The church entrance is decorated with rushes.
You can see the rushes on the floor in the porch.
Rushbearing at Grasmere in the English Lake District
Rushbearing at Grasmere is based at St Oswald's Church and is a very old custom. The ceremony is an annual event. Pagan origins or recent charming custom?
The old custom of rushbearing dates back to when rushes were picked and strewn across the floors of a church to cover the earth floor but now even though the floors are tiled or made of stone, in the English Lake District the custom survives.
At Ambleside the children process through the village on the Saturday nearest to the Visitation of Mary feast day on July 2nd.
In Grasmere the ceremony takes place on a Saturday near St Oswald's Day on August 5th. I was very lucky to be there one year at Rushbearing time.
The custom was first recorded in 1680, when there is a record of a shilling being given for ale for those who brought rushes and repaired the church. So maybe, it was an annual church maintenance event!
People of Grasmere decorate the inside and entrances in St Oswald's Church Grasmere with sheaves of reeds, rushes and flowers.
While the procession round the village takes place, the floors of the church are covered in rushes . A church service and gingerbread afternoon tea are held afterwards.
The rushes remain in place for a week.
What happens ?
I suppose the origins of this are pagan but if they were they aren't now. The event is symbolic now . The rushes are carried on a sheet, held by six Rush Maidens who are dressed in green. A young man with a yellow cross leads the procession. Other rushes are made into shapes and called bearings and carried to church. Shapes for the rushbearings include harps, crosses, maypoles and St Oswald's crown. Some of these shapes can be seen below in the church pictures.
The fact that the event combines crosses and also the "girls in green" suggests to me that this may be based on an ancient fertility rite and was combined with Christianity at some point. Many pagan customs were combined with Christian ones.
So much hard work goes into this event.
The aisle is literally covered with rushes.
To the right you can see a traditional harp shaped rushbearing as mentioned above.
How beautiful is that!
Regardless of what the custom may have been based on originally, it is now a charming custom and a tourist attraction.
Each year Grasmere attracts many visitors but especially at The Rushbearing time.
Comments
DerdriuMarrinerMay 20, 2024
What flowers does the Grasmere flower-, reed-, rush-bearing favor?
DerdriuMarrinerMar 11, 2022
frankbeswickMar 11, 2022
VeronicaMar 11, 2022
DerdriuMarrinerMar 11, 2022
VeronicaMar 11, 2022
The difference in rushes, here in England would define social status I would think.
maybe my much adored, most Beloved Big Bro will do that one. I am working running a small business, being a carer, grandma and a student . He is a star .
When I was very young and scared of the dark, if he heard me upset in the dark, he would get up and sit by the bed, holding my hand until I went back off to sleep. He is my star! He took us to the Library every Saturday morning while mum cleaned up the house. Frank is our hero!
DerdriuMarrinerMar 11, 2022
In regard to what you said 10 days ago, four comments down, it would be so great if big bro or little sis wrote about the history of rushes. I'd be so interested, particularly since in watching The Last Duel a second time I noticed that some floors indeed had some messed-up rushes, others had what looked like very nice rushes and still others were either bare, beautiful stone or bare, beautiful stone with area rugs.
frankbeswickMar 1, 2022
VeronicaMar 1, 2022
frankbeswickMar 1, 2022
VeronicaMar 1, 2022
Great comments and input TY. It looks as though the history of Rushes could be an article all to itself.
frankbeswickMar 1, 2022
VeronicaFeb 28, 2022
Now, rushes are believed to be seriously unhygienic as although the top later is replaced, the lower layer was harbouring many ghastly things! Having worked on film sets, I suspect that on film sets, rushes would be removed as they get in the way of crews, cameras etc.
Rushes were a Medieval custom though.
DerdriuMarrinerFeb 28, 2022
It's related, because it's about rushes. But it's unrelated, because it's about great houses.
The Last Duel, which follows two friends between 1370 and 1386, is filmed in castles and great houses in France and Ireland. All the interiors lack rush-covered floors. The floors look like they're bare stone.
(Perhaps someone in the filming thought stone floors were more photogenic than rush-covered ones!)
But, in terms of cultural, historical and social accuracy, when was it that castle and great-house occupants stopped putting rushes on their floors? Was it possible that the style ceased earlier, as early as the 14th century, in Ireland and northern France?
VeronicaJun 16, 2018
DerdriuMarrinerJun 16, 2018
VeronicaSep 24, 2015
It is worth a visit that's for sure.
GuestSep 23, 2015
VeronicaSep 22, 2015
I think that this custom tends to be in North West England and was maybe hijacked from an old Celtic festival.
You are right that the use of reeds and rushes gives it a lovely, natural aspect. You use the word enchanting and I agree. Walking around all that natural decoration in church is indeed enchanting.
The community are very skilful indeed.
WriterArtistSep 22, 2015
VeronicaSep 21, 2015
VeronicaSep 21, 2015
It is a lovely occasion for sure. While I was there I could certainly see the two old cultures linked. The maidens in green, following the "yellow male", the rushes- earth. nature and possibly phallic. Some of the rushbearings are formed into a maypole, also phallic symbols. I also felt the girls in green were reminiscent of fertility rites.
But then the lovely cross, the church, the cross rushbearings. It seemed to be a great meeting of 2 old cultures. I think the celebrating of St Oswald link, removes it from any pagan calendar events timewise.
frankbeswickSep 21, 2015
Having green clad girls as rush maidens suggests fertility rites, but having checked the sacred year of paganism, I cannot find a pagan feast that corresponds with July 2cnd. However, that it is close to a feast of Mary indicates reminds us that some of the Marian cultus was inherited from the cultus of the goddess, so there might be a pagan origin to the festival. The yellow clad man is something of a mystery, but yellow is the colour of the sun, so this might explain the origins of this colour's use in the festival: green for earth and yellow for sun. The archetypal symbols are clear, as feminine is in Jungian symbolism always earth [green] while masculine is sky and light, [yellow].
VeronicaSep 21, 2015
I think knowing about these customs helps us to understand who we are today.
blackspanielgallerySep 21, 2015