THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

SMASHING TIME FOR CANES

Copyright Valerie Martin 1999

Text first Published in the West Sussex Gazette 7^th January 1999.

Findon was a rural community in 1829 and it had I believe some 480 inhabitants. The young scholars came to the school from outlying homesteads in the Findon Parish as well as from the cottages sprawling along the main street and Nepcote.

At the end of the Christmas term, the schoolmistress invited all of her little students to an evening of merry entertainment. The children were asked to donate threepence each towards the festivities being provided. This was in the way of tea, cakes, and a glass each of gooseberry drink, or if they chose, blackcurrant.

During such an occasion in December 1829, a jolly neighbour called at the school carrying his fiddle. The children looked up as he came into the room and gradually gathered around him. He played a dance jig, steadily increasing the speed of the tune.

At first the children ran around the schoolroom, shouting excitedly. They did not dance but just kept running to the music. The musician repeatedly played the simple theme of the tune, until the boys and girls were rosy cheeked and damp. When he stopped, they collapsed in a heap on the floor.

The "Lord of the Dance" lowered his fiddle and cradled it against his chest, the bow hanging from his fingers. When they had rested, he started up again and everyone proceeded to dance inventively in their own way. The little ones strove to leap up and down on the spot as high as they could, and for as long as their strength held out. The frolic appeared for the entire world as a cross between an Irish jig and a party game. During this they eagerly cried out "Fiddle faster! Fiddle faster!"

The happy jollifications drew to a close with a grand finale. The dreaded canes used for punishments during the year were irreverently smashed into many pieces. This was done with the teacher’s convivial consent, and as can be imagined, the children attempted to break the rods with their hands in delight. The schoolmistress watched with amusement until they succeeded. The Findon School Christmas party of 1829 certainly ensured that the village children finished the year on a high note.

The days of the smashing cans have long since gone.

Continue if you would like to read Schooldays in Findon from the 1850s Until 1900.

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.