A swarm in May Is worth a load of hay A swarm in June Is worth a silver spoon A swarm in July Is not worth a fly.‘
‘Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry’ published 1573, suggests we should:
‘Take heed to thy Bees, that are ready to swarm, the loss thereof now, is a crown’s worth of harm.’
According to Hillman’s ‘Tusser Redivus’ of 1710, swarming in May produces particularly good honey. ‘Their hours of swarming are for the most part between the hours of ten and three, and they ought to be watched every day.’ He advises following the bees to retrieve them:
‘You are entitled by custom to follow them over anyone’s land and claim them … but only so long as you ‘ting-tang’ as you go, by beating some metal utensil – the sound whereof is also said to make your bees stop.’
Much of the above is quoted from The Perpetual Almanac of Folklore by Charles Kightly.
Queen Bee
Bees swarm when a new Queen Bee takes a proportion of the worker bees to form a new colony. They will latch unto a branch or a shrub, even a car’s wing mirror. Then sending worker bees out searching for a suitable new home, such as a hollow tree. There may be hundreds or even thousands in the new colony. This may be very alarming. But, at this point, they will not be aggressive as they do not have a hive to protect. Look here for more information on swarming.
Sweet, Long Distance Flyers
An average hive will produce 25 lbs of honey, and the bees will fly 1,375,000 miles to produce it. This is like flying 55 times around the world (according to the British beekeepers Association (and my maths)) https://www.bbka.org.uk/honey
Swarming in Hackney
Swarm of Bees, Hackney (Photo Kevin Flude 30th May 2018). The Swarm is at the top of the Column and on the edge of the porch roof.
In 2018, on 30th May, I was perturbed to find a swarm of Bees hanging outside my front door. Frightened of leaving my house, I rang a local beekeeper, who came to take possession of the Bees and take them to a new home. By the time he came, they had moved 20 yards to a Buddleia bush.
Swarm of Bees, having moved 20 yards to a second perch, being ‘rescued’ by a bee keeper. You can see the swarm above his head.
Helping Bees
Bees are still having a hard time as their habitats are diminishing and threats increasing. In July, DEFRA hosts Bees’ Needs Week 2026: 13 to 19 July. This aims to increase public awareness of the importance of pollinators.
They suggest we can help by these 5 simple actions
Grow more nectar rich flowers, shrubs, and trees. Using window or balcony boxes are good options if you don’t have a garden.
Let patches of garden and land grow wild.
Cut grass less often.
Do not disturb insect nests and hibernation spots.
Think carefully about whether to use pesticides.
Patron Saints of Bees include: St. Ambrose, St. Gobnait, and St. Valentine. Click here to see my post of St Valentine.
On This Day
1821 – Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena.
1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen, which is 36 kms.
1964 – Europe Day is launched by the Council of Europe but the European Union celebrates Peach and Unity in Europe on May 9th
First Published 2024, revised 2025, rearranged 2026
Rodmas – Rood screen in St. Helen’s church, Ranworth, Norfolk by Maria CC BY-SA 3.0
Rood is another word for the Cross. Parish Churches used to have a Rood Screen separating the holy Choir from the more secular Nave. This screen was topped with a statue of the Crucified Jesus nailed to a Rood. So, Roodmas, is the festival of the Holy Cross. Roodmas is celebrated on May 3rd and September 14th, although the Church of England aligned has itself with the Catholic Church’s main celebration on September 14th.
See my post on September 14th here for more on the True Cross.
Object of the Week
Mechanical Celestrial Globe, 1575 (Holburne Museum Bath) Photo K Flude
I spent a couple of days in Bath and revisited the Holburne Museum. Here I saw this amazing object from the 16th Century. The Globe is a model of the universe, and built to show the movement of the constellations, but it also tells the time and date. So the user can see when a constellation appears above the horizon and where it will be in real time. The mechanics are designed to be seen from inside the Globe, so reading it from the outside requires a mental adjustment to the mirror image of the stella sphere. It also show a pre-Copernican view as the stars were imagined as if on the inside of a huge sphere circulating around the earth. For more information please read the label below.
