Hocktide

Hocktide, or HOKETIDE, a popular anniversary which used to be celebrated on the Monday and Tuesday following the second Sunday after Easter. On one day, generally on the Tuesday, the women held the roads and streets, and stopped all men who came their way, and having bound them with cords, only set them at liberty after they had paid a small sum of money. On the other day the men had their turn, and collected from the women. The custom goes back to the 13th century, but became obsolete in the 18th. For a curious survival or reminiscence of the custom still practised at Hungerford, in Berkshire, see Chambers's Journal, 1888.