Summary
Summary of Lancashire Folk-lore
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Ordinary beliefs deserve a record
John Harland and Thomas Turner Wilkinson wanted to save the beliefs and customs of Lancashire before change swept them away. Harland, a Manchester journalist and antiquary, and Wilkinson, a Burnley scholar, shared a love of local lore.
Their collection brings together witches, ghosts, household spirits, healing charms, holy wells and yearly customs. Drawing on printed sources and stories heard from local people, they also preserve the county's dialect. The result keeps ordinary people's voices close to the beliefs they describe.
Key idea 2
Change gives collecting its urgency
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Key idea 3
Witchcraft joins history to everyday fear
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Key idea 4
Unseen neighbours inhabit familiar places
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Key idea 5
Healing customs give danger an order
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Key idea 6
Festivals weave belief into working life
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Key idea 7
Landmarks give local legends a home
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Key idea 8
Place holds belief and memory together
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love local history, ghost stories, old customs and the roots of English folk belief. Writers and researchers will also find material in its local legends and traditions.
What this book is
Lancashire Folk-lore was put together by two Lancashire men, John Harland and Thomas Turner Wilkinson, and printed in 1867. Harland was a Manchester journalist and antiquary. Wilkinson was a Burnley scholar with the same love of local lore. Their aim was simple. They wanted to write down the beliefs and customs of ordinary people in the county before change swept them away.
The book gathers many kinds of material. You meet witches and wizards, ghosts and household spirits, charms against illness, holy wells, and the yearly customs that marked the calendar. It draws on older printed sources and on stories the authors heard from local people. It also keeps the voice of the county in mind, and the old dialect often appears. In the next few minutes you will hear how the book is arranged and what it holds. We begin with the world of witches and wizards, where the county's best-known stories begin.
In this summary
- 1Collecting a county's beliefs before they vanishFree
- 2Witches and wizards haunt the hill country
- 3Boggarts, fairies and ghosts share the house
- 4Charms, cures and holy wells served the sick
- 5The year was marked by custom and festival
- 6Local legends fix history to the land
Key point 1 of 6
Collecting a county's beliefs before they vanish
In the middle of the nineteenth century, railways, factories and schools were changing life in Lancashire fast. Many writers feared that old tales and customs would disappear with the older generation. Harland and Wilkinson answered by gathering what they could and setting it down in print.
Their method is that of antiquarians. They combine local tradition with earlier books, parish records and the accounts of friends. Some chapters are plain descriptions of what people did. Others are stories told as local people told them. The authors often name the township or hall where a belief was held, which gives the pages a strong sense of place.
John Harland was already known for editing collections of Lancashire songs, ballads and local records. That background matters. He knew the county's printed history well, and he cared about its dialect and its popular verse. Wilkinson, working from Burnley, brought knowledge of the east of the county, the hill country where many tales were rooted.
They preserve the material itself with care. What they set down tells us how people in town and country once saw luck, sickness, the dead and the unseen world around them.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Check yourself
Why did Harland and Wilkinson gather Lancashire's beliefs and customs?
Right. “They wanted to write down the beliefs and customs of ordinary people in the county before change swept them away.”Not quite. “They wanted to write down the beliefs and customs of ordinary people in the county before change swept them away.”
What do the charms, cures and omens reveal about ordinary people?
Right. “Yet the whole group of beliefs shows a shared effort to give order to danger, and it explains why such customs lasted so long in the county.”Not quite. “Yet the whole group of beliefs shows a shared effort to give order to danger, and it explains why such customs lasted so long in the county.”
How do local landmarks help preserve legends?
Right. “Whether or not the facts hold, the cross gave the story a place to live, and people kept telling it.”Not quite. “Whether or not the facts hold, the cross gave the story a place to live, and people kept telling it.”
Questions about Lancashire Folk-lore
What is Lancashire Folk-lore about?
It collects the beliefs, legends and customs of Lancashire people. Topics include witches, boggarts, ghosts, charms, healing wells, and yearly festivals such as wakes, rushbearing and pace-egging, all tied to named places in the county.
Who wrote Lancashire Folk-lore and when?
It was written by John Harland and Thomas Turner Wilkinson and printed in 1867. Harland was a Manchester antiquary and journalist, and Wilkinson a Burnley scholar. Harland died in 1868.
What is a boggart?
A boggart is a household or place spirit in northern English folklore. It can be mischievous or troublesome, causing noises and mishaps. Boggart Hole Clough near Manchester carries the name.
Does the book cover the Pendle witches?
Yes. Witchcraft is a major theme, including the tradition around the Pendle witches tried at Lancaster in 1612, along with everyday belief in village witches, wise men and protective charms.
Is Lancashire Folk-lore hard to read?
It is easy to dip into, since it is arranged by topic and made of short accounts.
