Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, &c./Part 4/Penance in the Fylde

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3256588Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, &c. — Penance in the Fylde1873

DOING PENANCE IN THE FYLDE.

About half a century ago, says Mr Thomber, in 1837, the frail member, the victim of the seducer, did public penance within Poulton Church; and, barefoot, clothed in white, with a lighted candle in each hand, she had to pass along the aisles, a spectacle of mirth and jeering to an unfeeling crowd. Jane Breckul was the last to undergo this painful exhibition at Poulton; for the cries of this unfortunate girl, melting the hearts of the well-disposed, raised a clamour against it, which led to its discontinuance. A woman who died only last year (1836) was the last offender who performed this penance in the church of Bispham, and stood upon a stool, the remains of which, till lately, might be seen in the belfry of the ancient tower.