Kmflett's Blog

E P Thompson on Ash Wednesday in Bristol in the eighteenth century

In his essay Patrician Society, Plebeian Culture E P Thompson notes the following:

Bristol in the early eighteenth century saw an annual pugilistic combat on Ash Wednesday between the blacksmiths and the coopers, carpenters and sailors, with the weavers sometimes joining in on the side of the smiths.

His point is that as the working-class emerged its shape in terms of trades and allegiances also began to appear in this case in the form of a boxing match. One of those traditions that has become hidden from history, possibly in this case for the good. Its interesting to reflect however that while Ash Wednesday is meant to be a religious occasion marking the beginning of Lent the Bristol activities of three hundred years ago appeared to have quite other traditions in mind