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Folklore
Set against our modern society traditional customs can seem strange, curious, simplistic, and yet a wonderful
escape. Kirklees is a great place to explore our sometimes mythological past having a rich diversity of folklore,
stemming from the mix of cultural traditions from town to town, village to village.
Linthwaite Leadboilers
There are several versions of this particular tale. The moors around Linthwaite were formally used by the military
for shooting practice. The villagers collected some spent bullets and attempted to melt them down in a large
cauldron of boiling water. They wanted to sell the lead, but in a form which would be unrecognisable and wouldn't
reveal where it came from.
A similar explanation is given in a handbook for school leavers in 1949-50. The story goes that musket balls were
collected from the moors by villagers in order for the lead to be sold. The villagers knew better than to be caught
selling bullets, so wanted to melt the lead down first. Nobody involved had melted lead before and there were many
suggestions of how to melt it down. A remark was made that the balls were the same shape as peas and so should be
boiled. They were boiled in a big pan for three days and three nights but would not melt. Then one night, exhausted
from banging and mashing the boiling bullets in an attempt to help them melt, the watchers fell asleep and the lead
bullets vanished.
The Leadboilers legend was given a different explanation in the Huddersfield Examiner. In the newspaper, James
Walton describes the legend as having originated when a pub situated behind the Victoria Inn at Linthwaite had a
leaking water pipe. Mr Walton claims a customer advised the landlord to collect some bullets from Crosland Moor
which could be melted down to repair the damaged pipe. The bullets were apparently collected and boiled in a pan
in an attempt to melt them down. They were then poked with a fork and found not to be responding to such treatment,
and so the bullets were abandoned. According to the article, the event was commemorated by a medal preserved at the
Victoria Inn. The medal is said to depict a pot containing bullets, surmounted by a fork with the inscription on
the mount 'Hardly enough, John Thomas'.
Scapegoat Hill Band
The Scapegoat Hill Band had attended a musical competition and was successful in gaining first prize. Celebrations
followed and the band returned home to the village. Not wanting to disturb the residents, they removed their boots
and tip-toed along. However, they continued to play their instruments at full blast! In an Huddersfield Examiner
article of 11 June 1938, the legend is similarly described by James Walton, with the added detail that the band was
playing 'See the Conquering Hero Comes' as they tip-toed.
Marsden Cuckoo
Legend has it that the good people of Marsden spotted a link between the arrival of the cuckoo in spring and an
improvement in the weather. They decided to prolong the spring weather by building a wall around the cuckoo.
Unfortunately, as the last stones were about to be laid the cuckoo flew away. If only they'd built the tower one
layer higher - as the legend says, it "were nobbut just wun course too low".
Slawit Moonrakers
An event that reputedly took place in 1802, just after the canal between Huddersfield and Upper Mill (both in
Yorkshire) had become a major trade route. A couple of entrepreneurs from Slaithwaite had established a successful
smuggling business, dealing in rum and whisky. The entrepreneurs used to bring the spirits up the canal by barge,
and hand them over to their customers at the end of the day in exchange for payment.
One day, the meeting was disturbed by soldiers on patrol, so the smugglers quickly slipped the barrels into the
reeds at the side of the canal and went on their way. Later that night, they were retrieving the goods from the
canal, using large garden rakes. It was a bright moonlit night and again their work was interrupted by the
soldiers. "Wats ta doin?"("What are you doing?") asked the soldiers. Quick as a flash, came a slurred reply "Cans
tha noon seah? T'mooins fell int watter an we'ar rekking er aht? ("Can't you see - the Moon has fallen into the
water and we are raking her out? "Silly mooinrekkers!" ("Silly moonrakers") said one soldier to the others, and
they walked off laughing at the apparent stupidity of the Slaithwaiters. The smugglers waited until the coast was
clear and hoisted their ill gotten gains out of the water.
The Napier Murals at Huddersfield Library
The folklore of Huddersfield is marked in a series of paintings which are now housed in the Local History
department of Huddersfield Library. The murals were the result of a commission in the late 1930s awarded to
Charles Reginald Napier of the Huddersfield School of Art. He, along with six students, took four years to
complete the commission at a cost of £50 to the council. The main work is 'The Telling of the Stories', and the
other four paintings depict the stories of the Marsden Cuckoo, the Scapegoat Hill Band, the Linthwaite Leadboilers
and the Slawit Moonrakers. |
The Kirklees name for the Metropolitan District stems from Kirklees Priory, (which ironically now lies in neighbouring Calderdale), and has very strong connections with the legendary character Robin Hood .
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