Lady Of The Lamb

At Kidlington, in Oxfordshire, there is a custom, that on the next Monday after Whitsun-week, there is a fat live lamb provided, and the maids of the town, having their thumbs tied behind them, run after it; and she that with her mouth takes and holds the lamb, is declared Lady of the Lamb, - which being dressed by the butcher, with the skin hanging on, is carried on a long pole before the lady and her companions to the green, attended with music, and a morisco-dance of men, and another of women, where the rest of the day is spent in dancing, mirth, and merry glee. The next day the lamb is part baked, boiled, and roasted, for the lady's feast; where she sits majestically, at the upper end of the table, and her companions with her, with music and other attendants, which ends the ceremony.

A Custom Respecting Catching A Hare

They have an ancient custom at Coleshill, in the county of Warwick, that if the young men of the town can catch a hare, and bring it to the parson of the parish, before ten of the clock on Easter Monday, the parson is bound to give them a calf's head, and an hundred of eggs for their breakfast, and a groat in money.

An Extraordinary Ancient Custom

A court, called Lawless Court, is held annually on Kingshill, at Rochford, in Essex, on Wednesday morning next after Michaelmas-day, at cock-crowing, at which court the whole of the business is transacted in a whisper; no candle is allowed in the court, nor any pen and ink, but the proceedings are written with a piece of charcoal, and he that holds suit and service there, and does not appear, forfeits double the amount of his rent to the lord of the manor This court is mentioned by Camden, who says, "the servile attendance was imposed on the tenants for conspiring at the like unseasonable time to raise a commotion." It belongs to the honour of Raleigh, and is called Lawless, because held at an unlawful hour, or, quia dicta sine lege.