"We (Mr. Wray and Mr. Willoughby) began our journey northwards from Cambridge, and that day, passing through Huntingdon and Stilton, we rode as far as Peterborough, 25 miles. There I first heard the Cathedral Service. The Choristers made us pay money for coming into the choir with our spurs on."
"We (Mr. Wray and Mr. Willoughby) began our journey northwards from Cambridge, and that day, passing through Huntingdon and Stilton, we rode as far as Peterborough, 25 miles. There I first heard the Cathedral Service. The Choristers made us pay money for coming into the choir with our spurs on."
Helpston cracked pippins,And Northborough cracked pans,Glinton fine Organs,And Peakirk tin pans.
The Churches of Tansor and Cotterstock are not very far from each other. Cotterstock has four bells, and Tansor only two. The villagers say that the Cotterstock bells ask:
"Who rings the best? Who rings the best?"
and Tansor proudly and rapidly replies,
"We do, We do, We do, We do."
Tansor now possesses three bells, so their answer now is "We three do."
The Pancake bell is still rung regularly in Peterborough on Shrove Tuesday.
The Gleaning bell is rung in the district.
In some Parishes a bell was tolled during the time of a corpse being put in its shroud, and was called the "Winding Bell."
The Church Bells of Helpston, Northborough, Glinton, and Peakirk are described as:—
A mole spot on the body, is considered lucky.
One with the mole on the neck, will gather money by the peck.
A mole on the left shoulder, betokens a drunken husband.
Right eye itching, sign of joy,Left eye itching, sign of sorrow.
Right eye joy, left eye cry.
If your nose itches, you will kiss or shake hands with a fool.
Nose itching, going to hear news.
Rub it on wood and it's sure to come good.
Palm of right hand itching, you will receive money.
Left palm itching, you will pay money away.
If your knee itches, you will kneel in a strange Church.
If your foot itches, you will walk on strange ground.
The moon, meek guardian of the night.John Clare(unpub.)
To see the new moon for the first time through glass is unlucky especially the first one in the year.
You should always turn the money in your pockets when you see the first new moon in the year, and if one of the other sex is near an interchange of kisses increases the good luck.
To see the new moon the first time over your right shoulder is lucky, but if over the left shoulder it is unlucky.
The first new moon in the year is stronger in its influence than the others.
If the new moon does not appear until the fourth day, it foretells a troubled time for the whole month.
When the moon appears on the fourth day very clear and sharp and rather on the slant, it promises mostly fair weather for the month.
An erect moon is said to threaten wind.
Near full moon a misty sunrise,Bodes fair weather and cloudless skies.
When the clouds of the moon to the West fly away,You may safely rely on a settled fair day.
When mountains and cliffs in the clouds appear,Some sudden or violent showers are near.
Sun rising red and fiery foretells wind and rain. If cloudy and the clouds decrease it is a sign of fair weather.
If after rising the sun goes to bed again (that is going behind clouds) it is a sure sign of rain.
The evening red, the morning grey,Are surely signs of a very fine day.
Children are told they may go and play in the fields, or open, when the sun shines on both sides of the hedge.
A black cat following anyone into a home brings good luck.
Mice coming into a house indicate a death.
A mouse running over anyone is an infallible sign of death.
The squeaking of mice behind the bed of an invalid, or the appearance of a white mouse running across a room, are also signs of death.
Pigs should be killed when the moon is on the rise.
If killed when the moon is waning the fat of the pork will shrink.
It is unlucky to bring a squirrel into a house.
The first time you see any lambs turn your money.
If their heads are turned towards you it is lucky, but if their tails it is the reverse.
Moles work harder than general before rain.
A mole's foot carried in the pocket is a sure prevention against witches.
Crows foretell rain when they caw and walk along on the banks of rivers and pools.
A crow alighting in front of anyone walking is unlucky.
Two crows bring good luck, and if they fly away over the person's head it is very great good luck.
Four crows foretell a death in the person's family.
I was recently told that two crows alighting on a house betokens a death, and a very peculiar instance was given. My informant told me that his coat of arms bears three Choughs and the night before his father died two crows sat on the window sill of his father's bedroom, and it was remarked that one of the three birds being absent foretold the death which occurred next day.
A bird flying into a house foretells a death.
A white pigeon is a bird of ill omen, and if after hovering about it alights on a house it is a token of the death of one of the inmates.
A hen crowing is a sign of death.
When swallows fly low it foretells rain.
The cuckoo comes in May. In June he changes his tune. In July he goes away. In August away he must, for a cuckoo in September nobody can remember.
