26 chapters
5 hour read
Selected Chapters
26 chapters
LEGENDS of LONGDENDALE
LEGENDS of LONGDENDALE
Being a Series of Tales Founded upon the Folk-lore of Longdendale Valley and its Neighbourhood. BY THOMAS MIDDLETON, Author of “Annals of Hyde,” “Old Godley,” etc., etc. Hyde Fred Higham, Printer and Bookbinder, “Cheshire Post” Office, Clarendon Press. mcmvi....
59 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
List of Subscribers.
List of Subscribers.
The Author desires to gratefully acknowledge the kindness and encouragement that he has received from the Ladies and Gentlemen whose names appear in the following list. It is in great measure owing to their assistance that the present effort to preserve in book form the Legends and Traditions of Longdendale has been successful. Andrew, J. D., Esq., Longdendale, Oswestry. Andrew, W. J., Esq., F.S.A., Cadster, Whaley Bridge. Ashton, Mrs. Thomas, 37, Princess Gardens, London, S.W. (4 copies). Ashto
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
H ITHERTO , the Legends of Longdendale—although popular with the country people of the extreme north-east corner of Cheshire—have been scattered, and, to some extent, fragmentary. They are here re-told in what, I hope, is a more permanent and complete form. As far as possible I have carefully followed the original versions; but in one or two instances, it has been necessary to draw upon imagination. I have, therefore, introduced several characters and incidents for the purpose of giving local co
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
I. The Legend of Coombs Rocks.
I. The Legend of Coombs Rocks.
F OR some time after the invasion of Britain by Julius Cæsar (55 B.C.) no proper steps were taken by the Romans to reduce to submission the northern portion of the island. The civil war in Rome, which resulted in the establishment of a monarchy under Augustus, prevented the Romans from making further attempts upon Britain, for Augustus was unwilling to endanger the empire by extending its limits. At length, however, the Emperor Claudius, remembering the island, sent over an army which carried th
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
II. The Legend of Alman’s Death.
II. The Legend of Alman’s Death.
A TALE OF MELANDRA CASTLE. W HEN the Roman general, Julius Agricola completed the subjugation of the Britons, he began to prepare for a permanent occupation of the country by erecting a series of strong military stations or forts throughout the entire kingdom. A number of these fortresses were built in Cheshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire, and among the rest was Melandra Castle, erected on the banks of the river Etherow, in what is now known as the township of Gamesley. This fort was established
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
III. King Arthur’s Adventure.
III. King Arthur’s Adventure.
A RTHUR , son of Uthyr, Pendragon of Great Britain, organised that high order of Christian chivalry, commonly known as the knighthood of the Round Table. The companions of this Order bound themselves by oath to oppose the progress of paganism, to be loyal to the British throne, to fight—not for self-glory, but for the redressing of human wrong, to protect the defenceless, to show mercy to the fallen, to honour womanhood, and never to turn their backs upon a foe in battle. It is said that God rai
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IV. The Legend of War Hill.
IV. The Legend of War Hill.
I T was early autumn of the year 1138, and the Valley of Longdendale was a vast tract of desolation. True, the trees were still decked with verdure, and the mellow tint of autumn clothed nature with a lovely garb. The streams still murmured with silvery splashes as they wandered through the woodland, and the birds warbled among the branches. In all this the valley was as of old—lovely, radiant, fair. But the song of the reaper was never heard; the fields were tangled and untilled, the instrument
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
V. Sir Ro of Staley Hall.
V. Sir Ro of Staley Hall.
T HERE was a noble gathering in the great banqueting room of Staley Hall, on that memorable morning when Sir Ro or Ralph de Stavelegh entertained his guests for the last time ere he set sail for the Holy Land. The message of war had been sent through all merrie England, and many of the Cheshire knights were leaving their homes, their wide and pleasant meadows, and their dear wives and children, to engage in the stern conflict of the great Crusade. Sir Ro, of Staley, was one of the first to offer
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VI. Robin Hood’s Visit to Longdendale.
