May Day custom of Deptford Jack in the Green, a man encased in a framework entirely covered with greenery, is one of the lesser-known modern revivals by the Blackheath Morris Men of English traditional customs on May 1st 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Preparations out in the street outside the Dog and Bell pub. Fowlers Troop Jack in the Green was revived in the early 1980s. Originally a revival from about 1906, it developed from the 17th Century custom of milkmaids going out on May Day with the utensils of their trade, decorated with garlands of flowers and piled into a pyramid which they car

May Day custom of Deptford Jack in the Green, a man encased in a framework entirely covered with greenery, is one of the lesser-known modern revivals by the Blackheath Morris Men of English traditional customs on May 1st 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Preparations out in the street outside the Dog and Bell pub. Fowlers Troop Jack in the Green was revived in the early 1980s. Originally a revival from about 1906, it developed from the 17th Century custom of milkmaids going out on May Day with the utensils of their trade, decorated with garlands of flowers and piled into a pyramid which they car Stock Photo
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Contributor:

Michael Kemp / Alamy Stock Photo

Image ID:

G0RYAW

File size:

50.1 MB (2.8 MB Compressed download)

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Dimensions:

5126 x 3417 px | 43.4 x 28.9 cm | 17.1 x 11.4 inches | 300dpi

Date taken:

1 May 2016

Location:

London, England, UK

More information:

This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.

May Day custom of Deptford Jack in the Green, a man encased in a framework entirely covered with greenery, is one of the lesser-known modern revivals by the Blackheath Morris Men of English traditional customs on May 1st 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Preparations out in the street outside the Dog and Bell pub. Fowlers Troop Jack in the Green was revived in the early 1980s. Originally a revival from about 1906, it developed from the 17th Century custom of milkmaids going out on May Day with the utensils of their trade, decorated with garlands of flowers and piled into a pyramid which they carried on their heads. By the mid eighteenth century other groups, notably chimney sweeps, were moving in on the milkmaids territory as they saw May Day as a good opportunity to collect money, so carried a Jack in the Green. Over the last 25 years several popular festivals have grown up around the Jack in the Green tradition. Deptford Jack in the Green is not very widely known although it has been running since the early 1980s.