JUBILEE-ATION! Royal Jubilees in Dartmouth


by Gail Ham


On 6 February 2022, Dartmouth bell-ringers celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s accession, the start of her “Platinum Jubilee” year. The Dartmouth History Research Group has been researching past Royal Jubilees.


mentioned in the Bible in the book of Leviticus (chapter 25). It was blown to announce a sacred year occurring every 50 years, in which Israelite debt-slaves were freed and the population returned to their ancestral lands. Early Christian thinkers read Leviticus symbolically, seeing the idea of Jubilee as prefiguring the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, 50 days after Christ’s resurrection. In a Jubilee year, God extended special grace in forgiving sins. The first jubilee in England was


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religious, not royal. It was declared in 1220 by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, to mark the installation of the remains of the martyr St Thomas Becket, murdered in 1170, in a magnificent new shrine in the cathedral. Jubilees were held at Canterbury every 50 years until the Reformation, offering pilgrims special spiritual benefits. Popes soon followed suit – the first Papal Jubilee Year was introduced in 1300, encouraging pilgrimage to Rome. The King in 1220 was Henry III. He


reigned for 56 years (1216-1272) but had no Jubilee. The first English King to exploit the idea was his great- grandson, Edward III. As Edward approached his fiftieth anniversary as King, war with France was going badly, the Prince of Wales (Edward the Black Prince) died, and the King himself was ill. Amidst political crisis,


he English word “jubilee” comes from the Hebrew “jobel”, a ram’s horn,


Parliament refused to grant any more direct taxes. The King’s counsellors turned


to the Royal Jubilee. When the new parliament opened in 1377, the Chancellor, Bishop Houghton, declared that Edward III’s attainment of his Jubilee on 25 January was a mark of divine favour, signifying a new state of grace for the nation if he and his people were reconciled. Echoing religious jubilees, Edward granted a comprehensive pardon for those committing serious


In Dartmouth, “publick festivity” included a loyal address, a Corporation


service in St Saviours, a grand dinner, a ball, and fireworks.


offences; Parliament granted taxation in return. Edward III died soon afterwards, the inscription on his tomb noting the completion of his jubilee. No English or British monarch surpassed him until George III, four centuries later (though King James VI reigned for nearly 58 years as King of Scotland (1567-1625)). The idea of celebrating George


III’s fiftieth regnal year came not from the King or his Government, but from a widow from Chepstow, a Mrs Rachel Biggs. In July and August 1809, she wrote anonymously to influential people across the country, suggesting “a national


Jubilee” on “25th of October next … as his Majesty will on that day enter the 50th year of his reign” (Exeter Flying Post 27 July 1809). By this time, although the word “jubilee” retained religious significance, it generally meant: “a publick festivity; a time of rejoicing” (Dr Johnson’s dictionary). By this point in his reign, George


III was seen as the “Father of his People”, a symbol of stability and national identity during the Napoleonic wars. Mrs Biggs’ idea was widely taken up. In Dartmouth, “publick festivity” included a loyal address, a Corporation service in St Saviours, a grand dinner, a ball, and fireworks. 800 poor inhabitants were provided with “mutton and beef”, candles, and winter coal. Local merchant Arthur Hunt entertained one hundred people “with roast beef, plum-pudding and strong beer” in “the old English style” (Morning Post 14 November 1809). Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887


was inspired by her grandfather’s, though she emphasised raising funds for good causes as well as “festivity”. But political rivalries in Dartmouth produced two competing schemes. The Mayor, Francis Simpson, wanted to establish a voluntarily funded Cottage Hospital; his opponents proposed laying out the area of reclaimed land called the “New Ground” as a public park. Neither fully achieved their plans.


The Cottage Hospital opened on Jubilee Day in a rented house in


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