Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Jul 2, 2010
Tagged in:
Wiltshire ,
summers past ,
summer holiday ,
Summer ,
Stonehenge ,
solstice celebrations ,
school ,
rural ,
longest day ,
harvests ,
Harvest Holiday ,
grain harvest ,
families ,
county ,
Avebury ,
19th century
With the longest day and the solstice celebrations at Avebury and Stonehenge our thoughts have turned to summer and summers past. In a rural county this was an important time with a succession of harvests that involved whole families for many weeks. In the 19th century the school summer holiday was known as Harvest Holiday and was often adjusted if the grain harvest was early or late.
18th century representation of a Wiltshire shepherd
Children were often kept away from school to help in the fields, bring refreshments to their working parents or look after younger siblings. Women who apparently had no job according to census records would work long hours in the fields at such seasonal work. To find out more about how the season has made its mark on the Wiltshire landscape, please 'read more'...
