wealhtheow: Folklore of the South West Folklore of the South West South -West This is the Area of England these Folklore come from As you Meander through this list of folklore you will see that this part of the country is full of high cliffs and death defying drops. Of brilliant light and the deepest dark. The lush green rolling hills and the stark moors. Of Magic and Marvels.You will find in your journey that many tales are linked by character nd places in other Tales, especially Arthur. Tintagel With its spectacular location on Cornwall’s dramatic and windswept Atlantic coastline, Tintagel is a place of magic and myth where the legend of King Arthur was born. This historic spot is rich in flora and fauna and provides a breeding ground for sea birds, lizards and butterflies. Tintagel Castle is Cornwall’s most iconic site. A strong hold of the Earls of Cornwall, the castle was built in the 13th century. Now in ruins, it still has the power to inspireAccording to one legend the infant Arthur was thrown by the waves on the beach by Merlin's cave. King Arthur's time in history was in the fifth century.

He is identified with the known history of a Celtic chieftain of the period who led his countrymen in the West in their resistance against Saxon invaders. Many believe that Arthur was of a mixed Roman and British parentage. It is always difficult to prove if Arthur did exist but certainly there was a great warrior in the West of England who had some kind of fortress where Tintagel Castle, (King Arthur's Castle) is today. The original fortress has gone but archaeologists have found proof in their diggings on the Tintagel Castle, that fifth century citizens lived on the site. The replacement Castle was built between 1230-1236 & is now nearly 800 years old. Within two hundred years the Castle was in ruins & remains so to this day. Earl Richard of Cornwall paid for the construction of the Castle & it is owned by the Duke of Cornwall. Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival is an annual free festival held in Dorset, England, which celebrates the memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

The event is a celebration of trade unionism and labour politics organised by the Dorset Committee of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers now section of the TGWU and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and featuring a parade of banners from many trade unions, a memorial service, speeches and music. The festival is usually held in the third week of July. Each year a wreath is laid at the grave of James Hammett, one of the martyrs. The main festival events are held outside the Martyrs' Museum on the western edge of the village. The main speeches and performances take place on a small stage in front of the Tolpuddle cottages and museum, with audience space on the green. The adjacent field, as well as having camping space, has a marquee, Workers Beer Company bar and merchandise stalls. Recent festivals have featured speakers including politicians Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner, Jim Knight and Estelle Morris, British trade union leaders and many union organisers from around the world, especially countries where organising unions is difficult, such as Iraq and Colombia. Abbotsbury Garland Day May each year, the Abbotsbury Garland Day celebrations have taken place in the Dorset village of Abbotsbury since about the early 19th century.

They were first described in Hutchins' History of Dorset published in 1867. The custom involves the making of garlands by the children of the village. Originally only the children of local fishermen took part. The garlands were blessed in a church service and some were then rowed out to sea to be tossed into the water. The children would then spend the rest of the day playing on the beach. From around the time of the First World War the custom changed somewhat in that children of non-fishermen started to take part. This was probably due to the decline of the local fishing industry. The village school gave the children a day's holiday and they would set about constructing two garlands, one of wild flowers and the other of garden flowers. These were hel d aloft on poles and paraded from house to house in the village with the intention of collecting money which the children would keep. Later in the day older children who had been at school in nearby Weymouth would arrive home and make a more elaborate garland which would also be taken around the houses. From after the First World War two garlands would be placed on the local war memorial.

The Abbotsbury village school closed in 1981 and the children no longer get a day's holiday. This has led to the celebrations taking place in the evening or on the nearest Saturday. However, a determination amongst the villagers has ensured that this English tradition survives, albeit in a form slightly different from the original. Barber surgeon of Avebury The story of the Barber surgeon of Avebury is one that most visitors to the prehistoric site of Avebury Henge in the English county of Wiltshire will have heard. The traditional story goes as follows: A pious traveller was assisting the folk of Avebury in burying the pagan standing stones in the village during the fourteenth century. Alas as he was busily digging out the underside of a stone it fell over, crushing him and entombing him beneath it. The archaeologist Alexander Keiller lifted the stone to reinstate it in 1938 and found the man's remains underneath. Items found with the body including coins, scissors and an iron medical probe identified him as an itinerant mediaeval barber surgeon who had sadly been hoisted by his own petard.

Keiller sent the remains to the curator of the museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, whom he felt would appreciate the find. It was thought to have been destroyed during bombing in the Second World War but was rediscovered and re-examined in 1998. A large healed cut wound was noticed on the skull but no evidence of traumatic death was identified and it was suggested that the man had been buried beneath a stone rather than crushed by it. King Bladud, legendary founder of Bath Bladud or Blaiddyd[a] was a mythical king of the Britons, for whose existence there is no historical evidence. He was first mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who described him as the son of King Rud Hud Hudibras or Rhun Paladr-fras, and the tenth ruler in line from the first King, Brutus. This idea may have been based on a misinterpreted scrap of Welsh genealogy. The Welsh form of the name, "Blaiddyd", is taken from the equivalent story in the Chronicle of the Britons manuscript held in Jesus College, Oxford, library. The tale of Bladud was later embellished by other authors.

In its final form Bladud was sent by his father to be educated in the liberal arts at Athens. After his father's death he returned, with four philosophers, and founded a university at Stamford in Lincolnshire, which flourished until it was suppressed by St Augustine on account of heresies which were taught there. Supposedly he ruled for twenty years from 863 BC or perhaps 500 BC, in which time he built Kaerbadum or Caervaddon (Bath), creating the hot springs there by the use of magic. He dedicated the city to the goddess Athena or Minerva, and in honour of her lit undying fires, whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low, with new ones springing up in their stead: an embellishment of an account from the fourth-century writer Solinus of the use of local coal on the altars of her temple He is said to have founded the city because while he was at Athens he contracted leprosy, and when he returned home he was imprisoned as a result, but escaped and went far off to go into hiding.

