Category: Folklore

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Chipping Campden Murder? August 16th 1660

The Court House, Chipping Campden, poor photo by the Author! Where the mystery of the Chipping Campden Murder began

When I take Road Scholar groups to Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds.  We pass the Court House (pictured above) where I tell the story of the disappearance of William Harrison. Last time,  looking at my old ragged notes, I noticed that the disappearance took place on the 16th August.

On that day in 1660 70 yr old William Harrison left the Court House where he was the Steward. The Steward went for a 2-mile walk, collecting rents. When he didn’t return, his wife sent out a man servant, John Perry, to bring him home. Neither had returned by the next morning.

Harrison’s son went out to search for his dad, and found John Perry. The two of them searched for Harrison without luck.  Meanwhile, Harrison’s neckband and shirt were found with his hat.  The clothes were said to be blood stained, but as those who read Sherlock Holmes will know, there was no certain test for blood stains (a test was introduced in the late 19th Century).

But the identification of blood stains led to suspicion of John Perry. He said he was innocent, but he buckled under questioning, maintaining it was nothing to do with him. B he claimed his brother and mother murdered Harrison for his money. Perry soon changed his testimony about his brother and mother and eventually pleaded insanity.  All three were hanged.

Two years later, Harrison returned home, claiming to have been abducted by pirates and sold into slavery in Turkey before escaping and returning to England.

This is, pretty much, the bones of the story I have told my groups over the last 15 years. But what is wonderful about my job and this ‘Almanac of the Past:, is that you get to dig that little bit deeper than the local guidebook.

The first new ‘fact’ I discovered was that Harrison was Steward to the Lady Juliana Noel. She has a very prominent monument in St James Church, near the Court House and has long fascinated me. I will write more about her one day. Meanwhile, have a look at my post on her Dad, Baptist Hicks and how the family came to be Lords of the Manor of Chipping Campden, and Campden Hill, Notting Hill.

Back to my new discoveries about the Crime! John Perry, his mother and brother were actually tried twice for the crime.  The first judge refused to try them for murder in the absence of the body.  But they were encouraged to plead guilty to robbery, as they would then be eligible for an amnesty for first time convictions introduction by the new King Charles II on his restoration. So they were convicted.

However, another Judge was willing to try them in the absence of a body, and they were, after all, tried for the murder. But having pleaded guilty to robbery (to avoid the risk of being executed), they had no real defence to the charge and were sentenced to be hanged.

Nor was the hanging simple: Joan Perry, the mother, was hanged first because she was said to be a witch who was preventing her sons from pleading guilty. After she was hanged, her sons still maintained their innocence The oldest son was then hanged.  But the youngest son still claimed his innocence and was hanged too.

The hangings took place on the hill above Broadway, the highest point of the Cotswolds, where Broadway Tower now stands, and a famous beauty spot. Mother and son were buried under the Gibbet, but John Perry was hanged in chains and kept on display as a warning to others not to follow his example.

As to William Harrison’s story of his abduction, it sounds a little unlikely in rural Gloucestershire. To a modern mind, it seems more likely that he felt the need to leave home, or had some form of breakdown, or did he collude with the Perry’s to steal money from the Noel Estate? I wonder how he reacted when told that three people lost their lives because of him?

But, it has been suggested that Harrison was kidnapped by people involved in the English Civil War who had secrets to keep which Harrison as Steward might have known.  He said English people had kidnapped him and put on a ship to America which was attacked by ‘Turkish’ (maybe Barbary Pirates).

The case led to a ‘no body, no murder’ rule which survived until 1954. But in modern times a body is not essential to a successful prosecution for murder, particularly in domestic murder cases, provided there is sufficient evidence to prove the case.

The case is normally referred to as ‘The Chipping Campden Wonder’ and it has often been written about, for example by Linda Stratmann. I have been wondering why it was so named, there being nothing wonderful about a murder or an abduction. But I have just found a ballad that was written about the case that might explain it. This claims that Joan Perry was indeed a witch, Harrison was attacked and buried in a pit but was, somehow, magically conveyed to Turkey, from which he eventually escaped to return to Chipping Campden. The Wonder is presumably the saving of Harrison and transportation to Turkey? The ballad clarifies that there was therefore no miscarriage of justice, as the Perrys were involved with diabolical doings, and that the Grace of God saved Harrison despite the best efforts of the Perrys.

Well worth reading the text of the ballad below (source: https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/execution-ballads/items/show/1216)

Bodleian 18713, Wood 401(191), Bod18713

‘Amongst those wonders which on early are shown,
In any age there seldom hath béen known,
A thing more strange then that which this Relation,
Doth here present unto your observation.
In Glocestershire as many know full well,
At Camben Town a Gentleman did dwell,
One Mr. William Harrison by name,
A Stewart to a Lady of great fame.

A Widdow likewise in the Town there was,
A wick wretch who brought strange things to pass,
So wonderful that some will scarce receive,
[…]hese lines for truth nor yet my words beleive.

[…] such as unto Cambden do resort,
Have surely found this is no false report,
Though many lies are dayly now invented,
This is as true a Song as ere was Printed.

Therefore unto the story now give ear,
This Widow Pery as it doth appear,
And her two sons all fully were agréed,
Against their friend to work a wicked déed.

One of her Sons even from a youth did dwell,
With Mr. Harrison who loved him well,
And bred him up his Mother being poor,
But sée how he requited him therefore.

For taking notice that his Master went,
Abroad to gather in his Ladies rent,
And by that means it was an usual thing,
For him great store of money home to bring.

He thereupon with his mischevous mother,
And likewise with his vile ungodly Brother,
Contriv’d to rob his Master, for these base
And cruel wretches were past shame and grace.

