CHRISTMAS AT THE MANOR

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 10 December 1936, Page 19

CHRISTMAS AT THE MANOR

PRESENTS IN 1936. THE STEWARD’S TALLY. The exchange of presents at Christmastide is a custom which can be traced far back in English history, but it is seldom that we know to-day what our ancestors actually received. It was therefore interesting to find in a box of family papers “ A Note of the Presents sent your Lopp this Christmas 1636.” “Your Lopp” was the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir John Bramston, and the presents were received at his manor of Skreens, in Essex, which ho had bought in the previous year.

The list opens (relates a correspondent of the London Times) with a noble gift of 20 turkeys front Sir John’s sister-in-law, Mrs Aylmer, and her son, who may have brought it in person, as no gift to the bringer is recorded as in the majority of cases. When Sir William Fitche sent a brawn his than was rewarded with five shillings, but half a brawn only brought a florin to the bringer; a bullock was worth ten shillings.

The tenants and the neighbouring farmers were the next'to arrive, each with a couple of capons, or two capons and two rabbits, or two capons and a turkey, while one brought a basket of apples with his fowls. Their man, maid, boy, son or daughter each received sixpence or a shilling, except Goodman Bright, for a pig, and Will Hurrell, for a single pullet, one perhaps too grand and the other too humble for a reward.

Mr Darcy, the lawyer, charmingly sent a dove, as did Lord Petre; Dr. Boosey half a basket of oysters, and two boxes of eringoes also arrived. I his last was the candied seaholly root for which Colchester was renowned, a reputed aphrodisiac. THE CHIEF GIFT. The chief present of the day came from one Air Harris of Baddow, a neighbouring village, a silver dish, probably brought in person, as no gift to the bringer is recorded. From Sir John’s sporting friends came I ‘parteredges and flesants” ; one added two dozen of pudding, and Mr Allen’s keeper brought six dozep of rabbits. Sea birds came from the marshes of Essex, teaks, plover, oxburds, curlew, redshanks, wigens, whims, and two preenes or preines, as the bar-tail-ed godwit used to be called. Some of these gifts must have come 15 to 20 miles, no small distance on the roads of that day, and it is to be hoped that the serving men who brought them were satisfied with their reward of half-a-crown and, no doubt, some food and ale by the steward’s fire.

As the sun began to set they would ride off down the muddy lanes, clinking their vails in their pockets; the tenants and farmers and small children who had lingered round the courtyard would exchange greetings and slowly drift away ; the game would be hung in the larders and storerooms, and the lowing cattle and squalling pigs driven off to the farm. The steward would sit by his dying fire and make up the tally for the day:—

32 turkeys, lj brawncs, 54 capons, 231 couple of rabbetts, 3 bullocks, 4 geese, a basket of apples, 4 doves, 2 swannes, 2 boxes of Eringoes, a silver dish, a hoggshead of Clarett, 4 pigs, 2 veals, 4 couple of duck, 5 couple of whims, 3i couple of tcale, couple of plover, 34 oxburds, 2 curlew. 4 couple of cocks, 2 preeno, 2 redshanks, 2 wigeon, 6 flesants, 4 parteredges, 2 dozen pudding, 7 pullets, 2i barrels and a basket of oysters, 6 chickens.

A London man recently bought a number of iron cannon balls said to have been used at the Battle r.f Waterloo. It looks as if it will he an anxious Christmas for local waits. ik # n * # A farmer declares that he ha? seen an inebriated turkey. And we ourselves have tried to carve one that ended up under the table.