Bounce Magazine December 2018

DECEMBER DECEMBER 2018 | ISSUE 2018 | #74 ISSUE | #74 HISTORY
Christmas
Curiosities...
Norwich Castle was
originally designed to
be a Royal palace but
became a fortification.
No Norman kings ever resided
there and the only time Henry
I is known to have stayed
at Norwich Castle was for
Christmas 1121.
It has been claimed that Henry
VIII is credited with adopting
the turkey as a Christmas bird
following its introduction to
Britain from America in the
1520s. It became very popular
amongst the Tudor elite of
Norfolk and was normally served
in a coffin-shaped Christmas
pie, where it was stuffed with
numerous other game birds.
Large Tudor Houses and Halls
all over Norfolk, would invite
musicians to entertain them and
their guests.
Christmas in the 1700s saw
presents being exchanged
for the first time. The custom
of giving a Christmas box to
tradesmen and servants also
became commonplace, as did
paying small amounts to those
less well off. Most undertook
these obligations cheerfully
as did the Norfolk clergyman
James Woodforde who made
a note in 1788 that he paid
sixpence each to 56 “poor
people” in his parish, entertained
some to dinner, and those
who were too lame to come in
person had their dinners sent
to them. But many others were
resentful of this mounting cost.
By the time the 1720s had
ended, up to 250,000 turkeys
had been walked from Norfolk
to the London markets in small
flocks of 300-1000. They started
the long walk in August and fed
on stubble fields and feeding
stations. Their feet were dipped
in tar to protect them. The most
common breeds of Turkey in
the UK are the standard white,
bronze and Norfolk black
breeds.
St. Mary’s church Worsted
features in an old legend of the
phantom White Lady who only
appeared there when the clock
struck midnight on Christmas
Eve. In 1830, a drunken man
swore that he would go there
and ring the church bell at
twelve, so that he could meet
the Lady and give her a kiss. No
bell sounded so those from the
nearby King’s Arms inn went
in search of him, only to find
him a gibbering mess in the
bell chamber. Back at the inn,
he revived a little, only to start
crying wildly “I’ve seen her!
There! There!” Then he collapsed
again and died.
George V stated that
Sandringham was the place he
loved more than anywhere else
in the world and it became the
setting for the first Christmas
broadcast in 1932. In 1957,
Elizabeth II broadcast the first
televised Christmas message
from Sandringham.
Eggnog became the drink for
Christmas with poor families
substituting expensive rum for
sherry. But how did it come by
its weird “nog” name? No one
knows for sure, but historians
decided that “nog” was in fact
short for “noggin,” which was
slang for a wooden cup, or a
play on the Norfolk variety of
beer also called nog.
Christmas Eve 1994 saw Roys
Chairman Fred Roy pass away at
the age of 74.
To all Bounce Magazine readers
have a wonderful Christmas and
a prosperous 2019.
By Michael Chandler - Author, Historian, Broadcaster & Features Writer, Restaurant &
Food critic. Researcher of old buildings and creator of historical and Corporate DVDs.
Contact me @EastAngliaMedia - Mention BOUNCE and receive a 15% discount.
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