The documents exactly match those collected by Enid Porter so it is assumed that the tune is the same. Plough Monday - Purpose Music; Ambience: Acapella chorus, Plough Monday song From before the time of the Renaissance until the late 1800's, the thirteenth day after Christmas was known as Plough Monday in many parts of England, when field laborers could have some fun at the expense of their wealthier neighbors. This economic factor might just have been the reason for the continuance and popularity of the custom throughout the centuries. [4] The customs observed on Plough Monday varied by region, but a common feature to a lesser or greater extent was for a plough to be hauled from house to house in a procession, collecting money. Sheet Music for The Swaffham Prior Plough Monday Song, Robert Arkenstall School Log Book (1878-1896), Plough Monday References, Swaffham Prior School Log Books (Plough Monday) 1914-1934. The top-hatted squire was Rodney Beeton, the part of “Betsy” was played by Alan Plumb owing to the fact that he had the longest, curliest hair. Today, any monies accrued tend to be distributed to local charities - and even commercial sponsorship is accepted. That was probably one of the reasons for the raucous celebrations which happened in some regions on the Monday following Twelfth Night or 6th January. Today is Plough Monday. Many protested that they were determined to have a “dry January” but these cries were to no avail and the threatening presence of the men, emboldened by their disguise, induced many in the crowd to swallow the foul brew which some claimed had a strange gingerish after-taste. The bounty collected from these perambulations was shared out by the individuals concerned, probably to supplement meagre wages or, if the weather was bad, sometimes none at all. This website uses cookies to manage authentication, navigation, and other functions. Others said they were sure it was a woman and said they’d heard her called “Bessy”.

Plough Monday is the traditional start of the English agricultural year.

On Monday 10th January 1972, the refurbished plough was brought out from Lower Farm with six men acting as the horses and an assorted group of men dressed in smocks and string-tied breeches. English Folk Dance and Song Society, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY, UK. These men were variously known as Plough Stotts (Yorkshire and the North East), Plough Bullocks, Plough Jags or Jacks (Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire) or Witches (Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire) and they often wore very fanciful costumes adorned with ribbons, jewellery or any sort of ornament available, including horse brasses. Dustin Warncke Recommended for you

