Signs of the past are always to be found in London if you look for them. Nigel, a close member of my extended family, is keen on the folklore of South London, and the strange beliefs that people have held over the ages. He's always finding snippets of uncommon history and he knows a lot of people who are into strange folkloric things at South East London Folklore Society
Since it's early May, I'd been wondering if Nigel was interested in Jack-in-the-Green. This old tradition was associated with chimney-sweeps (in the days when people had chimney sweeps), and essentially it involves dressing up as a bush or shrub in early May, and dancing around.
The ancient Primula variety "Jack in the Green"
Lots of old books refer to the unruly folk who used to dress up in pillars of leaves and brawl around in the streets of London scattering leaves and flowers as they went.
I was interested in this 18th century print showing a jack-in-the-green with a puffing chimney in the background. I'd guess it's a political satire, because the gold-laced, blacked-up figure in the foreground is far too grandly dressed to be a chimney sweep, although he's dancing with a very rough looking lady. My guess is that he was a politiican, but what was his crime? If you have further info about this print, let me know!
Although London had more sweeps than anywhere else, jacks-in-the-green were (and are) widespread. They still are, as you can see from this link to a big celebration in Hastings, Sussex, next weekend).
Anyway it turns out Nigel IS interested in Jack-in-the-Green, and I spotted on his blog that he followed the Deptford Jack-in-the-Green the other day. (That's a picture from his blog at the top of my post, and here's a link to the rest of it.
I doubt if any of these folk from Deptford have ever squeezed themselves up a hot chimney. But meanings of folk events are constantly changing to fit the times, and I'm glad that this old tradition still has a place in modern life.
Next year, I hope I'll remember to find a jack-in-the-green celebration. I'd go to Hastings if we didn't have house guests here in London.
PS I've put a Flower for Leontien on my other blog, better late than never.
Wonderful post
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of fun
Round here we have the Burry Man. No links to chimney sweeps, and dresses in burrs rather than plants but definite similarity
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burryman
How interesting, Macy, I have never heard of the Burryman but he looks like fun. I'd imagine that making his costume is a bit prickly!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I live in the Welsh-English borders and we are maybe not quite as high tech as some places I am sure we can not be the only place to still have plenty of Chimney Sweeps. We still light an open fire in the living room in the evening.
ReplyDeleteBy the way one old favourite way to clean the chimney was to tie a thin rope to the legs of a chicken ans lower it down the chimney, all the mad flapping of wings would work really well. I don't think anyone does that these days as it is a little on the cruel side. Its all brushes and vacuum cleaners these days.
That's amazing. I'd heard about this tradtion years ago, but I'd assumed it had long died out.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteAnd what fun to have it still going on strong till this day, regardless how it is viewed now, as opposed as to how it was celebrated orginally. :)
This was fun and informative to read. Thanks for sharing~
ReplyDeleteHello Jenny:
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how so many of these ancient customs have not only survived but continue to attract many followers through the decades. Perhaps it is that in these changing times, there is something reassuring about holding on to the traditions of the past? Whatever, it all looks to be great fun!
In our gardening days we had a collection of Primulas and Auriculas, including Jack-in-the-Green. They are such incredibly varied and cheerful spring flowers.
Who wouldn't want to dress up as a bush and run through town. We have folks like that here in the Philadelphia, Pa area. They are called Mummers and dress up in elaborate costumes made of feathers. On New Years day, hundreds of them have a march down the main street in the city, play banjos, and dance to highly choreographed musical numbers. Tens of thousands of people attend this celebration and alcohol plays a big part in all the festivities.
ReplyDeleteThis was so much fun. I hope you will share any info you might gather about that print.
ReplyDeleteI found this very interesting. I was wondering if it is the same as the Green Man. If you go here you can see him at the bottom of the page:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eso-garden.com/index.php?/weblog/2007/05/
We never had a chimney sweep but my Dad had his own brushes and it was great excitement for us kids when he got ready to sweep the chimney.
