Now take a Bible in your hand,
And read a chapter through;
And when the day of judgment comes
The Lord will think of you.”—
N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. vii. p. 373.
It is the custom at Warboys for certain of the poor of the parish to be allowed to go into Warboys Wood on May-day morning for the purpose of gathering and taking away bundles of sticks. It may possibly be a relic of the old custom of going to a wood in the early morning of May-day for the purpose of gathering May-dew.—N. & Q. 3rd S. vol. xii. p. 42.
Kent.
Sir Dudley Diggs, by his will, dated 1638, left the yearly sum of £20 to be paid to two young men and two maids, who on May 19th yearly should run a tye at Old Wives Lees in Chilham and prevail; the money to be paid out of the profits of the land of this part of the manor of Selgrave, which escheated to him after the death of Lady Clive. These lands, being in three pieces, lie in the parishes of Preston and Faversham, and contain about forty acres, all commonly called the Running Lands. Two young men and two young maids run at Old Wives Lees in Chilham yearly on May 1st, and the same number at Sheldwich Lees on the Monday following, by way of trial; and the two who prevail at each of those places run for the £10 at Old Wives Lees as above mentioned on May 19th.—Hasted, History of Kent, vol ii. p. 787.
At Sevenoaks the children carry their tasteful boughs and garlands from door to door. The boughs consist of a bunch of greenery and wild flowers tied at the end of a stick, which is carried perpendicularly. The garlands are formed of two hoops interlaced cross-wise, and covered with blue and yellow flowers from the woods and hedges. Sometimes the garlands are fastened at the end of a stick carried perpendicularly, and sometimes hanging from the centre of a stick borne horizontally by two children. Either way the effect is pleasing, and fully worth the few pence which the appeal of “May-day, garland-day! please to remember the May-bough!” makes one contribute.—N. & Q. 4th S. vol. iii. p. 424.
Lancashire.
In most places it is customary for each driver of a team to decorate his horses with gaudy ribbons on May-day. In Liverpool and Birkenhead, however, where some thousands of men are employed as carters, this May-day dressing has grown into a most imposing institution. Every driver of a team in and around the docks appears to enter into rivalry with his neighbours, and the consequence is that most of the horses are gaily dressed and expensively decorated. The drivers put on their new suits, covered with white linen slops, and sport new whips in honour of the occasion. Some of the embellishments for the horses are of a most costly character; not a few are disposed in most admirable taste; and in several instances they amount to actual art-exhibitions, since the carts are filled with the articles in which their owners deal. Real and artificial flowers are disposed in wreaths and other forms upon different parts of the harness, and brilliant velvet cloths, worked in silver and gold, are thrown over the loins of the horses; and if their owners are of sufficient standing to bear coats-of-arms, these are emblazoned upon the cloths, surrounded with many curious and artistic devices. Not only are the men interested in these displays, but wives and daughters, mistresses and servants, vie with each other as to who shall produce the most gorgeous exhibition. A few years ago the Corporation of Liverpool exhibited no fewer than one hundred and sixty-six horses in the procession, the first cart containing all the implements used by the scavenging department, most artistically arranged. The railway companies, the brewers, the spirit-merchants, and all the principal dock-carriers, &c., send their teams with samples of produce to swell the procession. After parading the principal streets, headed by bands of music and banners, the horses are taken home to their respective stables, and public drinks are given to the carters by the Corporation, the railway companies, and other extensive firms. The Mayor and other members of the Corporation attend these annual feasts, and after the repasts are ended the carters are usually addressed by some popular speaker, and much good advice is frequently given them.—Harland and Wilkinson, Legends and Traditions of Lancashire, 1873, p. 96.
In the Life of Mrs. Pilkington (Gent. Mag. 1754, vol. xxiv. p. 354) allusion seems made to this custom. The writer says, They took places in the waggon, and quitted London early on May-morning; and it being the custom in this month for the passengers to give the waggoner at every inn a ribbon to adorn his team, she soon discovered the origin of the proverb, “as fine as a horse;” for before they got to the end of their journey the poor beasts were almost blinded by the tawdry party-coloured flowing honours of their heads.
In connection with this custom may be mentioned one practised at Gilmerton, in the parish of Liberton, county of Edinburgh. The carters have friendly societies for the purpose of supporting each other in old age or during ill-health, and with the view partly of securing a day’s recreation, and partly of recruiting their numbers and funds, they have an annual procession. Every man decorates his cart, horse, and ribbons, and a regular procession is made, accompanied by a band of music. To crown all there is an uncouth uproarious race with cart-horses on the public road, which draws forth a crowd of Edinburgh idlers, and all ends in a dinner, for which a fixed sum is paid.—Stat. Acc. of Scotland, 1845, vol. i. p. 12.