One night they met him comming into Town,
And in a barbarous manner knockt him down,
Then taking all his money quite away,
His body out of sight they did convey.

But being all suspected for this déed,
They apprehended were and sent with spéed,
To Glocester Goal and there upon their Tryal,
Were guilty found for all their stiff denyal.

Jt was supposed the Gentleman was dead,
And by these wretches robd and Murthered,
Therefore they were all thrée condem’d to death,
And eke on Broadway-hill they lost their breath.

One of the Sons was buried with his Mother,
Vnder the Gibbet, but the other Brother,
That serv’d the Gentleman was hang’d in Chains,
And there some part of him as yet remains.

But yet before they died they did proclaim
Even in the ears of those that thither came,
That Mr. Harison yet living was
And would be found in less then seven years space.

Which words of theirs for truth do now appear
For tis but two year since they hanged were,
And now the Gentleman alive is found
Which news is publisht through the Countrys round

But lest that any of this truth shall doubt,
Ile tell you how the business came about
This Widow Pery as tis plainly shown
Was then a Witch although it was not known.

So when these Villains by their mothers aid
Had knockt him down (even as before was said)
They took away his money every whit,
And then his body cast into a pit.

He scarce was come unto himself before
Another wonder did amaze him more,
For whilst he lookt about, he found that he
Was suddainly conveyd unto the Sea.

First on the shore he stood a little space
And thence unto a rock transported was,
Where he four days and nights did then remain
And never thought to see his friends again.

But as a Turkish ship was passing by
Some of the men the Gentleman did spy,
And took him in and as I understand,
They carried him into the Turkish Land.

And there (not knowing of his sad disaster)
They quickly did provide for him a Master,
A Surgeon or of some such like profession,
Whose service he performed with much discretion.

It séems in gathering Hearbs he had good skill,
And could the same excéeding well distil,
Which to his Master great content did give,
And pleas’d him well so long as he did live.

But he soon dyd, and at his death he gave him,
A piece of plate that so none should enslave him,
But that his liberty be might obtain,
To come into his native land again.

And thus this Gentleman his fréedom wrought;
And by a Turky Ship from thence was brought;
To Portugal, and now both safe and sound,
He is at length arrived on English ground.

Let not this séem incredible to any,
Because it is a thing afirmed by many,
This is no feigned story, though tis new,
But as tis very strange tis very true.

You sée how far a Witches power extends,
When as to wickedness her mind she bends,
Great is her Malice, yet can God restrain her,
And at his pleasure let her loose or chain her.

If God had let her work her utmost spight,
No doubt she would have kild the man outright,
But he is saved and she for all her malice,
Was very justly hang’d upon the Gallows.

Then let all praise to God alone be given,
By men on earth as by the Saints in heaven,
He by his mercy dayly doth befriend us,
And by his power he will still defend us.’

Set to tune of ‘Aim Not Too High (Fortune My Foe)’

This was transcribed on this site, which is well worth a look!

https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/execution-ballads/items/show/1216

First published 2024, republished August 2025

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Feast of St Mary & Days off in Anglo-Saxon England August 15th

Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Wikipedia)

August 15th is the date of the celebration of the Assumption of St Mary.  This is the day she went to heaven.  Opinion is divided as to whether she died and went straight to heaven. Or did she go directly to heaven without having to pass go?  The stories about the Virgin Mary were a big part of the controversy in the Reformation. Protestants did not find evidence in the Bible supporting many of the tales they had been told by the clergy.  Once they could read the Bible in their own language they were able to assess the evidence for themselves.

August 15th was taken as a day off in the Medieval oeriod.  My post is inspired by Octavia Randolph who has an excellent web site with a fine post on Anglo Saxon Slavery. You can read the post here: https://octavia.net/slavery-in-anglo-saxon-england.  But what particularly caught my attention was the excerpt from King Alfred the Great’s laws.  It lays down the law on the days off which should be given to freemen.

‘These days are to be given to all free men, but not to slaves and unfree labourers: twelve days at Christmas; and the day on which Christ overcame the devil (15 February); and the anniversary of St Gregory (12 March); and the seven days before Easter and the seven after; and one day at the feast of St Peter and St Paul (29 June); and in harvest-time the whole week before the feast of St Mary (15 August); and one day at the feast of All Saints (1 November). And the four Wednesdays in the four Ember weeks are to be given to all slaves, to sell to whomsoever they please anything of what anyone has given them in God’s name, or of what they can earn in any of their spare time.
Translated by Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge and taken from Octavia.net

That comes to 38 days by my reckoning.  In the UK 4 weeks off is a good average holiday entitlement.  If we add 8 bank holidays in England and Wales  that gives us 36 days off a year.  So 1500 years of ‘progress’ has given us minus 2 days, and a lot less in the USA!

How depressing!  Of course, most of these days off were lost during the Industrial Revolution and only clawed back by Trade Unions.

The days off are interesting, obviously Christmas and Easter. Harvest is more of a surprise in that one would expect to be working very hard bringing in the harvest.  But, maybe the 7 days off were given after it was brought in?

The individual days make sense as they are the feasts of major saints or festivals – so St Gregory’s Day – he being the Pope who ordered the mission to convert the English to Christianity in 597AD.  (See my post on St Gregory here).

Saints Peter and Pauls Day. St Mary and All Saints Day. I’m surprised there is no Candlemas or Michelmas.(More information about celebration of St Peter and St Paul in London in my post here)

Slaves holidays

Slaves seem to only have 4 days however.  These are the Wednesday in Ember Weeks.  Ember Days and Ember Weeks were Fasting Days, either named after a latin phrase for fasting or from Ymbren which is the Anglo-Saxon for circuit or revolution.  It is thought that the days were originally tied to the ‘cycle of life’ that it part of each year.  But later on became more liturgical and based on fasting.

