A HISTORY OF LONDON 75^/. known as the 'smoke-farthing' or' smoke-money.'"' The parishioners of All Hallows Barking had a special procession, and owned a ' pageant ' and ' harness for the Resurrection,' which they let out on hire to other parishes."* General processions, in which all the clergy of the City took part, were very frequent during the reign of Henry VIII,"' for example in 1522 Bishop Tunstall directed that processions with prayers and litanies should be held on account of the plague,'^" and at the time of the birth of Edward VI solemn processions of clergy and laity took place in the City.'" In St. Paul's Cathedral, and in most if not all the parish churches, the ' boy-bishop ' was elected on the eve of St. Nicholas from amongst the choristers, and after singing the Vespers of his saint went in procession with his company of children through the cathedral precincts, or the parish, as the case might be. He appears to have remained in office until after Holy Innocents' Day, on the eve of which festival he solemnly blessed the people after service. *^^ Many churches possessed vestments and ornaments for the boy- bishop.'** For example, at St. Alphage London Wall there were ' for the bishop at St. Nicholas' tide, two mitres, two crosses, one staff, one cope, one vestment for the child, and two old copes.' "* Besides what was collected in the church and at the door,'^° money for the use of the church was sometimes gathered in other ways. The re- building of the steeple and aisles of St. Andrew's Holborn in 1446-7 was paid for partly by money ' gathered by the men and women of the parish in boxes at ales, shootings, and common meetings ' held weekly while the work was being carried on.'*° Children held dances and May-games for church expenses,'" and licences were granted to different parishes for ' stage-plays ' to be held in the churchyard or elsewhere for the same purpose.'** St. Mar- garet's Westminster had a dragon of its own, which no doubt played an important part in such dramatic performances.'*' There are abundant traces in the parochial records of the ceremonies connected with the Palm Sunday Procession."" ' The Passion of the Lord ' was sung at St. Margaret's Westminster, and probably at most of the London churches.'" There are frequent references to the hiring of priests and singing-men to help with the Palm Sunday services."- At St. Andrew "' St. Margaret Southwark Accts. 15th and 1 6th centuries. For the prcxression on Corpus Christi Day see Stow, Surrey (ed. Kingsford), i, 230-1. "' L. and P. Henry VIII, ii, 115. "' Hall, Chron. passim ; Wriothesley, Chron. (Camd. %oc.), passim. ^ Lend. Epis. Reg. Tunstall, fol. 50. "' Wriothesley, op. cit. i, 64-9. ^^ J ourn. Brit. Arch. Assoc, (new ser.), xi, 30-48, 231-56. For an account of City customs on other festivals see Stow, Surv. (ed. Kingsford), i, 101—2. ^ St. Martin Orgar Accts. 1469 ; St. Margaret New Fish Street Rec. Bk. 1472 ; St. Margaret Southwark Inventory, 1485 ; St. Martin Ludgate Inventory, n.d. in Vest. Min. Bk. ; St. Botolph Alders- gate Accts. 1505, &c.
- Accts. 1536.
^ St. Andrew Hubbard Accts. 15th century ; St. Margaret Westm. Accts. 1460, &c. ^ Rec. Bk. 1446-7. '"St. M.irgaret Southwark Accts. 1452; St. Margaret Westm. Accts. 1498, 15 18; St. Botolph Aldersgate Accts. 1535, &c. '^ St. Andrew Holborn Rec. Bk. 1493, &c. ; St. Margaret Southwark Accts. 1445, &c. ; St. Botolph Aldersgate Accts. 1532 ; St. Margaret Westm. Accts. 1528 ; Corp. Rec. Repert. v, fol. b ; vii, fol. 228, 297 ; viii, fol. 35 ; Letter Bk. O, fol. 61^. "^ Accts. 1490-2. '" See Blunt, Annotated Bk. of Common Prayer (2nd ed.), 96. '" Accts. 1510 ; see Blunt, loc. cit. '" Par. Rec. gen. 244
