Beating the bounds

Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds^[1] is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which involves swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map of parish boundaries,^[2] usually every seven years.^[3][4]

These ceremonial events occur on what are sometimes called gangdays; the custom of going a-ganging was kept before the Norman Conquest.^[5] During the event, a group of prominent citizens from the community, which can be an English church parish, New England town, or other civil division, will walk the geographic boundaries of their locality for the purpose of maintaining the memory of the precise location of these boundaries. While modern surveying techniques have rendered these ceremonial walks largely irrelevant, the practice remains as an important local civic ceremony or legal requirement for civic leaders.