St Swithin’s Day – 15th July

Today may be the hottest day of the year, but it is also St Swithin’s Day. It is said that rain on this day heralds another 40 days of rain. By the same token, if the weather is fine it will be a guarantee of 40 days of fine weather to come.

Relatively little is known about Swithin and the origin of the 40 day prediction. It is likely that he was an advisor to Egbert, King of the West Saxons. His consecration as Bishop of Winchester took place on 30th October 852.

On his deathbed Swithin requested that he be buried alongside the north wall of Winchester Cathedral, where passers-by could walk over the site of his grave and the rain should fall upon it.

     St Swithin's Day - still popular despite any evidence to support it

Just over a century after his death it was decided to move his body inside the Cathedral. It is said that after this took place on 15th July 971 there was a great storm. This was taken to be a sign of Swithin’s displeasure thereby establishing a link between the saint and the weather elements. Thereafter it is said that prayers to Swithin met with miraculous cures and he was canonized some years later.

There is no evidence to support the ’40 days’ theory. In fact, there are several saints’ days that are supposed to be followed by periods of wet or fine weather but, again, there is no supporting evidence.

It is difficult to explain why St Swithin’s Day should be so familiar to us all when the supporting evidence is notable by its absence So let’s hope that the wet weather of today isn’t repeated over the rest of the summer. The long range forecasts certainly do not support such a scenario.