Rushcart
The rushcart ceremony is an English tradition where parishioners process around their parish once a year, bearing rushes. They would end up at the parish church and place the rushes on the floor of the church, to replace worn-out rushes. In modern times the ceremony is practised only in parts of northern England including Lancashire and Cumbria.
History
According to John Cutting, the earliest record of rushbearing is 1385 at Tavistock.The custom of strewing cut vegetation on the floors of churches began at an earlier date: the plants commonly used were hay, straw or rushes and together with strewing herbs they improved the comfort for those using the church. Before the Reformation churches served for many secular as well as religious purposes and seating was not usual until the early years of the 16th century. Renewal of the floor covering was usually carried out before major festivals such as Easter and the patronal festival. Since these were among the few times in the year available for merrymaking ceremonies grew up and were handed down by tradition.
As towns grew in size, the places where rushes still grew were further and further from the church itself. Also changes in the way churches were furnished such as box pews and in the 19th century more effective heating in churches made the ceremonies redundant. The ceremonies either lapsed, or became longer and larger. The earliest depictions of rushcarts are in Rush-Bearing by Burton. One illustration shows morris dancers and a rushcart at Failsworth Pole, near Manchester, about 1820. Another, from 1821, is a painting by Alexander Wilson of an event at Long Millgate, Manchester. They now appear to be confined to the north west of England. At least 5 rushbearing ceremonies still occur in Cumbria where girls dressed in green process around the town.
The Rushcart grew into a festival held on the annual wakes week or mill holidays. There would be music, dancing and other entertainments. Each village would try to outdo the others by building a bigger or more elaborate structure with the front covered by a sheet decorated with tinsel and artificial flowers and hung with polished copper, brass and silver household items.
Behold the rush-cart, and the throng
Of lads and lasses pass along:
Now, view the nimble morris-dancers,
The blithe, fantastic, antic prancers,
Bedeck'd in gaudiest profusion,
With ribbons in a sweet confusion
Of brilliant colours, richest dyes,
Like wings of moths and butterflies-
Waving white kerchiefs in the air,
And crossing here, re-crossing there,
And up and down, and everywhere:
Springing, bounding, gaily skipping,
Deftly, briskly, no one tripping:
All young fellows, blithe and hearty,
Thirty couples in the party...
— From The Village Festival by Droylsden poet Elijah Ridings.
The coming of the railways led to a decline in interest in Rushcarts as the local population were able to travel further afield for their annual break. The Rushcarts eventually died out in the early 20th century. There is a curious similarity between this festival and the Hindu festival of the chariot of Jagannath.