Oak Apple Day
Oak Apple Day
Do you wear oak-apple leaves on 29 May? It was common in some counties of England to celebrate this day rather than the first of May. At one time, if you didn’t wear oak-apple leaves, you would risk being stung with nettles or kicked and pinched for being a ‘Roundhead.’ This is still celebrated by children in Sussex as “Pinch-Bum-Day.”
King Charles II, in his escape from the Roundheads after the battle of Worcester in 1651, reputedly hid in the Boscobel oak and, after the Restoration, a variety of ceremonies associated with the oak were introduced on the 29 May. Rather than celebrating the date of this escape, the date is that of the Restoration of the King to the throne... and his thirtieth birthday!
Pensioners at Chelsea Royal Hospital, London, (founded by Charles in 1682) celebrate their Founders Day – the 29 May. His statue is decorated and the Chelsea pensioners parade with sprigs of oak leaves on their bright scarlet jackets. They celebrate with beer and plum pudding.
Grovely Rights
The villagers of Wishford Magna in Wiltshire have an ancient, common right to collect stray wood or broken branches from the forest of Grovely. To continue this privilege they must formally make an annual declaration. Grovely Rights is one of the customs that moved to the 29 May after the Reformation.
The day starts with a boisterous tin can band in the early hours and villagers go out in the night to cut green boughs. One large bower is hoisted to the top of the church tower to bring luck to any weddings in the next year. Most important is the visit to Salisbury Cathedral, six miles away. The company, headed by women bearing faggots or sprigs of oak which are given to the Dean, go to the high altar and proclaim, ‘Grovely!, Grovely!, Grovely! and all Grovely!’ This reaffirms their rights to gather the wood for another year. A dance is performed inside the Cathedral as well as outside on the green by women holding sprigs of oak on their heads. The same women, carrying bundles of dry firewood on their heads, lead the impressive procession through Wishford village to celebrate another year under the wonderful Oak Apple Club’s banner.
Garland Day
At Castleton in Derbyshire, Oak Apple Day is Garland Day. The garland is made by a group of men who spend hours attaching flowers to a hive-shaped frame. A large posy of flowers, known as the “Queen,” is made by women. The Garland King and his Lady appear in the early evening dressed in period Stuart costume. On white horses, they parade around the village. After their first ride, the King has the hollow, flower-covered ‘Garland’ placed over him. Over 3 feet high, weighing about sixty pounds, this garland covers him down to his waist. It is then topped with the “Queen” and the Garland King has to ‘wear’ this in procession through the village.
Accompanied by a brass band, young dancers and an escort of cubs and brownies, the procession stops at the village pubs for refreshment and the young children dance the ‘Garland Dance.’ They later do a display of ribboned dances around the maypole in the square.
Lastly, the King and his consort visit the churchyard. The “Queen” is removed and the main garland hoisted off the King’s shoulders and pulled to the top of the church tower where it is fixed to one of the pinnacles. The “Queen” posy is placed on the War Memorial and the Last Post is sounded. Dancing then takes place in the village.