He found employment as a swineherd at Swainswick, about two miles from the later site of Bath, and noticed that his pigs would go into an alder-moor in cold weather and return covered in black mud. He found that the mud was warm, and that they did it to enjoy the heat. He also noticed that the pigs which did this did not suffer from skin diseases as others did, and on trying the mud bath himself found that he was cured of his leprosy. He was then restored to his position as heir-apparent to his father, and founded Bath so that others might also benefit as he had done. The statue of King Bladud overlooking the King's Bath at Bath carries the date of 1699, but its inclusion in earlier pictures shows that it is much older than this. The tale claims that he also encouraged the practice of necromancy, or divination through the spirits of the dead.

Through this practice, he is said to have constructed wings for himself and to have tried to fly to (or from) the temple of Apollo in Trinovantum (London) or Troja Nova (New Troy), but to have been killed when he hit a wall, or to have fallen and been dashed to pieces or broken his neck. He was supposedly buried at New Troy and succeeded by his son, Leir. Eighteenth century Bath architect John Wood, the Elder wrote about Bladud, and put forth the fanciful suggestion that he should be identified with Abaris the Hyperborean, the healer known from Classical Greek sources Bowerman's Nose Bowerman's Nose is a stack of weathered granite on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern slopes of Hayne Down, about a mile from Hound Tor and close to the village of Manaton at grid reference SX742805. It is about 21.5 feet (6.6 m) high and is the hard granite core of a former tor, standing above a 'clitter' of the blocks that have eroded and fallen from it.

Its height was exaggerated by writers in the 19th century and earlier, who also described it as an ancient object of veneration. A theory that its name was derived from the Celtic fawr maen, the "great stone" was refuted by R. Hansford Worth who pointed out that the correct Celtic form would have been maen fawr, so it could not have mutated into "Bowerman". A John Bowerman was buried at North Bovey in 1663 and the name also appears in a Dean Prior register of 1772, so it is possible that the name is of no great antiquity. With a little imagination, it is possible to see the profile of a human face in the rocky outline. Legend Not only is it a spectacular rock formation, which appears on many local postcards and calendars, but it is also the subject of Dartmoor folklore. “ If his nose bore any resemblance to the topmost layer of the pile, it cannot have boasted much comeliness. ” -John Page, An Exploration of Dartmoor (1889) According to local legend, a huntsman called Bowerman lived on the moor around one thousand years ago.

When chasing a hare he and his pack of dogs unwittingly ran into a coven of witches, overturned their cauldron and disrupted their ceremony. They decided to punish him, and the next time he was hunting, one of the witches turned herself into a hare, and led both Bowerman and his hounds into a mire. As a final punishment, she turned them to stone - the dogs can be seen as a jagged chain of rocks on top of Hound Tor, while the huntsman himself became the rock formation now known as Bowerman's Nose. Cerne Abbas giant The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant, is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The 180 ft (55 m) high, 167 ft (51 m) wide figure is carved into the side of a steep hill, and is best viewed from the opposite side of the valley or from the air.

The carving is formed by a trench 12 in (30 cm) wide, and about the same depth, which has been cut through grass and earth into the underlying chalk. In his right hand the giant holds a knobbled club 120 ft (37 m) in length. Like several other chalk figures carved into the English countryside, the Cerne Abbas giant is often thought of as an ancient creation. However, like many of the other figures, its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century, making an origin during the Celtic, Roman or even Early Medieval periods difficult to prove. Above and to the right of the Giant's head is an earthwork known as the "Trendle", or "Frying Pan". Medieval writings refer to this location as "Trendle Hill", but make no mention of the giant, leading to the conclusion that it was probably only carved about 400 years ago. In contrast, the Uffington White Horse — an unquestionably prehistoric hill figure on the Berkshire Downs — was noticed and recorded by medieval authors.

The earliest written reference to the Giant was made in 1694, in a record for payment in the Cerne Abbas churchwarden's accounts of three shillings toward the re-cutting of the giant. The first survey of the giant was published in Gentleman's Magazine in 1764, and in 1774, John Hutchins wrote in his book The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset that the carving had only been done the previous century. Some believe that the giant was carved during the English Civil War by servants of the Lord of the Manor, Denzil Holles, and was intended as a parody of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was sometimes mockingly referred to as "England's Hercules" by his enemies. The Hercules connection is strengthened by the recent discovery of an obliterated line perhaps representing an animal skin (see below). The suggestion that the figure is Hercules was first made in 1764 by William Stukeley. Local folklore states that a Danish giant who was leading an invasion of the coast was beheaded by the people of Cerne Abbas while he slept on the hillside. The chalk line represents the location of his body.

Nineteenth century sources describe the giant as having "between his legs, three rude letters, scarcely legible, and over them in modern figures, 748", (rude meaning "roughly cut") and being the representation of Cenric, the son of Cuthred, King of Wessex. Cheese rolling The Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill,, near Cheltenham and Gloucester in the Cotswolds region of England. It is traditionally by and for the people of Brockworth - the local village, but now people from over the world take part. The event takes its name from the hill on which it occurs. From the top of the hill a round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled, and competitors race down the hill after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. In theory, competitors are aiming to catch the cheese, but since it has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 70 mph (112 km/h, enough to knock over and injure a spectator as it did in 1997), this rarely occurs.

