Oak Apple Day
Encyclopedia
Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day was a holiday celebrated in England
on 29 May to commemorate the restoration
of the English monarchy, in May 1660. In some parts of the country, the day was also known as Shick Shack Day, Oak and Nettle Day or Arbor Tree Day.
In 1660, Parliament declared 29 May a public holiday:
The public holiday, Oak Apple Day, was formally abolished in 1859, but the date retains some significance in local or institutional customs. It is, for example, kept as Founder's Day in the Royal Hospital Chelsea
(founded by Charles II in 1681).
Traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apple
s (a type of plant gall
, possibly known in some parts of the country as a shick-shack, but see the article on its etymology in the external links) or sprigs of oak leaves, in reference to the occasion after the Battle of Worcester
in September 1651, when the future Charles II of England
escaped the Roundhead
army by hiding in an oak tree near Boscobel House
. Anyone who failed to wear a sprig of oak risked being pelted with bird's eggs or thrashed with nettle
s.
These ceremonies, which have now largely died out, are perhaps continuations of pre-Christian
nature worship
. The Garland King
who rides through the streets of Castleton, Derbyshire
, at the head of a procession, completely disguised in a garland of flowers, which is later affixed to a pinnacle on the parish church tower, can have little connection with the Restoration, even though he dresses in Stuart costume
. He is perhaps a kind of Jack in the Green
and the custom may have transferred from May Day
when such celebrations were permitted again after having been banned by the Puritans
.
Events still take place at Upton-upon-Severn
, Northampton
, Aston on Clun
in Shropshire
, Marsh Gibbon
in Buckinghamshire
, Great Wishford
in Wiltshire
when villagers gather wood in Grovely Wood
, and Membury
in Devon
. The day is generally marked by re-enactment activities at Moseley Old Hall
, one of the houses where Charles II hid in 1651.
At some Oxford and Cambridge halls a toast is still drunk to celebrate Oak Apple Day.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 29 May to commemorate the restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of the English monarchy, in May 1660. In some parts of the country, the day was also known as Shick Shack Day, Oak and Nettle Day or Arbor Tree Day.
In 1660, Parliament declared 29 May a public holiday:
- "Parliament had ordered the 29 of May, the King's birthday, to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King's return to his Government, he entering London that day."
The public holiday, Oak Apple Day, was formally abolished in 1859, but the date retains some significance in local or institutional customs. It is, for example, kept as Founder's Day in the Royal Hospital Chelsea
Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, located in the Chelsea region of central London, now the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is a true hospital in the original sense of the word,...
(founded by Charles II in 1681).
Traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apple
Oak apple
Oak apple is the common name for a large, round, vaguely apple-like gall commonly found on many species of oak. Oak apples range in size from 2-5cm. Oak apples are caused by chemicals injected by the larva of certain kinds of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. The adult female wasp lays single...
s (a type of plant gall
Gall
Galls or cecidia are outgrowths on the surface of lifeforms caused by invasion by other lifeforms, such as parasites or bacterial infection. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites...
, possibly known in some parts of the country as a shick-shack, but see the article on its etymology in the external links) or sprigs of oak leaves, in reference to the occasion after the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
in September 1651, when the future Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
escaped the Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
army by hiding in an oak tree near Boscobel House
Boscobel
Boscobel is a very small civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire. To the north is the Staffordshire village of Bishops Wood....
. Anyone who failed to wear a sprig of oak risked being pelted with bird's eggs or thrashed with nettle
Nettle
Nettles constitute between 24 and 39 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annual and a few are shrubby...
s.
These ceremonies, which have now largely died out, are perhaps continuations of pre-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
nature worship
Nature worship
Nature worship describes a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on natural phenomenon. A nature deity can be in charge of nature, the biosphere, the cosmos or the universe. Nature worship can be found in panentheism, pantheism, deism, polytheism, animism, totemism,...
. The Garland King
Castleton Garland Day
Castleton Garland Day or Garland King Day is held on 29 May in the town of Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District...
who rides through the streets of Castleton, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, at the head of a procession, completely disguised in a garland of flowers, which is later affixed to a pinnacle on the parish church tower, can have little connection with the Restoration, even though he dresses in Stuart costume
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
. He is perhaps a kind of Jack in the Green
Jack in the green
A Jack in the Green is a participant in traditional English May Day parades and other May celebrations, who wears a large, foliage-covered, garland-like framework, usually pyramidal or conical in shape, which covers his body from head to foot...
and the custom may have transferred from May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
when such celebrations were permitted again after having been banned by the Puritans
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
.
Events still take place at Upton-upon-Severn
Upton-upon-Severn
Upton-upon-Severn is a small town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England, on the River Severn. According to the national census 2001 it had a population of 2,859. Located from Malvern, the bridge at Upton is the only one across the river Severn between Worcester...
, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Aston on Clun
Aston on Clun
Aston on Clun is a village in Shropshire, England. Population: 253.It lies near to the River Clun, on the B4368, in between the towns of Clun and Craven Arms. The village of Broome, which has a railway station, is also close by. It is in the parish of Hopesay....
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Marsh Gibbon
Marsh Gibbon
Marsh Gibbon is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is close to the A41 and the border with Oxfordshire about east of Bicester....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, Great Wishford
Great Wishford
Great Wishford is a village in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, 3 miles north of Wilton, Wiltshire and approximately 5 miles northwest of Salisbury. It is situated at a curve in the Wylye river, and has a triangular street layout comprising South Street, West Street and Station Road.-History:The...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
when villagers gather wood in Grovely Wood
Grovely Wood
Grovely Wood is one of the largest woodlands in southern Wiltshire. It is situated on a chalk ridge above the River Wylye to the south of the village of Great Wishford, within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, and Membury
Membury, Devon
Membury is a village three miles north west of Axminster in East Devon.The village has a 13th century church dedicated to St John the Baptist with a tall slim tower...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. The day is generally marked by re-enactment activities at Moseley Old Hall
Moseley Old Hall
Moseley Old Hall is a National Trust property located in Fordhouses, north of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. It is famous as one of the resting places of Charles II of England during his escape to France following defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.-Background:The Hall was built in...
, one of the houses where Charles II hid in 1651.
At some Oxford and Cambridge halls a toast is still drunk to celebrate Oak Apple Day.
See also
- Arbor Tree Day
- Escape of Charles IIEscape of Charles IIThe Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
- Oak appleOak appleOak apple is the common name for a large, round, vaguely apple-like gall commonly found on many species of oak. Oak apples range in size from 2-5cm. Oak apples are caused by chemicals injected by the larva of certain kinds of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. The adult female wasp lays single...
- Royal OakRoyal OakThe Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was located in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles confirmed to Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was...
- Push pennyPush pennyPush penny was a long-observed custom at Durham Cathedral, occurring on three days in the year, when money was thrown into the crowd. The event occurred on January 30, May 29, and November 5, the anniversary of King Charles' death, Oak Apple Day, and Guy Fawkes Night....
External links
- royaloakday.org.uk
- House of Commons Journal Volume 8, 30 May 1660, Anniversary of the Restoration
- Pepys Diary 1 June 1660.
- English culture: Oak Apple Day
- Customs at Great Wishford
- Picture of an Oak Apple
- Possible etymology of shick-shack
- A 1915 film of Colonel Lyttleton inspecting the Chelsea pensionerChelsea pensionerA Chelsea pensioner is an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London...
s on Oak Apple Day is preserved at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
: screenonline: Topical Budget 197-1: Oak Apple Day (1915) (Only accessible to registered users).