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General Stories |
Number of pages: 28 Contents: Llanelli Names – Late 1700 & Early 1800 Welsh Costumes of the 19th Century Cardiganshire Gower Pembrokeshire Children of the Welsh Charity School, c. 1815 Welsh Life – Images from the 19th Century Welsh Peasants Washing, c. 1805 Fishermen with Coracles, Carmarthenshire, 1853 Welsh Harpist, 1836 Market Day in Bangor, 1856 Dressing the Graves at Easter Welsh Peasantry at Llanberis, c. 1850 Typical Welsh Farmhouse Kitchen Weddings and Biddings Going to Church Bidding Notice The ‘Bidding’ Leaving the Church Running Away with the Bride Extract
The Bidding There were many occasions when a family needed support from family and friends especially when setting up home after marriage. The bidding which followed the wedding was a way of raising money and bringing gifts and loans to the newly-wed couple. A bidder or gwahoddwr, was usually a well-known local character who would be employed to visit the houses of friends and neighbours, especially those whose weddings and biddings the young couple had attended in the past. The bidder would invite as many people as possible to the wedding and bidding and he would remind those who owed bidding debts to the young couple to repay them at the forthcoming bidding. The invitation to the bidding was usually verbal and would include both the names of those relatives of the young couple who wished to transfer their own debts to the benefit of the newly-weds, and also a promise to repay any contributions when called for on a similar future occasion. The bidder would be specially dressed in a white apron, or similar distinctive clothing, decorated with ribbons, and could by tradition, enter any house unannounced. He might also deliver a bidding letter containing the same information in a more permanent form. His verbal invitation might be preceded by a song and a dance so as to bring everybody running to the kitchen in time to see his act and hear the formal invitation with its reminder of the debts. The visit of the bidder was always a memorable occasion, he was usually ‘well skilled in the business’ quick-witted and always ready with an answer. The bidder’s powers of persuasion were important to ensure that as many people as possible attended the bidding and that they gave sound financial support. After the bidder had given his invitation he was plied with food and drink by the household and very often returned home a little the worse for drink. The hospitality given by the household was usually in the form of small gifts of oatmeal or bread and cheese and more affluent farmers might pay the bidder eight or ten shillings for his trouble. Usually it was the guests who bore the cost of the hospitality and not the young couple |
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