Museum Label for Celestial Globe.Close up of the surface of the Globe showing Orion. Photo K Flude
The Shropshire News reported that two pieces of the True Cross were given to Charles III by the Pope for the Coronation. They were installed into a cross called the Welsh Cross. This was part of the Coronation Procession. The King gave the Cross (I assume with the pieces of the Holy Cross) to the Church in Wales. Let the Shropshire News tell the story:
It is a clear reminder that we are subjects not citizens and news, as a nation, we still set store by superstitions.
The Duke of Buckingham and the True Cross
The Duke of Buckingham had a piece of the True Cross in his collection, which he kept at York House in the early 17th Century. How he got it, I don’t know. But I think he must have acquired it in the aftermath of the destruction of the Reformation. John Tradescant, who looked after the Duke’s collection until Buckingham was murdered, had a piece of the True Cross. Tradecant created Britain’s first Museum, Tradescant’s Ark. Again, I suspect (without any evidence) that he got the fragment from Buckingham. Was he gifted it? Did he acquire it after the murder? Or shiver off a timber fragment hoping no one would notice?
First Written on May 3rd 2023, revised 2024, 2025, Object of the Day added 2026
The Stinking Idol : An Imagined Scene at the Maypole at St Andrew Undershaft
This post is about the end of the Maypole in London but first:
On This Day
Old Print of the French Executioner dispatching Anne Boleyn with a sword rather than an axe.
1536 – Anne Boleyn arrested on ‘charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.’ But, Claire Ridgway in her post here and her book, show that she was never accused of witchcraft in court. The stories of extra fingers, and teats, are all later Catholic propaganda aimed at weakening Elizabeth’s claims to the throne. She was accused of adultery. Five men were executed for sleeping with her: her brother George Boleyn, (Lord Rochford); Sir Henry Norris, groom of the stool; courtier Sir Francis Weston; courtier William Brereton, and musician Mark Smeaton. Incest with her brother (one possible explanation of the incest is the idea that she desperately needed a baby and if she needed a surrogate then her brother was safest as the child would have a family resemblance to her and not rouse any suspicions from Henry of adultery. The other explanation is that Anne never commited incest!). Treason, well sleeping with someone other than the King risked imperilling the blood line of the Royal Family. It also gave a motive for killing the king.
A new portrait has been claimed to be of Anne Boleyn, the only one to have been done in her lifetime. But it has been revealed by AI, and some art historians are not convinced. Follow this link to see for your self.
1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to lead the Scottish Reformation.
1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle. You could blame John Knox for the hostility Mary faced as a Catholic governing a country rapidly turning Presbyterian.
1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published by printer Robert Barker. His printshop was at Northumberland House, Aldersgate Street, in the City of London. (as far as I can see no one else seems to know where the printing was done.)
Northumberland House marked in yellow nearAldersgate. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 7.0, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 05 May 2022, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/NORT2.htm. INP.
The Printer then went on to create the worst possible error in publishing history by omitting the word NOT in the 6th or 7th Commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Commit Adultery’. This edition became known as the Wicked Bible. Barker & Howard are still in the publishing industry and have offices in the East End of London.
The King James Bible introduced many phrases into the English language, including:
The apple of his eye The four horsemen of the apocalypse Baptism of fire Chariots of Fire O death, where is thy sting? Like a thief in the night Weighed in the balance and found wanting
1670 – King Charles II of England granted a charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1917 my 17 year old Grandfather sailed to the Hudson bay as an able seaman for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
1982 – The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sunk the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano. It was controversial as the Belgrano was outside the Exclusion zone, and said to be sailing away from the conflict. 323 Argentine sailors were killed. The event, arguably, changed Mrs Thatcher political fortunes.
