The Lifting of the Bride. 229
"The custom of the bride and bridegroon jumping over the ' Petten Stone,' or ' Petten Stool,' is followed in nearly- all the old villages of this county when the wedding is that of natives of the village, that is, among working folk. Just above the common folk the custom is considered 'vulgar,' and the throwing of rice, &c., is indulged in, in imitation of the customs of the upper classes. I have made a point of asking all very old people for years now for an explana- tion of the custom, but the origin of the rite, or the meaning of it, is hopelessly lost. I gather from my own observation that it is 'etiquette ' for the bride to appear to be unwilling to 'jump,' and that the ordeal is made easier if she and the bridegroom have a coin ready to drop into the hand of one of the persons in charge of the ' Stone.' If any stingi- ness is apprehended, the ' Stone ' is raised to a formidable height, but all is done in good humour. When the bride is young and lively she 'jumps' over 'just for fun' very often. The ' Stone ' was really a stone in former times ; but I see that a four-legged ' form ' is often used now. I can remember when I was a very little girl, forty years ago, seeing some young lads erecting the ' Stone ' at Belford Church door. It consisted of three upright stone flags set on edge, with one laid flat on the top like a step. When the bride appeared, two young fellows, one at each side of the bride, lifted her bodily over the barrier. The bride- groom leaped lightly over after her, and dropped a coin into the hand of one of the ' bride-lifters.' The custom is much the same now, but is performed often at the gate of the churchyard. Unsympathetic vicars are shocked at the merriment so near the church, when it is done at the door of the building. But the church door is the proper place."
At Ilderton, Northumberland, as I learn from another cor- respondent,^ the village people always lock the wedding party into the church till they have pushed gold under the
' From a note forwarded by Miss C. S. Burne, to whom I am also indebted for other valuable references.