VI. Robin Hood’s Visit to Longdendale.
R OBIN HOOD , the greatest bowman that old England ever knew, frequently visited Longdendale. Probably the “thick woods of Longden,” with their wealth of wild red deer, induced him to lead his band from the haunts of merrie Sherwood to the no less merrie land of Longdendale. Old traditions tell of a “mighty forest in Longdendale, whose trees were so thick that the squirrels could leap from branch to branch from Mottram to Woodhead.” Such a country might well attract a lover of the free forest li
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VII. The Abbot of Basingwerke
VII. The Abbot of Basingwerke
Or THE WEHR-WOLF OF LONGDENDALE. G LOSSOP , which in the Doomsday survey was reckoned as part of Longdendale, was granted by William the Conqueror to his natural son, William Peveril—Peveril of the Peak,—whose descendant was disinherited by Henry II. for procuring the death of the Earl of Chester by poison, when the township reverted to the Crown. King Henry, however, being on a military expedition to North Wales, became acquainted with the monks of Basingwerke, and in return for their friendshi
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
VIII. The Devil’s Elbow.
VIII. The Devil’s Elbow.
T HE traveller through the valley of the Etherow is invariably impressed with the wild grandeur of the scenery, and in nine cases out of ten his attention is especially claimed by the bold rock escarpment known as “The Devil’s Elbow,” which frowns high over the course of the stream. The situation of the rock is certainly romantic: the wild moorlands of bog and heather stretch away on either side, in fact the rock stands on the verge of some of the wildest mountain scenery of Great Britain. The v
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IX. The Legend of Charlesworth Chapel.
IX. The Legend of Charlesworth Chapel.
A N old chapel at Charlesworth is said to have owed its foundation to the circumstances narrated in the following tradition. Once upon a time—it is impossible to say exactly when, because, unfortunately, the records as to date have been lost, but it was certainly in that halcyon period of English history which is generally spoken of as “the olden time”—a traveller was on his way from the northern parts of England to London. Here again the chronicles are slightly obscure, because there is no ment
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
X. Sir Edmund Shaa.
X. Sir Edmund Shaa.
I N the reign of King Henry VI. there dwelt in Longdendale a youth who bore the name of Edmund Shaa. It is claimed by some that he was a native of Longdendale, but other authorities assert that he was born in the parish of Stockport. Certain it is that he was connected with the parish of Stockport, and also with that of Mottram—a connection which he maintained up to the close of his life. Moreover, the Shaas were among the earliest of the inhabitants of Mottram of whom we have reliable record, a
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XI. Lord Lovel’s Fate.
XI. Lord Lovel’s Fate.
T HE Lovel family came into possession of the township of Mottram at an early period. In the time of Edward III. Sir John Lovel held the lordship of Longdendale from the King (as Earl of Chester) by military service. Sir John was a warrior of great bravery and fame. He served through the French wars, and in 1368 is mentioned as a leader under the Duke of Clarence. Most of the Lovels figure in history, and Francis, Lord Viscount Lovel, was a great favourite with Richard III. He was the King’s chi
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XII. The Raiders from the Border-Side.
XII. The Raiders from the Border-Side.
T HERE was once a time when it was considered the height of fashionable conduct for the Scotch who lived upon the border, to dash into the Northern Counties of England, put the men they met with to the sword, burn their homesteads and stores, and carry off the women and cattle. It is quite true that the English, on their part, considered it fit and proper to cross the Scottish border, to raid the lands, and carry off women and cattle from the lower shires of “Bonnie Scotland;” and so on the scor
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIII. The Legend of Gallow’s Clough.
XIII. The Legend of Gallow’s Clough.
N EAR Mottram, on the verge of the moors, overlooking what is now the high road to Stalybridge, is a spot known as Gallow’s Clough, which, as its name implies, was in feudal times the scene of the Gibbeting of malefactors. Here in the good old days, was reared the gallows, whereon the criminal was first “hanged by the neck until he was dead,” and from which his body was afterwards suspended in chains, until the weather and the birds between them had picked the flesh away, and nothing remained bu
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIV. The King’s Evil
XIV. The King’s Evil
Or THE WONDERFUL CURE OF THE MOTTRAM PARSON. T HERE was a certain John Hyde appointed Vicar of Mottram in the year 1575, who continued to hold the sacred office for over 50 years. He succeeded his father, Sir Nicholas Hyde (the Vicar of Mottram from 1547 to 1575) who was buried in the Chancel of Mottram Church on the 24th day of April, 1575. John Hyde married at Mottram on February 26th, 1575-6, Alice Reddich, of Mottram, by whom he had several children: and after her death on March 21st, 1593-4
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XV. The Magic Book.
