Tea, Vicar?

March 2, 2008 8:37 AM

In the UK, does the Vicar really come over for tea?

I'm here in the US, but I've read enough Viz magazine to recognize that there is a joke form seemingly indigenous to the UK that involves the Vicar coming over for tea. The residents in the joke are engaging in some sort of undignified action and the embarrassment factor (and hopefully humor) is amplified by being witnessed by the Vicar.

I recognize that these are jokes, but my serious question is this; was this some sort of common practice, for a Vicar to come over to people's houses, presumedly unannounced?

posted by Tube to society & culture (14 comments total)

The way I understand it, it's quite the opposite. The joke refers to a more polite scenario:
The Vicar sits for tea at a society gathering and breaks wind loudly. To save face, the hostess interrupts the uncomfortable silence which inevitably follows and asks, "More tea, Vicar?"
posted by analogue at 8:52 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]

I think it stems from a more Victorian period where the Vicar would make trips to the poor and lame for extra spirtual guidance and offers of charity etc, But in rural communities nowerdays, its not unheard of, but more ususally they come round for specific reasons.
I had the Vicar round for tea one time for instance because I had started asking some unconventional questions in church and wanted to speak to my parents.
posted by Neonshock at 8:55 AM on March 2

I was brought up Catholic in rural England and our parish priest would come round for tea and a chat in the one village. Probably pleased to have a biggish family of left-footers move in, as Catholicism is mostly (not exclusively) an urban Irish immigrant thing in the island of Britain. He was a lovely man - a Franciscan; can't remember him talking about God much but he played a mean game of chess and was the type who set a good moral example by their way of living. The C of E vicar would do likewise with his larger flock if I recall correctly.
posted by Abiezer at 9:10 AM on March 2

Like much of Viz this is basically reportage. In most of England, you would expect the local C of E vicar to pop in for tea at least once a month. I saw mine only last week, and he was farting like a Trojan, too.
posted by Phanx at 9:15 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]

It happens in lots of rural areas in the states, too, where pastors teach at more than one church and travel quite a bit. They can't expect to make it home in time for Sunday lunch and so are invited out to congregants' homes. I'm sure it's also an analogue to the pot-luck in middle/southern US.
posted by monkeymadness at 9:34 AM on March 2

It is an older, rather than current, custom, but the local priest was often invited to tea by members of the congregation. Not so much that they popped over unannounced, but that the invite was explicitly linked to day. In my mothers and grandmothers upbringing (home counties and slightly north of there) it was common practice to the point of usual - when towns were smaller, congregations were more social.

It's not so common now though, although still happens - My mum still has the priest over for dinner, but her and her husband are pretty involved in the church (they run marriage guidance groups and the like) so this may not be typical nowadays.
posted by Brockles at 10:13 AM on March 2

Yes, the local clergy do still come over for tea, if they feel they'll be welcome. I've witnessed it on occasions. Unlikely to be unannounced in this day and age, but could be I suppose. However. You must remember that Viz and British humour generally mine a vein of social attitudes that is 50-100 years old. There's a certain amount of nostalgia and, too, self-deprecation involved, but I think it's chiefly because political correctness inhibits jokes about contemporary mores.
posted by londongeezer at 10:48 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]

I really love the idea of using Viz to develop an understanding of British social norms.

Top Tip: when the vicar unexpectedly pops round for tea, get your wife to go upstairs and shout 'POUND ME HARDER, FLOSSIE!' while you make bleating noises so that he'll know not to disturb you.

(My dad built a door into the back fence for when the local Catholic parish priest came by on his bike, and we needed to make a quick escape.)
posted by holgate at 11:34 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]

When I was young (seventies Britain), I remember the vicar visiting our house at least a couple of times a month and tea would inevitably have been taken. Quite why he'd visit, I've no idea. It was much like he was a family friend. (His name was Mr Bent, which was close enough to Mr Benn for me to imagine his religious attire as just one of the many fancy-dress costumes he wore, but in retrospect is a delicious collision: the Reverend Bent.)

My folks have since moved to a more scattered coastal community. Their particular flavour of local vicar still does the rounds, covering the parish on a thin-framed bicycle, sometimes waiting for the tide to recede and reveal the stepping stones that link villages, or in summer wading across, bike and dress hoisted aloft.
posted by 4eyes at 1:55 PM on March 2

My parents regularly invited their (Catholic) priest round for tea, dinner etc. and probably still do so (I wouldn't know as I don't live in the UK anymore) and they were social friends with a local vicar who was always getting invites to people's houses for tea and the like.
posted by ob at 2:38 PM on March 2

Oh whilst we're on the subject of vicars and Viz it seems wholly appropriate to quote the following, which we used to say on a near daily basis as teenagers:

'The vicar's a long time in coming!' said Mrs. Jones sirring her tea with the other hand.
posted by ob at 2:40 PM on March 2

Might it be partly to do with vicaring being a low-paid occupation? The vicar gets one meal a day free by having tea with a parishoner.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 6:11 PM on March 2

No. It's not THAT low paid, by any means. A vicar is not on the breadline, I can assure you.
posted by Brockles at 6:21 PM on March 2

I seem to remember reading "the vicar might be invited to tea" in a non-fiction book about Edwardian times. I thought it had something to do with social standing and whether the vicar was high enough in the social scale to be welcome for tea..
posted by orange swan at 8:02 PM on March 2