It is said woodlarks are never found in Northamptonshire.
Larks rising very high and singing for a long time is a sign of fine weather.
Kites flying aloft betokens fine weather.
Peacock's feathers, even now, are considered to bring bad luck into a house.
When you see a heron flying the first time in the year put the tips of your right thumb and the finger nearest the thumb together and form a ring. Then wish and at the same time spit through the opening, and if the spittle does not touch the hand the wish comes to pass. This, I believe, is a strictly local custom, as there is a heronry in Milton Park, about three miles from Peterborough.
On the death of their master or mistress one of the family or household must go to the hives and tap on them and say who is dead and who is to be their new master. If this is neglected the bees will pine away. Some sugared beer is given to the bees at these times.
The various flights of bees are named as follows: A swarm. 2. A cast. 3. A colt or second cast, and should there be a fourth, which is very rare, it is called a spem—a swarm from a swarm is called a virgin swarm.
The different values of the swarms are described in this rhyme:
A swarm of bees in MayIs worth a load of hay;A swarm of bees in JuneIs worth a silver spoon;A swarm of bees in JulyIs not worth a fly.
Bees flying far from their hives and coming home late foretells fine weather.
Bees are more industrious just before rain, but do their best to reach their hives before the rain falls.
Spiders were considered efficacious in cases of Ague. If put alive in a bag and tied round the neck or swallowed alive wrapped in paste.
If you wish to live and thriveLet the spiders run alive.
Spider webs in the air or on the grass and nets foretells fair weather.
A spider on one's clothes means a new suit or dress.
Woodlice, of the kind which roll themselves up when touched, if swallowed in that state, were taken for the ague.
With regard to wearing out boots, there is a doggrel on this subject:—
Trip at the toe, live to know woe,Trip at the ball, live to spend all,Trip at the heel, live to do well.
One funeral brings two more.
A variation of this makes the "two more" dependent on a Sunday intervening between the death and burial of the body.
Another variation affirms that the first death must be that of a female.
When a grave opens for a "she," it will open for three.
It is the custom, in some places, to place some salt, in a pewter plate, on the chest of a dead body; but especially when the death has been through dropsy. This was done only a short time since.
The roaring noise of a fire foretells a quarrel in the house.
A thin flake of smut on a bar of the grate betokens a visit from a stranger.
Cinders flying out of the fire, taking the form of a purse and giving a jingling noise when shaken, foretells the receiving of money. When they are in the shape of a coffin (and with no jingling) this betokens a death.
If anyone by stirring or otherwise makes a dull fire get bright, it is said to make his or her sweetheart smile.
To prevent cramp at night place your shoes by the bedside in the form of a T. One end pointed to, and the end of the other shoe pointed from the bed, is also considered a preventative.
Knives laid edge upwards on the table cut Angels' feet.
Two knives, crossed on the table, foretells a quarrel within an hour.
To drop a knife mean a male visitor and, in the case of a fork, a female visitor.
Never give, or accept, a sharp edged or pointed present without giving a coin in exchange, or friendship will be broken.
Knives crossed and laid on the floor is a strong protection against the power of witchcraft.
A very old woman told me she once tried the knives on one of her neighbours, as she suspected the woman of overlooking her; so she asked the woman to come and see her one day but before the woman came into the house she crossed two knives and put them on the floor in a dark corner. When the suspected person came in she wouldn't sit down and soon left, appearing to be very uncomfortable; so she was a "wrong un" but the old lady said she was all right after that, and had no more trouble.
Straws crossed and placed on a footpath, or on the road, prevents a witch from passing.
Many years since I remember hearing of this being done as a suspected woman was coming along, and it was said the woman got very angry and foamed at the mouth but she didn't pass the straws.
The following is in use at the present time:—
If a husband runs away from his wife she buys a pennyworth of Dragon's Blood, wraps it in paper, and places it under her pillow when she goes to bed, and it is sure to draw him back again.
A chemist in Peterborough had a letter a few years since, from a woman in the Fens, asking him to send her a "pennorth of Dragons Blood" for this very purpose; and the following shows that the custom is in use, even in the United States of America, at the present time according to the following extract from the "Daily Express" of 18th February, 1905:
Drank Dragon's Blood.Buffalo Bill's wife gave him love Philtres."Express" Correspondent.Cheyenne (Wyoming), Friday, February 17th., 1905.
It came out, during the hearing of Buffalo Bill's divorce case to-day, that he had been dosed with many love Philtres.
