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Lore Of The Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys
Where can you find the 'Devil's footprints'? What happened at the 'hangman's stone'? Did Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, ever really exist? Where was King Arthur laid to rest? Bringing together tales of hauntings, highwaymen, family curses and lovers' leaps, this magnificent guide will take you on a magical journey through England's legendary past. 'A fascinating county-by county guidebook to the headless horsemen, bottomless pools, immured adulteresses and talking animals that make up the hidden landscape of the country.' - "London Review of Books". 'Evokes an England terrified by screaming skulls, tantalized by hidden treasure, spooked by the unearthly clanging of bells, bewitched by fairies and hobgoblins' - "Country Life". 'Wonderful...Contains almost every myth, legend and ghost story ever told in England' - Simon Hoggart, "Guardian".
928 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 28, 2008
The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England’s Legends relates various legends that are associated with certain place-names. There are stories of headless ghosts, witches, boggarts (JK Rowling didn’t invent the term), large black phantom dogs (including the infamous Padfoot), and entries for the villages of Dursley, Bagshot and Dawlish. There’s also a story of a witch and a wizard who lived in a tower and were heard to speak in a strange unknown language. Their lives ended, so the legend goes, in a bolt of lightning that struck the tower! The book is a well-researched quality publication that quotes actual sources, unlike the mostly cheap, sensationalist tripe that’s out there. One of my favourite entries is the source of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. The old legend recounted in the story was a retelling of an actual legend about a lecherous squire who was purportedly ripped to shreds by a phantom dog. Then there’s a great legendary ghost story that emanated from a village abutting the New Forest, close to where my maternal grandfather was born. In 1685, a woman innkeeper housed two rebels in her inn. When the militia caught them the Chief Justice, Judge Jeffreys, a notorious executioner, had her beheaded for harbouring traitors. Her headless body, with her head in her hands, is said to ride around inside a driverless carriage pulled by four headless horses. The authors noted that some stories were put around by smugglers to frighten off the curious, while many accusations of witchcraft were the result of personal vendettas or worse, and then there were the usual morality tales told to frighten children.
March 13, 2010
The ultimate anthology of all England's supernatural mythologies as told by the now extinct peasant classes
November 27, 2011
Well-structured and endlessly informative. An engaging read.
May 9, 2021
If I ever appear on Only Connect, one of my biographical claims will be that I have read Proust’s ‘A la Recherche du Temps Perdu’ in its entirety, but it took me longer to do so than Marcel took to write it. I suspect the same is true of this, which I started systematically, rather than dipping in and finding the pages always falling open at the same places, some four and a half years ago.
Like Proust, this is a monumental tour de force. Unlike Proust, it’s a joy.
Like Proust, this is a monumental tour de force. Unlike Proust, it’s a joy.
February 19, 2014
Whew! I have to say, for a book of its girth, the binding holds up remarkably well. Kudos to Penguin for that.
There's a lot of repetition in the stories--the Devil, giants, white ladies, black dogs*, fairies, hobs, Anglo-Saxon saints+, skulls, and so on. It's interesting to see how similar stories spread across the land and how people came up with legends to explain place names, carvings, and family crests.
* apparently 1/6 of the spectral black dogs in England are poodles. o_O
+ seriously, if you were an Anglo-Saxon noble and converted to Christianity, did they just automatically make you a saint?
There's a lot of repetition in the stories--the Devil, giants, white ladies, black dogs*, fairies, hobs, Anglo-Saxon saints+, skulls, and so on. It's interesting to see how similar stories spread across the land and how people came up with legends to explain place names, carvings, and family crests.
* apparently 1/6 of the spectral black dogs in England are poodles. o_O
+ seriously, if you were an Anglo-Saxon noble and converted to Christianity, did they just automatically make you a saint?
September 9, 2013
I love this book. It's one that has guided my descison making for the past few years. By that I mean for choosing days out or weekends away - while it is a lovely book it would be less helpful for the bigger descisions in life like: 'Should I marry him? Is this the right career for me? Do I need another slice of cake? etc...
What it does have are lovely photos, interesting historical information and fantastic folk tales, myths and legends about hundreds of places in Britain that you will suddenly be desperate to visit after dipping into this book.
What it does have are lovely photos, interesting historical information and fantastic folk tales, myths and legends about hundreds of places in Britain that you will suddenly be desperate to visit after dipping into this book.
December 30, 2012
Fabulous gazetteer which deals with England county by couny. A-Z entries for the myth, legend and folkore for each county. Treasure trove of England's myths.
February 12, 2013
Some of the stories are short, but it does give you a full scale of the stories across England. One to dip into before and after you visit a town or city.
January 24, 2014
This is a great book you can dip in and out of. Full of England's legends to share with friends.
February 15, 2024
Many years ago, I came across a book called "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest. (Which I thoroughly recommend getting along with this book) This is mostly thanks to my dad who been studying the unexplained for many years and I "inherited" all the knowledge he had. Having studied the Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain for many years, I wanted to see how "The Lore of the Land" by Jennifer Westwood would compare to the "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest.
My research into this subject also branched out into studying various aspects concerning the paranormal. From what I have seen of this book so far, I think Jennifer Westwood did an amazing job in putting this book together.
But just like "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest, don't take everything that you read at face value, just consider reading about the places from the books as a reference to those legends. But not in such a way that you believe everything that your reading from both books.
