Rushes

The ladies of St Oswald's Church in Grasmere are clearing up after the annual rush bearing festival. The rushes have covered the church floor for the last week, filling the building with a sweet, aromatic smell. The rushes are carried through the village by six rush-maidens from the local primary school. There are races and lots of gingerbread.

The Grasmere rushbearing is first mentioned in the churchwardens' accounts of 1680. Rushes covered the earthen floor all year and were replaced at regular intervals. The sweet smell covered the smell that might result from the shallow burials that took place under the floor.

I suggested to the ladies that they would deserve lunch after their morning's work. One said it was an ancient tradition that the churchwarden treated them all to lunch. The churchwarden looked entirely unconvinced that such a tradition existed at all!