Burnmoor Corpse Road, Wasdale To Eskdale.

For many years, before the church at Wasdale Head was licensed for burials, the coffins of the deceased had to be carried by packhorse to St. Catherine's Church in the neighbouring Eskdale Valley for interment. The corpse road over Burnmoor was particularly difficult in the winter and on one occasion the horse carrying the coffin containing the body of a young local man by the name of Porter, suddenly took fright and disappeared into the mist. The horse could not be found and sadly the funeral party returned to his mother with the news Mother Porter was so upset that she wasted away and died early the following winter. A funeral party again set out to Eskdale and once more mist descended on the Burnmoor and the grey mare carrying the coffin galloped off. A search was quickly started and soon found a brown horse still with the son's coffin strapped to its back.


Kirk Fell And Wasdale Head

The grey mare was never seen again, but there are those who have heard hoofbeats on the moor when the mist descends. Another tale of the corpse road involves the Rowan, a tree sacred to Norsemen (who once populated the Lakeland valleys), and still held to have restorative properties among the more superstitious locals. On one occasion a coffin was jolted violently against a Rowan growing beside the track, and either the shock or, as some say, the peculiar properties of the tree, revived the seemingly dead woman who was carried home with much excitement by those who had come to bury her. A while later the woman died and was, for a second time, carried in her coffin over the moor. As the little procession approached the tree, the widower, who obviously did not relish a repeat of the previous journey, was heard to exhort his son leading the horse Take care o'yon Rowan, John".

The Legend Of Calgarth Skulls

Calgarth Hall was a sixteenth century Manor House standing on the shore of Lake Windermere. The legend associated with the house tells that early in its history it was occupied by an elderly couple, Kraster and Dorothy Cook, but the house and land were coveted by an unscrupulous local magistrate, Myles Philipson. Philipson invited the couple to a Christmas banquet where he hid a silver cup in their baggage and then accused them of theft. As Justice of the Peace, Philipson presided over their trial and sentenced them to death. Before being taken to he hanged at Appleby.

Continued On The Right.

Cumbrian Myth`s And Legend`s

Page 2

The Betsy Jane - Ghost Ship On The Solway

Among the least savoury of the trades indulged in by the seafarers of the Solway Coast was the transportation of slaves to the cotton and sugar plantations of the Americas. One of the worst of the sailors engaged in this business was the captain of the 'Betsy Jane', particularly godless man who scorned all Christian tradition - even Christmas - in pursuit of his evil trade. Fortunes could he made in the sale of humans and eventually the captain amassed great wealth in gold and ivory with which he intended to retire.

He sailed for home and timed his return so that he might sail along the Solway coast on Christmas morning. A great storm blew up however, and the 'Betsy Jane' struck a rock close to shore and was lost with all its crew. The sinking went unseen and unheard; all the people ashore being much preoccupied with their Christmas celebrations. The 'Betsy Jane' is still sometimes seen about Christmas time trying in vain to reach the port while the bells of Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport, Allonby and Silloth celebrate the arrival of another Christmas.

Legend Of King Dunmail

Dunmail Raise marked the boundary between Cumberland and Westmorland, the name coming from a heap of stones which in folklore marks the burial place of the last King of Cumberland, King Dunmail or, as sometimes spelt, Domhnall. In 945, King Edmund, who ruled almost undisputed over the remainder of England, joined forces with King Malcolm of Scotland in order to defeat the last bastion of Celtic resistance in his kingdom. In his last battle, King Dunmail was killed by Edmund himself. His body was carried away by faithful warriors, and buried under a great pile of stones.

King Edmund is reputed to have captured Dunmail's two sons and had their eyes put out. The Crown of King Dunmail was thrown into Grisedale Tarn on the Helvellyn range. Legend has it that the crown was enchanted, giving its wearer a magic right to the Kingdom, thus it was important to prevent it from falling into Saxon hands. On victory, Edmund gave Cumberland to King Malcolm of Scotland, and it was only when Canute came to the throne that Cumberland came back under English rule in exchange, 87 years later, for Lothian.

The Devil's Bridge

Kirkby Lonsdale is a small market town situated in the Lune Valley of which Ruskin said "The Valley of the Lune at Kirkby Lonsdale is one of the loveliest scenes in England - therefore in the world". One of Kirkby Lonsdale's assets is a medieval bridge known as the Devil's Bridge. It gets it's name because of an old legend which tells us that it was built by none other than His Satanic Majesty'. The tale goes that a cow, which belonged to a poor woman, strayed across the river. The old woman went to look for it but unfortunately the river had risen and she could not reach the cow, which was on the opposite bank.

At that moment the Devil appeared and shouted across the river that he would build a bridge on condition that the first living thing to cross it should become his lawful prize. This the woman agreed to. The Devil knew that the woman's husband was on his way home and hoped to gain some good booty. The old woman was just as cunning and, seeing her husband approaching, she called her dog and threw a stone across the river for it to fetch. The dog, being the first living thing to cross the bridge, cheated the Devil of his prize. Below the bridge can be seen the Devil's Neck Collar' a rock with a large perforation, which is said to have been lost from his neck in his plunge for the bridge when his scheme had been thwarted.

The Legend Of Calgarth Skulls

Dorothy Cook cursed the magistrate, saying that she and her husband would haunt the Philipsons as long as they held Calgarth and the family would not prosper. After the Cooks' death, two skulls appeared in the house, which could neither be destroyed nor disposed of. Even after being thrown into the depths of Windermere, they reappeared at the house to haunt Philipson. The memory of the murder, kept alive by the skulls, gradually wore down the Philipsons who became poorer and poorer, and the curse came full circle in 1705 when the last member of the Philipson family died.