Tags
Blessing the Plough, church service, folk dance, Molly Men, Old Glory, Plough Monday, Plough Sunday, Rumburgh, St Felix and St Michael's church Rumburgh, Suffolk
Those of you who have been reading my posts for a while will recognise the title of this one. Every year my church of St Felix and St Michael at Rumburgh holds a special Plough Blessing service on the first Sunday after Epiphany. Epiphany is on the 6th of January and celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. The first Sunday after Epiphany is Plough Sunday and the following day is Plough Monday when traditionally, work on the land is recommenced after the Christmas break. These days there is no real break for Christmas and farm workers do not suffer from the terrible poverty they did in former times though they are still not very highly-paid. Here is a link to the ‘Old Glory’ site of our local Molly Men. Please take time to look at all their pages if you can.
The decorated plough in the nave of the church
The decorated plough
I enjoy this short service each year. In it, we look forward to spring, summer and harvest and pray that not only will there be enough warmth and rain to grow the crops but that we will not take anything for granted and will thank God for his care of us. We don’t just pray for ourselves but for all farmers throughout the world. Each component of the plough is blessed – the beam, the mouldboard, the slade, the sidecap, the share and the coulters.
I love the words from the prayer of gratitude.
From God comes every good and perfect gift:
The rich soil, the smell of the fresh-turned earth.
The keenness of a winter’s frost and our breath steaming.
The hum of the tractor, the gleam of a cutting edge.
The beauty of a clean-cut furrow, the sweep of a well-ploughed field.
The hymn at the end of the service is ‘We Plough the Fields, and Scatter…’
During Harvest-tide we get a little tired of singing this hymn as all the churches in our benefice have their own harvest service and the hymn is very popular, especially with the farming families. However, singing it at this time of year, so gloomy and cold as it is, gives hope and cheer so we all sing with gusto!
The plough and some of the costumes of the Molly Men.
The plough is left in the church over-night and is ready to be processed down the lane to the pub the next evening on Plough Monday. There are no street lights here and the nights are black at this time of the year. Flaming torches are carried to light the way. This year they won’t be accompanied by the church bells which will be silent out of respect to one of the ringers who died suddenly a few days ago.
Here is a film made in 2010 of the procession of Old Glory with the plough from the church to the Rumburgh ‘Buck’ pub.
Thanks for visiting!
A Suffolk Lane 
That’s lovely. I had never heard of that. Thank you for sharing this!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you! My pleasure 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always learn something new here, Clare! A plough blessing service is a beautiful community event. I am sorry to hear one of the ringers passed on. I vaguely remember the hymn “We Plough the Fields, and Scatter” from when I was young. My home town was also a rural farming community in its earlier period in history.
Here is a folk song by singer-songwriter Dave Mallet you might like. “The Garden Song”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Lavinia! I have just listened to the Garden Song and yes, I enjoyed it very much.
LikeLike
Love this song, Lavinia! It’s one of the few things I know how to play on the guitar!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful prayer, Clare. Thank you for sharing your photographs. I’m sure the service is lovely. I’m curious why the plough is taken to the pub. Does it remain there until next year? Ah yes…so looking forward to spring! xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Jill. I believe the reason it is taken to the pub is so that the dancers have somewhere to dance and have a drink! There has always been a strong connection between village churches and village pubs – they are often next door to each other and often, as in my mother’s village, the church owns the pub and gains revenue from it! The plough isn’t kept at the pub; it goes back with it’s owners and is kept safely til it is needed again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting…thanks, Clare! xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the fact that you know the vocabulary of the plough — mouldboard, coulters, share, etc. And I find, in following up on the Molly-Men antics, that the two prescribed maneuvers of the enactors are the “dib” and “strike.” One of my favourite tools is the “dibble,” useful for beans, and garlic, and now — thanks to the video of the Rumburgh Molly Men — I understand its derivation. Thank you for this peek into East Anglian rural traditions.
Question: Is “Rumburgh” pronounced as a “burg,” or as its original “borough?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you! I only knew about plough-shares and the beam before I began attending the service; the rest of my knowledge comes from the words of the service itself and my subsequent investigations! It is pronounced “borough” or rather “rumbruh”.
LikeLike
A lovely reminder of old but not forgotten customs, thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure Susan, and thank-you.
LikeLike
Plows were so important in their day and I’m glad the tradition is still carried on. I’m also glad that I never had to walk behind one!
I like the prayer and the procession, though I don’t fully understand the church being so connected to the pub. What we would hear for a sermon is how much better off we’d be if we stayed away from them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Allen. What skill and what strength a ploughman must have had, especially in clay soil like ours!
It does seem a strange connection (pubs and churches) and there are a number of ancient reasons for it. I have found an article which describes some reasons for the connection quite well. http://www.stoneagoldenlion.com/english-pub-history.html
LikeLike
Yes, and they should never have been poor!
Thanks very much for the article. I learned a lot from it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite right! Farm workers were always badly paid which is why they flocked to the cities and towns during the industrial revolution. I’m glad you found the article useful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They did the same here and that’s why there are so many abandoned cellar holes in these woods.
That article was one of the most interesting things I’ve read in a while.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely post. I’m not aware of anmy plough-blessing services here, despite living in a rural area. Though the connection you refer to between church and pub is well-established in the next village along from us: both date back centuries and are, with the small village shop, hubs of the community. And what lovely names the parts of the plough have. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure Margaret and thank-you too.
LikeLike
I think anything that encourages us to take time to simply notice things has to be a winner.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you. I agree with that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love reading about this tradition that’s being kept alive! I’m surprised it’s not done in more rural communities–it’s so evocative and hopeful!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, Kerry (Hi Kerry, fancy meeting you here!) and Clare – I’ve just discovered there is to be a Plough Service in Ripon Cathedral this coming Sunday. I wonder if there’ll be a plough there? I’m unlikely to know as I expect will be in deeply urban Bolton at the time.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Shame you’ll miss it Margaret. Some churches invite farmers to drive their modern tractors to the service.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! That WOULD be fun. Lots of steps up to the cathedral porch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most tractor drivers I know of would have no trouble with steps – I’m not sure what the Dean would have to say though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Kerry – it is!
LikeLike
It’s always interesting to learn of the customs and religious services from other parts of the world. I was going to ask about the connection to the pub as well, but you’ve answered it already in other comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Jerry!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is so much tradition in your country! It’s important. But I was thinking as I watched the video, that if I were a visitor there and didn’t know of the custom, and happened upon that procession at night, I’d be scared! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Lisa! They are meant to look scary. In times gone by these plough boys would demand money with menaces!
LikeLike
What a lovely tradition! Have never heard of that before. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure Karen and thank-you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this tradition Clare, the walk with the plough must be very atmospheric.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It must be and one day I’ll do it! I’m always so busy on a Monday and forget about it until it’s too late. I’ve heard that waiting for them outside the pub is good too as you hear their boots and the noise of the plough wheel getting louder and see the flaming torches getting nearer but the men are silent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabulous, Clare! As a practising agnostic, I had no idea this kind of thing still went on – and I’m very glad indeed that it does. I’m sure the dwindling congregation in our own village church could learn from this! Loved the video – simply wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you Mike! Fortunately these services are gaining in popularity. Some churches invite the local farmers to bring their tractors to the church for a blessing.
LikeLike
Beautiful poem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank-you. I look forward to saying this prayer each year.
LikeLike