Folklore
The Wherwell Cockatrice
The tale of the Wherwell Cockatrice. Folklore tales are am important part of the social and cultural history of a place. Stories lovingly retold in a community that grow and change with the telling form part of a web that binds people and places together. The belief of our forebears in stories of dragons and…
Read MoreHampshire Sayings and Folk Stories
Hampshire Sayings and Folk Stories. Every county has its own collection of sayings and stories, passed down usually in oral form from generation to generation. Our guest author, Peter Hey, has been gathering together some of the ones he has found. You just need to add your own distinctive Hampshire dialect to get the best…
Read MoreThe Bentworth Thorn
In the churchyard of St Mary’s Bentworth, stands the scrubby tree known as the Bentworth thorn. This small thorn tree standing opposite the war memorial in the churchyard at Bentworth may look insignificant but it is a rare thing indeed. The Bentworth thorn is one of the offspring of the Holy Thorn of Glastonbury. The…
Read MoreEdmund Spenser in Alton?
The question of whether Edmund Spenser ever lived in Alton is based on a few tantalizing clues that allude to little that can be substantiated. So it is with many historical nuggets that glint in amongst the splendour of Hampshire history.
Read MoreSt Mary’s Church Kingsclere
The magnificent church of St Mary’s Kingsclere, sits incongruously at the heart of the small village but once represented a community full of royal and ecclesiastical importance.
Read MoreThe Highclere Grampus
The Hampshire folktale of the Grampus of Highclere is surely one of the most peculiar folk stories in Hampshire. A creature that lives in a yew tree?
Read MoreFoxglove Fairies in Froxfield
Hampshire folklore is full of stories concerning the plants and animals of the county and one such piece of folklore surrounds the lovely foxglove, seen in the lanes of various parts of Hampshire.
Read MoreSt Swithun a Humble Man
15th July is St Swithun’s day, if it rains today folklore has it that it will rain for forty days and forty nights. An intriguing piece of Hampshire History
Read MoreThe Chilbolton Wafers
The Chilbolton wafers have been made and distributed to the congregation of St Mary the Less Chilbolton, on Mothering Sunday, for generations.
Read MoreShick – Shack Day
Part of Hampshire folklore is the celebration of Shick-Shack day on the 29th May. Not many oak leaves are observed adorning the hats of folk these days though.
Read MoreDeadman’s Plack Longstock
Deadman’s Plack, Longparish Hampshire, a monument to a deed supposedly committed nearly a thousand years ago, fact or fiction?
Read MoreThe FA Cup in Hampshire
The FA Cup was won by Portsmouth in 1939 and found a home in the county of Hampshire for the duration of WWII
Read MoreThe Green Man in Hampshire
The Green Man is an elusive creature in the churches of Hampshire but we have gathered a few to enjoy.
Read MoreThe Mermaid of Nately Scures
The mermaid of Nately Scures resides in the church of St Swithun and has a most mysterious tale attached to it. The church is a brilliant Norman example of an aisle-less aspidal building.
Read MoreThe Mysteries of Wymering Manor
Wymering Manor in Portsmouth is one of Hampshire’s oldest and allegedly, most haunted houses. From the outside it presents a bit of a sorry state and its exterior belies its ancient past but it is a house full on intrigue and mystery.
Read MoreThe Incredible Gospel Oak of Avington
The incredible Gospel Oak of Avington has two historic tales to tell. It barely clings to life but it leaves behind it a story of kings and bishops and saints, all wrapped up in the history of Hampshire
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