They may have been founded in Roman roots. There only seems to be 3  in the days of the early church, rising to 4 ember weeks by the late 5th Century. They were brought to Britain by the mission of St Augustine, under Pope Gregory.  These seem to be the dates:

December the week starting after St Lucy’s Day (Dec 13th)

March between 1st and 2nd Sunday

June between Pentecost and Trinity Sunday

September 3rd Week ending at Michaelmas.

So, the poor old slaves get 4 Wednesdays off in the year!  This is presumably because the work of the household continues throughout the year, irrespective of season or festival.  Maybe they are given a day off on the fasting days because household work can be put off as everyone is fasting?

But the laws make it clear: this is the time the poor slaves can work for themselves and make a little on the side.

Do have a look at Octavia’s web site which for more on slaves in the Anglo-Saxon period.

First published in August 2025

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St Clare’s Day & the Minoresses of St. Clare August 11th

The ‘Agas’Map of 16th Century Map of London showing the Abbey of the Minoresses of St Clare with the yellow circle and St Botolphs in mauve just outside Aldgate. from the Map of Early Modern London project.

Today is the Feast day of St Clare of Assisi.  An area of the City of London, called the Minories, is still to this day named after the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. This was was founded in 1294. The Abbey was part of the Order of St Clare or the Poor Clares as they were known . A minoress was a nun from the Order of Friars Minor (aka Franciscans) .who were also known as the Minoresses of St Clare.

Fresco of Saint Clare and sisters of her order, church of San Damiano, Assisi Wikipedia

Clare Sciffi was born in Assisi to a rich family. On Palm Sunday, 20 March 1212 Clare left her house, after refusing offers of an advantageous marriage. She had been inspired by hearing St Francis the founder of the Franciscan Monks who was also from Assisi. St Francis facilitated her transfer to Benedictine Nunneries. Her sisters followed her, one renamed Agnes became an Abbess and eventually a saint in her own right. Her family tried repeatedly to take her back into secular life. Eventually, they gave in – apparently when they saw that she had cut her flowing locks off and donned a plain robe.

A small nunnery was set up for them next to the church of San Damiano. More women joined, and they became known as the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano”. They undertook to live impoverished, and secluded.

The Franciscan friars were an itinerant order where the Friars preached to the people and were supported by begging. But this was not possible for women at that time so they lived a simple life of labour and prayer.:

‘The nuns went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and observed almost complete silence.’ Wikipedia

Here is a site that gives information about the new Museum that will be established on the site of the Poor Clares. It also gives an outline history of the site.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/new-museum-to-show-archaeology-from-the-abbey-of-st-clare-70048/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

The following link explores the illustrious noble women who choose to be buried in the Minories. It shows how important the Poor Clares were considered to be. It was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539.

The Abbey of the Minoresses of St Clare without Aldgate and the Ladies of the Minories

To read about the nearby Roman Bastion at Crosswall see my post here:

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August – Octavian’s Month

The Roman month

August was originally ‘sextilis’ or the 6th Month of the ten-month Roman Calendar. It became the 8th Month when January and February were added to the calendar to make a 12 month year.  By tradition, this happened during the reign of King Numa Pompilius. Originally set as a 29-day month but changed to a 31-day month in the reforms of Julius Caesar. It was subsequently renamed August by a sycophantic Senate trying to flatter the divine Octavian, Emperor Augustus. (more of my posts about the Roman Calendar here and here)

The Celtic August

In modern Irish, it is Lúnasa, which means the month of the festival of Lughnasa. It is a harvest festival, celebrating the ripening of wheat, barley, rye, and potatoes. In Ireland, it is the festival of the God Lugh, celebrated with games, fairs, and ceremonies. Lughnasa is 6 months after Imbolc. It marks the ending of lactation of lambs and the beginning of the tupping season. (impregnation of the ewes). It can be celebrated by climbing hills, visiting springs, wells, lakes and eating bilberries. (Myths and Legends of the Celts. James MacKillop).

In Welsh, it is Awst which comes from the Latin.  Called Calan Awst in Wales, it is the festival of August. In Gaelic Scotland it is called Lunasuinn, and Laa Luanistyn in the Isle of Man.

Lughnasa is one of the Celtic quarter days,. They are halfway between the Solstices and Equinoxes. They are: Samhain (1 Nov) Imbolc (1 Feb), Beltane (1 May) and Lughnasa (1 Aug). All are, or can be seen to be, a turning point in the farming year.

The Gallic Coligny ‘Celtic’ Calendar records August as a ‘great festival month’. The stone-carved Calendar was found near Lyon, whose Roman name was Lugodunum. The town is named after the Gaulish God Lugos. It is thought he is related to the Irish God, Lugh and the Welsh Llew Llaw Gyffes. He has an unstoppable fiery spear, a sling stone, and a hound called Failinis. The Romans associate Lugos with Mercury, and the Church associated Lugh with St Michael.

Lughnasa was founded by Lugh himself to honour his foster mother Tailtiu at Brega Co. Meath. Tailtiu became one of Ireland’s greatest festivals, springing from the horse races and marital contests set up by Lugh.

Anglo Saxon August

In Anglo-Saxon: the Venerable Bede, writing in the 8th Century, says August is Wēodmōnaþ or the Weed Month. Named because of the proliferation of weeds. Why does that seem such an unsatisfactory name for August? An early Kentish source calls the month Rugern – perhaps the month of the harvest of Rye? (Winters in the World by Eleanor Parker).