1995 – Allies Statue unveiled. The Statue of Churchill and Roosevelt set up to commemorate 50 years of peace. 30 years later, how we wonder what Churchill and Roosevelt would say about the current state of NATO? https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/11351
‘Allies’ Roosevelt and Churchill by by Lawrence Holofcener, unveiled on May 2nd 1995 by Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon
The Maypole or rather ‘This Stinking Idoll’
Philip Stubbes, wrote a vitriolic attack on pagan practices in his ‘Anatomy of Abuses in 1583’. He fired a broadside at the tradition of dancing around the Maypole. He said they had: ‘as Superintendent and Lord ouer their pastimes and sportes: namely, Sathan Prince of Hell‘ as they erected ‘this stinking Idoll’. By which he meant the Maypole. Stubbes suggested that of the maids who went out to the woods on May Eve, less than one-third returned ‘undefiled‘.
Evil May Day Riots
The Maypole was stored at St Andrew Cornhill, which became known as St Andrew Undershaft. In 1517, it was attacked during the ‘Evil May Day riots’. The main focus of the riot was foreign workers. The Under Sheriff of the time, Thomas More, tried to quell it, meeting the rioters at the corner of Cheapside and St Martin’s Legrande. But 5,000 troops commanded by the Duke of Northfolk was necessary to regain control of the City. 300 rioters were arrested. One hanged, drawn and quartered, 13 hanged and nearly 300 pardoned after the intercession of Woseley and/or Katherine of Aragon (depending on which historian you read). The shaft was returned to its place under the eves of the houses in Shaft Alley. But apparently banned from being raised again.
1549 May Day Riots
However in 1549, the curate of nearby St Katharine Cree Church made an inflammatory speech. This incited a Puritan mob, who cut the shaft into pieces and burnt it. I always imagine the Curate’s sermons to be along the same lines as Phillip Stubbes attack on the Maypole.
Maypole: this Stinking Idol, Rather
Here is a longer description of the May Day Celebrations by Stubbes.
‘But their chiefest iewel they bring from thence is the Maie-poale, which they bring home with great veneration, as thus: They haue twentie, or fourtie yoake of Oxen, euery Oxe hauing a sweete Nosegaie of flowers tyed on the tip of his homes, and these Oxen drawe home this Maie-poale (this stinking ldoll rather) which is couered all ouer with Flowers and Hearbes, bound round about with strings from the top to the bottome, and sometimes painted with variable collours, with two or three hundred men, women and children following it, with great deuotion.
And thus being rearedvp, with handkerchiefes and flagges streaming on the top, they strawe the ground round about, bind green boughes about it, set vp Summer Haules, Bowers, and Arbours hard by it. And then fa! they to banquet and feast, to leape and daunce about it, as the a Heathen people did, at the dedication of their ldolles, whereof this is a perfect patteme, or rather the thing it selfe. I haue heard it crediblie reported (and that viua voce) by men of great grauity, credite, and reputation, that of fourtie, threescore, or a hundred Maides, going to the wood ouemight, there haue scarcely the third part of them returned home againe vndefiled.‘
The unraised pole seems to have survived until the beginning of the Civil War, (1644) when it was destroyed. But at the Restoration of Charles II a new and huge Maypole was ordered. It was joyously erected 134 ft high (41 metres) in the Strand. This one was danced around till 1713 when it was replaced. The original was sold to one Isaac Newton. He used it to support the biggest telescope in Europe, which was erected in Wanstead by a friend.
And that, my friends, is how you get from Superstition to Science in one easy story.
Old Print of Isaac Newton
Postscript.