Accurate information is hard to come by, but the tradition is at least 200 years old. Suggestions have been made that the event may either date back to Roman times or have been a pagan healing ritual, but there is no evidence for this. "The Cheese Rollers" is also the name of the nearby pub in Shurdington, about 3 miles from Cooper's Hill, but the nearest are The Cross Hands and The Victoria (both of which are in Brockworth). Competitors will frequent these venues for some pre-event Dutch courage or discussion of tactics, and after the event for some convalescence. Childe's Tomb Childe's Tomb is located on the south-east edge of Foxtor Mires, c.500 metres north of Fox Tor on Dartmoor, in the United Kingdom at grid reference SX625704. It is approximately 3 feet 4 inches (1 m) tall and 1 foot 8 inches (0.5 m) at the crosspiece. Legend has it that the cross was erected over the kistvaen (burial chamber) of Childe the Hunter. The cross has its base in a socket stone, resting on granite blocks over the chamber.

The whole is surrounded by a circle of granite stones set up on their edge, in the fashion of a number of kistvaens on the moor. This raises the total height of the cross to 7 feet.The tomb was vandalised in 1812 by Thomas Windeatt, who was responsible for taking many of the stones when building Fox Tor Farm. It is believed that some stones were used to make a clapper bridge across the River Swincombe. The site was repaired in the 1880s by Fearnley Tanner as one of the first acts of the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Childe the Hunter was Ordulf, son of Ordgar, who was the Anglo-Saxon Earl of Devon in the 11th century. The name 'Childe' is derived from the word Cild meaning 'Young Lord'. Legend has it that Childe was in a party hunting on the moor when they were caught in some changeable weather. Childe became separated from the main party and was lost. In order to save himself from dying of exposure, he killed his horse, disembowelled it and crept inside the warm carcass for shelter.

He nevertheless froze to death, but before he died, he wrote a note to the effect that whoever should find him and bury him in their church should inherit his Plymstock estate. William Crossing quotes Tristram Risdon, who relates that the original tomb bore the following inscription: "They fyrste that fyndes and bringes mee to my grave, The priorie of Plimstoke they shall have" He was found by the monks of Tavistock Abbey, who started to carry his body back. However, they heard of a plot to ambush them by the people of Plymstock, at a bridge over the River Tavy. They took a detour and built a new bridge over Tavy, just outside of Tavistock. They were successful in burying the body in the grounds of the Abbey and inherited the Plymstock estate. The first account of this story is to be found in a survey undertaken by Thomas Risden in 1630: “ It is left us by tradition that one Childe of Plimstoke, a man of fair possessions, having no issue, ordained, by his will, that wheresoever he should happen to be buried, to that church his lands should belong.

It so fortuned, that he riding to hunt in the forest of Dartmore, being in pursuit of his game, casually lost his company, and his way likewise. The season then being so cold, and he so benumed therewith, as he was enforced to kill his horse, and embowelled him, to creep into his belly to get heat; which not able to preserve him, was there frozen to death; and so found, was carried by Tavistoke men to be buried in the church of that abbey; which was so secretly done but the inhabitants of Plymstoke had knowledge thereof; which to prevent, they resorted to defend the carriage of the corpse over the bridge, where, they conceived, necessity compelled them to pass. But they were deceived by guile; for the Tavistoke men forthwith built a slight bridge, and passed over at another place without resistance, buried the body, and enjoyed the lands; in memory whereof the bridge beareth the name of Guilebridge to this day." Corineus, legendary founder of Cornwall Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (1136), he led the descendants of the Trojans who fled with Antenor after the Trojan War and settled on the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea. After Brutus, a descendant of the Trojan prince Aeneas, had been exiled from Italy and liberated the enslaved Trojans in Greece, he encountered Corineus and his people, who joined him in his travels. In Gaul, Corineus provoked a war with Goffarius Pictus, king of Aquitania, by hunting in his forests without permission, and killed thousands single-handedly with his battle-axe. After defeating Goffarius, the Trojans crossed to the island of Albion, which Brutus renamed Britain after himself. Corineus settled in Cornwall, which was then inhabited by giants. Brutus and his army killed most of them, but their leader, Gogmagog, was kept alive for a wrestling match with Corineus. The fight took place near Plymouth, and Corineus killed him by throwing him over a cliff. Corineus was the first of the Legendary Dukes of Cornwall.

After Brutus died the rest of Britain was divided between his three sons, Locrinus (England), Kamber (Wales) and Albanactus (Scotland). Locrinus agreed to marry Corineus's daughter Gwendolen, but fell in love instead with Estrildis, a captured German princess. Corineus threatened war in response to this affront, and to pacify him Locrinus married Gwendolen, but kept Estrildis as his secret mistress. After Corineus died Locrinus divorced Gwendolen and married Estrildis, and Gwendolen responded by raising an army in Cornwall and making war against her ex-husband. Locrinus was killed in battle, and Gwendolen threw Estrildis and her daughter, Habren, into the River Severn. The tale is preserved in the works of later writers, including Michael Drayton and John Milton Dorset Ooser The Dorset Ooser is the name of a horned mask that has been a part of folklore in the town of Dorchester, in the county of Dorset in southern England, for several centuries.

The original mask disappeared in 1897, though a modern replica, made in 1975 by John Byfleet, is held in Dorchester County Museum, where it is taken out as a part of a procession of Morris dancers atop the Cerne Abbas giant on May Day and St George's Day, though some records indicate that in the 19th century it was paraded at Christmas instead. Both the mask and the modern replica have a hinged jaw, allowing it to move, in much the same way that hobby horses, another folkloric English tradition, move their jaws.

