Folklore of Somerset

The year ahead

Monday 28 September 2026

Friday 25 December 2026

Tuesday 2 February 2027

Sunday 16 May 2027

Friday 11 June 2027

Tuesday 6 July 2027

Not tied to a day

Told of Somerset, but not tied to a day of the year.

Folklore from the old calendars

Drawing blood from a witch Lore and belief Devon, SomersetA woman of Wiveliscombe believed her daughter had been bewitched for a year by an old neighbour, Mrs Burges, and consulted old Baker, the Devonshire wizard, who gave her a charm and a medicine.
In a merry pin No longer kept SomersetA carved oak peg tankard said to have come from Glastonbury Abbey held two quarts and was once fitted inside with eight pegs, marking off half a pint each.
St Dunstan and the devil’s nose Lore and belief SomersetDunstan, later Archbishop of Canterbury, lived as a young monk at Glastonbury in a tiny cell where he worked as a smith and goldsmith.
The Bath prophecy Lore and belief SomersetBath was to be destroyed at noon on 30 March 1809 by an earthquake that would make Beacon Hill meet Beechen Cliff, as an old woman claimed an angel had told her.
The finding stick Still kept SomersetIt was widely believed that a forked hazel rod would dip towards a vein of lead ore, a seam of coal or a spring of water, and in the mining districts men skilled with it were consulted as trustingly as the local wise man.
The Glastonbury waters No longer kept SomersetUnder 30 April 1751 Richard Gough noted in his diary that a Glastonbury man, thirty years ill with asthma, had dreamed he would be cured if he drank from certain waters near the Chain-gate on seven Sunday mornings.
The Healing Ring Finger Lore and belief England, Ireland, SomersetThe wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand from an old belief that a nerve ran from it straight to the heart.
The Parson’s Wig and the Black Pudding Lore and belief SomersetIn Somerset, when a black or blood pudding was on the boil, an old wig that had belonged to the parson was much sought after.

The year ahead

Monday 28 September 2026

Friday 25 December 2026

Tuesday 2 February 2027

Sunday 16 May 2027

Friday 11 June 2027

Tuesday 6 July 2027

Not tied to a day

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