Old Customs of Morpeth. By Wm. Woodman. 129 



custom. On the Saturday before, carlings were shown in the 

 windows and sold at all the grocers' shops ; at the public houses 

 the landlord provided salt fish, and the working class went to 

 spend the " carling groat." Now they are seldom seen, and there 

 is difficulty in procuring the peas to be steeped. 



Easter Monday and Tuesday. — The great holidays were 

 Christmas and Easter, the former was of the family and house- 

 hold, but at the latter were out-door sports. 



On Easter Monday and Tuesday the young people resorted 

 to the North Field to play ball, " doun the lang lonnin','' 

 and other games. Dyed paste eggs were freely distributed 

 amongst children. 



The Guild of St. George formerlj' existed in the church of 

 Morpeth : it was styled the Chantry of St. George. In Stainsby's 

 Northern Journeys we are told, " A custom in the towne of 

 Morpeth to choose one out of the young men in the towne to be 

 St. George, and all the rest of the young men to attend him ; 

 and upon St. George-day all come to church, and at the re- 

 hearsinge of the creed to stand up and draw his sword." 



At Midsummer, after sunset, the lads and lasses resorted to 

 the woods to beat each other with branches of rowan tree. 

 From the use of the rowan, it must have been of northern 

 origin : the Scandinavians believe this tree to have magical 

 power, and in their ships have a stick of it. On the eve of 

 Midsummer day, fires were formerly lighted in every township : 

 except in Elsdon parish they have in recent years been 

 discontinued. In the end of last and beginning of this century 

 all the country was in a blaze. Here it may be noted we have 

 the earlier custom, of the day beginning at 6 p.m., and so in our 

 Prayer Book, where the Collect for Sunday is directed to be used 

 at evening prayer the day before. 



"Old times are changed, old manners gone." 



Eoyal Oak Day. — At the Grammar school on this day the 

 boys were up before 3 a.m., and with their band of wind 

 instruments went round the town to collect all the boys, and 

 thence to the Chapel Wood, where they cut large branches of 

 oak— each boy having one — marched to the school, which they 

 ornamented with the oak, the master heard the lessons and gave 

 holida}' after 8 a.m. This was an old custom, and a continuance 

 of that of the companies. 



