shot in the mid-70s; as interesting from a sartorial point of view as a folkloric one!