XV. The Magic Book.
T HERE is a spot prettily situated near the town of Glossop, known as Mossey Lea. It is notable as having been the home of a great magician, who dwelt there in the olden time, and who was renowned far and wide. He was, perhaps, the most learned and powerful of all magicians who have lived since the days of Merlin, but unfortunately his name has been forgotten. Such is fame. So renowned was he in his own day, however, that pupils came to him, not only from all parts of England, but even from acro
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVI. The Parson’s Wife,
XVI. The Parson’s Wife,
I N olden time Providence often punished the sins of men and women in some remarkable fashion. The divine retribution often followed swiftly upon the violation of the sacred rules of life. We frequently read of profane men and women whose blasphemy has been instantly followed by some paralytic seizure, or who, when guilty, and protesting their innocence have called down heaven’s vengeance on their heads if they were not even then stating the truth, have been at once rendered lifeless by some str
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVII. The Devil and the Doctor.
XVII. The Devil and the Doctor.
L ONGDENDALE has always been noted for the number of its inhabitants devoted to the study of magic arts. Once upon a time, or to give it in the words of an unpublished rhyme (which are quite as indefinite)— and then the rhyme goes on to describe the hero of the legend— Coming down to ordinary prose, it will suffice to say that the doctor referred to was a most devoted student of magic, or, as he preferred to put it—“a keen searcher after knowledge”—a local Dr. Faustus in fact. Having tried every
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XVIII. The Writing on the Window Pane.
XVIII. The Writing on the Window Pane.
I T was an evening in the glad month of June, of the year 1644, and the children of Longdendale were playing games on the smooth green plots before the cottage doors. At one spot not far distant from the site of the old Roman station, Melandra Castle, a group of merry little ones, lads and lassies, were swinging round hand in hand, their sweet young voices chanting an old-time rhyme. Suddenly there was a shrill cry from one of the girls, and following the direction of her gaze, the children behe
13 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XIX. A Legend of the Civil War.
XIX. A Legend of the Civil War.
I N the year 1644 the town of Stockport became the scene of some exciting incidents in the great struggle then waging between the King and his Parliament. From ancient days, Stockport had been accounted a place of military importance, commanding, as it did, the passage of the river Mersey. When the Romans took possession of the county, they established a strong fortified camp upon a site near the modern market place. The Norman lords of Stockport reared a castle upon the same site, and from that
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XX. A Tale of the ’45.
XX. A Tale of the ’45.
T HE year 1745 was a noteworthy year in the annals of Longdendale. In that year the valley was roused to excitement by the doings of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the young Pretender, who, at the head of a large army, marched through Manchester and Stockport on his road to Derby. Many of the male portion of the inhabitants of Longdendale walked into either Manchester or Stockport to see the army pass, and to catch a glimpse of the romantic figure which might one day sit upon the throne of Englan
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXI. The Haunted Farm.
XXI. The Haunted Farm.
I N the township of Godley, on the fringe of what was formerly an unenclosed common known as Godley Green, stands an old farm, stone-built, of picturesque appearance. It is pleasantly situated a short distance from the turnpike road, from which it is approached by a country lane. Its windows command some beautiful views over the farm lands of Matley and Hattersley, which stretch away eastwards with many a clough and dingle, to the bleak hill country where the old church of Mottram stands out dar
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXII. The Spectre Hound.
XXII. The Spectre Hound.
U NTIL the latter half of the nineteenth century there might have been numbered among the curious old buildings for which the township of Godley has long been famed, a low, old-world farmstead of the style that is now fast fading away. It was a small, picturesque building, and stood upon a portion of Godley Green, surrounded by a prettily laid-out cottage garden. Its occupants combined farming with other pursuits, and in one part of the building handloom weaving was carried on to a comparatively
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
XXIII. The Boggart of Godley Green.
XXIII. The Boggart of Godley Green.
I T would, perhaps, be difficult to find in all England a tract of country of which so many wild stories of ghosts and boggarts are told as the old common land of Godley Green, and the picturesque cloughs and dingles which surround it. Some interesting old farmsteads still stand on and near the “Green,” and there were in former times others still more quaint, which have disappeared before the march of time. Concerning most of these homesteads, ghost tales are told; indeed, one old native of Godl
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter