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…

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Hampshire Sayings and Folk Stories

Weather in Hampshire sayings

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…

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The Bentworth Thorn

The Bentworth Holy Thorn tree Hampshire

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…

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Edmund Spenser in Alton?

Edmund Spenser 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.

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St 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.

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The 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?

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Foxglove 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.

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St 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

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The Chilbolton Wafers

Chilbolton Wafers

The Chilbolton wafers have been made and distributed to the congregation of St Mary the Less Chilbolton, on Mothering Sunday, for generations.

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Shick – 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.

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The 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.

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The 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.

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The 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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