Mrs. Cody, his wife, was extremely jealous of him and imagining that his affection for her was gone, mixed gipsy love potions in his drinks. One of these, which was supposed to be particularly efficacious, was known as "Dragon's Blood."
Mrs. Parker, a witness, told the court that Mrs. Cody believed that every woman was infatuated with her husband, and confided to her the names of many prominent women who, she said, were in love with him.
The witness stated, in cross examination, that during these outbursts of jealousy Colonel Cody was beside himself with rage.
Dragon's Blood is not a fluid. It is a resin from certain kinds of palm.
At Oundle "There is a Well that is credibly reported to drum as a presage of very great alterations to publick affairs." M.S.S. dated 1703, of the Phillips Stourhead Collection, No. 22244.
I came across this Croyland rhyme some time since:—
In Holland fen, now mark the name,Old Croyland stands, of mickle fame,There is a wine of a certain class,There is fodder like sword grass,There's a bed as hard as stone,Thence depart, with "get ye gone."
If you can peel an apple with the paring in one piece take the peel by one end with the right hand and wave it three times over your head and throw it over your left shoulder, and it will fall in the form of the first letter of your sweetheart's christian or surname.
With the first cherry pie of the season, those who partake of it count the stones, to know their prospect of matrimony. The counting is done in this manner and, at the same time, repeating these words over and over again until all the stones on the plate have been counted:—
1st. stone "This year," 2nd stone "Next year," 3rd stone "Sometime," 4th. stone "Never," and on which word the last stone falls, that is the fate.
"Grandfather" Clocks, and especially those which have been in a family for two or three generations, are regarded as capable of foretelling deaths in a family. If one falls down, stops without any apparent cause, or strikes several times more that it ought to do without stopping, then these events are certain signs of death.
A well known barrister told me he had bought an old Grandfather clock, and his man had entire charge of it. One morning the man found the clock had fallen down during the night and he was very much disturbed about it and said there would be a death soon, and within a week the man's father died.
In another case a man said he was cleaning a clock which his father had made, and the owner told him what a good clock it was, but, said she, "It was completely master of your father for a time. He came to clean it one day, and after a few weeks it stopped, and he went again and attended to it, but it was no use, so was given up as a bad job. The owner was certain a death would soon occur, and shortly after her husband's mother died. When she heard of the death she set the pendulum swinging, and it had never stopped since, except to be cleaned."
It is very seldom that other kinds of clocks are credited with these powers although at Werrington there was, in a cottage, a small wooden Dutch clock called in this neighbourhood a "Sheep's head" clock. It was hanging on the wall and had not been going for some years, the weights and pendulum had been lost and the lines were wrapped round the clock. One Sunday morning before the woman and her husband had risen from bed, but were both wide awake, they distinctly heard this clock strike "one" and by the next mail they received notice that their son, a soldier on Foreign service, had died that Sunday morning, and at one o'clock.
There are several things worn as charms and amulets, which are attributed with various powers, and one favourite is a "Lucky bone" which is worn for good luck. This bone is taken from a sheep's head, and is in the form of a T.
A stone with a hole through it, is worn and highly valued for its Good Luck.
The stones that have only one large hole, are hung on bed heads, and in stables.
Horse shoes, when found, are very lucky and should be nailed over the threshold, or over the hearth. I have seen some at Cotterstock Hall, Alwalton Hall, and other houses, attached to the door. They are also nailed over stable doors. If there are any nails in the shoe, when found by a single person, then, as many nails as there are, so many years will it be before the marriage of that person.
Thorney men, seeing a small portion of a horse shoe lying in the road, pick it up and throw it over their shoulder, so that no ill-luck may befall them.
A knuckle bone or a cramp bone carried in the pocket prevents cramp.
A potato, chestnut or a nutmeg carried in the pocket prevents rheumatism.
A piece of wicken is worn as a cure for the ague.
A mole's foot or a load stone, in the pocket, is a protection against witches.
Although lamps and gas have generally supplanted candles, in the country where candles are still used, the spark on the wick is considered to denote the coming of a letter, and the melted tallow or composition forming a winding sheet denotes a death.
When a candle burns blue or dim, a spirit is said to be in the room.
It is very unlucky to return to the house for anything after leaving it, although the spell is broken if the person sits down before coming out of the house again.
Two people, meeting on a staircase, is a sign of an approaching wedding.
When walking together, two lovers must not pass on different sides of turnstiles, road posts, or lamp posts, or they will certainly quarrel.
It is bad luck, when two persons are walking together, to separate and one to turn back against a gate; but if one of them sits down for a time, whilst the other walks away, the bad luck is turned.