I have always told people that the sermon leading to the destruction of the Shaft in 1549 was made at St Paul. I cannot remember where I read this. The suggestion that the Maypole in Cornhill was not used after 1517 seems strange. Why then would an unused maypole rouse a crowd to riot in 1549? Of the sources I have at hand, the London Encyclopedia mentions the riot of 1517 in its entry on St Andrew Undershaft but doesn’t elaborate more. ‘Layers of London‘ says ‘It was last raised in 1517 when ensuing riots led to the celebration being banned.’ which is definitive sounding. But is it? I wonder if it was banned for a year or two, then allowed again, and finally stopped in 1549?
Walpurgis Nacht is the eve of the Feast of St Walpurga. On May 1st 870AD, St. Walpurga remains were ‘translated’ to Eichstätt. St Walpurgis Day is her feast day. Walpurga’s brother St Williibald had set up Eichstätt as the Diocesan centre of this part of Bavaria. Walpurga and her two brothers, Willibald and Winibald were Anglo-Saxon Saints who helped convert Germany to Christianity in the 8th Century. But, I wrote about the Saint and her brothers in on my page on St. Walpurga.
The Celtic Day began at Dusk, so May Day and the Feast of St Walpurga begins on 30th April. The Christian Church took over many local traditions and adapted them to the calendar of the Church. So a Saint’s Day, is preceded by an Eve. For example, All Hallows’ Day and Halloween, and May Day and May Eve.
Eve of Beltane
The evening of April 30th is also the beginning of Beltane. Beltane is one of the principal Celtic Festivals, dedicated to the God Belinus. It is a Celtic Fire Ceremony and the traditional beginning of Summer. It is 6 months before Halloween, (see my post of Halloween here.) Walpurgis Nacht is also halfway between the Spring equinox and the Summer solstice. So, a very important day in the Celtic Calendar. (see my post on May Day).
In Sweden it is known as Valborg and as Čarodejnice in the Czech Republic.
A day of Uncanny Weirdness?
As May Day was an uncanny period dedicated to Pagan Deities, Walpurgis Nacht became a time when all the weird things are alive in the world. In response, the Christian Church associated a saint to the day to be a focus for defeating witchcraft. So, it is a popular tradition for this Night to see the burning of an effigy of a witch on a bonfire.
Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London. By Wenceslaus Hollar – Artwork from University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital CollectionScanned by University of TorontoHigh-resolution version extracted using custom tool by User:Dcoetzee, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6235771
It is also the Feast Day of St Erconwald. He was a Royal Prince but no one can agree of which Saxon Kingdom. He became one of the most famous Bishops of London (675 and 693). Chertsey Abbey and Barking Abbey were founded by the Saint. His sisterwhich his sister, St Ethelburga, became Abbess of Barking. Not only that, but he was known as the light of London and was responsible for rebuilding St Pauls Cathedral. And helping to complete the conversion of the Kingdom of Essex.
Flora (Floralia festival named after her) on a gold aureus of 43–39 BC Wikipedia photot by АНО Международный нумизматический клуб
On the 28th of April began the Floralia. It continued to the Kalends (15th) of May. According to Ovid in the ‘Fasti’ Book IV, the Romans celebrated Flora, the Goddess of Spring. The Floralia celebrated flowering, blossoming, budding, planting and fertility.
Flora was one of the 15 Roman Deities offered a state-financed Priest. Her home in Rome, was on the lower slopes of the Aventine Hill near the Circus Maximus.
The Circus Maximus is the large long arena in the middle of Rome. Model Musee Arte et Histoire, Brussels, photo K Flude
Celebrations began with theatrical performances, at the end of which the audience were pelted with beans and lupins. Then there were competitive games, and spectacles. The latter, in the reign of Galba, including a tight-rope walking animal. A monkey you might guess but no, it was a tight-rope walking elephant!
The Year of the Four Emperors
Incidentally, Galba only survived for 7 months as Emperor. A little longer than our Liz Truss’s 44 days. But then she was not murdered by a rampaging mob at the end of her reign. It was the year known to history as the year of the 4 Emperors. (great description by Tacitus here).
