The Project Gutenberg eBook, Old English Sports, by Peter Hampson
Ditchfield

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Old English Sports

Author: Peter Hampson Ditchfield

Release Date: December 10, 2004 [eBook #14315]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD ENGLISH SPORTS***

E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Richard J. Shiffer, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 14315-h.htm or 14315-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/4/3/1/14315/14315-h/14315-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/4/3/1/14315/14315-h.zip)

OLD ENGLISH SPORTS

Pastimes and Customs

by

P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A.

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society; Rector of Barkham, Berks
Hon. Sec. of Berks Archaeological Society, etc.

First published by Methuen & Co., 1891

TO

LADY RUSSEL

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S
KINDEST REGARDS.

PREFACE.

Encouraged by the kind reception which his former book, _Our English
Villages_, met with at the hands of both critics and the public, the
author has ventured to reproduce in book-form another series of
articles which have appeared during the past year in the pages of
_The Parish Magazine_. He desires to express his thanks to Canon
Erskine Clarke for kindly permitting him to reprint the articles,
which have been expanded and in part rewritten. The Sports and
Pastimes of England have had many chroniclers, both ancient and
modern, amongst whom may be mentioned Strutt, Brand, Hone, Stow, and
several others, to whose works the writer is indebted for much
valuable information.

The object of this book is to describe, in simple language, the
holiday festivals as they occurred in each month of the year; and
the sports, games, pastimes, and customs associated with these rural
feasts. It is hoped that such a description may not be without
interest to our English villagers, and perhaps to others who love
the study of the past. Possibly it may help forward the revival of
the best feature