Abbotsbury Garland Day.
Abbotsbury, Dorset
13 May

Abbotsbury Garland Day is a survival from the days when the village had its own small fishing fleet. It takes place on Old May Day, which also coincided with the start of the fishing season and, in the days when fishing families had their own boats, they made garlands which they showed off round the village. There is some confusion as to whether the garlands were taken to the church for a service before they adorned the prows of their owners' boats and were then taken out to sea, or whether they, were taken out to sea first and then returned for a blessing
though the former seems more likely.

The custom has been kept alive by the children of the village, who make two separate sets of garlands, one of wild flowers and one of flowers from the garden. These are taken round the village to be admired, the bell-shaped garlands carried on poles between two children, and donations are happily accepted for their pains.

An officious policeman tried to put an end to the custom in 1954, when he stopped the procession through the village and seized the money that the children had so far collected, claiming that it was no more than an excuse to go begging. The children's parents, after organising a procession of protest, took their complaint to the Chief Constable. The custom proved stronger than the petty officiousness of a village policeman, who it seems was transferred. That it lives on is a tribute to the independence of a small Dorset village, and a reminder that the inhabitants once harvested the sea.

Battle of Neville's Cross
Durham Cathedral
Saturday nearest 29 May

Every year, after evensong, on the Saturday nearest to 29 May, the choristers of Durham Cathedral climb up the central tower to sing anthems of thanksgiving. They sing from the north, the south and the east, but not the west.

This is in commemoration of the Battle of Neville's Cross, fought just outside the city on 17 October 1346, when the English defeated an invading Scots army led by King David II. Edward III was away in France besieging Calais, and it is said the French encouraged the Scots king to make a diversionary attack on England. The Northern nobles were rallied by Edward's consort, Queen Phillippa, and the Scots were routed. The monks from the Cathedral had played their part by making their way to Maiden' s Bower, a hill near the Scots lines, and placing a spear there with the sacred cloth of St Cuthbert held aloft. They prayed for victory and the Abbot vowed annual masses from the cathedral tower. After the Restoration, the date of the ceremony was changed to 29 May, and the choristers have continued the  custom originally undertaken by the monks. The reason the anthem isn't also sung from the western side of the tower, it is said, is because once when it was being sung from there, a chorister fell to his death; it was discontinued either as a mark respect or because of the possible danger.

There are other suggestions as to the origins of the commemoration; one that it was the conclusion of the great guilds procession that took place on 29 May; another that it celebrates the extinguishing of the fire of 25 May 1429, which spared the cathedral but burnt down the tower.

Bread and Cheese Throwing
St Briavels, Gloucestershire
Whit Sunday Evening

Following evensong on Whit Monday, basketfuls of bread and cheese are thrown from a wall near the old castle, to be scrambled for in a lane below. This now fairly tame custom is thought to be the lone survivor of a number of such scrambles up and down the country.

St Briavels is the ancient capital of the Forest of Dean, and the ceremony is thought to have originated in the reign of King John, early in the l3th century. Its performance is thought to preserve the commoners' rights to grazing in the forest and cutting timber in nearby Hudnalls Wood. This right was documented in 1282 and upheld by Parliament in 1667, though its relation to the bread-and-cheese ceremony is unclear.
 
The custom itself was first recorded in 1779, when every householder had to pay a penny towards the cost of the bread and cheese. At that time the ceremony took place in the church itself, the bread and cheese being thrown to the congregation from above. It is recorded, however, that this caused 'as great a tumult and uproar as the amusements of a village wake', and the parson himself came under fire from pellets fashioned out of the bread and cheese. The ceremony was banished to the churchyard, the bread and cheese being thrown from the church  tower, but this practice also fell into disrepute, as 'all the roughs of the Forest came over, and there was much drinking and fighting'.

The present site for this well-established foresters gathering is ,well away from the church, and pieces of bread and cheese are preserved by some of the locals who think they are blessed with good luck.

Cheese Rolling
Cooper's Hill, Brookworth
Spring Bank Holiday Monday

The Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill is one of the most spectacular and hazardous of rural English customs. It takes place at about 6 o'clock in the evening on an extremely steep hill and is open to all. A Master of Ceremonies, wearing a white coat and a festively beribboned top hat, is in attendance to see the competitors get off to a fair start. On the count of three, the first cheese is rolled, and on 'four' the competitors launch themselves in pursuit. Inevitably, the wheel-shaped cheese reaches the bottom before it is seized, so the winner is the one to arrive immediately afterwards.