Lammas

For the Anglo-Saxons, August brings in the harvest period. This is the most important months of the year. The Harvest brings in the bounty of the earth. It needs to be carefully collected, enjoyed but not wasted. It begins with the festival of Lammas, which derives from the English words for bread and mass. The Bread Mass when bread made from the first fruits of the harvest is blessed.

Kalendar of Shepherds

Kalendar of Shepherds, August
Kalendar of Shepherds, August

The 15th Century illustration in the Kalendar of Shepherds, above, shows that the Harvest is the main attribute of the Month, and the star signs, Leo and Virgo.

The 16th/17th Century text in the Kalendar of Shepherds gives an evocative insight into the month.

(For more about the Kalendar)

First Published in 2024, revised in August 2025

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St Germanus Day & Original Sin July 31st

St Germanus of Auxerre, Window in St Paul’s parish church, Morton, Lincolnshire, made by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in 1914. Photo by Jenny of Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK (CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Photo by Jenny of Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK)

St Germanus is the source of one of the few contemporary references to Britain in the 5th Century (the Dark Ages). One of his followers wrote his life story. The Saint, a Bishop in France, was sent to Britain because the Pelagian Heresy was endangering the Catholic version of Christianity. Pelagius was a highly educated British (or possibly Irish) priest who moved to Rome in the late 4th Century. He lived by a strict moral code, attacking Catholic laxity and opposing St Augustine of Hippo’s theory of Divine Grace. By contrast, Pelagius promoted human choice in salvation and denied the doctrine of original sin. Wikipedia tells us that he:

considered it an insult to God that humans could be born inherently sinful or biased towards sin, and Pelagius believed that the soul was created by God at conception, and therefore could not be imbued with sin as it was solely the product of God’s creative agency.

17th Century print of Pelagius

Germanus was sent to Britain, where he confronted Pelagian converts in a public debate which is thought to have taken place in a disused Roman amphitheatre. The author is not interested in Britain, per se, so does not tell us which town it was, but, it is mostly assumed to be St Albans, although London is possible.

In the stadium, the Saint and his acolytes confound the heretics and, so, convert the town’s people sitting watching the debate. St Germanus goes to a nearby shrine of St Alban to thank God, falls asleep in a hut, and is miraculously saved from a fire. He then comes across a man called a Tribune, and helps defeat a Saxon army in the ‘Alleluia’ victory. The importance of all this is that it gives us a few glimpses of Britain, in about 429AD, two decades after the Romans have left.

The British Bishops were led in their heresy by someone called Agricola. The writer describes these bishops as ‘conspicuous for riches, brilliant in dress and surrounded by a fawning multitude’. The use of the title ‘Tribune’ in the story suggests Roman administrative titles are still in use 19 years after the date of the ‘formal’ end of Roman Britain, 410AD. The Alleluia victory over the Saxons also gives us an early date for Saxon presence in the country as an enemy.

St Albans is the favoured choice for the location of the event because, Bede tells us St Albans was born, martyred and commemorated in Verulamium, now called St Albans. Archaeology shows possible post Roman occupation of the town. And it has a famous Amphitheatre.

However, Gildas, who is writing 200 years or more before Bede, tells us St Alban was born in Verulamium but martyred in London. This makes sense as London was the late Roman Capital and more likely to be the site of a martyrdom. There is also a church dedicated to St Albans close to the Roman Amphitheatre, where Gildas tells us the execution took place. Unfortunately, the Church cannot be, archaeologically dated back to 429AD.

Bede’s account of the martyrdom of St Albans is also somewhat farcical, as God divides the waters of the River Ver for Alban to get to his martyrdom more quickly. The bridge was said to be full of people walking to witness Alban’s execution, and blocking Alban’s path to Heaven. But the Ver is but a piddle, and it would be easy to walk across without even needing wellington boats, let along a miracle. This story is much more impressive, in Gildas’ version who has the miraculous crossing over the River Thames.

Had Pelegius won, and the Roman Church had a more optimistic view of the human spirit, would it have made any difference? It’s a big question, but maybe it would have left less room for pessimism and guilt?

Frances Marsden on Quora wrote:

What were the effects of original sin? …. it damaged our relationship with God. He seemed distant, we became mistrustful. We lost sanctifying grace. The weakening of the will, making us more prone to temptation. The darkening of the intellect. Increased vulnerability to sickness and disease. Spiritual death.

Germanus died in Ravenna.

For more on Nick Fuentes and his theories on St Germanus, St Patrick and King Arthur click here:

For St Germanus and St Genevieve click here:

First written in January 2023, copied to its own page in July 2024, and republished 2025

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Stone of Destiny Attacked with a Hammer at Perth Museum July 13th 2025

Screenshot of BBC Webpage annoucing the attack on the Stone of Destiny

I just tried to book a visit to see the Stone of Destiny, at Perth Museum. But I was told it was closed until at least the end of August. The reason being that a case had been damaged. A quick search revealed this notice that an Australian had attacked the case containing the Stone with a hammer. They are now repairing the Case, and double checking the condition of the stone, which is thought to be undamaged. The Stone is well protected in a special room of the Museum. But, until now, those booking to see it are not searched. So I imagine that this will become more formal in future.

Below is my post of 2024, updated on March 30th 2025.

New Home for the Stone of Destiny

Old Photograph of the Stone of Destiny beneath the Coronation Chair.
Old Photograph of the Stone of Destiny beneath the Coronation Chair.

Last year, the Stone of Destiny was set up in its new permanent place. The Stone was unveiled in a room at the centre of the redeveloped Perth Museum, in Scotland. This is near to its ‘original’ home at the Palace of Scone.

