Oak Apple Day - the 29th of May – used to be a major public holiday in this country- for very nearly two hundred years, from 1660 until 1859. Now, with over 150 years having passed since its removal from the bank holiday calendar, there are only a few places in England which still celebrate Oak Apple Day- but Northampton is one of them, and for a fascinating historical reason!
Oak Apple Day is a celebration of the return of King Charles II and the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell’s Interregnum.
King Charles famously escaped death by hiding in an Oak tree after battling Oliver Cromwell, before returning nine years later for the restoration of the monarchy.
Formerly traditionally celebrated all over England by the wearing of sprigs of oak leaves or oak apples, these days only a handful of towns and villages maintain the ancient celebration.
This year I went to All Saints Church in Northampton for a service marking Oak Apple Day. This service takes place annually with the Lord Lieutenant and the Mayor of Northampton in attendance, and every year a wreath of oak leaves is placed on the statue of King Charles II, which is above the portico of the Church, after a celebration of Holy Communion in the Anglican tradition.
The original All Saints Church was destroyed in 1675 in the Great Fire of Northampton and the current Church was built soon afterwards thanks to a generous gift from King Charles II which perhaps explains why the tradition has lasted in Northampton!