May Day, and a mystery solved

Today is May Day, a day often observed by European cultures to celebrate springtime; filled with traditional dance (often around a maypole), and, chiefly in England, the crowning of the May Queen. 

It is somewhat unsurprising that a primarily Christian organisation such as the Manchester and Salford Refuges would have little to do with what is often considered a pagan festival, and, as such, there is scant evidence of May Day being celebrated in our collection. Despite this, certain aspects of the celebrations were observed by the charity, and it is these – processions and maypole dancing – which have also endured and continue to be partaken by many communities (secular or otherwise) across the United Kingdom.

Dancing round the maypole at the Belmont Garden Fete (1920s) – a key part of traditional May Day celebrations, yet this formed part of an annual event held in July

It is from the local newspapers, and not our own archive, that we discovered the charity’s hereto unknown May Day activities. Discovery of these participations may also provide an explanation to some of our mystery photographs. 

For some time we suspected that an image of a prize-winning donkey had something to do with the Band of Kindness, a charity founded in 1882 by Gilbert Richardson Kirlew (also a member of the Manchester Refuges committee) to promote kindness among children towards animals. The charity later ceased this aspect of its work to become the Crippled Children's Help Society, and is now known as Disabled Living. Finally, we have a likely explanation for the image found in our own photograph album:

In connection with the Band of Kindness, a society associated with the Refuges in Strangeways, there was a parade of working donkeys in the Albert Street police yard. Fifty-one were entered for the competition, and the prizes were given to those which were adjudged to be in the best condition. Mr Hopkins, veterinary surgeon, and Mr J. Charlton acted as judges, and the prizes were given by Miss Kirlew.

– 'May-Day Celebrations: Manchester and Salford', The Manchester Guardian (2 May 1894)

The Children's Haven magazine also mentions a number of donations to the 'Donkey Prize Fund' which the Refuges forwarded on to the Band of Kindness every May.

This does not, however, explain this:

This image, along with several other prize winning goats, is on the opposite page of the photograph album featuring the donkeys

More traditional May Day celebrations (not including donkeys) were also celebrated by the Refuge:

Following out the idea adopted last May-day, the boys of the Newspaper Brigade in connection with the Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes and Children’s Aid Society walked in procession, headed by the Refuge drum and fife band.

– 'May-Day Celebrations: Manchester and Salford', The Manchester Guardian (2 May 1882).

The Refuge, or rather its boys from the Young Men’s Institute, had their own unique and Christian alternative to the annual May Day celebrations as evidenced in The Children’s Haven (June 1899):

Throughout the Manchester and Salford Refuges’ history, the May holiday formally observed was the Christian holiday of Whitsun – more to come on this at the end of the month.