Folklore
The Medieval Flatulist- It was around the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189), that there was a court entertainer called Rowland le Sarcere. He had a few names he went by; Rollandi le Pettour, Rollandus le Pettus, Roland le Fartere, Roulandus le Fartere, and Roland le Sarcere , or in plain English- Rowland the Farter- read more
Gloucestershire Goblins -Goblin folklore around some of Gloucestershire’s place names. Also, did J.R.R Tolkien get inspiration for his writing from this folklore? - read more
The Rooks and the Pear Trees- This Gloucestershire folklore tale is about how 5 Pear trees were planted at the side of a road. Just how did they get there?- read more
The White Christmas Kitten This folklore tale is about this road and also the large forests that once dwelled there. These forests were haunted by spirits that were known as The Snow Foresters- read more
Folklore Superstitions Are Gloucestershire People Very Superstitious? This information comes from an article in the Cheltenham Chronicle, 1936 and was written by F.W Keep. Which is the most superstitious county in England?- read more
The Fairy Inn at Dursley. Gloucestershire This is a tale from many moons ago. A man was travelling on his horse to see friends in Stroud, Gloucestershire. As the dark of the night was closing in, snow stared to heavily fall- read more
The Last Court Jester Court Jester's or Fools, were a very important part of Medieval life in the UK. If you look at films depicting Court Jesters, it gives you only a snippet of their lives. Some were lucky in that they were employed by royals but this also held a more negative side- read more
The Dymock Curse, Gloucestershire In 1892, a lead tablet that was inscribed with a curse was found in a cupboard of a large house. The cursive was in 17th century script and the name (of who the curse was for) was written backwards - read more
The Birds and the Bees Gloucestershire Folklore In and around the area of Churchdown, Gloucestershire, there was a practised belief that it wouldn't be possible to pass away into the next world if - read more
The Longstone of Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire The Longstone is a stone that has many tales to it. It's original use is not really known but for centuries, this stone was renowned for it's healing powers- read more
Dead Maids Crossroads, Black Dog Woods & Black Dog Hill, Wiltshire According to local folklore, Dead maids crossroads was due to a local lady who was being pursued by 2 suitors. These 2 men were adamant each was the best suitor for this lady- read more
The Uffington White Horse & Folklore The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, measuring 360 ft in length and is formed by trenches filled with crushed white chalk. It sits upon a hill in the county of Oxfordshire, England...there are many tales of folklore relating to this figure - read more
The Tale of the Coombe Hill Sea Serpent Around the 15th century, in the then hamlet of Coombe Hill, Gloucestershire, there was talk of a large sea monster (possibly a Knucker Dragon) that came to the riverbanks -read more
Pig Face Day, Avening, Gloucestershire Pig Face Day is a medieval themed feast & celebration in Avening, Gloucestershire, which commemorates Queen Matilda as she consecrated the church in Avening in 1068 -read more
Where did this saying come from? "You can't pull the wool over my eyes" Back in the 14th and 15th centuries, wool was a national product to England and very important. During the reign of King Charles II, he passed an act in which would increase the consumption of wool -read more
Maud's Elm On the outskirts of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, there once stood a large Elm tree. It was cut down in 1906 and this tree was known as Maude's Elm and there is a very sad and sorry tale behind this. Maud Bowen was a 15 year old girl who lived with her mother in a cottage read more
