Tip-toeing at Gittisham, tree-dressing at Aston-on-Clun, coconut dancing in Bacup and clipping-the-church at Painswick are all rituals peculiar to their localities, annual contributions to the extraordinary fabric of English social life. These are a few of the dozens of quaint and curious traditions still carried on in the towns and shires of England and which are described in this book. It also explains the origins of well-known customs like maypole dancing, well-dressing and rush-bearing, and it indicates when and where these events may be witnessed.
Not all these customs go back to...