On the first Sunday after 19 September, there has been an annual festival called "Feast Sunday".
 Three customs were historically followed: feasting, drinking and disorderly conduct; clipping the church; and eating "dog pie".
 The ceremony known as "clipping the church" involves mostly children, but also adults, who join hands, dance around and "embrace" St. Mary's parish church.
Clipping the church and eating dog pie are customs that have been revived and continue to be practised.
The "dog pie" is not made of dog meat, but the custom is based upon plum pie baked with a porcelain china dog, that had been baked annually between 1870 and 1880.

Folklore holds that the churchyard will never have more than 99 yew trees and that should a 100th grow the Devil would pull it out.
According to the Victoria and Albert Museum a count of the trees showed there to be 103.
The plan of the churchyard included in the church's own public leaflet shows 100.

While Royalists were encamped in Painswick, tradition has it that King Charles I went up to the Beacon and, seeing the beautiful valley to the east said "This must be Paradise".
Since then that valley, and the hamlet on its western side to the north of Painswick have been called Paradise.

During the 18th century a group of gentry, led by Benjamin Hyett II, organised an annual procession dedicated to Pan, during which a statue of the deity was held aloft, and people shouted "Highgates!
Highgates!".
The tradition died out in the 1830s, but was revived in 1885 by the new vicar, W. H. Seddon, who mistakenly believed that the festival had been ancient in origin.
Seddon's successor, however, was less appreciative of the pagan festival and put an end to it in 1950, when he had Pan's statue buried, although it was later dug up and placed within the grounds of Painswick House.

According to William Black's 'The Land that Thyme Forgot', Bow Wow Sauce, a sauce to be served with roast meats, was developed in Painswick.
On the first Sunday after 19 September, there has been an annual festival called "Feast Sunday".  Three customs were historically followed: feasting, drinking and disorderly conduct; clipping the church; and eating "dog pie".  The ceremony known as "clipping the church" involves mostly children, but also adults, who join hands, dance around and "embrace" St. Mary's parish church. Clipping the church and eating dog pie are customs that have been revived and continue to be practised. The "dog pie" is not made of dog meat, but the custom is based upon plum pie baked with a porcelain china dog, that had been baked annually between 1870 and 1880.
Folklore holds that the churchyard will never have more than 99 yew trees and that should a 100th grow the Devil would pull it out. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum a count of the trees showed there to be 103. The plan of the churchyard included in the church's own public leaflet shows 100.
While Royalists were encamped in Painswick, tradition has it that King Charles I went up to the Beacon and, seeing the beautiful valley to the east said "This must be Paradise". Since then that valley, and the hamlet on its western side to the north of Painswick have been called Paradise.
During the 18th century a group of gentry, led by Benjamin Hyett II, organised an annual procession dedicated to Pan, during which a statue of the deity was held aloft, and people shouted "Highgates! Highgates!". The tradition died out in the 1830s, but was revived in 1885 by the new vicar, W. H. Seddon, who mistakenly believed that the festival had been ancient in origin. Seddon's successor, however, was less appreciative of the pagan festival and put an end to it in 1950, when he had Pan's statue buried, although it was later dug up and placed within the grounds of Painswick House.
According to William Black's 'The Land that Thyme Forgot', Bow Wow Sauce, a sauce to be served with roast meats, was developed in Painswick.
Painswick