Monday 9 February 2009
St Ives Feast Day
Click on any of the images above to see them full size.
Today is St Ives Feast Day which always falls on the first Monday after February 3rd, the anniversary of the consecration of the Parish Church of St. Eia in 1434.
The children of the town all take the day off school.
At 10.30am a silver ball is thrown from the wall of the Parish Church by the Mayor. Once the ball is caught by a member of the crowd of local children below, they then compete for it on the beaches and streets of St Ives.
Whoever is in possession of the ball when the clock strikes noon takes it to the Mayor at the Guildhall and receives the traditional reward of five shillings.
Local councillors then throw pennies down from the balcony of The Guildhall for the children below to collect.
A great old tradition, good to see that it still continues.
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Feast Day? Children? Mmm, delicious!
ReplyDeleteSurely they should have upgraded the penny chucking to pound coins. How much was a penny worth when the tradition started?
Thanks for the pix, Steve. This is a new one for me.
Don't worry - they'll soon have to chuck out Euros.
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