Interesting. Never heard of this fellow before. Never knew you had another blog either. Now I'm going to hop over there to see what it is about.
ReplyDeleteDarla
I do think a perusal of folk stories tells us a lot about ourselves. I hope we never lose the stories.
ReplyDeleteSo many of these old traditions are fun to keep up, and with new meanings added, the way it should be. It's a way to keep connected to the past, thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteWell if you are into all that malarky you need to head to Rochester this weekend for the Sweeps Festival... lots of morris dancers, folky music and other spring shanagines will be going on http://www.whatsonmedway.co.uk/festivals/sweeps-festival
ReplyDeleteBarbara Dickson (remember her?) is the headline act - although I doubt she's been up a chimney at any time in her life
this is actually really cool...i think last year someone posted some pics of jack in the green and it was the first time i had heard of it...
ReplyDeleteHow very interesting, thanks for all the links.
ReplyDeleteI found this very intrigueing though I've never heard of the Burryman. Chimney-sweeps remind me of Charles Kingsley's "The Water Babies". Isn't Tom, the protagonist, a young chimney sweep? When I was a kid, I read the book again and again.
ReplyDeleteI always learn things when I read your blog. Interesting to hear about these chimney sweeps as I stare at my holographic fire.
ReplyDeleteJenny,
ReplyDeleteOh, what a delightful tradition! Chimney-sweepers remind of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" in Merry Poppins. The merry song and dancing are still vivid in my mind. Was May the time when chimney-sweepers were relieved from their hard works? May is warm enough without a fireplace. Or they had to sweep chimneys all year long?
keiko
This is fascinating. The first time I heard of this was when Suggs (of Madness) sang a track (Jack O the Green) on a Jools Hooland CD I have, by the same name. Apparently Suggs had seen the ceremony in Whitstable and a similar one in Tuscany, using the same tune. He and Jools put their own spin on the folk tune. It’s really jolly with wonderful lyrics.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely and interesting post! x
ReplyDeleteThis was wonderful thanks for bringing it to life for me! This is a fine example of why I love (can't wait for another like it) to open your posts!
ReplyDeleteI’ve heard of wearing of the green but this celebration really takes the cake! I like that fellow all dressed up in cloth-leaves and love the folklore. Chimneysweeps always bring Charles Dickens and that bygone era to mind with its best and worst of times. It is wonderful how past and present merge so seamlessly in your part of the world. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the guy in the top photo. I used to know someone who played the Green Man in festivals aound the Midlands. It took him ages to get the green face paint off.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting. I wonder if Jack in the Green is related to the Green Man you see in country churches etc. (Pub signs too). I was once 'surprised' (shocked really) by a guy in a street in San Francisco who sprang out from behind a sort of 'disguise' of lots of foliage. Not quite sure what he was up to - just frightening tourists, really - and he probably didn't realise he was part of a long tradition!
ReplyDeleteNo doubt it would be a most interestin' celebration. I do so hope ya find one next year so you can post it for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and have a wonderful day sweetie!!! :o)
I didn't know about Jack-in-the Green's connection with chimney sweeps, how interesting. I know and have grown the lovely Jack-in-the-Green primulas though. Like Biddy I suspect that Jack has connections with the Green Man originally.
ReplyDeleteFascinating stuff. You don't normally associate folklore with SE London, it is good to be reminded that folk traditions are not just the stuff of idyllic rural villages.
ReplyDeleteI love folklore... there are so many wonderful old stories about Britain and its people...
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is a great source too... a few weeks ago I spent several hours reading articles about mythical creatures :-)
btw, is that Tate Modern in the background of the first picture? If so, it's much greener than I remember it to be...
Thanks for the comments. Yes, Dominic, I think it's the Tate Modern, not that near Deptford but within very possible walking distance. They now have a sort of grove of birch trees in front of it, very effective I think.
