Watnall's official "Feast Day" has fallen out of use

Today, the first Sunday after the 2nd. of October, is supposedly Watnall's official "Feast Day". Such days are designed to honour a specific religious figure or saint with a local connection. They are still common in more religious countries but here they have fallen from both church and secular use. 

But why is Watnall's special day on that specific date? The last (and only) reference I can find to it is from a Nottinghamshire county gazetteer from 1832. However after a lot of religious detective work, I think I have discovered why October 2nd does have a particular and long-forgotten religious connection to the village...

St Thomas de Cantilupe's death
and procession of relics to Hereford
with King Edward I

Why is it on that particular day? 

There's maybe an ancient link to St.Thomas de Cantilupe whose Saint's Day is also October 2nd. Thomas was a close and honoured relative of Greasley Castle's Nicholas de Cantilupe. Nicholas was very religious and was the founder of Beauvale Priory with its 12 monks. He founded it as a sort of spiritual insurance policy for his afterlife. The monks were obliged to say prayers in perpetuity for him and his family which would result in an exulted place in heaven for them.

St.Thomas's officially rubber-stamped "miracles" turned his shrine at Hereford Cathedral into a medieval mecca attracting pilgrims from around Europe. His shrine housed the Hereford Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the then-known world. The map may well have been designed specifically to promote his shrine and miracle cult. 

We do a deep dive into his fascinating life and links to Greasley in the main article here which also includes:

- Greasley's Saints and Sinners
- Pilgrimage Shrine and the Hereford Mappa Mundi
- Dark Deeds and the Transgender Knight

St.Thomas's shrine at Hereford Cathedral
was the original reason for the famous
Hereford Mappa Mundi shown below...

The Mappa Mundi at Hereford Cathedral was 
created specifically for St.Thomas's shrine

Notes and sources:

https://anastpaul.com/?s=cantilupe

See main article linked above

Nice little Bio from Hereford Cathedral website below...

 

Thomas Cantilupe was born in 1218 of noble birth.  He was a clever academic, studying at the universities of Oxford and Paris and he became Chancellor under Edward I.   In 1275 he became Bishop of Hereford and was well known for his holy life and devotion to his diocese.  But he had red hair and was said to be very feisty!  This led to his disagreement with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, John Pecham, over land rights in the diocese.

 

Cantilupe was ex-communicated – a terrible sentence in medieval times.  He determined to clear his name and, in March 1282, set out to travel to Italy, to plead his case with Pope Martin IV.  Although he received absolution, he died of fever on 25 August 1282.  His bones were brought back to Hereford and buried in the north transept.  On Easter Monday 1287, a series of miracles began, which lasted well into the 14th century.

 

When reviewed by Commissioners in 1307,  over 400 miracles had been recorded – second only to Thomas Becket in Canterbury.  Thomas Cantilupe was proclaimed a saint in 1320 and 2 October was settled as his feast day.  On 25 October 1349, his remains were translated to a new shrine in the Lady chapel and new effigies of bishops were provided either side of processional aisles, to lead pilgrims to the greatest of al the bishops – one who had received sainthood.

 

At the same time, offerings at the shrine of St. Thomas helped re-build parts of the cathedral – notably the central tower, with its ball-flower decoration. 

In the late 14th century, the cult of St. Thomas declined and in the late 1540s, the shrine itself was destroyed, and the relics dispersed. However, devotion to St. Thomas continued in a modest fashion and there is evidence of his relics being used in a procession in Hereford in 1610, to ward off plague.