Spectacles and Battles
Juvenal records that prostitutes were included in the celebration of Floralia by dancing naked, and fighting in mock gladiatorial battles. There is a raging debate about the existence of female gladiators. A burial in Southwark has been said to be one such. To hear what Natalie Haynes has to say on the subject look here🙂
Fauns, Satyrs, Goats and Hares
Hares and goats were released as part of the ceremonies. These animals were both considered to be very fertile and have a ‘salacious’ reputation! (Satyrs or Fawns were, famously, obsessed with sex and were half man half goat. A man can still be referred to, normally behind his back, as an ‘old goat’). Fauns were Roman, Satyrs Greek. The one half man half goat, the other half man half horse. It all got a little mixed up and fauns became very similar to satyrs.
1792 – France invaded the Spanish Netherlands to begin the French Revolutionary Wars which begin a period of near continuous European War until the defeat of Buonaparte in 1815.
1945 – Mussolini and mistress are shot by the Italian Resistance.
1967 – Muhammed Ali refuses his induction into the US Army on moral grounds. ‘I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong’. He said.
Written in 2023 revised April 2024, 2025, On This Day 2026
Bluebells, on average, bloom on April 9th, but can be seen through April and into May. Past their prime in London currently, although still thriving in my north-facing back garden. The Londonist has a great website on where to see them in London. And for the rest of the country, see the National Trust’s Bluebell walk page.
Hyacinthus
Our wild hyacinth is officially called Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Mrs Grieve, in her ‘Modern Herbal’ gives this charming account of the Linnean name:
‘Linnaeus first called it Hyacinthus, tradition associating the flower with the Hyacinth of the Ancients, the flower of grief and mourning. Hyacinthus was a charming youth whom both Apollo and Zephyrus loved, but Hyacinthus preferred the Sun-God to the God of the West Wind, who sought to be revenged, and one day when Apollo was playing quoits with the youth, a quoit (blown by Zephyrus out of its proper course) killed Hyacinthus. Apollo, stricken with grief, raised from his blood a purple flower, on which the letters Ai, Ai were traced, so that his cry of woe might for evermore have existence upon earth. As our native variety of Hyacinth had no trace of these mystic letters our older botanists called it Hyacinthus nonscriptus, or ‘not written on.”
Avoid the Spanish
The Spanish variety is causing havoc in some places. It is more robust and can interbreed with ours and endangers our beautiful bluebell walks. Native bluebells are therefore a protected species. We are not allowed to pick them, nor even tread on them.
Old Medical and Practical Uses of Bluebells
It was used as a diuretic and is styptic (Contracting the tissues or blood vessels; stopping blood flow). The bulbs are poisonous in the fresh state. But were used as a starch, much used when stiffs ruffs needed starching. Its gummy qualities led it to be used as a bookbinders gum, and to set feathers upon an arrow.
Tiled wall in Guernica after Picasso’s famous painting. Photo By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK – Guernica, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64155674
This day is the anniversary of the bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War but first we find out the origins of the London Cocktail Party.
The first Cocktail Party
The brother of Evelyn Waugh, Alex put on the first Cocktail party in 1924, or so he claims. He organised it at the studio of celebrated war painter C. R. W. Nevinson, in Haverstock Hill. Waugh felt there was nothing much to do between 5 and 7 except tea parties where tea, crumpets and cake were eaten. As he said to the Newinsons:
“What one needs, is some kind of a party that starts at half-past five, that lasts ninety minutes, at which alcohol is served but not much food.”
