Radcliffe-on-Trent (SK6438), Nottinghamshire

M.W.Barley Collection (1950, L.Butler - a)

Lawrence Butler (Col.)
[Tunes and Notes on Plough Plays]
*M.W.Barley Collection, Com. 30th Dec.1953

Letter about Plough Plays, containing tunes and numerous three tunes to the play from Colsterworth, Lincs., (Collected from Mr.E.Shields) mentioning the characters Recruiting Sergeant, Farmers Boy and Serving Girl. The tunes are given to the final song from East Drayton, Notts., (collected from Canon R.F.Wilkinson), and to a folk song "The Wrestling Match" or "Bill Scrimshaw" from Lenton, Lincs. The play tunes were collected in December 1953.

A number of original references are given in the following passage;

"Although you have ommitted the list of villages where the dance was known to exist, I can add to it from my grandmother's knowledge - Bingham, Granby, Elton; from Mrs. Atkins of Shelford - Radcliffe-on-Trent and Cotgrave; from Mrs. Mee of Shelford - Empingham, Rutland (with account of their dress)"

References to published work include; J.P.Briscoe (1876), J.P.Briscoe (1878), E.L.Guilford (1942), J.Needham & A.L.Peck (1936) [should be 1933], and J.E.F.D.S.S.? (1937) [probably A.R.Wright & T.E.Lones (1938).]

M.W.Barley Collection (1953, Atkins)

Mrs. Atkins (Inf.); L. Butler (Col.)
Shelford. [Plough-bullocks Play]
M.W.Barley Collection, Col. Dec.1953, Ref.Ba P 1/33

Fragments of a Plough Monday Plough-boys or Plough-bullocks play from Shelford, Notts., which ceased in 1912 or 1913. The characters are; First Man, Farmer's Boy, Belsey-Bub, Eezum Squeezum/Eezum Squezum, Old Dame Jane and Doctor. There was house visiting in the morning and afternoon by youths until about 1925. J.P.Briscoe (1876) is mentioned, and malicious ploughing was still remembered. A note adds, "Similar plays at East Bridgford, Radcliffe-on-Trent, at Bingham, last done 1895-1900".

Nottinghamshire Local History Council Collection (1960, C.M.Scriven)

Caroline Mary Scriven (Auth.)
Memories of a Villager [Plough Monday Plough-Bullocking at Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts.]
Nottinghamshire Local History Council Collection, Written 29th Mar.1960, Ref.DD/121/1/49, 8pp.

Entry to an essay competition on old village life at Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts. On page 1 states;

"Many of the local customs have now died out. On Plough Monday, the second Monday in January, children went round the village with blackened faces, dressed in all manner of clothes and sang old doggerel rhymes for coppers. This was called 'Plough-Bullocking.'"

I.T.Jones Collection (1982, E.Glossop)

Mrs. Ethel Glossop (Inf.)
Radio Nottingham Phone-In: Ethel Glossop
I.T.Jones Collection, Com. 8th Jan.1982, Ref.L1-3

Ethel Glossop age 77 from Arnold rang the phone-in to talk about her husband Fred Glossop’s memories of Plough Monday in Cotgrave. She read parts of a text up to the Recruiting Sergeant’s first speech that were exactly as the copy of the Cotgrave play in the Peter Millington Collection that had been remembered and written by Fred Glossop.

When phoned back on 13th January 1982, she explained that her husband, also age 77, had a stroke 6 months previously and was still in hospital. He came from Cotgrave and although she didn’t know what they did on Plough Monday, they used to go to several villages and to the mental hospital in Radcliffe.

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