Beating the Bounds

Please note that 'Beating the Bounds' requires permission to cross Gransden Lodge Airfield (Cambridge Gliding Centre).

'Beating the Bounds' is an ancient custom that is still carried out in many parishes.

It involved members of the parish literally beating the parish boundaries with sticks, stopping at appropriate markers such as significant trees or large stones, to bump, beat or whip children, especially the boys, so that they would have no doubt about the borders of their own territory! In days where maps were rare, the custom was a way of imprinting local memory and ensuring continuity.

Like many once-pagan customs, beating the bounds was absorbed into the Christian calendar and now it traditionally takes place on Rogation Day (25 April and 7-9 May 2018 ), when prayers are also said for the crops and the success of the harvest to come that year.

Part of the 'Beating the Bounds' walk is along Bridleway 6, which was apparently marked on Thomas Langdon's 1601 map of Gamlingay as Procession Waye, an indication that this was part of the traditional route taken by the parishioners when they were beating the bounds.

Customs and procedures varied. Sticks used may have been birch twigs or willow wands. Sometimes people carried large stones, which were added to cairns at strategic points. In Great Gransden it was the custom to dangle the vicar upside down over the well! The annual walk was an opportunity to combine ritual, a concept of local government, and the knowledge of the land that provided a livelihood with an excuse for celebration.

Here is an imaginary description of beating the bounds: · ... the children all at once, surged forwards with a sudden shout and raced towards the meerstone that marks the parish boundary. The first of them to beat the bound and strike head to stone receives some sweet token. They ran full tilt, their heads back, gasping at the air. The little ones were quickly left behind. It was Tom Dolby who first butted the stone and he will not forget it, for he was rubbing his head still when Mrs Bullimore caught up with him and popped the sugar plum between his lips that made all well again:

The Ballad of John Clare by Hugh Lupton (2010) Dedalus

The Countryside Code

Five sections of The Countryside Code are dedicated to helping members of the public respect, protect and enjoy the countryside:

  • Be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs;

  • Leave gates and property as you find them;

  • Protect plants and animals and take your litter home;

  • Keep dogs under close control;

  • Consider other people.