The sheet music (dots) for the Swaffham Prior Plough Monday song “A Sifting of Chaff” were transcribed from the Lucy Broadwood Manuscripts on the website of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (English Folk Song And Dance Society). A rolling review of Morris news .....  content coming! Beginners’ Guide: British Folk Customs From Plough Monday to Hocktide, Clipping the Church, Lady Day and Carling Peas. There are a few articles which descibe Plough Monday including references in “Truculent Rustics” by Elaine Bradtke and “Molly Dancing in East Anglia” by Needham and Peck. The sheet music (dots) for the Swaffham Prior Plough Monday song “A Sifting of Chaff” were transcribed from the Lucy Broadwood Manuscripts on the website of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (English Folk Song And Dance Society). The sheet music (dots) for the Swaffham Prior Plough Monday song “A Sifting of Chaff” were transcribed from the Lucy Broadwood Manuscripts on the website of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (English Folk Song And Dance Society). The rough-music coming from this rustic orchestra which caused the men to twist and spin was like no music heard in respectable company and was more akin to the terrifying cries of beasts enduring agonising torments in the dark night. . Instead of pulling a decorated plough, during the 19th century, men or boys would dress in a layer of straw and were known as Straw Bears who begged door to door for money. Plough Monday - Purpose Music; Ambience: Acapella chorus, Plough Monday song From before the time of the Renaissance until the late 1800's, the thirteenth day after Christmas was known as Plough Monday in many parts of England, when field laborers could have some fun at … “No word was spoken until they arrived at The Buck where a cry went up from their apparent leader who bellowed, “Only once a year, a Penny for the Ploughboys”! Unfortunately I could find few historical references to Plough Monday traditions in Suffolk, indeed one authority on the subject, Peter Millington, states in a comprehensive paper called “The Origins of Plough Monday” that “Norfolk and Suffolk are almost devoid of Plough Monday records". In anticipation of this years Plough Monday on 8th January and the Whittlesea Straw Bear on 13th January you may like to read this recently discovered account of a previous Plough Monday from a bygone age. The play would often include a song (in fact, in some cases much of the play would be sung) and in a few places the ‘actors’ would join the dancers, who followed them around during the day, and alternate their performances, maybe even incorporating the dance into the play. The lights and noise caused a crowd of anxious villagers to gather on the village outskirts and around The Buck Public House. So I began a diligent search of the internet and came across this article which seems to come from a late Victorian account of an event in Rumburgh. [1], William Hone made use of Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain: Including the Whole of Mr. Bourne's Antiquitates Vulgares (1777) by the antiquary John Brand. Remove Cookies Not only did the plough return to the field this day, but sometimes ploughboys took a bedecked plough from house to house, hauling it through the streets. This year Old Glory Molly Dancers and Musicians will be performing at the Rumburgh Buck on 8th January. List of Morris Clubs; Morris and Molly Teams in East Anglia. Cyclonic hordes of insects, a telepathic despot, body-swapping sex - just a few of the surprises Salvador Samuels encounters when he is swept back to pre-colonial times, walking in the moccasins of a blind Indian - who, in turn, has been transported into Salvador's body in present-day America. One witness said he could confirm that there were indeed women amongst the gang and some of them had scrubbed up quite nicely but there were no frills. Unfortunately, as we know, Google is an unreliable source so I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the following report. Plough Monday customs declined in the 19th century but were revived in some towns in the 20th. This Beginner ’ s Guide covers the period of the year between Twelfth Night (6 January) and Hocktide (the second Tuesday after Easter). For Plough Monday was the day when village life in many agricultural areas focused on the dragging of a decorated plough, sometimes a real one but often just a replica, around a community by bands of young men who would knock on doors and ask for money, food or drink. Plough Monday “God spede the Plough and send us ale corne anow, our purpose for to make.. (inscription in church at Cawston, Norfolk) Delaying tactics. Plough Monday was the first Monday after 6th January and was the day on which things would return to normal after the Twelve Days of Christmas and people would return to work. You might also be interested in looking at the Beginners' Guide to English Folk Drama too. It was also the first day of the new agricultural year and 16th century poet and farmer Thomas Tusser wrote: Plough Monday, next after that Twelfth tide is past Bids out with the plough, the worst husband is last. This may have been said to excuse the disturbance but it appeared to reassure some present and the crowd parted and allowed the plough to enter the pub yard. At one point the crowd was intimidated into drinking a strange potion. There would be guise dancing (folk-etymologically rendered as "goose dancing" by either the authors or those whom they observed) and considerable drinking and revelry.[7]. “On 13th January this publication received an alarming report from several eye witnesses of a disturbing event which occurred the previous evening, the first Monday after Epiphany, which some call Plough Monday. [8] They are now mainly associated with Molly dancing and a good example can be seen each year at Maldon in Essex. The office of one of these characters, in which he is very assiduous, is to go about rattling a box amongst the spectators of the dance, in which he receives their little donations. Traditionally the return to work, the start of the agricultural year, is the first Monday after the Twelfth Day. Traditionally the return to work, the start of the agricultural year, is the first Monday after the Twelfth Day.

Sacred Mounds suggests they are as important today as when they were made over a thousand years ago. A farm labourer courts a ‘lady’ but is rejected and persuaded by the Recruiting Sergeant to enlist in the army.

Cultural appropriation is huge in fashion, in movies, in media ... and guess what in spirituality too. The customs observed on Plough Monday varied by region, but a common feature to a lesser or greater extent was for a plough to be hauled from house to house in a procession, collecting money. Some of the men seized hold of each other and began a series of muscular movements, turning and twisting, pulling and shoving each other giving no quarter. However, that is where the similarity ends. You can download a sample text of a Plough Monday play from the PDF tab at the top of this page. It marked the end of the Christmas holidays for agricultural workers and a return to the land. [10][unreliable source], https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plough_Monday&oldid=972688562, Articles lacking reliable references from January 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 August 2020, at 10:33. By using our website, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device. This decision can be reversed. This version of the music for the song was collected in Swaffham Prior around 1904. The day traditionally saw the resumption of work after the Christmas period in some areas, particularly in northern England and East England. From Plough Monday to Hocktide.