The Folklore of Bee's in Shropshire

 

Bees are wonderful little things. They have been guardians of the natural world for 130 million years and play an integral role in maintaining plant life on the planet, with many plants dependant on bees for pollination. In fact, the vast majority of plant species (around 90%) rely on pollinators such as bees to reproduce. Honey Bees are the most efficient and numerous pollinators in the world, with the average Honey Bee being able to visit more than 2,000 flowers in one day. Though small, their potential is huge as globally, pollinators are responsible for the continuation of more than 1,200 crops. About 75% of the leading food crops are dependent on pollinators, with bees playing a prominent role in this. Human beings need bees, and our relationship with them began over 9,000 years ago. You can glimpse hints of this early relationship through beautiful cave paintings of honeycomb, as well as traces of honey found on ancient pottery, from areas such as the Balkan Peninsula and England. If we travel forward to the medieval world, we can see that bees played an integral part of society. Their honey was used as a sweetener but also within many medicines and also to help treat wounds. It was also used within the production of mead, which was consumed both as an alcoholic drink and also for its purported restorative properties. Beeswax was highly sought after due to it being the cleanest, burning source of light at the time. Beekeeping was a pastime found everywhere from the monastery to the manor house and appealed to landowners and peasants alike. As we move through the medieval period a thriving trade network flourished internationally, with bees at the centre. In later centuries bees still played an active role in rural life and the rural economy.

The prominence of bees within society ensured that they gained a symbolic meaning, and we see that from the medieval period a whole corpus of folklore begins to develop, that would continue and progress into the folklore remembered today. For example, within medieval Christianity, bees were presented as a powerful symbol of chastity. The Islamic world used honey for its potent healing powers, but also believed it had the ability to heal the spirit. I want to look at the folkloric symbolism of bees in more detail, with a particular focus on their place in Shropshire folklore. Through looking at the folklore associated with them, one can begin to understand the reciprocal relationship between bees and Shropshire folk, and how folkloric customs allowed people to show respect, even reverence for the natural world. The folklore of bees in Shropshire implores us to take care of the natural world, listen to nature, to never take more than what is needed and not to take things for granted, a message I believe is just as pertinent today.

Cottage beekeeping was very popular during the 18^th, 19^th and into the 20^th century in Shropshire and elsewhere in the UK. Thus, it was relatively common to have a hive or two within your garden. However, if you were just starting out as a beekeeper, there was certain etiquette that one must keep in mind. For example, it was deemed incredibly unlucky to buy bees, or give money in exchange for bees throughout most of Shropshire. It was seen as a form of disrespect to the creature, as they could never truly be owned. If you went against this advice and bought bees there was a likelihood they would leave the hive, die, or bring ill luck to the household. Rather than buying bees, you have been gifted them, borrowed them or they must be exchanged for some other service or produce. This was seen as much more respectful. It was deemed particularly lucky to find a swarm of bees, especially if they came into your garden or local vicinity. If this happened, one could expect good luck, and an abundance of honey.

If there was ever a situation where the beehive needed to be moved, this must be done carefully, as not to insult the bees. Great care was taken not to insult the bees, and behaviours such as coarse language, acts of violence or swearing were forbidden near the hives, as it was believed that the bees took such very badly, and would refuse to make honey, or even die after witnessing such.

Furthermore, the hive should not be carried over any body of water, however small, as it was believed that they wouldn’t survive. In Shropshire it was believed that particular attention should be paid to swarms of bees, and that one could discern an omen or meaning from such. When bees are swarming it was usually the job of the beekeeper to announce this to the neighbourhood by banging a pan with a shovel or key. This was also said to encourage bees to ‘Knit’ (settle). There is a once popular rhyme which told of potential omens associated with a swarm of bees. It went as follows-

‘a swarm in May is worth a stack of hay,

A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon.

A swarm in July is not worth a fly’.

Interestingly both positive and negative omens are mentioned here, depending on the season. It was also commonly believed that the area where a swarm settles was ominous or was in for some ill luck. In Oswestry if the bees settled on the high branches of a tree, it was associated with rising prices of grain, and if they were to settle on dead wood or logs it usually pertained death. Similarly, if bees gathered on the wall of a house, it was believed to that death would soon visit that household.

There is further associations with omens of dying and bees in Shropshire. Throughout the county it was believed that if a single bee entered the home, it was a sign that someone was about to die. Similarly, if a single bee entered the home after a death, it was a sign that the deceased’s spirit did not rest easy, and the household was about to gain a ghost.