HistoryIt is unknown when the original mask was made, but appeared to be in a tradition of making animal and grotesque masks to be worn in procession; in the 7th century book Liber Poenitentialis by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore, he stated "whoever at the kalends of January goes about as a stag or bull; that is, making himself into a wild animal and dressing in the skin of a herd animal, and putting on the heads of beast, those who in such wise transform themselves into the appearance of a wild animal, penance for three years because this is devilish" The mask became the property of the Cave family of Holt Farm, Melbury Osmond, in Dorest, who remarked that it was used in local revels by a man dressed in animal skins. It was first mentioned in print in the 1891 book Somerset and Dorset Notes and QueriesOne of only two known photographs of the original Ooser, taken between 1883 and 1891 by J.W.Chaffins and Sons of Yeovil. St.

Dunstan is the origin of the lucky horseshoe Dunstan (c.909–19 May 988) was an abbot of Glastonbury, a bishop of Worcester, a bishop of London, and an archbishop of Canterbury who was later canonized as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church. His 11th century biographer, Osbern, himself an artist and scribe, states that Dunstan was skilled in "making a picture and forming letters", as were other clergy of his age who reached senior rank. Dunstan served as an important minister of state to several English kings. He was the most popular saint in England for nearly two centuries, having gained fame for the many stories of his greatness. Adding to Dunstan's myth was his leg endary cunning in dealing with the Devil. Until St Thomas Becket’s fame overshadowed Dunstan's, he was the favourite saint of the English people.

Dunstan had been buried in his Cathedral; and when that building was destroyed by a fire in 1074, his relics were translated by archbishop Lanfranc to a tomb on the south side of the high altar in the rebuilt Canterbury Cathedral. Dunstan shoeing the Devil's hoof, as illustrated by George CruikshankThe monks of Glastonbury used to claim that during the sack of Canterbury by the Danes in 1012, Dunstan's body had been carried for safety to their abbey. This story was disproved by Archbishop William Warham, who opened the tomb at Canterbury in 1508. They found Dunstan's relics still to be there at that time. Within a century, his shrine was destroyed during the English Reformation. He functions as the patron saint of goldsmiths, as he worked as a blacksmith, painter, and jeweller. St Dunstan's - the charity providing support, rehabilitation and respite care to blind ex-service personnel of the British Armed Forces - is named for him. Many churches all over the world are named for him as well.

St Dunstan's, Mayfield, St Dunstan's, Stepney, St Dunstan-in-the-East, London, and St Dunstan-in-the-West, London are four of the more famous ones in England. English literature contains many references to him, for example in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and in this folk rhyme: St Dunstan, as the story goes, Once pull'd the devil by the nose With red-hot tongs, which made him roar, That he was heard three miles or more. From this the tongs have become a symbol of St Dunstan and are featured in the arms of Tower Hamlets. Another story relates how Dunstan nailed a horseshoe to the Devil's hoof when he was asked to re-shoe the Devil's horse. This caused the Devil great pain, and Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe and release the Devil after he promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe is over the door. This is claimed as the origin of the lucky horseshoe.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Communion mark his feast day on May 19 Glastonbury Abbey Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the World," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail, 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that earlier Joseph had visited Glastonbury along with Jesus as a child. The legend probably was encouraged in the mediaeval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. It has been suggested that William Blake believed in this legend and wrote the poem that became the words to the patriotic English song, 'Jerusalem' (see And did those feet in ancient time). Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into the ground, which flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (or Holy Thorn). This is the explanation behind the existence of a hybrid hawthorn tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury.

The Holy Thorn, Summer 1984, Died in 1991 This hawthorn flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut by the local Church of England priest and thGlastonbury and its abbey Mythology and legends Remains of St. Michael's Church at the summit of Glastonbury Tor.The town of Glastonbury is particularly notable for the myths and legends surrounding the hill around which the town has grown, Glastonbury Tor, which rises up from the otherwise flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. These myths concern Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Grail, and also King Arthur. Glastonbury is also said to be the centre of several ley lines. The legend of Joseph of Arimathea was noted in the work of fiction by the french poet Robert de Boron in the 12th century. The monks of Glastonbury "discovered" the bodies of King Arthur and Guinevere, and is also known as Joseph d'Arimathe or Le Roman de I'Estoire dou Graal.

It is thought to be part of a trilogy but only fragments of the later books survive today. The author is best known for his Arthurian romances centred around the Holy Grail, and became the inspiration for the later Vulgate Cycle of Arthurian tales and the subsequent Matter of Britain. The original story describes how Joseph captured Jesus' blood in a cup (the Holy Grail) and that subsequently he and his son brought it to somewhere in Britain, probably Avalon, where they were imprisoned by a pagan king. Later stories (the Vulgate Cycle) added new plots and scenes, which completely reworked Boron's original tale. Here, Joseph of Arimathea was no longer the chief character in the Grail origin. It was Joseph's son, Josephus, who took over his role of the Grail keeper. The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War (in legend the roundhead soldier who did it was blinded by a flying splinter).

A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain; but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take); but many other examples of the thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well. In some versions of the Arthurian myth, Glastonbury is conceived of as the legendary island of Avalon. An early Welsh story links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a face-off between Arthur and the Celtic king, Melwas, who had apparently kidnapped Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. Geoffrey of Monmouth first identified Glastonbury with Avalon in 1133. In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel o f the Abbey church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis. The remains were later moved, and lost during the Reformation.

Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown. According to some versions of the Arthurian legend, Lancelot retreated to Glastonbury Abbey in penance following the death of Arthur. The ruins of the abbey are open to visito rs; the abbey had a violent end during the Dissolution and the buildings were progressively destroyed as their stones were removed for use in local building work. The remains of the Abbot's Kitchen (a grade I listed building.) and the Lady Chapel are particularly well-preserved. Not far away is situated the Somerset Rural Life Museum, which includes the restored Abbey Barn. Other points of interest include St. John's Church, the Chalice Well, and the historic George and Pilgrims Inn, built to accommodate visitors to the Abbey. Hunky Punk Hunky Punk is Somerset (in the West Country of England) dialect for grotesque carvings on the side of buildings (especially churches). It is a local form of Gargoyle. By definition, a hunkypunk is an architectural feature that serves no purpose.

