St Clement's Day
Encyclopedia
Saint Clement's Day was traditionally, and in some places still is, celebrated on the 23 November, a welcome festival between Halloween
and Christmas
. Pope Clement I
is the patron saint
of metalworkers and blacksmith
s, and so these workers traditionally enjoyed a holiday on his feast day.
into a small hole in an anvil, and then struck it soundly with a hammer, causing a small explosion. Anvil firing was also a test of the anvil’s durability: weak anvils would break under pressure, and had to be melted down and recast. The smith, or apprentice, dressed up in wig, mask and cloak to represent ‘Old Clem’ led a procession of smiths through the streets, stopping at taverns along the way. Boisterous singing was followed by demands for free beer or money for the ‘Clem feast’. Traditional toasts included ‘True hearts and sound bottoms, check shirts and leather aprons’; and ‘Here's to old Vulcan
, as bold as a lion, A large shop and no iron, A big hearth and no coal, And a large pair of bellowses full of holes.’
In the nineteenth century at Bramber
in West Sussex
an effigy of Old Clem was propped up in the public bar while the smiths enjoyed their dinner. This was rounded off with the blacksmith's anthem, 'Twanky Dillo':
disguised one of their fellows to play the part of Old Clem. Wielding a hammer and tongs, the tools of his trade, he was carried aloft by his comrades through the town. In the streets and taverns apprentices shouted and sang the praises of Old Clem and repeatedly toasted his name: ‘To the memory of Old Clem, and prosperity to all his descendants!’ Again, the allegedly generous cash donations received paid for the apprentices’ holiday dinner.
In some rural areas smiths visited homes to beg for beer or wine. To encourage largesse, sometimes an iron pot was passed around: the day was represented on old calendars with the figure of a cauldron. This custom expanded into the visiting custom of ‘clementing’ or ‘clemening’ whereby children called door-to door requesting apples, pears and other sweet treats in exchange for singing traditional songs associated with the night, such as ‘Clementsing, clementsing, apples and pears’, or ‘Clemany clemany clemany mine, a roasted apple and some good red wine!’
The old begging song ‘Cattern and Clemen, be here be here! Some of your apples and some of your beer!’ refers to the combination with the ‘catterning’ custom two days later on St Katherine's Day (25 November). Again children sang for fruit, nuts, or money until 1541 when Henry VIII
passed a law forbidding children to beg in this way within the London churches of Saints Clement, Catherine, and Nicholas. This rule did not apply outside the church buildings, and the custom cheerfully continued.
, some suggest he was the first man to refine iron from ore, and to shoe a horse. Clementine customs may be survivals of earlier pagan rituals, a confusion of Saint Clement with the early Saxon
Wayland, or Wayland the smith, a mythical metalworker. He shares this feast day, which marks the beginning of winter, with the saint.
’s Great Expectations
Miss Havisham insists Pip sing for her and her ward Estella, and Pip responds with a ditty from Joe’s forge ‘that imitated the measure of beating upon iron’: ‘... hammer boys round - Old Clem! With a thump and a sound - Old Clem! Beat it out, beat it out - Old Clem! With a clink for the stout - Old Clem! Blow the fire, blow the fire - Old Clem! Roaring dryer, soaring higher - Old Clem!’
an effigy of Old Clem is still mounted above the door of an inn for the annual Clem Feast every 23 November. Similarly, Old Clem and Saint Dunstan, another blacksmith saint, said to have pulled off the devil’s nose with hot tongs, meet together on the same day at nearby Mayfield. A local smith plays Old Clem for the day and is pulled around in a cart collecting money and firing off his anvil. Ironworkers gather from all over the Britain to celebrate St Clement’s Day at Finch Foundry
near Okehampton
in Devon. Smiths demonstrate their art and display decorative ironware as part of a national competition, and they and the public can enjoy Morris dancing, mince pies and mulled wine
.
Saint Clement
is also commemorated every April at St Clement Danes
church in London, a modern clementine custom/revival. Reverend William Pennington-Bickford initiated the service in 1919 to celebrate the restoration of the famous church bells and carillon, which he’d had altered to ring out the popular nursery rhyme. This special service for children ends with the distribution of oranges and lemons to the boys and girls.
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. Pope Clement I
Pope Clement I
Starting in the 3rd and 4th century, tradition has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians as a fellow laborer in Christ.While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor...
is the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of metalworkers and blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
s, and so these workers traditionally enjoyed a holiday on his feast day.
Festivities
"Old Clem’s Night" started literally with a bang and showers of sparks during the ritual "firing of the anvil." The smith packed gunpowderGunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
into a small hole in an anvil, and then struck it soundly with a hammer, causing a small explosion. Anvil firing was also a test of the anvil’s durability: weak anvils would break under pressure, and had to be melted down and recast. The smith, or apprentice, dressed up in wig, mask and cloak to represent ‘Old Clem’ led a procession of smiths through the streets, stopping at taverns along the way. Boisterous singing was followed by demands for free beer or money for the ‘Clem feast’. Traditional toasts included ‘True hearts and sound bottoms, check shirts and leather aprons’; and ‘Here's to old Vulcan
Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
, as bold as a lion, A large shop and no iron, A big hearth and no coal, And a large pair of bellowses full of holes.’
