Holy Rood Church, Swinton
A local church serving its community
Beating The Boundaries
Beating The Boundaries
SUNDAY 18th MAY 2008
A Walk Around Holy Rood Parish Boundary
Following the Church Service on Sunday 18th May 2008, you are invited to join us as we take part in the ancient ceremony of ‘Beating the Boundaries’.
This ceremony has its origins many hundreds of years ago in the necessity to remind people from towns and villages of the extent of their boundaries in the days before precise map making.
Long before Ordnance Survey provided maps marking boundaries, a group of parishioners, often led by the vicar, would walk around the parish boundaries to check that land belonging to the parish was clearly marked and to establish the tithe arrangements.
This was in the context of the 1836 Tithe Act, which changed the collection of tithes (literally one-tenth of income from produce) into payments associated with current produce prices. The parish Leaders did not have local maps so wrote up the boundaries as an account of the perambulation with graphic commentaries, checking boundary stones and recording the route using field and house names.
They checked that stone markers were in place and that no new unrated buildings had been erected. Today the importance of Parish boundaries has been diminished to that of civil administration. However, too much reliance on maps may result in ancient rights of way being forgotten.
Every five years the parishioners of Holy Rood Church re-confirm the Parish Boundary by walking around the perimeter and checking the Boundary Stones. Sunday 18th May marks five years since the last walk.
So, why not come and join us in this ancient ceremony, that dates back to Medieval times, as we walk around the Parish Boundary to make sure all the Boundary Stones are still in place.
We start at noon (following the Sunday Service) with a bacon butty to fortify us before we commence our journey. As soon as everyone is ready we take a gentle meander around the boundary, a journey which usually takes around three hours to complete. Then on return to build our energy levels up again we have cream scones with jam and a cup of tea.
As I’m sure you can appreciate, these events do take a lot of coordination. To give an idea of numbers attending (and to cover the cost of food and drink etc.) a small charge of £2.50 will be made for those wishing to attend.
The walk will take place on this date come rain or shine and is open to anyone who would like to attend. To book your place speak with or Church Verger Alan Leary who is always available in Church every Sunday or use the Contact Us pages of our website and we shall look forward to seeing you on Sunday 18th May.
N.B. The walk will be over a mixed terrain of roads and fields so please ensure you wear appropriate footwear and clothing. As long as they are accompanied by a responsible adult, children are welcome to attend, but do please bear in mind the timescale of the walk is around three hours and the terrain may be unsuitable for baby buggies etc.
Office Address:
Holy Rood Church
Moorside Road
Swinton
Salford
M27 0HJ