SEVEN SISTERS SCHOOL
 MAY QUEEN CELEBRATIONS
 
  

 

 The English tradition of crowning the May Queen does indeed seem to have its roots in the 19th century and was fuelled by the popularity of Tennyson’s poem “The May Queen.” It seems to have evolved from a practice of selecting a “Lord and Lady” or “King and Queen” for a festival, carnival or just for the day. Gradually women and girls became the focus and the May Queen celebration, by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, involved the coronation of a local girl or young woman who would preside over events with a group of “ladies’ to support her.

Today the May Queen is a girl who must ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age-groups dance round a Maypole celebrating youth and the spring time

 

By coincidence, over a period of a few weeks, we recived 3 photographs of the annual May Queen ceremony that took place at Seven Sisters school in Tottenham. We decided to create this small feature to showcase the photographs and recognise this annual event that was once a regular ceremony in many schools not just in Tottenham but throughout the country.
 
                                            
This photograph was sent by Vanessa Giles (nee Benson) who once lived in Beaconsfield Road.This was the May Queen event in 1958. Vanessa says she can still remember some of the kids names. She is the flower girl sitting on the right as you look at the photo. The May Queen was Sandra Willets from Westerfield Road

                                             
This photograph was sent by Pam Gillespie (nee  Money) who once lived in Nelson Road.
This is the May Queen ceremony in 1957 and Pam recalls that May Days were big at Seven Sisters Infants and the sun, of course, always shone! Mums were expected to provide the dresses and Pam says we loved dressing up.
The May Queen was chosen from the top Infants' class. In my year, 1957, it was Jacqueline Mulvaney (I think she lived on Clyde Road at the Beaconsfield end, overlooking Clyde Circus) and I was one of the attendants (holding the flag on the right of the photo that I am attaching)
My sister Susan was May Queen in 1955 and Susan Pennell who also lived in Nelson Road (at number 6) was the Queen in 1956.

                                                              
This photograph was sent by Sue Rowley (nee Money) who once lived in Nelson Road. Sue was crowned the May Queen in 1955. Sue recalls that May Day celebrations were still going strong when she left Seven Sisters 1973 after teaching there for three years. She can remember Darryl Benson (Vanessa's brother) who was once in the same year as Sue.  

 

We have received some further photographs of the May Queen ceremony that was once held annually at Seven Sisters Junior school. We are indebted to Jennifer Phelan (nee Roker) who informs us that she was the May Queen in 1953. Jennifer lived in nearby Braemar Road from 1945 to 1956. She was later to live in Tynemouth Road and Roslyn Road, Tottenham;

I am informed by Sue Rowley (nee Money) that from her recollections the headmistress at the time would have been Miss Gow.


 





THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH SENT IN BY VANESSA GILES (Nee BENSON) THAT SHOWS HER COUSIN LESLIE BENSON,
WHO SHE REFERS TO AS THE LITTLE CHAP WITH THE BOW-TIE, PERFORMING HIS ROLE IN THE 1960 EVENT
.


THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE KINDLY BEEN SENT BY RAY KEMP WHO PERFORMED AT THE 1957 MAY QUEEEN CEREMONY WHEN SURPRISINGLY
SOME BOYS WERE PLACED INTO STOCKS INCLUDING RAY HIMSELF. RAY HAS ALSO SUGGESTED SOME NAMES FOR THE CHILDREN PICTURED.

 

We are delighted to receive the May Queen memories of Rhoda Manning who we are informed was crowned May Queen in the first post-war ceremony at Seven Sisters School in 1951.

Rhoda still has in her possession a letter sent by Miss Hobbs, dated 16th April, sent to her Mother requesting her to 'come up sometime later' to discuss the ideas for the May Day Celebrations.

Rhoda has kindly sent to me a small photograph, the letter, and a treasured small book called 'Fairies of the Wayside' presented to her as a gift for being the May Queen that year. She explains that unfortunately, the day chosen in May was very wet and the celebrations were restricted to within the school building and that meant a number of the planned activities were curtailed. The school decided to repeat the celebrations the following month on a dry day calling it June Revels and that enabled the use of the playground to allow more spectators and the children to perform the various well-rehearsed activities.




PHOTOGRAPH OF RHODA AS MAY QUEEN IN 1951







PHOTOGRAPH OF RHODA AS MAY QUEEN IN 1951 - WE HAD PREVIOULY BELIEVED THIS PHOTOGRAPH TO HAVE BEEN OF JENNIFER ROKER IN 1953. IT WAS TAKEN A MONTH AFTER THE ORIGINAL CEREMONY WHICH HAD BEEN ABANDONED DUE TO RAIN
 
 


THE ABOVE IS A COPY OF THE LETTER SENT TO RHODA'S MOTHER BY MISS HOBBS
 


THE ABOVE IS THE FRONT COVER OF THE BOOK PRESENTED TO RHODA
 

 

 

Pam Gillespie can remember that it was a tradition at Seven Sisters school to sing a song very similar to one on the following link from a school in Norfolk:

http://www.enidporterproject.org.uk/content/villages/swaffham-prior/sing-song-maytime-2

Article prepared July 2018

Added Photographs from Jennifer Phelan November 2018

Added Photographs from Vanessa Giles and Ray Kemp - February 2019

Added Photographs from Rhoda Manning - November 2020