Therefore, a gargoyle is not a hunkypunk because it serves to drain water through its mouth. Some carved creatures found on churches might look like gargoyles, but are not if the mouth cannot drain. Hunkypunks were often carved to create a balance of decoration. A typical example might be found at the corner of a church tower, along the coping ridge below any castellations. Often there are carvings on each corner, yet the roof may only drain in one direction and so there might be three hunkypunks and one true gargoyle. There is a belief that a hunkypunk is only a short squatting figure typical of those found in some Somerset churches. It is true that these serve no defined structural or architectural purpose and that by the definition above, they are hunkypunks. Hunkypunks come in many shapes and sizes however and are recognized in spiritual architecture throughout the world although mostly in middle to late medieval building onwards. Some theorie s consider that the balance of good and evil created in church design to remind worshippers of the narrow path they tread was present in everything.

This meant that for every good and benign creature such as a saint or an animal to signify purity, there had to be an opposite to bring out the fear of evil. In York Minster, for example, the carvings in the Chapter house, which are particularly disgusting and obscene and which were supposedly created as caricatures of the then Dean and Chapter, were put there above the seats to create an opposite to each occupant, who we might like to assume was not in fact the foul person their carvings made them out to be. The origin of the term hunkypunk is unclear although it is thought to be a dialect description of grotesque form. Jay's Grave Jay's Grave (or Kitty Jay's Grave) is supposedly the last resting place of a suicide victim who is thought to have died in the late 18th century. It has become a well-known landmark on Dartmoor, Devon, in South-West England, and is the subject of local folklore, and several ghost stories. The small burial mound is at the side of a minor road, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of Hound Tor, at the entrance to a green lane that leads to Natsworthy.

Fresh flowers are regularly placed on the grave, although no-one admits to putting them there. The legend The grave is believed to contain the bones of an orphan called Kitty Jay (some reports name her as Mary Jay), who worked at Canna Farm near the village of Manaton. As a teenager, she was apparently raped by a young farmhand and became pregnant. Such was her shame that Kitty Jay hanged herself in a barn, or, according to a different version of the story, from the great kitchen fireplace lintel. The three local parishes of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, North Bovey and Manaton all refused to bury her body within consecrated ground, so she was buried at a crossroads - a traditional practice for suicide victims at the time. This also happened to be the point at which the three parishes joined. Her remains were discovered in 1860, placed in a coffin and reburied. The flowers that regularly appear there are the subject of local folklore - some claim they are placed there by pixies, but it is known that the author Beatrice Chase was one person who did this, before her death in 1955.

Motorists, passing at night, claim to have glimpsed ghostly figures in their headlights, others report seeing a dark, hooded figure kneeling there Lyonesse Lyoness, or Lyonnesse is a country in Arthurian legend, birthplace of the knight Tristan. In a later tradition, Lyonesse is identified as a sunken land lying off the Isles of Scilly, to the south-west of Cornwall. The Trevelyan family of Cornwall takes its coat of arms from a local legend; "when Lyonesse sank beneath the waves only a man named Trevelyan escaped by riding a white horse." To this day the family's shield bears a white horse rising from the waves. Lyonesse in Arthurian legend In medieval Arthurian legend, there are no references to the sinking of Lyonesse, for the simple reason that the name originally referred to a still-existing place. Lyonesse is an English alteration of French Léoneis or Léonois (earlier Loönois), a development of Lodonesia, the Latin name for Lothian in Scotland.

Continental writers of Arthurian romances were often puzzled by the internal geography of Great Britain; thus it is that the author French Prose Tristan appears to place Léonois contiguous, by land, to Cornwall. In English adaptations of the French tales, Léonois, now "Lyonesse", becomes a kingdom wholly distinct from Lothian, and closely associated with the Cornish region, though its exact geographical location remained unspecified. The name was not attached to Cornish legends of lost coastal lands until the reign of Elizabeth I of England, however. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King, describes Lyonesse as the site of the final battle between Arthur and Mordred. One passage in particular references legends of Lyonesse as a land fated to sink beneath the ocean: Then rose the King and moved his host by night And ever pushed Sir Mordred, league by league, Back to the sunset bound of Lyonesse-- A land of old upheaven from the abyss By fire, to sink into the abyss again; Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt, And the long mountains ended in a coast Of ever-shifting sand, and far away The phantom circle of a moaning sea.

A real-life counterpart to Lyonesse is the fishing port of Dunwich. Deriving from a false etymology of Lyonesse, the 'City of Lions' was said in some later traditions to be the capital of the legendary kingdom, situated on what is today the Seven Stones reef, some eighteen miles west of Land's End and eight miles north-east of the Isles of Scilly. Moonrakers, the story of how the inhabitants of Wiltshire got their nickname Moonrakers is the colloquial name for people from Wiltshire, a county of South West England in the West Country. This refers to a folk story set in the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England. The story goes that some local people had hidden contraband barrels of French Brandy from customs officers in a village pond. While trying to retrieve it at night, they were caught by the revenue men, but explained themselves by pointing to the moon's reflection and saying they were trying to rake in a round cheese. The excise men, thinking they were simple yokels, laughed at them and went on their way. But, as the story goes, it was the moonrakers who had the last laugh.