ReplyDeleteQuite a few people have said that there may be a link between Jack in the Green and the Green Man. I'm not sure what I think. In the days when the sweeps got the idea of dressing up there probably wasn't much for them to dress up in except green branches - all their clothes were black. On the other hand I don't know why it would have been sweeps specially who dressed up. Perhaps they represented "night" and winter's dark. Who knows? Or maybe as you say, Snowwhite, it is just that they stopped having to sweep chimneys in May! That sort of question is one of the things that makes folk lore so interesting. Yes, Little Tom was a chimney sweep Sapphire. They were very hard done by little children, always summoned up by Victorian writers who wanted to convey the sadness of child labour.
Wow interesting festival, Furtheron, pity I cant go to any festivals this weekend cause we have house guests here in London!
Karen, that is a really nice thing to say, and it made me feel really happy to read it!
Why the association with chimney sweeps? I wondered if it was anything to do with using greenery to clean chimneys. Here in the Dales, the traditional way of cleaning a chimney was, after Christmas, to pull the Christmas tree up the chimney on a rope.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of "the Green Man" but not sure I ever came across "Jack in the Green". Very interesting, thanks. I enjoy learning about old folklore and traditions.
ReplyDeleteI love these old stories and old traditions. I knew about London's chimney sweeps, but Jack-in-the-Green and the Burry Man are both new to me. More, please, more! ^^
ReplyDeleteI come from South London, but had not heard os Jack-in-the-Green until I read this fascinating post of yours. I remember sweeps, but not far enough back to recall them climbing up the chimney. I go back only far enough to remember being sent to the bottom of the garden to watch for his broom coming out of the chimney - and to be sure to run back and tell someone if it didn't! I also remember brides wanting to kiss the sweep to ensure a lucky marriage.
ReplyDeleteI like these old ideas about our hubris regarding the disregard of nature. They serve as a kind of reminder that nature will usually get its own way eventually - as on the eponymous (to your post) Jethro Tull song: "I saw some grass growing through the pavement today".
ReplyDeleteI keep a green man in my garden and another one in my cube at the office. It reminds me of the elemental nature of the world outside of our synthetic existence. fellows dressed as shrubs is a marvelous idea at the time of the bursting of the buds open on the hawthorn and oaks. I wish we had retained more of these traditions.
What a delightful tradition I've never heard of before! (I'm equally intrigued by that satirical print.) I wonder if the connection with trees is Celtic in origin, but that may be going too far back. When did proper chimneys and chimney sweeps come about? Anyway, I'll shut up now since my ignorance on sweeps is overwhelming. I can't disentangle chimney sweeps from images out of Mary Poppins: sooty men dancing to Steppin' Time or Chim-chiminee!
ReplyDeleteI find this regional folklore so interesting, Jenny -- and you really do have a great way of telling the story. Love that print. :)
ReplyDeleteMay is the time for budding of leaves and there are fresh and beautiful green colors only spring can bring. Jack-in-the-Green is an interesting tradition. I guess why it is associated with chimney sweeps; maybe the green colors brought by warm whether release chimney workers from their labors of winter.
ReplyDeleteTalking of chimney sweeps, it reminds me of William Blake's two poems, “The Chimney Sweeper”, which sounded heartbreaking and taught me the social background back then when children were sold and bought for the fatal work.
Yoko
Nice composition! It is wonderful parade. I didn't know it.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
I must check out if there are any Jack in the Green celebratons in London
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this tradition before. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteIt must be interesting to find out what's the origin of the celebration. It reflects how the society or lifestyle were then. The ideas of someone that greenery may have served as effective and disposable outfit for sweeps in May or it would've been a time for them to be released from hard works make sense.
ReplyDeleteThank you for another interesting post, Jenny.
It would be a sight to see groups of people dressed up to celebrate, but not to clean. I seem to recall seeing "chimney sweeper" in the phone book, but it's probably done by machines these days.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I think that I will never get used to this country. Thanks for your post: this is another tradition that I had never heard about...
ReplyDeleteahan... jack in green...i didnt know it was actually a festival! never heard of it before...thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteA new one on me too.
ReplyDelete