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| Fun on St Bart's Day |
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In 1619 Alexander Cooke was the Vicar of Leeds. A fierce Puritan he quickly became unpopular with many of his parishioners. On his own admission he would denounce members of the parish, from the pulpit, for being, 'unreligious atheists, whore-mongers, drunkards, epicures, infidels and abbey-lubbers'. His beliefs included the strict observance of the Sabbath and he regularly warned parishioners for non-attendance at church and working or playing games on a Sunday. |
| A major source of vexation to the Vicar was the manorial bailiff, John Metcalfe. |
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In 1619 the Vicar reported Metcalfe to the authorities for non-attendance at church. When Metcalfe was discovered misusing charitable funds Cooke attacked him in his usual 'hell-fire and brimstone' manner.
Had Cooke not died in 1632 we may have seen more of the lively incidents of the sort that occurred on St Bartholomew's day in 1619. |
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St Bart's Day was to celebrate the harvest-end
and was usually celebrated with fairs and feasts and much celebrating.
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Knowing that the Vicar hated such ceremonies
Metcalfe hired a drummer the week before the day to advertise
the ceremony and encourage a large attendance. On the day large
crowds arrived. In the ensuing revelries that occurred that day the church door was badly damaged, a man wearing a visor and ram's horns had run into the church and danced about during the Service and the Vicar was threatened by the crowds. He, in turn, managed to let fly with a couple of punches before the abandonment of the Service. |
| At the following enquiry Cooke admitted that it was his usual custom to wear a brace of loaded pistols and a dagger for his own protection. |
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