ABSTRACT
On the eve of the great migration of the rapidly developing textile industry into the steam-powered factory and the town, the nascent cotton district of south and east Lancashire had a rich and varied calendar of popular holidays, traditions and customs. Samuel Bamford listed those that prevailed during his boyhood in Middleton, a weaving and mining village a few miles north of Manchester, in the early-nineteenth century. The year began with the Christmas holidays, which lasted for several days from the first Monday after New Year’s Day. Shrove Tuesday was a holiday, and mid-Lent Sunday was observed with cymbalin cakes and mulled ale. Easter saw heavy drinking, dancing, ‘pace-egging’ and a mock mayor ceremony, and it concluded on the Wednesday with ‘White Apron Fair’, when the local women displayed themselves in all their finery. May-Day was used for the ritual settling of grudges, and Whitsuntide was a further occasion for dancing and drinking, with many villagers visiting Manchester Races. But, we are told, “‘The Rush-bearing” was the great feast of the year.’ This was held on the anniversary of the dedication of the church, usually the third Saturday in August, when rushes were ceremonially carried from the outlying hamlets and strewn in the parish church to act as a floor-covering during the coming year. The rushes were brought piled up in special constructions on carts conducted by stalwart men, and accompanied by music and morris dancers. Often the carts came into conflict, and the fighting which also accompanied the other popular festivals was particularly prevalent at rushbearing. But this was also a time for hospitality, with houses being cleaned and whitewashed, and ale brewed to welcome relatives and friends from other villages. Fairground amusements (‘flying-boxes and whirl-a-gigs’) arrived to take advantage of the crowds, and such delicacies as nuts and Eccles cakes were sold from baskets or stalls, while public houses were packed with drinkers and dancers. Despite its commercial side, the last great holiday of the year laid great emphasis on home-based hospitality and conviviality. For most people it lasted four or five days, but a few contrived to keep up the pace for a full week. After this, only the Guy 101Fawkes celebrations on the Fifth of November interrupted a long spell of steady work until the Christmas holidays began the cycle again. 1