The Obby Oss of Padstow 'Obby 'Oss festival The 'Old Oss' capturing a passing maiden during the Mayday festival.Padstow is best known for its "'Obby 'Oss" festival. Although its origins are unclear, it most likely stems from an ancient fertility rite, perhaps the Celtic festival of Beltane. The festival starts at midnight on May Eve when townspeople sing the "Morning Song". In the morning, the town is dressed with greenery and flowers are placed around a maypole. The climax arrives when male dancers cavort through the town dressed as one of two 'Obby 'Osses, the "Old" and the "Blue Ribbon" 'Obby 'Osses; as the name suggests, they are stylised kinds of horses. Prodded on by acolytes known as "Teasers", each wears a mask and black frame-hung cape under which they try to catch young maidens as they pass through the town. Finally, at midnight on May Day, the crowd sings of the 'Obby 'Oss death, until its resurrection the following May Eve.

Cornish Pixies and Piskies Pixies (also Piskies and Pigsies as they are sometimes known in Cornwall) are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. They are usually depicted with pointed ears, and often wearing a green outfit and pointed hat. Sometimes their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the temple ends. These, however, are Victorian Era conventions and not part of the older mythologyThe origin of the name piskie or pixie is uncertain. Some have claimed that it comes from the Swedish dialectal pyske meaning wee little fairy. Others, however, have disputed this, claiming that due to the Cornish origin of the piskie that the term is probably Celtic in origin, though no known Celtic ancestor of the word is known. Characteristics Pixies are variously described in folklore and fiction. In the legends associated with Dartmoor, Pixies (or Piskeys) are said to disguise themselves as a bundle of rags to lure children into their play. The pixies of Dartmoor are fond of music and dancing.

These Pixies are said to be helpful to normal humans, sometimes helping needy widows and others with housework. They are often ill clothed or naked. Lack of fashion sense has been taken by Rachael de Vienne, a fantasy writer, to mean that Pixies generally go unclothed, though they are sensitive to human need for covering. William Crossing noted a Pixie's preference for bits of finery: "Indeed a sort of weakness for finery exists among them, and a piece of ribon appears to be ... highly prized by them." In Ms de Vienne's book, the main character, a pixie child, delights in ribons made from her father's shirt. In Devon, Pixies are said to be “invisibly small, and harmless or friendly to man.” Yet in some of the legends and historical accounts they are presented as having near human stature. For instance, a member of the Elford family in Tavistock, Devon, successfully hid from Cromwell’s troops in a Pixie house. Though the entrance has narrowed with time, the pixie house, a natural cavern on Sheep Tor, still is accessible.

A location in Devon associated with Pixies was the inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Song of the Pixies. Many Victorian era poets saw them as magical beings. An example is Samuel Minturn Peck. In his poem “The Pixies” he writes : ‘Tis said their forms are tiny, yet All human ills they can subdue, Or with a wand or amulet Can win a maiden’s heart for you; And many a blessing know to stew To make to wedlock bright; Give honour to the dainty crew, The Pixies are abroad tonight. By the early 19th Century their contact with “normal humans” had diminished. In Drew’s Cornwall one finds the observation: “The age of Pixies, like that of Chivalry, is gone. There is, perhaps, at present hardly a house they are reputed to visit. Even the fields and lanes which they formerly frequented seem to be nearly forsaken. Their music is rarely heard.” Some Pixies are said to steal children or to lead travelers astray. This seems to be a cross over from Fairy mythology and not originally attached to Pixies. Thomas Keightley observed that much of Fairy myth is attached to Pixies by Devon mythology.

Pixies are said to reward consideration and punish neglect on the part of larger humans. Keightley gives examples. By their presence they bring blessings to those who are fond of them. Pixies are drawn to horses, riding them for pleasure and making tangled ringlets in the manes of those horses they ride. They are “great explorers familiar with the caves of the ocean, the hidden sources of the streams and the recesses of the land.” The Victorian era writer Mary Elizabeth Whitcombe divided Pixies in to tribes according to personality and deeds. Ann Eliza Bray suggested that Pixies and Fairies were distinct species. Some find Pixies to have a human origin or to “partake of human nature” in distinction to Fairies whose mythology is traced to immaterial and malignant spirit forces. In folklore Pixies and Fairies are antagonists. They battled at Buckland St. Mary, Somerset. The Pixies were victorious and still visit the area. The Fairies are said to have left after their loss. Pixie mythology seems to predate Christian presence in Britain. They were subsumed into what passed as Christianity with the explanation that they were the souls of children who had died un-baptized.

By the mid 19th Century Pixies were associated with the Picts. This is an improbable origin of Pixie mythology. Some 19th Century researchers made more general claims about Pixie origins, or have connected them with Puck, a mythological creature sometimes described as a fairy. The name Puck is of uncertain origin. One British scholar took Pixie myth seriously enough to state his belief that “Pixies were evidently a smaller race, and, from the greater obscurity of the … tales about them, I believe them to have been an earlier race.” The Reynardine is a werewolf of Dartmoor Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes from the Greek λυκάνθρωπος, λύκος (wolf) and άνθρωπος (human, man), are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to shape shift into wolves or anthropomorphic wolf-like creatures, either purposely, by being bitten or scratched by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse.

This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon, as popularly noted by the medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury, although it may have been recognized in earlier times among the ancient Greeks through the writings of Petronius. Werewolves are often granted extra-human strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves or men. The werewolf is generally held as a European character, although its lore spread through the world in later times. Shape-shifters, similar to werewolves, are common in tales from all over the world, most notably amongst the American Indians, though most of them involve animal forms other than wolves. Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fictional books, although fictional werewolves have been attributed traits distinct from those of original folklore, most notably the vulnerability to silver bullets. Werewolves continue to endure in modern culture and fiction, with books, films and television shows cementing the werewolf's stance as a dominant figure in horror.