The Museums Association reported:

‘£27m development project ….funded by £10m UK government investment from the £700m Tay Cities Deal and by Perth & Kinross Council, the museum is a transformation of Perth’s former city hall by architects Mecanoo.’

As well as the Stone of Destiny, the Museum has Bonnie Prince Charlie’s sword and a rare Jacobite wine glass. Both on public display for the first time. This is the first time the sword has been in Scotland since it was made in Perth in 1739. https://perthmuseum.co.uk/the-stone-of-destiny/. Since I first wrote this I have visited about 5 times. Entry is free but needs to be booked. It is held in a separate structure in the open space at the heart of the Perth Museum. There is an excellent-animated introduction, and then the doors open and the Stone is revealed in a glass cabinet. It is very effective.

Webpage of the Perth Museum show a photo of the Stone of Destiny
Webpage of the Perth Museum show a photo of the Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Destiny in the Modern Era

Before Perth, the Stone was in London for a brief visit for the Coronation of King Charles III (6 May 2023) . It was put back, temporarily under the Coronation Chair. Before that it was on display in Edinburgh Castle. Tony Blair’s Labour Government sent it back to Scotland as a symbol of the devolution of power from Westminster. This was on the occasion of the restoration of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in November 1996. Until then the Stone was under the Coronation Chair, where Edward I put it after he stole it (1296) from Scone. Virtually every English and British King has been crowned upon the Stone of Scone.

However, the Stone had a brief holiday in Scotland in 1950/51.  Four Scottish students removed it from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950. After three months, it turned up at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey. It was briefly in a Prison Cell, then returned to Westminster for the Coronation of Elizabeth II.

Poor photograph of a press cutting on display at the Palace of Scone (Photo by me!)
Poor photograph of a press cutting on display at the Palace of Scone (Photo by me!)

Declaration of Arbroath

I’m guessing the-would-be liberators of the Stone, thought Arbroath was the most suitable place to return it. For it was the Declaration of Arbroath which is the supreme declaration of Scottish Independence from England.

Following the Battle of Bannockburn the Scots wrote to the Pope of their commitment to Scotland as an independent nation. They said:

“As long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself”

The Pope agreed and Scotland remained independent until voluntarily joining England in the United Kingdom in 1707.

For an analysis of the Stone of Scone please look at my post here.

The Stone of Destiny at Scone Palace

Before Edward 1 stole the Stone, it was at Scone Palace. Here most of the Kings of Scotland were crowned, including Macbeth (August 14, 1040).

Moot or Boot Hill where Scottish Kings were crowned. Palace of Scone Photo Kevin Flude)
Moot or Boot Hill where Scottish Kings were crowned. Palace of Scone Photo Kevin Flude)

Those who attended the coronation traditionally shook their feet of all the earth they had brought from their homelands.  This over the centuries, grew into Boot Hill, aka Moot Hill. So the mound represents the sacred land of Scotland. 42 Kings were crowned upon its soil on its Stone. (but not Mary Queen of Scots she and her son were crowned at the Chapel Royal of Stirling Castle).

Where was the Stone of Destiny before Scone?

Before Scone, it was, possibly, in Argyllshire where the Gaelic Kings were crowned. Their most famous King was Kenneth MacAlpin. He united the Scots, Gaelic people originally from Ireland, the Picts, and the British. And created a new Kingdom which was originally called Alba, but became Scotland.

MacAlpin was the first king to be crowned on the Stone at Scone in 841 or so. He made Scone the capital of his new Kingdom because it was a famous Monastery, associated with the Culdees, an early sect of monks. MacAlpin brought sacred relics from Iona to sanctify the new capital. And Scottish Kings were by tradition crowned at Scone and buried on the holy Island of Iona.

Legend has it that the Scots bought the Stone from Ireland when they began to settle in Western Scotland (c500AD). The Scots, it is said, got the Stone from the Holy Land. Jacob lay his head on the stone to sleep. He had a dream of Angels ascending and descending a ladder to Heaven. Jacob used the stone as a memorial, which was called Jacob’s Pillow (c1652 years BC).

Fake, Copy or Genuine?

But, questions about the Stone remain. Firstly, would the Monks of the Abbey meekly hand over the stone to a raging King Edward I?  Sacking the Abbey was one of the last events of Edward’s failed attempt to unite the two countries. Isn’t it more likely that they hide the original and gave him a fake?

Secondly, was the Stone brought to Scone from Western Scotland in the 9th Century? Or was it made in  Scone?

These questions of doubt are based on the assumption that the Stone is made of the local Scone sandstone. If it were brought to Scone from somewhere else, it would be in a different type of stone, surely? So, either it was made in Scone, possibly for MacAlpin’s Coronation or the Monks fooled the English into taking a copy. The English would then have been crowning their Monarchs on a forgery.

Ha! Silly English but then the Scots have spent £27m on the same forgery.

Before bringing the stone to Scone, Historic Environment Scotland undertook a new analysis  of the stone. This confirmed:

‘the Stone as being indistinguishable from sandstones of the Scone Sandstone Formation, which outcrop in the area around Scone Palace, near Perth‘.

It also found that different stone workers had worked on the stone in the past. It bore traces of a plaster cast being made. It had markings which have not yet been deciphered. There was copper staining suggesting something copper or bronze was put on the top of it at some point in its life.

So it seems the Stone of Destiny was made in Scone. The simplest explanation is that it was made for MacAlpin in the 9th Century. But it does not rule out that it is a copy given to Edward I. But if this is the case it is still an awesome relic of history as so many Kings and Queens, Scottish and English, have been crowned upon it.

