| Date | 31 July 2015 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0087 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Monkey tale recalled
ONE of the most bizarre ceremonies to take place in South Buckinghamshire – as it then was – took place at Chalvey; the ceremony involving the Chalvey Stabmonk.
The ‘Stabmonk’ was first mentioned in the middle of the 19th century, but it is thought the ceremony had much earlier origins. The story is mostly legend, but the custom which developed from it took place into the 1960s.
Popular belief has it that the Stabmonk originally belonged to an organ grinder who bit off a child’s finger who was teasing it, and the child’s father killed the monkey by stabbing it to death.
The organ grinder was most upset and the whole village clubbed together to buy the organ grinder a second monkey. They also held a funeral for the dead monkey, who was paraded around the village, followed by a wake which provided free beer for the whole village. The event was enjoyed by all and it was decided to do it again the next year. The dead monkey was replaced by a plaster replica monkey and was given a mock funeral which was followed by the wake – the first man to fall drunk into the Chalvey Brook was given the title of mayor of Chalvey and accompanied the Stabmonk under a canopy. This became an annual event and each year the man who first fell drunk into Chalvey Brook was declared the mayor.
The plaster monkey is now part of the Slough Museum collections. In 1919, the Stabmonk ceremony formed part of the First World War victory celebrations – unfortunately this ended in a drunken brawl and a court case was held against a George Holdway for after-hours drinking in The Cape of Good Hope. The story of the Stabmonk was cited in his defence and the court was told how he had invited the funeral procession into his pub to celebrate the end of the war. Mr Holdway won his case but still had to pay costs. By the 1920s the Stabmonk ceremony was held less and less and eventually only to raise money for charity.
Local tradition says that the term Stabmonk is still applied to any man born and bred in Chalvey who had at some time fallen into Chalvey Brook.
CEREMONY: Chalvey Stabmonk ceremony from the 1930s.
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