To spill salt is a sign of sorrow or anger; but if the spilt salt is gathered up in a spoon and thrown over the left shoulder the luck is turned.
An old shoe thrown after anyone starting on a new undertaking is considered to carry good luck; especially if it goes over the head and does not hit the person.
Flies are more troublesome before rain.
Gnats playing up and down in the open air near sunset is a sign of heat.
If in the shade, warm and mild showers, but if they join in stinging those who pass them it presages cold weather and rain.
Children, even now, when they find a Ladybird or cow lady say:—
Click, Clock, Clay. What time o'day.One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, Click, clock, clay.
Another custom is to get a ladybird and put it on the back of the hand and say:—
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home,Your horse is on foot, your children are gone;All but one, and that's little John,And he lies under the grindle stone.
If it does not fly away then it is thrown up into the air.
In some places the insect is called cow lady, and then the rhyme begins cow lady, cow lady, etc.
When the Dandelion clocks are blowing children carefully pluck them and with as perfect a head as possible hold it upright in front of them and say:—
Clicketty, Clock, what's o'clock?
and then try and blow as much off the head as possible, and as many times as it takes to blow the down off the heads such will be the time.
Children gather Timothy grass and beginning with the top seed say:—
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich man,Poor man, Beggar man, Thief.
At each word the hand touches the next seed and on whichever name the last seed comes such will be the sweetheart. The words are repeated over and over again until all the seeds are counted.
Clare mentions these signs in his Shepherds Calender.
And scarlet-starry points of flowers,Pimpernel, dreading nights and showersOft call'd "the Shepherd's weather-glass,"That sleeps till suns have dried the grass,Then wakes, and spreads its creeping bloom,Till clouds with threatening shadows come,Then close it shuts to sleep again;Which weeders see and talk of rain,And boys, that mark them shut so soon,Call "John that goes to bed at noon."
Seeds should be sown and plants and roots planted when the moon is on the rise to ensure successful results.
If seeds are sown when the moon is on the wane there will be bad crops.
If a man or woman plants a sage tree and it thrives, the one who planted the tree will rule the house.
If a single man pulls up a sage tree at midnight on Christmas Eve a storm will arise and the man's future wife will appear.
It is unlucky to bring holly into the house before Christmas Eve.
All evergreens used for Christmas decoration should be burnt on Candlemas day and care must be taken to burn all the holly berries, otherwise a death in the family may be expected for each berry left in the house unburnt.
Mistletoe should hang in the house from one Christmas to another.
It is unlucky to bring the May flower or the Chestnut blossom into the house.
If flowers like the Dandelion or Pimpernel are closed or shut up it fortells rain and bad weather, but if quite open fine weather.
When the mulberry tree begins to shoot, the last frost has gone. In Hunts it is called the wise tree.
The shooting of the Ash and Oak in the Spring is carefully watched, and the first appearance of the new shoots accords with this rhyme:—
If the Ash before the Oak,Then there'll be a regular soak;But if the Oak before the Ash,Then there'll only be a splash,
I have seen children eating apples and taking the pips one by one and repeating this doggrel:—
Cobbley, Cobbley, fly awayBring me an apple tomorrow day.
At the words "fly away" they used to throw the pip away, in the firm belief that they would have another apple the next day for every pip thrown; but only one pip from each apple could be used by each child.
On Palm Sunday the Church used to be decorated with palm branches in the seats and windows.
On Christmas Day the parishoners and clerk used to meet at the Church, at three o'clock in the morning and sing a Psalm and then proceed to the Cross, and to every gentleman's house in the town for which they received a largesse during the holidays.
A winding bell used be tolled on a dead person being put into her shroud.
If a man dies intestate and leaves a family the youngest son becomes the heir to the property.
Once a year, the Freemen of Huntingdon used to meet on the Market Hill, they then proceeded in procession dragging a horse's skull with them and perambulated the bounds of the Freemen's lands. At certain points there are boundry holes dug, these holes they re-dig and hold a boy (one of the Freemen's sons) up by his heels with his head in the hole, and strike him (on the part prepared by nature for that purpose), with the spade. This is done at each hole. A different boy was whipped at every hole so that several could remember where the holes were dug, especially the hole at which each individual had suffered, and the memory of the hole was impressed on mind and body, and the position of the boundary marks were thus registered.
For many years the annual custom has been discontinued, and takes place at irregular intervals. It has only occurred once during this century.
The men of Godmanchester sometimes formed bands on the same day and when they met the men of Huntingdon a free fight and struggle took place between them to secure the horse's skull.