Study for Returning to the Trenches, drawn between 1914 and 1915. C.R.W. Newinson Public Domain (Wikipedia)
The first drink boded well:
‘I opted for rum. Jamaican rum had been blended with Rose’s (Newinson) lime juice and sharpened with Angostura. Large nuggets of ice kept the mixture cool. It was very potent. The first sip made me shiver, in the way that a dry martini does. It also sent a glow along my veins. “This,” I said, “is going to be a party.”‘
But it wasn’t as only one person turned up. So a year, later he tried again, but this time he disguised the event as a ‘Tea party’. But served, “A Daiquiri. It’s sweet, like a dessert, and very strong. It will produce the precise effect you need.” at the suggestion of a member of the US Embassy. As the drink tasted like sherbet, everyone drunk lots of them and the tea party went with a swing unlike any other. And thus, it caught on and became a part of the London scene.
Franco ordered the bombing as part of his campaign to overthrow the Basque Government. The Town was devasted and 1,654 civilians were killed. The bombing was undertaken by ‘the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria’ (Wikipedia). Picasso began his famous painting almost immediately after he heard an eyewitness account of the attack. The iconic painting was finished by 4 June 1937. The bombing showed the potential damage war from the air could do to crowded Cities. The painting became one of the most famous campaigning works of art.
The War from the Air
“The War in the Air” by H. G. Wells. London: George Bell & Sons, 1908. First Edition Illustration by A. C. Michael of Pall Mall Magazine –
Aerial warfare became a reality as soon as the Montgolfier Brothers flew the first Hot Air Balloon. (On 19 September 1783, they flew a balloon with a sheep called Montauciel (“Climb-to-the-sky”), a duck and a rooster in the basket). In the Revolutionary Wars, the French used hot air balloons for reconnaissance. Napoleon considered transporting troops by balloon in an invasion of Britain. With the arrival of planes and the development of the Zeppelin. Air warfare became a feature of speculative fiction, and began to absorb the planners.
H G Wells book, illustrated above, featured a war between Germany and the United States in which New York is obliterated by Aerial Bombing. This was written in 1908. In World War 1 London was the focus of a series of Zeppelin and Aeroplane raids. These killed over 500 people. (see my post on the London Zeppelin raid of Sept 8th 1916).
As planes developed in capacity, war departments created plans that seem now to have been exaggerated. It is thought that Appeasement was partly a response to the feared casualties from war in the air. The authorities were planning for 1 million killed in London and double that number of people deranged by fear. In the event, casualties were far less, some 43,000 killed. However, 2 million houses were destroyed. The scale of destruction was fairly accurately predicted but the casualties greatly exaggerated.
1564 – Shakespeare Baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford on Avon.
1925 – World War 1 General von Hindenburg returned as the first directly elected President of the Weimar Republic. He played a crucial role in Hitler’s ascent to power. Hindenburg’s example is one of the main reasons I prefer an unelected powerless Royal Head of State, rather than an elected one.
1994 – The new South African constitution set up and democratic elections were held.
First Published on April 26th 2025, revised First Cocktail Party added 2026
St Mellitus (Source: from saint-mellitus-of-canterbury-died-624
St Mellitus was the first Bishop of London (AD604) and the third Archbishop of Canterbury. But was he really? No, he was the first Bishop of London of the English Church. There were many before him. We know there were bishops of London from Britannia during the Roman period. And, according to John Stow, London’s first history. there were also post-Roman bishops. That line of Bishops ended, in 584 AD, when the 14th Bishop, Theanus, fled London. He headed for Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon threat. However, even Stow was uncertain whether the list was genuine.
In 314 a Church Council or Synod was called at Arles, in France. Amongst those attending were three bishops from Britain, (and a Deacon and a presbyter) :
Adelfius “de civitate Colonia Londenensium” – that is, from the “colonia of the people of London”.
(Wikipedia)
The fact that two came from London suggests to some a mistake. Adelfus, perhaps, was either from Lincoln or Colchester which were Colonies. The Synod was called by the Emperor Constantine. Amongst its acts were to order that Easter should be held at the same time throughout the Empire. (See also my post on the Synod of Whitby which fixed the date of Easter in Britain as late as 684). They also banned Races, and Amphitheatre Games. and excommunicated all actors and charioteers. But it gives us our first certain facts about the origins of Christianity in Britain.