In some of the places from both books it's a better idea to check out these places from other sources as well like the internet or other books. A classic example is the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook. I came across this place and what happened there from "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest, which was then confirmed by this book. There was even an episode of "Most Haunted" which did investigate the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook and I already knew the story of that place even before that episode was aired by at least 15 years.
So which one do I think is better, well all I can say is that both books have there strengths and weaknesses. In some cases "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest has a bit more information about the Legends of Britain although it's a older book. It is still worth getting hold of, were as "The Lore of the Land" only explores the Legends of England. To find out about the Legends of Scotland, you will need to get a separate book of "The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scotland's Legends, from the Loch Ness Monster to Sawney Bean the Cannibal" by Jennifer Westwood.
If your really interested in Folklore Myths and Legends of England, my personal advice is get both books. However if your also interested in researching the Legends of Scotland, you will need to buy "The Lore of Scotland". But be warned that "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest is not only quite a rare book to get hold of, it's also more expensive than "The Lore of the Land" but it's worth every penny.
My research into this subject also branched out into studying various aspects concerning the paranormal. From what I have seen of this book so far, I think Jennifer Westwood did an amazing job in putting this book together.
But just like "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest, don't take everything that you read at face value, just consider reading about the places from the books as a reference to those legends. But not in such a way that you believe everything that your reading from both books.
In some of the places from both books it's a better idea to check out these places from other sources as well like the internet or other books. A classic example is the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook. I came across this place and what happened there from "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest, which was then confirmed by this book. There was even an episode of "Most Haunted" which did investigate the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook and I already knew the story of that place even before that episode was aired by at least 15 years.
So which one do I think is better, well all I can say is that both books have there strengths and weaknesses. In some cases "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest has a bit more information about the Legends of Britain although it's a older book. It is still worth getting hold of, were as "The Lore of the Land" only explores the Legends of England. To find out about the Legends of Scotland, you will need to get a separate book of "The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scotland's Legends, from the Loch Ness Monster to Sawney Bean the Cannibal" by Jennifer Westwood.
If your really interested in Folklore Myths and Legends of England, my personal advice is get both books. However if your also interested in researching the Legends of Scotland, you will need to buy "The Lore of Scotland". But be warned that "The Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain" By Readers Digest is not only quite a rare book to get hold of, it's also more expensive than "The Lore of the Land" but it's worth every penny.
September 28, 2018
lots of english folklore,
August 1, 2019
Great encyclopedia of legends and we'll organised and presented.
November 13, 2020
One of the best
April 8, 2023
Fascinating!
April 11, 2022
A really amazingly put together book about English legends from various town in various counties of England. Definitely looking forward to the one about Scotland.
September 2, 2014
This is a fascinating book covering every county in England. Tales of ghosts, giants, heroes, villains, monsters, place-names, kings, witches and so much more. England has a very rich history of folklore - some of it very strange indeed! The accounts are about a paragraph or so each, interspersed with longer two-page spreads, images and at 900 or so pages is a hefty read. This is a must for any fan of English history, folk-lore, fairy tales, ghost stories, and the general oddness of folk.
Many of the counties had similar beliefs, some now seeming strange to us and some of the accounts are sad, some funny, and some just plain weird. Most are from the fairly recent or more distant past - when science was in its infancy and religion accounted for most people's knowledge of the world. Yet it wasn't clear cut as belief in god went hand in hand with belief in fairies, giants and dragons. You'd be surprised how many churches were moved; how often the Devil tried to drown/bury or otherwise play havoc with a town; how many dragons and giants stride the land and how many ghosts, headless horses and boggarts haunt us. This is a book which shows us the mythic past of England.
The book is long but a great resource, and a great book to dip into.
Many of the counties had similar beliefs, some now seeming strange to us and some of the accounts are sad, some funny, and some just plain weird. Most are from the fairly recent or more distant past - when science was in its infancy and religion accounted for most people's knowledge of the world. Yet it wasn't clear cut as belief in god went hand in hand with belief in fairies, giants and dragons. You'd be surprised how many churches were moved; how often the Devil tried to drown/bury or otherwise play havoc with a town; how many dragons and giants stride the land and how many ghosts, headless horses and boggarts haunt us. This is a book which shows us the mythic past of England.
The book is long but a great resource, and a great book to dip into.
June 23, 2016
Lore of the Land is a seminal work, following on several other similar volumes by Jennifer Westwood and her collaborators. I found this guide accessible, chock full of stories ranging from supernatural beings to folk heroes, legendary history to pre-modern warfare. The book is devised per county, and has handy maps showing the location of legends and stories. Many times the writers will give contextual information on why a particular story is present, or speak to common motifs.
December 17, 2015
Linking places to legends, and legends to places. It brings our ancestors closer to us, by sharing their beliefs and fears, many of which persist today, and have travelled beyond UK borders. Fascinating and informative.
June 7, 2015
If English folklore is your thing, this is the book. An amazing collection of geographically organized legends, including tales of red-handed murderers, screaming skulls, demonic black dogs, witches, sunken churches and giant earthworks. Great fun.
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November 1, 2022
[ to review at a later date - possibly even re-read at a later date as well, though not urgent ]
September 11, 2014
Information on so many historical people and places. A great reference book that can point in the direction of addition research.
Shelved as 'reference-and-instruction'
March 10, 2015Awesome random used bookstore impulse buy of the day award. <3
September 11, 2015
read this before ok
October 2, 2016
A fantastic and comprehensive collection of folklore fro England. A great read!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews