The Green Man
of the South

LONDON
The Green Man and French Horn, St Martin's Lane and the Green Man, Berwick Street, Soho, are pubs which remind us that once this was a Royal Hunting Forest. See also the many Green Men adorning the buildings of Mayfair (The May Fair itself was suppressed in 1764 for 'licentiousness').

Up until the turn of the 19th century, great May Day parades of Jack in the Green and the Sweeps happened all over London, much quoted as among the 'popular pastimes of the lower orders', from Bromley to Bermondsey, Chelsea to Camberwell, Lewisham to the Kennington Oval. See the book by Roy Judge

A number of London pubs have Green Man names

WINCHESTER, Hants.
Wessex Hotel - stained glass screen by John Piper, inspired by the foliate heads in the Cathedral of St Swithun.

WINDSOR, Berkshire (above, left)
Herne's Oak is in Windsor Great Park. William Shakespeare weaves ancient stories into the Merry Wives of Windsor:

"There is an old tale goes that Herne the Hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in the Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragged horns".

GREAT WISHFORD, Wiltshire (above, right)
Grovely Forest Rites, May 29th (Oakapple Day) - boughs are cut from the forest and hung on houses and church in Great Wishford accompanied by much dancing and singing to reaffirm the common rights to gather wood from the forest "Grovely, Grovely, Grovely and all Grovely! Unity is Strength!"