THE WHOOP.
On the second Sunday in July there was a custom at Chaddesley Corbett to put strangers "through the whoop." I cannot ascertain exactly what this practice was, as the inhabitants from whom I have sought information fight exceedingly shy of it, and some even deny the existence of the custom; but one gentleman informs me that it was usual on that day for the lower order of the parishioners to play some practical joke—anything which first presented itself to their imaginations—upon whatever stranger happened to come within their boundary.
TENURE.
There is a curious tenure at Inkberrow. The manor and advowson were granted by Philip and Mary to an ancestor of the present Lord Abergavenny, on condition that in default of male issue the same should revert to the Crown. Up to the present time, however, there has been no lack of males in the family, and the present noble lord "hath his quiver full" of promising sons.
NICKNAMES.
Among the colliers in the north of this county, as also that singular race of beings known as the "Lye-wasters," near Stourbridge, the custom is observed of adopting nicknames, so that they are but very little known by their Christian or surnames, and an officer who goes to serve a writ or summons has a task which he finds himself unable to perform. Amusing instances are given in "The Rambler," vol. ii, p. 80, and vol. iii, p. 253.
BRIDE ALES.
At Halesowen, in former times, the celebration of bride-ales or love-ales, at a wedding, prevailed, and led to such disorder that during the reign of Elizabeth it was found necessary by the Borough Court to make some most stringent orders thereon. The custom was for the bride to sell a quantity of ale, for which she received, by way of contribution, whatever handsome price the friends assembled chose to pay; the object being to assist the young people in commencing housekeeping. The custom is now reversed, for the entertainment to be given by young married people to their friends is at present a serious item.
PAUPER RELIEF.
The way of relieving parochial paupers at Harvington in the seventeenth century was by assigning them for certain days to any of the inhabitants who would employ them. An entry occurs in the parish register thus: