SKIMMINGTON, EXETER, 1834

From The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette," 1st February 1834:

John Hawkes - a young gentleman of somewhat frightful appearance, having his physiognomy variegated with stripes of blue, red and white, tastefully painted in oil colours. - John Pulman , and Samuel Lamb, were brought up, charged with disorderly conduct in West-Street, on Friday last.

"It appeared that the wife of a certain butcher in the West quarter of the city, had been supposed to be guilty of impropriety, and the gallant gentry of that neighbourhood determined to give it publicity by adopting the ancient but riotous practice of skimmington; accordingly, nearly 500 persons assembled (after receiving a caution from the police) with two donkeys, a tri-coloured flag fastened to a long pole, decorated on the top with rams' horns gilded in a superior style: the painted man, in gaudy attire, being placed on one of the animals; various pranks and much noise ensued, which greatly disturbed the peace;  the officers soon interfered and took some of the delinquents into custody.  Pulman was very much intoxicated, and when apprehended chose rather to ride to the Guildhall than to walk quietly.  Lamb was requested to help the police, instead of which he knocked off an officer's hat.

"The Bench fined Pulman and Lamb 5s. each and liberated Hawkes, a pauper of St Thomas, as he was of unsound mind, after cautioning him not to become the tool of such parties in future."

Thank the Fates there are no skimmintons these days!  This 1834 skimmington in Exeter seems to have been organised to humiliate a cuckolded butcher and his wife but such riotous processions had for centuries been used by the mob to take what they saw as corrective measures against all kinds of perceived misdemeanours.   As in Hardy's skimmity-ride in the Mayor of Casterbridge, the cruelty of such mindless attempts at rough-justice seems today to be shocking, dangerous and despicable.   But, wait a minute!  Isn't there a parallel here with the modern thinking that political incorrectitude can be rooted out by those who are 'woke' enough to raise a mob online?  The potential of social media for skimmingtons is frightening!

This skimmington in the West-quarter of Exeter is a classic:  a pole, a tricolour (of revolutionary France presumably), gilded rams' horns, two donkeys and John Hawkes, a pauper of unsound mind, face-painted  and sitting on one of them and thereto five hundred unwashed citizens.

'Skimmington', ( the word is not nearly as old as the rough-ride - first recorded 1666 )  is of obscure origin but might have to do with the wooden spoons with which nagging wives traditionally beat their subordinate husbands.  (cf. Punch and his Judy?)   My own guess though would be a  Mr. or Ms. Skimmington  long, long ago deemed to be 'guilty of impropiety'