There are a number of cheeses rolled, depending on how many have been donated, and one specifically for girls. The cheeses are traditionally Double Gloucesters, as is befitting, and the honour of rolling them is given to specially invited guests. At the top of the hill is a permanent maypole marking the starting place, and the hill is thickly wooded save for a wide strip where the cheese rolling takes place.

The custom was traditionally held on Whit Monday and was one of a number of other events, all part of a well-known local wake. There is a notice dating back to 1836 announcing that were 'two cheeses to be run for', and among other petitions there was 'chattering for a bladder of snuff by old women', 'jumping the bag' and 'grinning for the cake - presumably a gurning competition. At some stage late in the last century, the wake seems to have been largely suppressed as being too rowdy, only the cheese rolling surviving until today. It was continued throughout the last war, rationing dummies were used, bearing a token piece of cheese inside. There are various theories on offer as to the history of the custom, a truly fanciful one suggesting that it was introduced by Phoenician traders in honour of Baal, as a kind of sun worship. More likely, and more acceptable locally, is that it was a ceremony of record, to perpetuate certain rights, akin to beating the bounds.

Greenhill Bower and Court of Array
Lichfield, Staffordshire
Spring Bank Holiday Monday

The City of Lichfield is proud of its customs, particularly its ceremony on the Spring Bank Holiday. This takes the form of a Bower procession to Greenhill, when the tradespeople of the town, together with bands and local organisations in a general carnival parade, make their way to Greenhill. They are accompanied by the Court of Array, along with the Mayor of Lichfield and civic dignitaries, whose job it is to inspect the City's ancient suits of armour that have been specially designed for the occasion.

The Greenhill Bower and the Court of Array were two separate customs that have come to be celebrated together over the passage of years. In the Middle Ages the city guilds used to meet at Greenhill on Whit Monday, bearing garlands of flowers and the emblems of their trade, thought to be a hangover from an earlier custom connected with midsummer. The second ceremony, the meeting of the Court of Array, dates back originally to 1176 when an Act was passed, reaffirmed by Statute in 1285, that all freemen between the ages of fifteen and sixty were to arm themselves, according to their station, and hold themselves ready for inspection by the Commissioners of Array. On receiving its Charter in 1553, the High Constable and bailiffs acquired the right to supervise their own inspection, and this was perpetuated in the Court of Array. Every year, the Court Leet elects two 'Dozeners’ from each ward in the City, and these present their formal reports to the High Constable when the Court of Array is convened; the High Constable then reports to the Lord Mayor. The whole court 0 proceeds to join the bower procession to inspect the City’s suits of armour where they have been made ready for their inspection at Greenhill.

Helston Furry Dance
Helston, Cornwall
8 May (unless this falls on a Sunday or Monday, when it becomes the preceding Saturday)

To see the Helston Furry Dance, it is wise to get there early, as people from all over the county to enjoy the fun. Basically, it is a day given over entirely to dancing the furry dance to the music of the band playing the well-known but misnamed 'Floral Dance'. There are a number of set dances throughout this day, beginning early in the morning, firstly for young people and then for little children, all of whom are dressed specially for the occasion. The principal dance of the day begins at noon, and sets off from the Guildhall as the clock strikes the hour; participation in this dance is strictly by invitation of the stewards. Some hundreds of morning-coated gentlemen wearing top hats and their elegantly-clad ladies in their long dresses and decorated headgear dance together in an extremely long crocodile right round the town. They dance through the open doors of shops and houses, out into the yards and gardens, then back into the street again, pressed closely by the thousands of sightseers who have thronged into town. The dance takes almost two hours to ° wend its way down the main street and complete its course.

The shops, houses and pubs have all been decorated with flowers and boughs of greenery, and the obvious closeness of Mayday has led to the confusion over the name, so that in the l8th century it was called the floral and in the l9th century the floral dance, though it originally stemmed from feriae, Latin for festival or holiday, and from which we also derive the word fair. 8 May is the feast of the Apparition of St Michael, the patron saint of Helston.

It is said that the Devil threw a stone at St. Michael that missed the saint and landed in the town, and can be seen protruding from the wall of the Angel Inn, which was built around it. The celebration is therefore to welcome the summer and for the deliverance of St Michael.

There is another old inn in Helston, and one that has been continuously brewing its own beer since the l5th century, when it was a monk's rest house. This is the Blue Anchor and visitors should be wary of its strong brew.