Jan Tregeagle The Chapel window that the Giant Tregaele got his head stuck The historical Jan Tregeagle was a magistrate in the early 17th century, a steward under the Duchy of Cornwall, and was known for being particularly harsh; darker stories circulated as well, that he had murdered his wife or made a pact with the Devil. As a lawyer he was a peculiarly nefarious agent, and very hard upon the tenants. Many legends have grown up around him, and he has evolved into Cornwall's version of Faust, having bargained his soul for power, fame and success. One story goes that sometime after his death, a case was going through the courts in which the defendant had illegally obtained some land. The defendant, sure that the dead Tregeagle could not testify against him, cried, "If Tregeagle ever saw it, I wish to God he would come and declare it!" To the court's astonishment, Tregeagle materialised in the witness box and testified that he had forged some crucial doc ument or other. Justice having been done, the court would not countenance sending him back to Hell, and so set him a series of impossible tasks to while away the time until Judgment Day.

Roche Rock He was set the task of dipping the water out of Dozmary Pool with a limpet shell, but decided to escape to Roche Rock before being set another task, weaving ropes from the sand of Gwenor Cove. Tregeagle's dismal fate inspired "The Ballad of the Haunted Moor," i n which "the soul Tregeagle, a deathless soul/Flies from the Pool with a shriek, a shriek!" Dozmary Pool is found in an atmospheric setting high on Bodmin Moor south of the Cornish town of Bolventor. According to local tradition, it was Dozmary Pool that Sir Bedivere finally threw Excalibur. After 3 attempts to relinquish the sword, he finally managed to comply with King Arthur's wish and threw it into the lake, an arm rose from the surface of lake, caught the sword and vanished back inot the lake with it. Arthur received his mortal wound at the Battle of Camlan. One of the possible sites for the Battle of Camlann is at Slaughter Bridge near the River Cam, which is only ten miles away from Dozmary Pool. Arthur may have held court at the nearby earthenwork fort of Killibury Castle.

Tintagel, where Arthur is said to have been born, is twenty miles away. So the area does have many Arthurian links The Great Thunderstorm, Widecombe The Great Thunderstorm of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Dartmoor, took place on Sunday, 21 October 1638, when the church of St Pancras was apparently struck by ball lightning during a severe thunderstorm. An afternoon service was taking place at the time, and the building was packed with approximately 300 worshippers. Four of them were killed, around 60 injured, and the building severely damaged. Eyewitness accounts Written accounts by eyewitnesses, apparently published within months of the catastrophe, tell of a strange darkness, powerful thunder, and “a great ball of fire” ripping through a window and tearing part of the roof open. It is said to have rebounded through the church, killing some members of the congregation and burning many others. This is considered by some to be one of the earliest recorded instances of ball lightning.

The tower of Widecombe church today The priest, George Lyde, was unhurt, but his wife ”had her ruff and the linen next her body, and her body, burnt in a very pitiful manner”. The head of local warrener Robert Mead struck a pillar so hard that it left an indentation; his skull was shattered, and his brain hurled to the ground. A "one Master Hill a Gentleman of good account in the Parish" was thrown violently against a wall and died "that night". His son, sitting next to him, was unhurt. Some are said to have suffered burns to their bodies, but not their clothes. A dog is reported to have run out of the door, been hurled around as if by a small tornado, and fallen dead to the ground. The village schoolmaster of the time, a gentleman called Roger Hill, and brother of the deceased "Master Hill", recorded the incident in a rhyming testament which is still displayed on boards (originals replaced in 1786) in the church.

The legend According to local legend, the thunderstorm was the result of a visit by the devil who had made a pact with a local card player and gambler called Jan Reynolds (or Bobby Read, according the tale recorded at the Tavistock Inn, Poundsgate). The deal was that if the devil ever found him asleep in church, he could have his soul. Jan was said to have nodded off during the service that day, with his pack of cards in his hand. Another version of the legend states that the Devil arrived to collect the souls of four people playing cards during the church service. The devil headed for Widecombe via the Tavistock Inn, in nearby Poundsgate, where he stopped for directions and refreshment. The landlady reported a visit by a man in black with cloven feet riding a jet black horse. The stranger ordered a mug of ale, and it hissed as it went down his throat. He finished his drink, put the mug down on the bar where it left a scorch mark, and left some money. As the stranger rode away, the landlady found that the coins had turned to dried leaves in her hand.

The devil tethered his horse to one of the pinnacles at Widecombe Church, captured the sleeping Jan Reynolds, and rode away into the storm. As they flew over nearby Birch Tor, the four aces from Jan's pack of cards fell to the ground, and today, if you stand at Warren House Inn, you can still see four ancient field enclosures, each shaped like the symbols from a pack of cards. Widecombe Fair Widecombe Fair takes place annually on the second Tuesday in September, attracting thousands of visitors to the tiny Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. It is well known as the subject of the folk song of the same name, featuring Uncle Tom Cobley and his friends. History The earliest written record was in 1850, when it was described in the Plymouth Gazette as ‘a cattle fair’. It soon became an opportunity to show and sell other livestock - particularly locally-bred sheep and Dartmoor ponies, and by the 1920s it had also become a sports day for local schoolchildren. In 1933, stalls were introduced, selling rural arts and crafts.

