At the start of the harvest, communities would appoint a strong and respected man of the village as their Lord of the Harvest. He would be responsible for negotiating the harvest wages and terms, organising the field workers and setting the work pace, calculating the rests and meal breaks and urging on any slackers.
The men would spread across the field and would move in a line, scything the crop as they went. Behind them followed the women and older men who would gather and bind the cut corn. After it had been stacked and dried, it would be made into ricks or collected on carts and taken back to the barns to be stored.
Great ceremony was always attached to the gathering of the last sheaf of corn, and a great harvest Shout was raised by the reapers as it was cut. The last sheaf was treated with special respect and used to make Corn Dollies, as it was believed to harbour the Corn Spirit itself. It was then placed on top of the final load of corn and carried back to the village in triumph. Sometimes it was fashioned into a Corn Lady or Kern Baby, dressed in white robes and coloured ribbons. The Corn Dolly was placed in the first new furrow the following spring on Plough Monday.
At the end of the harvest each farmer would give a huge supper for all who had brought in the crop.
Read ore on the CPRE site about Harvest traditions in England