Good luck will rub off…: chimneysweeps, milkmaids or shepherdesses with floral baskets and ladels, clowns and Green Men would all feature in the ancient rites of spring
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Has there been an outbreak of paganism in the pews of Croydon’s oldest church? Spring’s in the air as DAVID MORGAN investigates
Visitors to Croydon Minster are often amazed at the detail in the wooden carvings on the ends of the pews in the chancel, where the choir sings.
Carving: is it a cat? Or a man?
The finials or poppyheads have been shaped into foliage clusters, animals, birds and some strange, human-like faces. Each pew end is different. You can find a serpent-like creature wrapping itself around a vine. There is a bird preening its feathers.
Other carvings, though, look more sinister.
There’s a strange cat, with a humanoid face which seemingly has a moustache rather than whiskers, that stares out straight ahead.
And then there are the faces. Each one is different, but all are made in the tradition of The Green Man (only rarely can any examples be found of “green women”).
Faces surrounded by foliage are said to be “Foliate”. Those with vegetation coming out of their mouths are “Disgorging”, whilst those with vegetation sprouting from every orifice are “Bloodsuckers”.
The Minster faces fall into the first two categories. These carvings were made in 1869 when the church was rebuilt after the terrible fire of 1867. Exactly why the Victorian architect Sir Gilbert Scott choose to include such detail in his new plans isn’t known, but they hark back to Medieval times when finials in churches were more common. It is not known if the old Medieval church in Croydon had such detail but the inclusion of these carvings does suggest a link to earlier traditions.
The contractors for the building of the new church were Dove Brothers Ltd, who were based in Islington. The three brothers had built their business up so that by 1861 they employed 210 men and 11 boys. As well as the Croydon Church, they had worked with Sir Gilbert Scott on other ecclesiastical projects at Kensington and Barnsbury.
Tradition: were the carvings included to reflect some of the church’s ancient carvings?
The Green Man is closely associated with ancient traditions around springtime, of Mummers and Morris dancers, as the days lengthen and temperatures creep up, the green shoots of the new season’s growth begin to show.
It is a story, perhaps legend, that has been a constant fascination, the subject of novels, plays and television dramas.
The Easter story of resurrection and hope is lived out in nature. Medieval legend also talks of the Tree of Life growing from seeds planted in Adam’s mouth.
It wasn’t just in church that these Green Men could be found in Croydon. Back in the 1850s, the Croydon public would take part in or turn out to watch traditional Jack-in-the-Green celebrations. These would often form the centrepiece of May Day celebrations.
Edgar Browne, the son of Hablot Browne who illustrated Charles Dickens’ novels, remembered such spring revelry in Croydon in his memoirs. Going out early in the morning on a May Day, he went with his family to see Jack-in-the-Green processions which he described as “being a great deal of fun”. He described seeing figures walking along dressed as “arbours” – trees – with an opening in the leaves just big enough for the bearer to see where he was going.
Intense: much work and attention to detail went into the Minster pew carvings
People would have worked for hours attaching foliage to the frames in order to create what would become human bushes. Alongside the walking green men, were others dressed as chimney sweeps and girls in short petticoats as shepherdesses. Many of the sweeps and the shepherdesses carried ladles so they could collect copper coins.
Making up the procession were masked clowns who Browne noted “were given full license to play tricks on the audience”.
Having working chimney sweeps as part of the procession was traditional. This time of the year was generally a quiet one for their seasonal work, and collecting coins from the onlookers helped them through this difficult period.
The other traditional group in a Jack-in-the-Green procession were not shepherdesses but milkmaids. These young ladies had originally decorated their buckets with flowers and garlands, eventually replacing the buckets with pyramids of flowers which they placed on their heads.
Over time, the milkmaids gradually disappeared from the processions and were replaced in Croydon, at least, by shepherdesses.
Fun day out: Jack in the Green processions welcomed the coming of spring
There were other strange characters in the procession. There might be a Lord and a Lady, a dragon and a fairy on stilts. Some of the characters had names, such as Grand Serag, Jim Crow and Master Merryman. All processions would have a Jack, carrying a flower-covered stick, directing the proceedings like an orchestra’s conductor.
After the main Jack-in-the-Green processions had passed, Browne recalled that there were games and competitions. One was the climbing of a Greasy Pole with the winning prize being a leg of lamb. The other was a race for ladies who had to wear “a garment which had not then lost its English name”. Sadly, he gave no more details.
Jack-in-the-Green processions can be found in some, often more rural, towns today. The nearest big celebration over the first weekend of May is at Hastings, where Morris dancers, musicians and fascinating costumes will be on view.
Watch out for the green shoots in the gardens and the parks. It’ll soon be time for another visit by The Green Man.
David Morgan, pictured right, is a former Croydon headteacher, now the volunteer education officer at Croydon Minster, who offers tours or illustrated talks on the history around the Minster for local community groups
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- Addiscombe military college’s professor who was all at sea
- The 550-year rise and fall of Croydon’s annual Walnut Fair
- A Dickensian tale which adds extra Phiz to its Croydon twist
- Minster archive reveals butchers, bakers and… peruke-makers
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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Most Excellent!
The Wild Hunt Morris, based in Croydon, will bring out our Green Man when we dance at Rochester Sweeps Festival on 4th May this year. Jack in The Green festivals are still very popular in this country..
We’d be keen to hear from Wild Hunt Morris and other Morris groups of their performance plans locally in the coming weeks, Frances
David Morgan is IC’s star columnist! This stuff is brilliant – I vote you give him the biggest payrise you can afford. I feel a groundswell of popular opinion that might force the fiscally prudent editor to loosen his purse strings.
Why don’t you buy him a pint in the Radius Arms on one of your regular visits?
On behalf of IC? My fear is that the Radius is a bit low brow for a columnist of Mr Morgan’s stature.
Blimey there goes your chance of a complimentary pint in the Radius by selling them short on the brains front and they have that library of books in there too.