British Popular Customs, Present and Past. T. F. Thiselton-Dyer

extracted from “the Orders and Acts of Assembly, of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of Chester,” in the Town Clerk’s Office:

      “Jan 10 3 Hen. viii. Henry Gee, Mayor.”—After reciting the ancient use of archery and shooting in the long bow, for the honour and defence of the realm, and that the same is much decayed, and other unlawful games much in use: “Ordered by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, with the consent of the whole occupation of drapers, sadlers, and shoemakers, that the said occupation of shoemakers (which always have, time out of mind, given and delivered yearly, on Shrove Tuesday in the afternoon, unto the drapers, before the Mayor at the Cross on the Roodee, one ball of leather, called a foot-ball, of the value of 3s. 4d., or above, to play at from thence to the common-hall of the said city, and further at the pleasure of the evil-disposed persons; whereof hath arisen great inconveniences) shall give and deliver yearly to the said drapers, before the Mayor at the said time and place: six silver gleaves, each of the value of 27d. or above, to be disposed of at the pleasure of the said Mayor and drapers, to him that shall win a foot-race before them, that or any other day; and that the sadlers (who have time out of mind given, and delivered yearly, at the same time and place, every master of them, unto the drapers, before the Mayor, one painted ball of wood, with flowers and arms, upon the point of a spear, being goodly arrayed upon horseback accordingly) shall henceforth give and deliver to the said drapers, before the Mayor, at the same time and place upon horseback, a bell of silver, to the value of 3s. 4d., to be disposed of at the discretion of the Mayor and drapers, to him that shall get the horse races on that day; and that every man that hath been married in the said city, since Shrove Tuesday, then last past, shall then and there also deliver to the said drapers before the Mayor, an arrow of silver, to the value of 5s. or above, instead of such ball of silk and velvet, which such married men ought then to have given and delivered by the ancient custom of the said city (used time out of mind), which silver arrow shall be disposed of by the Mayor and drapers, for the preferment of the said feat and exercise of shooting in the long-bow, for avoiding the said inconveniences, any use or prescription to the contrary notwithstanding; and also, the said drapers and their successors, shall keep yearly their recreation and drinking, as they used to do, time out of mind, and that the shoemakers and sadlers, and persons hereafter to be married, shall observe this order upon pain of 10l. for every offence, toties quoties, to be forfeited to the drapers according to ancient custom.”

      “Alsoe, whereas the Companye and occupation of the Sadlers within the Cittie of Chester did yearely by custome, time out of memorie of man, the same day, hour, and place, before the Mayor, offer upon a truncheon, staffe or speare, a certaine homage to the Drapers of the cittie of Chester, called the Sadler’s ball, profitable for few uses or purposes, as it was, beinge a ball of silk of the bigness of a bowle, was torned into a silver bell; weighing about two ozs., as is supposed, of silver: the which saide silver bell was ordayned to be the rewarde for that horse, which with speedy runninge, then should rune before all others, and there presently should be given the daye and place. This alteration was made the same time, and by the same mayor, like as the Shoemakers’ foote-ball was before exchanged into six silver gleaves.

      “Also, whereas of an anchant custom whereof man’s memorie nowe livinge cannot remember the original and beginninge, the same daye, hower and place, before the mayor for the time beinge, every person which is married within the liberties of the saide cittie, dwelling wheresoever without, and all those that dwelle within the saide cittie, for one yeare before, and marye elswhere, did offer likewise a homage to the said Companye of Drapers before the Mayor, a ball of silke, of the like bignesse of a bowle; the same mayor torned the same balls into silver arrowes, the which arrowes they tooke order should be given to those which did shoote the longest shoote, with divers kind of arrowes: this exchange was made as before is mentioned of the Shoemakers’ foote-ball and the Sadlers’ ball. In which exchange there appeared greate wisdom, anchent and sage senators, whoe had great studye and regarde to torne the foresaid thinges unto soe profitable uses and exercises; so that there is three of the most commendable exercises and practices of war-like feates, as running of men on foot, runninge of horses, and shootinge of the broad arrowe, the flighte and the butt-shafte, in the long-bowe, are yearely there used; which is done in a very few (if in any) citties of England, soe far as I understand.”

Cornwall.

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      It was customary at one time to tie fowls to stakes, and set them as marks for boys to kill with bats.—Hitchins, History of Cornwall, 1824, vol. i. p. 723.

Cumberland.

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      Formerly the scholars of the free school of Bromfield, about the beginning of Lent, or, in the more expressive phraseology of the country, at Fasting’s Even, used to bar out the master, i.e., to depose and exclude him from his school, and keep him out for three days. During the period of this expulsion, the doors of the citadel, the school, were strongly barricaded within; and the boys, who defended it like a besieged city, were armed in general with bore-tree or elder pop-guns. The master meantime made various efforts, both by force and stratagem, to regain his lost authority. If he succeeded, heavy tasks were imposed, and the business of the school was resumed and submitted to, but it more commonly happened that he was repulsed and defeated. After three days’ siege, terms of capitulation were proposed by the master, and accepted by the boys. These terms were summed up in an old formula of Latin Leonine verses, stipulating what hours and times should for the year ensuing be allotted to study, and what to relaxation and play. Securities were provided by each side for the due performance of these stipulations, and the paper was then solemnly signed by both master and pupils.

      One of these articles, always stipulated for and granted, was the privilege of immediately celebrating certain games of long standing: viz. a foot-ball match and a cock-fight. Captains, as they were called, were then chosen to manage and preside over these games: one from that part of the parish, which lay to the westward of the school; the other from the east. Cocks and foot-ball players were sought for with great diligence. The party whose cocks won the most battles was victorious in the cock-pit; and the prize, a small silver bell, suspended to the button of the victor’s hat, and worn for three successive Sundays. After the cock-fight was ended, the foot-ball was thrown down in the churchyard; and the point then to be contested was, which party could carry it to the house of his respective captain, to Dundraw, perhaps, or West Newton, a distance of two or three miles, every inch of which ground was keenly disputed. All the honour accruing to the conqueror at foot-ball was that of possessing the ball.[12]—Hutchinson’s Hist. of Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 322.

[12] Addison is described by his biographers as having been the leader of a barring out at the Grammar School of Lichfield.

      

      Brand, Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 441), says, that the custom of barring-out was practised in other places towards Christmas time, e.g., at the school of Houghton-le-Spring, in the county of Durham.

      Among the statutes of the grammar-school founded at Kilkenny, in Ireland, March 18, 1684, in Vallancey’s Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, vol. ii. p. 512, is the following:

      “In the number of stubborn and refractory lads, who shall refuse to submit to the orders and correction of the said school, who are to be forthwith dismissed, and not re-admitted without due submission to exemplary punishment, and on the second offence to be discharged and expelled for ever,” are reckoned, “such as shall offer to shut out the master or usher, but the master shall give them leave to break up eight days before Christmas, and three days before Easter and Whitsuntide.”

Derbyshire.