LANARK LANIMER DAY
An ancient celebration held within the Royal Burgh of Lanark on the Thursday between the Sixth and Twelfth days of June annually since the year 1140.
 

An Ancient Festival holden annually at Lanark on the Thursday falling between the 6th and the 12th day of June since the year 1140

Lanark became a Royal Burgh in the first half of the twelfth century, during the reign of King David I. The boundaries, or marches, of its land were called Landmarches, now known as Lanimers. Those were marked by march-stones which, by Royal Decree, had to be inspected annually to make certain that no unscrupulous neighbouring landowner had moved them and so acquired some of the Burgh land.

By whom this early "riding round the marches" was done is not known but, in the sixteenth century, the Town Clerk, the Treasurer and two witnesses carried this out and had the fact duly recorded in the council minutes.

As the Burgh population grew, so did the number of people involved in the Perambulation of the Marches and, of course, then as now, where there were crowds there tended to be trouble, especially if short cuts were taken from one stone to another across a laird's land by slightly inebriated people. In fact, the carrying of birks (birches) may well be a reminder of a triumph of the Lanarkians over a laird who either resented the annual invasion of his land or had been denied a piece of ground which he had taken from the Burgh lands.

The first record of the Custodian of the Burgh Standard is found in 1670, and he was appointed annually by the Town Council as Lord Cornet. This appointment continues to be made annually, and he is a proud - and envied - man who is so honoured to carry the Burgh Standard around the boundary stones at their annual inspection.

Equally honoured and envied, in a lower age group, is the Lanimer Queen, who is chosen by popular vote from each of the local schools in turn. She chooses her immediate attendants, Chief Maids, while the rest of her Court is chosen from the remaining schools. To make her crowning day, Lanimer Day, a memorable one, she and her Court take part in a procession of bands, pageants and tableaux linked with the historic one of Lord Cornet, Town Council and The Birks.

On the Sunday of Lanimer Week, the Provost, Magistrates and Councillors march in procession from the Memorial Hall to St. Nicholas Church for the Kirkin' of the Lord Cornet Elect. At 6 p.m., the following evening, the Lord Cornet, the Lord Cornet Elect, the Civic Dignitaries and a large crowd of people, many of them Lanarkians home from abroad for the occasion, set out from the Council Chambers on the Perambulation of the Marches, during which small twigs of birk are given to all taking part and suitable refreshments are provided near one of the march stones about halfway round. Meantime, those who are unable to go round the marches are assembling at the foot of Wallace's Statue in front of St. Nicholas Church to await the return of the march riders and walkers. With great solemnity before a huge, hushed crowd, the Shifting of the Burgh Standard takes place, that is, the Lord Cornet hands over to his successor " the Standard unsullied and unstained ", for safe-keeping during the ensuing year. The traditional childrens' races then take place in Castlebank Park.

By now the decoration of the town is well under way and Thursday is eagerly anticipated. Very early that morning the secret preparations of the whole preceding year are revealed to the hosts of visitors already in the town and to the panel of judges for the determining of the best in each type of entry.

Just before 10 a.m., the stirring music from the loudspeakers ceases and there comes a short period of silence, which, each year, evokes in me a feeling that is intense but difficult to describe. It is made up, on the one hand, of expectation and, on the other, of an emotional imaginative awareness of Lanark's past and the feeling of being involved in a process that has gone on through many years. This mood changes when, at 10 a.m., the old bell above the bedecked Wallace begins to ring as a sign that the procession is now moving down High Street which is thronged with thousands of expectant people who are about to see the old tradition, represented by the Lord Cornet, the Burgh Standard, the Town Council and the Birks blended with the more recent: bands, tableaux, pageants and the Lanimer Queen Elect with her full Court.

After two circuits of the town by the Procession, the children who have taken part are seated, in their colourful costumes, on a large dais surmounted by the throne immediately below the Statue of Wallace. The Queen Elect is led by her 1st Lord to this throne, where an honoured, well-known local lady crowns her Queen for a Year. The Queen's First Lord reads her Royal Proclamation, after which all move to the Grammar School playground, where Her Majesty distributes Lanimer medals to all children who have been in the procession.

The Lord Cornet and Ex-Lord Cornets, with massed bands, lead a large equestrian procession to the Race Course for an afternoon sports meeting. At 6 p.m., at the Cross, the Lord Cornet declares that all the march-stones are correctly positioned, and the Town Clerk is instructed to record this fact in the Burgh records. In the Memorial Hall, the day is concluded with the Queen giving a reception to the children of the procession, who in turn, between Court dances, entertain Her Majesty and the public.

Such is the continuing tradition of the proud Royal Burgh of Lanark that already that evening the following year's procession entries will be being planned.

T.H.