For more about MacBeth and St Margaret of Scotland see my post here:

 

First published in 2024, republished in 2025

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Eels, Pies, Islands, the deep Sargasso Sea & Rock and Roll July 23rd

Photo by Natalia Gusakova on Unsplash
Photo by Natalia Gusakova on Unsplash, Eels

Summer is the best time to fish for Eels. Mid May to the end of July. But they can be caught all year around. Jellied Eels have been a staple of East End diets since the 18th Century. They were to be found in many stalls dotted around the East End, from vendors venturing into pubs and in Pie and Mash shops. Tubby Isaacs is perhaps, the most famous. Jellied eels are still sold in a diminishing number of places in the East End. Manze’s Eel, Pie, and Mash shop at 204 Deptford High Street, London was listed in December 2023. The shop opened in 1914 and was a pioneer of commercial branding. This is the fourth Manze’s shop to be listed: Tower Bridge Street, Chapel Market Islington, and Walthamstow High street. The current owner of the Deptford shop is retiring and so the shop will close.

There are three Pie and Mash shops near me in Hackney. The one in Dalston has become a bar. In Broadway Market it is now an optician. But the one in Hoxton Market is surviving, and all three have retained their distinctive interiors. On the River Lee Navigation is another piece of Eel history which is the excellent Fish and Eel Pub at Dobbs Weir.

Pie and Mash Shop. Established 1862, closed down 2021. Broadway Market, Hackney (photo, copyright the author)

My mum loved jellied eels. It took me until I was over 60 before I could bring myself to try them. And I have no wish to repeat, what for me, was a revolting experience.

By JanesDaddy (Ensglish User) - English Wikipedia - [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1663124
By JanesDaddy (Ensglish User) – English Wikipedia – [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1663124

Gervase Markham in his ‘The English Husbandman’ of 1635 provides instructions on how:

To take Eels in Winter, Make a long bottle or tube of Hay, wrapped about Willow boughs, and having guts or garbage in the middles. Which being soaked in the deep water by the river side, after two or three days the eels will be in it and you may tread them out with your feet.

And here is a fascinating article on Eel fishing.

Eel traps at Bray, on the River Thames (Henry Taught 1885)

Romans, Saxons and Eels

Eels have been eaten for thousands of years. Apicius, author of a famous collection of Roman Recipes tells us of two sauces for eels:

Sauce for Eel Ius in anguillam

Eel will be made more palatable by a sauce which has​ pepper, celery seed, lovage,​ anise, Syrian sumach,​ figdate wine,​ honey, vinegar, broth, oil, mustard, reduced must.

Another Sauce for Eel Aliter ius in anguillam

Pepper, lovage, Syrian sumach, dry mint, rue berries, hard yolks, mead, vinegar, broth, oil; cook it.

Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, which tells of Britain as a land with “the greatest plenty of eel and fish.” Several fish traps have been found in and around the Thames, one for example in Chelsea.

Aristotle, Freud and the Deep Sargasso Sea

But eels had a great mystery no one knew where they came from or how they reproduced. Aristotle thought they spontaneously emerged from the mud. Sigmund Freud dissected hundreds of Eels, hoping to find male sex organs. It was only on 19th October 2022 that an article in the science journal Nature disclosed the truth. The article was ‘First direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea‘. Ir proved beyond doubt that the theory that Eels go to the sea near Bermuda to spawn was, incredibly, true.

Eel Pie Island

Eel Pie Island . Ordnance Survey In 1871 to 1882 map series (OS, 1st series at 1:10560: Surrey (Wikipedia)

But Eels also have their place in Rock and Roll History. Eel Pie island is on the Thames, near Twickenham and Richmond. It is famous for its Eels. But was home to an iconic music venue. The Eel Pie Hotel hosted most of the great English Bands of the 50s. 60s, and 70s. The roll call of bands here is awesome. The Stones, Cream, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, you name it, they were here:

David Bowie, Jeff Beck, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree. Buddy Guy, Geno Washington, Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Ten Years After, Chicken Shack, and one of my all-time favourite bands. the Savoy Brown Blues Band. And I have forgotten the Nice, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker, and the Who. And many more!

The Rolling Stones played at the Railway Tavern, Richmond on Sunday, February 24, 1963. Here they were spotted by people from the nearby Eel Pie Hotel. They were booked for a 6 month residency, which they began as virtually unknown and ended as famous.

Here is a recipe for Baked Eel pie from Richmond, near the famous Eel Pie Island.

This was first published as part of another post in 2022, and revised and republished on 28th November 2023, 2024.Moved from November 28th to July 23rd in 2025

(I moved it to make room for a post on Mrs Shakespeare. Also, because I cannot find anything to substantiate the opening statement that the Eel Season had its second day on November 28th. All evidence I find says the best fishing is in the Summer.

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Swan Upping July 16th

Swan Upping By Philip Allfrey Abingdon 2006 – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2464315. The Royal Uppers are to the right and the Vintners’ Uppers on the left.

Swan upping takes place on the 3rd Week of July. It is an annual census of the Swans on the River Thames. This year it began on Monday, July 14th. It began in the 12th Century.

In theory, the King has the ownership of all unmarked Mute Swans on open water in the UK. Swan Upping is an ancient ceremony during which Swans are upped, checked for health and ringed if they do not belong to the King. In fact, it is the Cygnets which are upped. They are checked for weight and health. Their parents are checked for an ownership ring. If the parents are ringed then the young cygnets will be ringed accordingly. If the parents are not ringed, then they belong to the King and remain unringed.

This ceremony now only takes place on the Thames. It begins at Sunbury and progresses to Abingdon. The Swan Uppers have traditional wooden rowing skiffs and a scarlet Upping Shirt. They are managed by the Swan Marker. The Royal Uppers are accompanied by Swan Uppers from the two City Livery Companies that still have rights to ownership of Thames Mute Swans. These companies are the Dyers Company and the Vintners Company.

