Rush-bearing Sunday
Preserved but no longer current.
A Sunday, generally near the time of the festival of the saint to whom the church is dedicated, when anciently it was customary to renew the rushes with which the church floor was strewn. The fes- tival is still observed at Ambleside, Westmor- land, on the last Sunday in July, the church being dedicated to St. Anne, whose day is July 26th.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Rush-bearing Sunday” mean?
A Sunday, generally near the time of the festival of the saint to whom the church is dedicated, when anciently it was customary to renew the rushes with which the church floor was strewn. The fes- tival is still observed at Ambleside, Westmor- land, on the last Sunday in July, the church being dedicated to St. Anne, whose day is July 26th.
Is “Rush-bearing Sunday” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.