This month’s History Monthly by Philip Leason, the chairman of Stone Historical Society, looks at Christmas in Victorian Stone, and a traditional festive play that was last staged in the town in 1897 – unless you count a re-enactment in 1988!
One of the traditional entertainments at Christmas over the centuries was the performance of a “mummers” or “Guiser’s” play, with the players wearing “rags and tatters”.
A large number of towns and villages had their own version of the play but the words tended never to have been written down but were passed by word of mouth from one generation to the next.
However, the words for the Stone play were recorded and preserved for prosperity by Mr W Wells-Bladen in an article he wrote on “The Folklore of North Staffordshire” for the North Staffs Field Club in 1900. Mr. Wells-Bladen wrote the words down from an old gentlemen named James Hodgkiss who had performed in the play for many years and who could recite the script fluently.
The characters of the Stone Play were: St. George, Slasher, King of Egypt, Prince of Paradise, Hector, the Doctor, Bold Old Ben and Beelzebud.
The play starts when St. George is challenged to a fight by Slasher, “a valiant soldier”. They fight and Slasher is wounded. The King of Egypt enters and sends for a doctor who is then questioned about what he can cure. He states that he can cure “All Sorts” and elaborates: “The itch, the pitch, the palsy and the gout. If a man’s got nineteen devils in his skull, I can cast twenty of them out. I have in my pocket crutches for lame ducks, spectacles for blind bumble bees and plasters for broken-backed mice.
“I cursed St. Harry of an agony about 150 yards long, and surely I can cure this poor man. Here Jack, take a little pull of my bottle and let it run down thy throttle; and if thou be’est not quite slain rise up, Jack and fight again.”
Unfortunately, the doctors claims seem to have been exaggerated, for Slasher states: “My back is wounded, my heart is confounded, to be knocked out of the life of seven senses into fourscore, the like was never seen in old England before. Then hark, St. George I hear the silver trumpets sounding down yonder is the way, so farewell, St George, I can no longer stay”. And he dies.
St George is then challenged to another fight by the Black Prince of Paradise. St George is again the victor and he states: “Now Black Prince of Paradise in dead and all his glory entirely fled; take him and give him to the flies and never more come near my eyes.”
The King of Egypt then calls for Hector who in turn fights with St George and he too is wounded and dies.
Next enters Bold Old Ben, who challenges St. George for a fight at a later time.
The play ends with Belzebub entering and saying: “Here am I, Old Beelzebud, and in my hand I carry my club, and on my shoulder a dripping-pan. I think myself a jolly old man. Down in yonder meadows, where the birds sing funny, Ladies and Gentlemen, please fill my ladle with money. My ladle’s dumb and cannot speak so fill it full for St. George’s sake.”
The play was last performed in Stone in 1897. On 6th January 1988, a group from Uttoxeter revived the play to celebrate 12th Night and the evening concluded with the town mayor carving a decorated roasted pig’s head. Unfortunately this was one-off production and the play is yet to be revived again.
Another event held around Christmas time in Stone (probably in Pump Square, now Granville Square) was the hiring fair known as Gorby’s Market which was similar to a jobs fair today. People looking for work as farm labourers or servants were matched up with an employer.
Hiring fairs originated following the Black Death over 600 years ago which led to a shortage of agricultural labour. Experienced farm workers were able to demand excessively high wages.
So the law known as the Statute of Labourers was passed.
This stated that farm labourers and servants had to be hired annually in public to prevent secret deals from desperate employers.
Workers had to turn with tools or symbols of their trade. Shepherds held a crook or had a tuft of wool in their hat, cowmen had wisps of straw, dairymaids carried buckets and maids held brooms or mops (it is for the latter reason that some hiring fairs became known as mop fairs).
The custom of hiring servants at such fairs died out towards the end of the 19th century.
We are all familiar with Christmas songs and carols and one of the most popular is The Twelve Days of Christmas. In different parts of the country there used to be various versions. One of the most popular in this area is the following, the words of which were written down for propriety by Rev. Waller of Hanford.
“The first day of Christmas, My true love sent to me, Part of the June pear tree.”
This is followed by: 2 turtle doves; 3 French hens, 4 Jolly birds, 5 jolly rings, 6 geese a-like, 7 swans a swimming, 8 hares a running, 9 lords a laping, 10 ladies dancing, 11 bears a baiting; and 12 bulls a roaring.
Today we take down our decorations on 12th night but in the past they were taken down on Candlemas Day (2nd February) and usually burnt. However at Stone Mill (now the Mill Restaurant) they were carried to the cowhouses and given to the cows to eat, in order that they might not “cast” their calves, a custom that continued until the 1850s.
The Stone Historical and Civic Society meets on the third Wednesday of each month, from September to June, in St Michael & St Wulfad’s Church Hall, Lichfield Street, Stone, at 7.30pm. For further information contact Philip Leason on 01785 817980
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