The “old man†was called Mathew Wall who died in 1571. The story is that as he was being carried in his coffin down Fleece Lane in Braughing towards the church, one of the bearers slipped on a leaf and to everybody’s horror, he dropped the coffin. But even more to their horror, they then heard some knocking. It turned out that Mathew Wall was not dead after all and he went on to live for another 24 years!
And so it is then, that on the 2nd October each year, the vicar meets the local children at the top of Fleece Lane, who all arrive with their brooms and brushes ready to sweep.
“We then sweep Fleece Lane†continued Jeanette, “which as you can imagine, with 60-70 children all trying to get down there with their brooms, is quite interesting and we hope it doesn’t rain!â€
The group then move on into the churchyard where they gather round Mathew Wall’s grave, and as they walk there, the church bells are tolled as if for a funeral which is another one of his stipulations.
“All sorts of rumours go round as to how true it is†explained Jeanette, “but it’s like any village tradition, you don’t know how much genuinely happened and how much is based on an incident, but it’s nice to believe that it’s true anyway.â€BBC
St Mary the Virgin Church
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