Perhaps the most pertinent folkloric custom associated with bees in Shropshire is the practice of ‘telling the bees’ This can be found throughout the UK, but I am going to discuss the practice in a strictly shropshire context. It was an incredibly important custom, and evidence suggests that it was taken very seriously in Shropshire. It was encouraged to talk to the bees more generally, perhaps informing them of daily going on, and in some parts of Shropshire you would also tell the bees of a birth or marriage. However, far more common was the practice of telling the bees of a death in the household, especially if it was the beekeeper’s death. It was believed to be very unlucky to both the hive and the household if this was not done. Charlotte Burne recounts that there are many instances in Edgmond where the bees were not told of a death and the result was hives of bees dying or the bees moving on.

There was a particular way in which such news was recounted to the bees, which differed from place to place. In Church Stretton, a person was nominated from the household to tap on the hive with a stick and then loudly proclaim ‘The Master is dead’. In Morville, parts of Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock, the taps are repeated three times and then a nominated person informs the bees that ‘your(their) friend has gone’. In Shrewsbury and the surrounding area, the custom was usually enacted by a woman of the family, who would tap the hive three times before informing the bees ‘the poor maisters dead, but yo mun work for me’. I particularly like how respectful this last one seems, as it is not only informing the bees of the death, but requesting them to continue their activities, imploring them to work with the speaker as they had the previous keeper. There seems to be a lot of respect in general within the Shropshire traditions, perhaps emphasising that one must work with nature and respect it to reap the rewards.

The proper time to tell the bees of the death was disputed, and depended on which part of Shropshire you were in. In Clun and its surrounding areas, it had to be done at midnight, when the nominated person would journey into the garden alone. Its quite a powerful image to think about, this solemn affair, and you cannot help but wonder how many deaths were whispered to the bees under the moon’s watchful gaze. Other areas of Shropshire believed it should be done as soon as the person had passed, or as late as the funeral. Indeed, in some areas along the border the telling of the bees should occur at the moment the coffin leaves the house.

As well as telling the bees, it was also customary in North Shropshire and along the border to ‘Heave up the hive’. This was especially apparent when the death had been the beekeeper. This was where the bee hive would be lifted a few inches off the ground, usually at the same time as the coffin was being lifted out of the house. This was seen as a sign of respect, and also acknowledged the relationship between the bees and their keeper. Often the hives themselves were decorated with traditional black crape or taupe, to allow the bees to mourn. There is something so touching about this, and it presents a reciprocal, respectful relationship between bees and their keeper. Often the bees were described as being quiet in the days preceding and after the funeral, and little would be seen of them, perhaps engaging in their own acts of private mourning. 

Sometimes, if the bees had been told properly, they would decide to take a more direct approach in the mourning process, including several known instances where the bees actually turned up at the funeral of the deceased, or at the graveside. The most vivid account of this comes from Myddle, and was reported in the Shrewsbury chronicle on 3rd March 1961. Sam Rogers had been the local postman for 41 years, before his retirement that year. Sadly, just 6 weeks later, Sam passed away. In life, Sam had been devoted to his bees, and thus it felt proper for his children to inform them of his passing, which they did, following local custom. On the day of his funeral as the family sat in the memorial service, it was noticed that swarms of bees were forming in the cemetery, having come from the direction of Sam Roger's former home on Lower Road. This was about a mile and a half away, and rather quickly the bees began to gather on the flowers. The amount totalled to 14 hives worth, so one can imagine it was a rather spectacular sight. The rector, Rev. J. C. Ayling informed the newspaper that-

'it was a remarkable sight. the bees were clustered all over the grave. the only logical explanation was that the flowers had attracted them.'

However, there were some issues in this theory. namely that during that time of the year the bees are sluggish and rarely make any significant journeys far from their nesting site. The Shrewsbury chronicle spoke to the head of the beekeepers association, a Mr H Pocock who said -

'it is unusual for bees to fly such a distance at this time of year... perhaps the flowers attracted them... but it was very odd. perhaps it was a result of telling the bees.'

Whatever the reason for the bees decision visit the grave and pay their respects one last time, by nightfall they had all made the journey back to the hives. One cannot help but be moved by the image of the bees covering the grave of their former master. What a touching final tribute to a man who truly cared for them.

Though this isn’t an exhaustive account of the folklore of bees, I believe that it demonstrates the relationship between the creatures and Shropshire folk. Much of the folklore we have discussed suggests that we should respect the bees and expect consequences if we do not. Charlotte Burne states that her friend Dinah Shuker of Edgmond described bees as ‘They’n Coorus craiturs’ and they certainly are. In Shropshire they are omens of good luck and bad, as well as an integral part of the household. By communicating with these animals, we are highlighting their importance, but also suggesting that they deserve to know, that they had developed relationships with their keeper and other members of their household. It gives them an identity, a personality. I think such customs are important because they show us how fragile and precious the natural world is and implore us to show respect. I think that we can learn a lot from these traditions and do what we can to protect the world around us.