Rogation Day

Rogation Day Walk ‘Beating the Bounds’

Parish Boundary Map
Parish Boundary Map
Parish Boundary Post
Parish Boundary Post

Rogation day is always the first Sunday, six weeks after Easter. All things being equal we ‘Beat the Bounds’ of Chalgrave every year. It is the only day of the year that we are legally entitled to walk those parts of the boundary that are not a public right of way. In the charter of AD 926 King Aethelstan granted the estate to a certain Ealdred:

“Where the dyke shoots on to Watling Street, then along Watling Street till you come to the ford, then along the brook to the second ford. Then from the ford up to the spring and thence to the dell (small valley), and then from the dell to the dyke, and from the dyke to the second dyke to the brook and from the brook to Cynburg well. Then along the dyke to East Coten, thence to the Old Brook, and thence along the rithe (riddy or stream). Then straight to the Highway and along the Highway to the dyke, and along the dyke to Watling Street”.

We leave from the Queens Head Tebworth at 10:00 AM sharp, stop for a well deserved lunch at the Fancott Arms around 1:00 PM, and get back into Tebworth around 5. PM. All are welcome.

Date For Your diary

The date of the next walk is 21st May 2017.

Past Walks

Rogation Day walkers outside the Queens Head. 2014
Rogation Day walkers meet outside the Queens Head (2014)

The walk takes you past a number of boundary posts. The story goes, that in days gone by, tradition required that a child’s head was to be ceremonially banged against a boundary post so that they would not forget where the parish boundary stopped.

Ceremonial 'head banging' against a boundary post (no children were harmed in the making of this photograph.....)
Ceremonial ‘head banging’ against a boundary post (no children were harmed in the making of this photograph…..)

 

 


 

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