The Augustinian Mission and Mellitus
St Mellitus Burial Place, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury. Photo K. Flude
In 597, the Augustinian Mission came to Kent. Mellitus was sent by Pope Gregory to join St Augustine’s mission in 601AD,. He was then sent to London to set up St Pauls and become its bishop (604). London was under the control of the Kingdom of Essex in those days. The King was Saberht, who was the nephew of St Ethelred, King of Kent. Saberht accepted Christianity but when he died. His heirs reverted to paganism and kicked Mellitus out. Mellitus went into exile in Gaul but came back to become the third Archbishop of Canterbury. He was buried in St Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury. He is known as St Mellitus of Canterbury. St Mellitus had gout so is the go-to Saint for sufferers of gout.
London reverted to paganism until 654AD when St Cedd became its next Bishop.
1925 – McVitie’s Chocolate Digestive was created. There were made in Stockport and in Harlesden, London. I have moored my narrowboat outside the factory and been kept awake by the churning of chocolate in vast vats. News stories suggest that the Digestive was meant to be eaten with the chocolate on the bottom side. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard! But apparently it helps the chocolate get to your taste buds that bit quicker. But judge for yourself and read this page for the facts. And this one for more on the history of the Chocolate Digestive.
William Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout from the 1st Folio
By tradition, Shakespeare was born on St George’s Day April 23rd 1564. He died on the same day in 1616 at age 52. Cervantes died on the same day.
Shakespeare’s death date is given by the burial register at the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford on Avon where he was buried. His baptismal record also survives at the same church and is on April 26th 1564. So, we don’t actually know when he was born, but christening were held soon after birth for fear of the high infant mortality rates, so 23rd April has been assigned to be Shakespeare’s birthday.
Taken to the chamber
Anne Shakespeare would have ‘taken to her chamber’ about four weeks before the due date. The windows or shutters were fastened, as fresh air was thought to be bad for the birthing process. Female friends and relatives came to visit; the room would be decorated with fine carpets, hangings, silver plates and fine ornaments. It was held that external events could influence the birth, any shocks or horrors might cause deformities and anomalies, so a calm lying-in room was clearly a good idea.
When labour began, female friends, relatives, and the midwife were called to help out. A caudle of spiced wine or beer was given to the mother to strengthen her through the process. Today, the maternal mortality rate is 7 per 100,000. An estimate for the 16th Century is 1500 per 100,000. So most women would have heard of or attended the birth of a women who had died during or following children birth. There were also no forceps. So if a baby were stuck and could not be manually manipulated out, then the only way forward was to get a surgeon to use hooks to dismember the baby. This was the only way to save the life of the mother. Doctors were not normally in attendance, but could be called in emergency,
Swaddling
Detail of tomb of Alexander Denton and his first wife Anne Willison, and her baby dressed in swaddling clothes Photo Wikipedia Hugh Llewelyn
Immediately after washing, the baby was swaddled. The swaddling was often very tight and could affect the baby’s growth. Also, it might have affected the learning process. The free movemenb of hands and feet are now considered important in the early learning process. Swaddling lasted eight to nine months, and only went out of fashion after Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote against the practice.
Christening & Registration
Puerperal fever killed many women even after successful childbirth, for example Queen Jane Seymour who died after 5 days. During these dangerous early days, the mother was kept in a dark room. Perhaps three days after birth, friends were invited to celebrate ‘upsitting’ when the mother was no longer confined to bed. This is when christening would take place. Edward VI was christened to a huge audience in the chapel at Hampton Court three days after his birth.
