Dead Rats, Stoned Teachers and Sergeant Monday June 14, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Sergeant Monday was a festival in the north-western English town of Kendal for the installation of a new mayor. Basically this was a Saturnalia for the children of the town: and by ancient convention any students in school would be ‘battered out’ by older boys, who would intimidate teachers into silence. Hundreds of kids would then parade the street rowdily until they were bought off by having nuts thrown at them from town hall windows. Oh England!
What is lovely about this account is that it was written by an outsider who arrived in Kendal in 1835: the events described here seem to have taken place in that year.
I was not aware of the custom until, one Monday morning, the boys assembled in school at nine, and the teaching began and was going on as usual, when suddenly a strange noise of shouting was heard in the yard. On opening the door to ascertain the cause I found a tumultuous rabble of boys in the yard. I advanced towards them, and called to some of them to come to me and tell me what they wanted. No one ventured to come near, so I went back into the school and asked some of the older boys what it all meant. They told me. When the outside boys saw me return to the school and shut the door they increased their noise and threw stones at the front door. Some of the stones were so large as to make deep dents in the wood which remained for years. The number of boys had now increased to between two and three hundred [!]. Not liking to be bearded in my own den in that way, I armed myself with one of the 2 ft. pointers [!!] then in use and rushed out at the enemy. Directly they saw me thus armed and meaning mischief they made for the gate. The hinder ones came in for a few strokes from me, and when they were all outside the gate I closed it and returned across the yard. The gate, was soon burst open and many stones were thrown at me, one big stone passing within a few inches of my head. I got inside the door unhurt, but in increasing numbers the rabble rushed into the yard once more, shouting louder than ever and battering the door with stones. One of the top windows being open, presently a dead rat came tumbling among the boys, and the young rascals were really more delighted than displeased at the indignity. I drove the rebels out of the yard once more, but the gate had only a latch, so I could not fasten it, and they streamed in again.
The teacher, one Thomas Hill, now showed his wisdom. He effectively surrendered.
During this time I got a few of the boys together again and sent them to tell the outsiders that I was determined not to yield to them; but that I desired them to leave the yard and I would let my boys out in half an hour. This seemed to satisfy them, and they left, I dare say to practise on other schools. I let the boys out of school as I had promised. I don’t think there was another Sergeant Monday gathering after that, for the doings in the British Schoolyard in 1836 did much to bring about its suppression. I believe that some years before I came to Kendal the boys were led around the streets by the town crier.
This account comes from: Wilson, ‘Some Extinct Kendal Custom’, Transactions of the Cumblerland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 38 (1938)
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