[Not located], Yorkshire

P.H.Ditchfield (1896)

P. H. Ditchfield (Auth.)
Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time: An Account of Local Observances, Festival Customs, and Ancient Ceremonies yet Surviving in Great Britain
London: George Redway, 1896, pp.47-50

*This is an oft quoted book. Pages 47-50 describes Plough Monday customs from Cambridgeshire, Great Gransden, Hunts., Lincs. (Plough-Bullocks), Yorks. (Plough-Stotts), Wyverton Hall, Notts., and London. The Wyverton Hall description comes from Chaworth-Musters (1890), and mentions the characters Hopper Joe, Sergeant, Beelzebub and an Old Woman. The book also includes a number of Mummers' plays from southern England.

T.Ratcliffe (1898)

Thos. Ratcliffe (Auth.)
"CHRISTMAS-TUP"
Notes & Queries (Series 9), 24th Dec.1898, Vol.II, p.511

Description of plays variously known as the "Christmas-Tup", "The Derby Ram", "Darby Tup", "t'owd tup" and "a little tup", performed by Guisers in Derbys., North Notts. (implying Worksop), and Yorks. Several verses of the texts are given, and quotes from Llewellynn Jewitt's (1867) "Ballads and Songs of Derbyshire". The "mummering play" incorporating dialogue is also described, which had five characters besides "t'tup", including a woman, the owner, a butcher, and a female devil - Betsy Belzebub. Additionally, "th'poor owd hoss" is also mentioned as being taken round Worksop and parts of Derbys., at Christmas.

P.H.Ditchfield (1901)

P. H. Ditchfield (Auth.)
Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time: An Account of Local Observances, Festival Customs, and Ancient Ceremonies yet Surviving in Great Britain
London: Methuen & Co., 1901, pp.47-50

Reprint of P.H.Ditchfield (1896). Q.v. for abstract.

Nottinghamshire Weekly Express (1907a)

[Anon.] (Auth.)
Local Notes and Queries: PLOUGH MONDAY MUMMING: A NOTABLE LOCAL CUSTOM
*Nottinghamshire Weekly Express, 4th Jan.1907

A rambling description of Plough Monday customs, from throughout the country, including Lincs., Yorks., Cambs., Derbys., and Great Gransden, Hunts. Mostly taken from P.H.Ditchfield (1896) and E.K.Chambers (1903), but also includes an anecdote relating to a village "not a hundred miles from Nottingham". Chaworth-Musters (1890) Wyverton Hall, Notts., play is cited "...as given last week". Her correspondence with T.F.Ordish, as reprinted by Dichfield, is extensively quoted.

Nottinghamshire Guardian (1918)

*[Anon.] (Auth.)
Local Notes and Queries: The Old-Time Ploughmen's Guild: Notts Mumming Play Revived.
*Nottinghamshire Guardian, 16th Feb.1918

Blurb taken from P.H.Ditchfield (1896) about ploughs being trailed round on Plough Monday to support plough lights, and plough up the doorsteps of those who did not contribute. Mentions Lincs., Plough-bullocks, Yorks., Plough-stots and the City of London's Plough Monday banquet. Re-quotes Ditchfield's quotation relating to Mrs. Chaworth-Musters' account of the play at Wyverton Hall, Notts.

"Old Robin Hood" (1918)

"Old Robin Hood" (Auth.)
LOCAL NOTES AND QUERIES: No. 237: Plough Monday [St. Ann's Well Road, Nottingham]
*Nottinghamshire Guardian, 12th Jan.1918

"This is the first Monday after Twelfth Day by the country almanack. In all agricultural districts the labourers used to drag the plough about and plough up your "doorstep" if you did not give them money. I remember 'plough bullocks,' or lads with blackened faces, marching about St. Ann's Well road and singing doggerel for money on Plough Monday. They had no plough, although there were plenty of green fields about in those days.

But I expect it would be a great day in the country in old times. Did the farmers all plough together on that day, or was it the opening of the ploughing season? I have some recollection that in Yorkshire there was a general plough day."

The editor then goes on to quote extensively from W.Hone's (1837) description of the Yorks., custom of ploughing for a new tenant.

E.L.Guilford Collection (1930)

Everard L. Guilford (Col.)
St George and the Tail of Beelzebub: A Mummers' Play from Yorkshire
E.L.Guilford Collection, Dated "[c 1930?]", Ref.M/9917/1-9

Full text of a play (207 lines) written as a script for radio broadcast. There are no accompanying notes relating to provenance or context. Although some speeches appear are recognisable from traditional plays, much of the text is abnormal. There is a combat and cure, but the action of the play is centred around Saint George trying to cut off Beelzebub's tail. All this suggests that the script was written specially for broadcast. The characters are; Devil Doubt, Beelzebub, Saint George, Slasher and Doctor.

Nottinghamshire Guardian (1942b)

*[Unknown] (Auth.)
*[Appeal for information on Plough Monday]
*Nottinghamshire Guardian, 7th Jan.1942

*This is an appeal for information. The Doubleday Index has an incomplete clipping. This reads;

"Sir, - I am doing some work on the history and customs of Plough Monday. I was staying in Nottinghamshire some years ago, when I picked up one or two interesting points from county people whom I met, but as I have now lost touch with them, I should be most grateful if some of your readers can tell me amy Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire or Lincolnshire observances of the festival which has been recorded within the last 20 years."

M.W.Barley (1951)

M. W. Barley (Auth.); E. F. H. D. (Col.)
Plough Plays in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire Countryside, Oct.1951, Vol.13, No.2, pp.1-2

This is a request for information on Plough monday plays. Brief descriptions are given of the sort of information wanted, together with outlines of the possible historical implications of Plough Monday and of the questions it is hoped to answer. The names Plough Boys, or Jacks, or Jags, or Stots, or Bullocks are mentioned. He particularly asks for information on plough trailing, sword dances, and customs from western Notts., similar to those found in Derbys. & Yorks., such as Christmas Mummers, sword dances and Morris dances. In a brief mention of Hobby Horses, he notes the Christmas play of the "Poor Owd 'Oss" from Mansfield in the A.S.Buxton Collection, and other occurrences at Cuckney and Elkesley. He already had information on Plough Monday plays from the Notts. villages of; Blidworth, Mansfield, East Bridgford, Bothamsall, Cropwell, Clayworth, Flintham, Selston, Walesby, Whatton, Worksop, Norwell, Averham, Tollerton, and North Leverton.

Appended is the final song of a play from Blidworth, Notts., collected in 1925 by E.F.H.D. This was in fact first published in 1948 (E.F.H.D., 1948).

"J.Granby" (1952a)

"John Granby" (Auth.)
Local Notes and Queries: (Part One) [Plough Monday]
Nottinghamshire Guardian, 5th Jan.1952, No.5564, p.10 a-b

General notes on Plough Monday, mentioning revivals in Derbys. and Yorks. ("with or without the sword-dance"), and the play at Tollerton, Notts. Cites M.W.Barley's (1951) appeal for information on plough-bullocks (incorrectly given as Mr.M.W.Bramley.)

* indicates data that not yet been validated against the original source and/or has yet to be completely indexed.