Widecombe Fair was suspended during the Second World War, but reinstated in 1945 with new attractions, including a gymkhana and tug of war. All profits were donated to the 'Local Welcome Home Fund' for returning soldiers, sailors and airmen. In 1989, it was decided to cancel the pony classes following an outbreak of Equine flu (these were replaced with terrier races, which have continued ever since). The Fair was cancelled altogether in 2001 due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. However, despite these interruptions, the event has steadily grown in size and reputation. In its earlier years, it was held in various locations around the village, including the village green. Today, however, it occupies a large field to the south of Widecombe (known to locals as The Fair Field). Other fields become car parks, and a complex policing and marshalling system is put in place, with the narrow lanes transformed into a one-way road system.

Today's visitors will still see displays of quality livestock, although there are many other attractions, including: a dog show, displays of local produce, vintage farm machinery, rural arts and crafts, bale tossing and a now traditional appearance by Uncle Tom Cobley himself - featuring a local resident in fancy dress, riding a grey mare. The Witch of Wookey Hole Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England. Wookey Hole cave was formed by the action of the River Axe on the limestone hills. Before emerging at Wookey Hole the water enters underground streams and passes through other caves such as Swildon's Hole and St Cuthbert's Swallet. After resurging, the waters of the River Axe are used in a handmade paper mill, the oldest extant in Britain, which began operations circa 1610, although a corn grinding mill operated there as early as 1086. Nearby is the limestone Ebbor Gorge, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a more tranquil spot than the busy Wookey Hole, which is itself an SSSI for both biological and geological reasons.

The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole – a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury. It is also the site of the first cave dives in Britain. The caves, at a constant temperature of 11 °C (52 °F), have been use d by humans for around 50,000 years. The low temperature means that the caves can be used for maturing Cheddar cheese Witch of Wookey Hole The Witch of Wookey Hole is a stalagmite in the first chamber of the caves and the central character in an old English legend. The story has several different versions with the same basic features: A man from Glastonbury is betrothed to a girl from Wookey. A witch living in Wookey Hole Caves curses the romance so that it fails. The man, now a monk, seeks revenge on this witch who—having been jilted herself—frequently spoils budding relationships. The monk stalks the witch into the cave and she hides in dark corner near one of the underground rivers. The monk blesses the water and splashes some of it at the dark parts of the cave.

Catching the witch off guard, the monk splashes the water at the dark corner she is hiding in. The blessed water immediately petrifies the witch, and she remains in the cave to this day. It was partly down to the legend of the witch that prompted TV's Most Haunted team to visit Wookey Hole Caves and Mill to explore the location in depth, searching for evidence of paranormal activity. The show, which aired on 10 March 2009, was the last episode transmitted in series eleven of the show's run on the satellite and cable TV channel Living. Jack the Giant Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" (or "Jack the Giant-Killer") is a fairy tale. As a variation on "The Brave Little Tailor", it shares some similarities to what is known today as "Jack and the Beanstalk." As with most fairy tales, there are many different versions of the same story. For example, six variants appear in Ruth Manning-Sanders's book A Book of Giants. In one of these versions, Jack has an uncle who is a three headed-giant, whom he tricks into giving him a sword of sharpness, boots of speed, a cloak of darkness, and a cap of knowledge.

The giant Cormoran was the terror of all the country-side. Illustration by Arthur Rackham from EnglishFairy Tales (1918) by Flora Annie Steel Plot The story tells of the Cornish youth Jack and his encounters with giants. Jack catches the first giant in a pit trap and kills him, for which he receives a belt engraved with the words "This is the valiant Cornish man, who killed the giant Cormoran." For this, Jack gains popularity within his village and throughout the land. He sets off on a series of challenges, where he encounters a second giant. He strangles this giant and his brother (also a giant) with a cord. The third encounter is with a Welsh giant, who tries to kill Jack while he is resting at his castle. Jack is able to trick this giant, however, and manages to get him to stab himself at breakfast. In the fourth encounter, Jack uses his coat of invisibility, which he received in the castle of the third giant, to attack a giant and his brother with impunity. The final encounter is with the giant Galligantus, whom he first scares with a blast on a magic trumpet, then cuts off his head and sends it to King Arthur.

Jack is rewarded by receiving Arthur's daughter's hand in marriage. Galligantus Galligantus, or Galligantua, was one of the giants in the fable of Jack the Giant Killer. The name may have been inspired by Gargantua.The giant Galligantua and the wicked old magician transform the duke's daughter into a white hind in this illustration by Arthur Rackham from English Fairy Tales, by Flora Annie Steel, 1918 According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Galligantus lived with Hocus-Pocus in an enchanted castle. By his magic he changed men and women into dumb animals, amongst which was a duke's daughter, changed into a roe. Jack the Giant Killer, arrayed in his cap, which rendered him invisible, went to the castle and read the inscription: "Whoever can this trumpet blow, will cause the giant’s overthrow." He seized the trumpet, blew a loud blast, the castle fell down, Jack slew the giant, and was married soon after to the duke's daughter, whom he had rescued from the giant's castle.

In other versions of the tale, the giant's head is sent to King Arthur Rabbit rabbit Rabbit rabbit, always to do with a white rabbit, is a common superstition, held particularly among children. The most common modern version states that a person should say “rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit” upon waking on the first day of each new month, and on doing so will receive good luck for the remainder of that mo nth. The exact origin of the superstition is unknown, though it has appeared in print at least as early as 1954 in Bromley, Kent, where it is most commonly said to have originated, though some reports place its origins even earlier, into the 1800s. Today it has spread to most of the English-speaking countries of the world, although like all folklore, determining its exact area of distribution is difficult. This superstition is related to the broader belief in the rabbit or hare being a “lucky” animal, as exhibited in the practice of carrying a rabbit's foot for luck. Some have also believed it is representing a jumping into the future and moving ahead with life and happiness Posted by

Question: What is the colloquial name for people from Wiltshire, a county of South West England, that arose from a folk tale?
Answer: Moonrakers