Licensed midwives could baptise newborn babies provided they used the correct wording and informed the Church. This allowed the registration of the birth to be properly reported. Thomas Cromwell was responsible for the law in 1538 which insisted on a parish register to record weddings, christenings, and funerals. The law was reaffirmed by Queen Elizabeth in 1558. Registers had to be stored in a locked chest in the Church. In 1597, the records had to be on parchment not paper. In 1603 the chest had to have three locks! Since writing this I have realised the significance of the three locks. In St Eadburga’s Church in Broadway in there is a locked box for alms, and it has three locks too. This was so that it could only be opened when all 3 Church Wardens were present.
If the christening were in the church, the mother might not be there as she was expected to stay in her chamber for another week or so. A week or a few weeks later, the mother would be ‘churched.’ This was a thanks-giving ceremony. Puritans did not like the idea as it might be confused with a purification ceremony.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding would last a year or so but, buty high status women choose to use a wet-nurse. They went to some effort to find a suitable wet nurse. It was believed that the quality of the breast milk was important for the babies’ development both physically and temperamentally. Poor children who lost their mothers were unlikely to survive. For without breast milk, the baby would be fed pap – bread soaked in cow’s milk.
1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeded his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England. Unfortunately, Edmund dies soon after dividing England with Danish King Cnut. Subsequently, Cnut takes over the entire country.
1661 – King Charles II crowned in Westminster Abbey. Read my post on John Evelyn’s reaction to the restoration of Monarchy after the the Commonwealth period of Republican Government.
1942 – World War II: German bombers hit Exeter, in what became known as the Baedeker Raids. They were in retaliation for the success of the British bombing of Lübeck, and of Rostock. In the following days the Luftwaffe bombed Bath, Norwich and York. A German official said they would bomb every building with three stars in the Baedeker Tourist Guide. Hitler said the English were: ‘beings with whom you can only talk after you have first knocked out their teeth‘
First published in 2023 and republished in April 2024. On This day added 2026
On the corner of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe in the City of London is one of the very few medieval Churches that survived the Great Fire of London is 1666. It was sheltered by the firebreak that was the Leadenhall, a big market building made of stone. This is where the great London historian John Stow is buried. His Survey of London is one of the best sources for Medieval and Tudor London. Every three years, there is a commemorative service and his quill is changed. Last year it was on the 22nd April. The next is due in 2027, date yet to be announced. The Lord Mayor attends, and it is organised by Stow’s Guild – the Merchant Taylors.
John Stow records that his father returned to his home at Austin Friars one day to find his house had been moved. He had no warning, nor payment for the loss of land. He had the misfortune to live adjourning the property of Thomas Cromwell. This is what Stow wrote:
‘My father had a garden there, and a house standing close to his south pale; this house they loosed from the ground, and bare upon rollers into my father’s garden twenty-two feet, ere my father heard thereof; no warning was given him, nor other answer, when he spake to the surveyors of that work, but that their master Sir Thomas commanded them so to do; no man durst go to argue the matter, but each man lost his land, and my father paid his whole rent, which was 6s. 6d. the year, for that half which was left. Thus much of mine own knowledge have I thought good to note, that the sudden rising of some men causeth them to forget themselves.’
St Andrew Undershaft
The Church is London’s Maypole Church as it was here the Maypole or the shaft was stored under the eves of the Church. Hence, St Andrew’s sobriquet of ‘Undershaft’. The May Day riot of 1517 put an end to the dancing around the Maypole but the pole itself survived until 1547. Then, in a Puritan riot, the ‘stynking idol’ was destroyed. (see my May Day blog post here for more more details.)
There is also a plaque to Hans Holbein, but no one knows for sure where he is buried. He died in London in 1543, possibly of plague. The present church was built in 1532, but it is first recorded in the 12th Century.
Today is Earth Day. It was set up in 1970. For more information click here.
2016 – On Earth Day the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by 123 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. The USA is the World’s the second largest emitter. They withdrew from the agreement in 2020, rejoined in 2021, and withdrew again in 2026. Iran has signed it but not ratified it.
First Published on 30th November 2022, Revised 2023, moved to April in 2024, and revised 2025, On This Day added 2026