If you want to catch Swan Upping this year you will find them upping Swans at the following places:

Thursday 17th July 2025 
Sonning-on-Thames 09.00 – Departure point 
Caversham Lock 10.15 
Mapledurham Lock 12.30 
Goring Lock 17.00 
Moulsford 18.00 
  
Friday 18th July 2025 
Moulsford 09.00 – Departure point 
Benson Lock 10.00 
Clifton Hampden Bridge 13.00 
Culham Lock 16.15 
Abingdon Bridge 17.00 

King Charles is Seigneur of the Swans and you can find more details at https://www.royalswan.co.uk

Swans moult in July and August, and this renders them flightless. This can last for a period of up to 6 weeks. So it makes them a lot easier to up!

The Swannery at Abbotsbury

Now I didn’t find that fact on any of the web sites I consulted about Swan Upping. For many years I gave a wonderful programme called Literary Landscapes where we explored lanscapes associated with Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Agatha Christie, Conan-Doyle and Charles Dickens. On it, we went to the Swannery at Abbotsbury in Dorset. This was founded by Benedictine Monks in the time of King Cnut. The Strangeways family acquired the Monastery after the Dissolution and still own the Swannery. So they are the fourth authority in the UK who own Swans.

It is a remarkable place, in the heart of Hardy’s Wessex and by the glorious Chesil Beach. Every other year, the Mute Swans are checked and ringed during the flightless period. When Pavlova was working on Swan Lake, she took the dancers to Abbotsbury to observe the behaviour of the Swans.

Photo by the author of a panel at Abbotsbury showing Pavlova’s dancers posing by the Swans of Abbotsbury

Feathers are collected during the moulting season. They are used by Lloyds Registry, the Society of Calligraphers, illuminators, and other scribes for writing-quills. Other feathers are used by the Plummery to make headdresses for the Royal Bodyguard. They are also used for artists’ brushes, brushes for sweeping bees from honeycomb and arrow flights! (Source: panel at Abbotsbury).

Ringing the Swans at Abbotsbury 2018 Photo by Kevin Flude

Cartmarking is taking place On Saturday at the Guildhall in London 19th July. For more details of the historic vehicle events: https://thecarmen.co.uk/history/cart-marking/

Created July 16th 2025

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Forecasting the Harvest & the Downfall of the Mayor of Casterbridge. St Swithun’s Day July 15th

Harvest on St Swithun’s Day Photo by David Becker on Unsplash

St. Swithun’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithun’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain nae mare

It’s not just important for the farmer but, even more, for the corn factor, to get the weather right for harvest. So, this bit of weather lore, repeated every year in the media could be important. But the BBC tells us that, since records have been kept (1841) there has been no period of 40 days rain after St Swithuns Day. However, there is some suggestion of a period of stable weather from mid july to the end of August. But, generally, a lot of old nonsense.

St. Swithun was Bishop of Winchester from his consecration on 30 October 852 until his death on 2 July. And very little else is known about him. However, he is the patron Saint of Winchester, and has powers against Drought.

Weather Forecasting and Thomas Hardy

The price of corn is very dependent upon the weather. Michael Henchard in Thomas Hardy’s 1886 novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ has formed a terrible rivalry with his erstwhile friend Donald Fafrae.  He is determined to outdo him in the Casterbridge Cornmarket. He has a hunch about the weather and the price of corn, but needs reassurances. So despite his doubts about the efficacy of prophecy he goes to see ‘a man of curious repute as a forecaster or weather-prophet.’ Henchard is shrouded to protect his identify. He will not stay to take hospitality from the prophet, nor cross the threshold. He masks his face with a handkerchief, as if suffering from a toothache.

However, the prophet knows this strange man is the former Mayor of Casterbridge, much to Henchard’s surprise. Henchard quizzes him. ‘can ye charm away warts?’ ‘Cure the evil?’ ‘Forecast the weather?’ Replying in the affirmative the cunning man takes Henchard’s crown piece and forecasts:

“By the sun, moon, and stars, by the clouds, the winds, the trees, and grass, the candle-flame and swallows, the smell of the herbs; likewise by the cats eyes, the ravens, the leeches, the spiders, and the dungmixen, the last fortnight in August will be – rain and tempest.’ ‘Twill be more like living in Revelations this autumn that in England.’

Henchard buys up grain at the current high price. But is ruined by the fine weather that sets in for an excellent harvest which sends corn prices tumbling.

The Withered Arm

Local folklore was at the heart of many of Hardy’s stories. Perhaps the most dramatic is the ‘Withered Arm’. Gertrude has a withered arm wished upon her by the former lover of her husband, with whom she has an illegitimate boy.

Years pass, and she is still determined to cure her arm. She visits a Casterbridge Cunning Man. He tells her the only cure is to touch the neck of a recently hanged man. So she goes to Casterbridge on a Hanging Day. She makes arrangements with the hangman. Then she touches the neck of the hanged man. There follows an immediate cure. She cannot resist looking at the victim. A young man she recognises as the illegitimate son of her husband.

I first read these stories one after another at a time I was going through a painful period in my life. I remember throwing the ‘Withered Arm’ at the wall shouting ‘Oh Thomas Hardy’ you miserable man.’ It took me twenty years to come back to him, to appreciate his amazing descriptions of life in rural Wessex. The cast of characters struggling to make a place for themselves in a world that was changing beyond all recognition.

For more about Thomas Hardy search the Almanac of the Past for Thomas Hardy, or look at the Skimmity Ride.