In the nineteenth century at Bramber
Bramber
Bramber is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river....
in West Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
an effigy of Old Clem was propped up in the public bar while the smiths enjoyed their dinner. This was rounded off with the blacksmith's anthem, 'Twanky Dillo':
Urban festivities
Such celebrations were not restricted to rural areas. Ironworkers’ apprentices at Woolwich DockyardWoolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....
disguised one of their fellows to play the part of Old Clem. Wielding a hammer and tongs, the tools of his trade, he was carried aloft by his comrades through the town. In the streets and taverns apprentices shouted and sang the praises of Old Clem and repeatedly toasted his name: ‘To the memory of Old Clem, and prosperity to all his descendants!’ Again, the allegedly generous cash donations received paid for the apprentices’ holiday dinner.
In some rural areas smiths visited homes to beg for beer or wine. To encourage largesse, sometimes an iron pot was passed around: the day was represented on old calendars with the figure of a cauldron. This custom expanded into the visiting custom of ‘clementing’ or ‘clemening’ whereby children called door-to door requesting apples, pears and other sweet treats in exchange for singing traditional songs associated with the night, such as ‘Clementsing, clementsing, apples and pears’, or ‘Clemany clemany clemany mine, a roasted apple and some good red wine!’
The old begging song ‘Cattern and Clemen, be here be here! Some of your apples and some of your beer!’ refers to the combination with the ‘catterning’ custom two days later on St Katherine's Day (25 November). Again children sang for fruit, nuts, or money until 1541 when Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
passed a law forbidding children to beg in this way within the London churches of Saints Clement, Catherine, and Nicholas. This rule did not apply outside the church buildings, and the custom cheerfully continued.
Ancient origins
Many legends surround Saint ClementSaint Clement
-People:* Pope Clement I, also known as St. Clement of Rome, , martyr and fourth pope* Saint Clement of Metz fl. 4th century), first bishop of Metz* Clement of Alexandria , distinguished teacher of the early Christian Church...
, some suggest he was the first man to refine iron from ore, and to shoe a horse. Clementine customs may be survivals of earlier pagan rituals, a confusion of Saint Clement with the early Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Wayland, or Wayland the smith, a mythical metalworker. He shares this feast day, which marks the beginning of winter, with the saint.
Literary references
In Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
’s Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
Miss Havisham insists Pip sing for her and her ward Estella, and Pip responds with a ditty from Joe’s forge ‘that imitated the measure of beating upon iron’: ‘... hammer boys round - Old Clem! With a thump and a sound - Old Clem! Beat it out, beat it out - Old Clem! With a clink for the stout - Old Clem! Blow the fire, blow the fire - Old Clem! Roaring dryer, soaring higher - Old Clem!’
Modern survival of the custom
Clementing had more or less died out by the 20th century, but St Clement’s Day is still celebrated in a few rural parishes, although nowadays donations tend to be for charity. At Burwash, East SussexBurwash, East Sussex
Burwash is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. Situated fifteen miles inland from the South Coast port of Hastings, it is located five miles south-west of Hurst Green, on the A265 road, and on the River Dudwell, a tributary of the River Rother...
an effigy of Old Clem is still mounted above the door of an inn for the annual Clem Feast every 23 November. Similarly, Old Clem and Saint Dunstan, another blacksmith saint, said to have pulled off the devil’s nose with hot tongs, meet together on the same day at nearby Mayfield. A local smith plays Old Clem for the day and is pulled around in a cart collecting money and firing off his anvil. Ironworkers gather from all over the Britain to celebrate St Clement’s Day at Finch Foundry
Finch Foundry
Finch Foundry is a 19th century water-powered forge situated in the village of Sticklepath near Okehampton, Devon, England and was active until 1960. It was originally used to produce agricultural and mining hand tools, but the Foundry has been a National Trust property since 1994. It contains...
near Okehampton
Okehampton
Okehampton is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and has an estimated population of 7,155.-History:...
in Devon. Smiths demonstrate their art and display decorative ironware as part of a national competition, and they and the public can enjoy Morris dancing, mince pies and mulled wine
Mulled wine
Mulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...
.
Saint Clement
Saint Clement
-People:* Pope Clement I, also known as St. Clement of Rome, , martyr and fourth pope* Saint Clement of Metz fl. 4th century), first bishop of Metz* Clement of Alexandria , distinguished teacher of the early Christian Church...
is also commemorated every April at St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...
church in London, a modern clementine custom/revival. Reverend William Pennington-Bickford initiated the service in 1919 to celebrate the restoration of the famous church bells and carillon, which he’d had altered to ring out the popular nursery rhyme. This special service for children ends with the distribution of oranges and lemons to the boys and girls.
Further reading
- Maplestone, P.; St Clement Danes School - 300 years of History, St Clement Danes Educational Foundation.
- Simpson, J & Roud, S; Dictionary of English Folklore (2000), Oxford University Press.
- Wright, A.R. & Lones, T.E.; English Folklore (1940), Folklore Society