Floreat Etona: Anecdotes and Memories of Eton CollegeNevill, Ralph
History
Floreat Etona: Anecdotes and Memories of Eton College
Nevill, Ralph
Eton College
The Eton traditions of three decades ago were not very many in number,
most of them being concerned with minor points of dress, things which
were to be done and were not to be done, and the like. Except hoisting,
few old usages survived, though, no doubt, the opinions of many
long-past generations still influenced the boys in their unwritten code
of what was “scuggish” and what was not. Hoisting, I believe, still
survives, though a very few years ago undue exuberance on the part of
the boys nearly caused its abolition. At that time (1904-1905) the
whole school would assemble along the wall on the evening of the School
Pulling, which always takes place after Lord’s, and await the arrival
of the members of “Pop,” who from Tap would walk arm-in-arm across the
whole street to opposite their Club Room in the building of the old
Christopher. They would then seize the winners of the School Pulling,
and, according to traditional custom, run up and down along the wall
with them, the whole school shouting at the top of their voices. If the
eleven had won at Lord’s, or the eight at Henley, its members were also
hoisted one by one. In the case of the School Pulling, the winners,
after being hoisted, were taken to some prominent upper window in one
of the houses which all could see, and water solemnly poured over their
heads, the jugs and crockery being eventually thrown out into the
street. This latter generally occurred just before Lock-up, all the
boys being still out in the street. The end was that “Pop” canes were
produced, arms linked, and everybody systematically driven into his
tutor’s house. The ceremony of hoisting was not very popular with the
public, for, in consequence of the noise, passing carts and carriages
generally went by a good deal quicker than the drivers wished, and
horses became alarmed, whilst no bicyclist was allowed to remain on
his bicycle, every one who passed being booed or cheered. Thirty years
ago the ceremony proceeded much in the same way, though there was more
consideration shown to the drivers of horses which looked likely to
become alarmed by noise; also the crockery-smashing ceremonial did
not exist, and would have been resented had any attempt been made to
institute it.
Like another custom of modern origin, “Lock-up Parade,” this very
undesirable addition to hoisting has now been forbidden. Lock-up
Parade, which did not exist in the writer’s Eton days, took place in
the Summer Half, just before the hour of Lock-up, when the boys walked
backwards and forwards within very narrow limits to the strains of
musicians stationed outside “Tap.”
[Illustration: Eton College from the River. _From an old coloured
print._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account