On this day

1381 John Ball executed in St Alabans

First Published in 2022, revised July 2024, 2025

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Twin, Twins – Festival of Castor and Pollux July 15th

The Ashwini kumaras twins, sons of the sun god Surya. Vedic gods representing the brightness of sunrise and sunset Wikipedia

The Divine Twins, aka the Dioscuri, were horsemen. Patrons of calvary, athletes and sailors, one of many Indo-European twin gods.   They had many adventures including sailing with Jason and the Argonauts.

And are they well connected?! Pollux is the son of Zeus  His twin brother has a different and mortal father, the King of Sparta.  But the boys share the same mother, Leda.  She was raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan.

This makes them examples of heteropaternal superfecundation as Mary Poppins didn’t sing.  But their different paternity had consequences. The most important is that one was (is?) therefore immortal and the other wasn’t. 

According to some version of the story, Castor (the mortal one) was mortally wounded. Zeus gave Pollux the option of letting his brother die while Pollux could spend eternity on Mount Olympus. The alternative was to share his immortality with his brother. Pollux did the good thing. So the twins spend half their year as the Constellation of Gemini and the rest, immortal, on Mount Olympus.  Thus, they are the epitome of brotherly love.

Divine Twins or Sisters from Hell?

The Dioscuri’s sisters were no less than Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Never mind the Brothers, what Sisters! Helen of Troy you know. And Clytemnestra! They were also twins, Helen the divine daughter of Zeus, husband of Menelaus, lover of Paris. Sister, Clytemnestra, mortal daughter of the King of Sparta, husband of Agamemnon (brother of Menelaus).

It happened like this.  The Swan was being pursued by an eagle, so Leda protected the Swan and took it to bed.  On the same night she slept with her husband Tyndareus of Sparta. Two eggs were fertilised, each split in two to give two sets of twins.

Leda and the Swan, 16th-century copy after the lost painting by Michelangelo

Clytemnestra

She was the wife of Agamemnon, the arrogant leader of the Greeks.  On the way to retrieve Helen from Troy, the Greek Fleet was becalmed. So, following his seers’ advice, Agamemnon sacrificed his own daughter, Iphigenia, on the island of Aulis.  The Gods then set the winds fair to Troy. (Read Iphigenia at Aulis by Aeschylus, a great play which I studied in Classical Studies at University).

Meanwhile, Queen Clytemnestra, abandoned at home, broods on her husband’s heartless fillicide. She takes a lover. After 10 years of war, Agamemnon comes back, in triumph, from the destruction of Troy. He brings with him his prize, the Trojan Princess, Cassandra, sister of Hector.

Cassandra has been gifted with the ability of accurate prophecy. But, as often in the case of prophecy stories, the gift came with a sting in its tale. She was also cursed with the inability to get anyone to believe her!  She prophesies disaster and that she too will be a victim.

Strutting with arrogance, Agamemnon demands Clytemnestra prepare him a bath. And, so she runs it for him, and she gives him the hottest bath possible. With the help of her lover, she hacks Agamemnon to pieces with an axe. Cassandra is butchered.

painting of Clytemnestra after she has slaughtered her husband Agamemnon _by_John_Collier,_1882 (Wikipedia Guildhall Museum)
Clytemnestra by John Collier,_1882 (Wikipedia Guildhall Museum)

Attitudes

I visit John Collier’s painting of Clytemnestra at the Guildhall, in London, regularly. I am fascinated by her grim, yet satisfied, expression.

In the 18th/19th Century, rich people were into ‘attitudes’.  For example, Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, would be invited to present an attitude in front of a dinner party of mostly male aristocrats.  She would dress up in a flowing, revealing unstructured classical gown.  Then she would stand on a table or pedestal, and present herself as Helen or Andromache or any other classical beauty guests might fancy an eyeful of.  She would assume an appropriate facial expression and posture for everyone’s pleasure. 

Detail of Emma Hart modelling as Iphigenia by George Romney in ‘Cimon and Iphigenia’

Being Clytemnestra is, surely, the most difficult? I imagine Collier’s model being prompted to look both sad at the loss of the daughter. Outraged at the arrogance of the husband. Horrified at the gore of the murder. But, overall, she has to portray a grim satisfaction that the bastard got exactly what he deserved.

Dorothy Dene

Lord Leighton had a famous model who was exceptionally skilled at adopting poses for his paintings. He determined to help her with an acting career. As part of the plan he helped improve her cockney accent. It is said this inspired Bernard Shaw’s story Pygmalion, which, in turn, inspired My Fair Lady and Eliza Doolittle. 

Leighton’s model was Dorothy Dene.  She became a famous actress, outstripping the fame of Ellen Terry and Lily Langtry. For more on Leighton and Dene look at my post here.

John Collier

Before we finish, do have a look at John Collier’s Wikipedia because he is the most ridiculously well-connected painter you can imagine! Related to half the Cabinet and married to TWO daughters of Darwin’s Bulldog, T.H. Huxley (grandfather of Aldous Huxley).

For more on Flaming June see my blog post of 12 July 2024

European Twin Gods

It is suggested that twin male gods are a feature of Indo-European religions. The divine Twins are associated with horses/chariots and are responsible for moving the Sun and the Moon. Their use of a horse above the water means that they can rescue people lost at sea.  

St Elmo’s fire was said to be the way they manifested their divinity to sailors.   Diodorus Siculus records that the Twins were Argonauts with Heracles, Telamon, and Orpheus. Further, he tells us, in the fourth book of Bibliotheca historica, that the Celts who dwelt along the ocean worshipped the Dioscuroi “more than the other gods”.

First written in 2023 updated in July 24 and 25