Plough boy's Play - Edingley Version [Notts., 1920s] A.S.Buxton Collection (1920s, Edingley) 92sk65be.xml mastermummers.org Albert Sorby Buxton Plough boy's Play - Edingley Version A.S.Buxton Collection Notebook: "Plough Monday Plays", Undated, pp.23-29

Originally prepared for textual analysis during his PhD research on the 'Origins and Development of English Folk Plays' by Peter Millington (2002).

 None

Original spelling and typography is retained, except that superscripts, long s and ligatured forms are not encoded.

Line identifiers are those used for line types in the Folk Play Scripts Explorer.

 Edingley Nottinghamshire England SK6655 Col. early 1920s Plough Monday Plough Boys Quack Doctor: Hero/Combat: Northern English Man First Man Farmer Farmer Man St Geo St George Eesum Sqeecum Sam Slasher Bold Slasher S. Dr Doctor Peter Millington's Notes:

Note 1: Spider is the name of a horse.

This play is in one of two notebooks of folk play texts in the A.S.Buxton Collection. The notebooks contain fair copies of material transcribed from various sources, including uncited books and manuscripts, some of which were supplied by fellow local historians Reginald Felix Wilkinson and Everard Leaver Guilford. There is no indication of the original source of this particular version. It could even have been copied from the Mansfield Reporter .

This play is undated either in terms of performance date or date of collection. Albert Sorby Buxton (1867-1932) was the principal of Mansfield Art College and was an active local historian from about 1900 onwards. His interest in Plough Monday plays seems to have occurred in the early 1920s, when he presented a paper on Mansfield's Plough Monday play to the Old Mansfield Society (A.S.Buxton, 1922/23). It is therefore likely that this version was copied out by Buxton around 1922 or 1923.

 08-Oct-2002 Peter Millington Digitised 26-Apr-2004 Peter Millington Proof-read against A.S.Buxton's notebook 10-May-2024 Peter Millington TEI-encoded PLOUGH BOY'S PLAY - EDINGLEY VERSION Man. "Can I come in? Enters. "In comes I the man who's never been before. There's four more jolly farmers stand outside the door. If you cant believe me what I do say, Step in Farmer while I clear the way" Enter Farmer Farmer "In comes I the farmer man Dont you see my whip in hand As I go forth to plough the land To turn it downside up Straight I go from end to end I scarcely make a baulk or bend Then to my horses I attend Then "Gee wharve to the furrow Spider Note 1 . Enter St Geo. St George "In comes I St George. Who hath brought this fiery dragon To bring these men to the slaughter And by these means these dreadful means To slay bold Slasher's daughter. Enter Eesum Sqeecum. E.S. "In comes I old Eesum Sqeecum on my back I carry my besom In my hand a frying pan Don't you think I'm a jolly old man. Enter Sam. Sam "Here comes I Sam dirty old man Washed his face in the frying pan Combed his hair with the garden rake Don't you think he's a dirty old Snake. Enter Slasher. S. "In comes I bold Slasher Bold Slasher is my name, I wish to win one game, And if this game will do me good, I'll quickly St George's blood." They fight Slasher kills St Geo. First Man "Doctor, doctor, five pounds for a doctor." Farmer. "£10 to stop away." Slasher. "£15 to stop away." Dr. knocks at the door. "Dr. Dr." Enters. Slasher. "You a Doctor?" Dr "Yes me a doctor." Slasher. "How did you become a doctor? Dr. "By my travels." Slasher. "Where did you travel?" Dr. "From bedside to fireside, From fireside to the cupboard, Where I pinched lots of my old woman's pork-pie." Slasher. "What can you cure?" Dr. "Ipsy, pipsy, palsy and the gout, Pains within & pains without If the lads' in I can get him out, Draw a leg, set a tooth, Poison cats physic rats & almost bring a dead man to life again." Slasher. "A clever doctor you must be Try your skill on this young man." Dr. "By your leave I will." feels his pulse. Slasher. "That's not the way to feel a man's pulse." Dr. "This man is not dead but in a trance." If you can sing & we can dance Arise old chap & lets' begin" Song (all) All Good master & good mist-er-ess As you sit by the fire. Pray think of us poor plough lads, That ploughs through mud & mire. The mire it is so deep The water runs so clear. Put what you like into our box And a drink of your best beer. - " - We're not the London Actors That act upon the stage We're just the country plough lads, That plough for little wage, We've done our best that best can do, And best can to no more We wish you all goodnight And another happy year." Exit