In this blog we’ll explore some of the folklore tales and traditions, some old or reinterpreted, and some new, but all equally part of the tapestry of folklore in England.
Summer solstice and the Wheel of the Year
June 21 marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, known as summer solstice. The summer solstice sees the sun rise at its most north-easterly point and set at its most north-westerly point, and has been celebrated through rites, rituals and gatherings since prehistoric times.
Communities across England continue to mark key moments in the solar ‘Wheel of the Year’, a cycle observed within diverse traditions.
Many now are taking a renewed interest in folklore, partly because of a rise in the number of people identifying with Pagan spirituality.
A number of authors have written on the subject of folk traditions in England, such as historian Professor Ronald Hutton and more recently DJ and author Zakia Sewell with her 2026 book ‘Finding Albion’.
Taking part in ‘living heritage’
The Inventories of Living Heritage, launched in 2025 as part of the UK’s commitment to the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, celebrates folklore as something dynamic and belonging to the people.
The inventory invites communities to submit examples of their own living heritage, from culinary practice to oral expression and performing arts.
Historic England’s Missing Pieces Project similarly celebrates ‘living heritage’, inviting members of the public to contribute their own stories and photographs to places on the National Heritage List for England (also known as ‘The List’). Many of the folklore traditions mentioned in this blog are connected to places on ‘The List’.
If you have stories to tell about any of these places, we’d love to hear about them through the Missing Pieces Project.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire
A famous setting for solstice rites is Stonehenge, built in around 2500 BC with sarsen stones carefully placed to line up with the extreme limits of the Sun’s movement. Thousands of visitors flock to Stonehenge every year to mark the solstices, following in the footsteps of neolithic ancestors and enjoying a rare chance to get close to the stones.
Stonehenge has long been seen as a place that has attracted endless tales, shifting speculation and veneration, which are re-interpreted by different generations.
Lady Godiva: Coventry
The Lady Godiva statue in Coventry commemorates that famous tale: Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry who lived bound by the oppressive tax imposed by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He agreed to lift the tax only if she rode naked atop a horse through the streets of Coventry. And so she rode through the empty streets and was seen by no one except for a man named Thomas, giving an origin to the term ‘Peeping Tom’.
The ‘Rufford Park Poachers’: Nottinghamshire
As Sewell notes in ‘Finding Albion’, an English folk song called ‘The Rufford Park Poachers’ immortalises a clash between a gang of poachers and gamekeepers on the fringes of the Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire in 1851. The song was made popular by a folk singer called Joseph Taylor. It tells the story of a violent battle that took place between a gang of poachers and some gamekeepers hired by the Earl of Scarbrough, one of whom was killed. Four of the poachers were charged with manslaughter, poaching and affray and were sent to Bermuda for 14 years’ hard labour. Yet, the song remembers them as Robin Hood style heroes: ‘gallant’ and ‘bold’, fighting for ‘poor men’s rights’ against the ‘rich man’s laws’.
Cornish Crick Stone and Montol Festival, Cornwall
Cornwall has long been associated with a rich folklore culture and is widely known for its stone circles and sites of Pagan ritual. One such site is the Men-an-Tol (meaning ‘holed stone’ in Cornish), which has had many a curative and magical power attributed to it.
The local moniker the ‘Crick Stone’ alludes to its alleged ability to aid those with back pain, and in the past many children suffering from rickets and tuberculosis were brought to this moorland site in Madron.
In her book, Sewell visits Cornwall to take part in the modern-day Montol festival during the winter solstice in Penzance. It is a festival of fire and misrule where revellers move through the streets in masks and costume. Launched in 2007 and inspired by older Cornish midwinter ‘guising’ customs, it is designed to bring the community together in the depths of winter. Sewell reflects that ‘For many Cornish people, local folklore and traditions like Montol are the lifeblood of the community’.
Glastonbury Tor and ‘Avalon’, Somerset
Glastonbury Tor is another place shrouded in myth and legend. The land below the tower is marshland, suggesting it could have once been an island, linked to the legends about ‘Avalon’, from Arthurian mythology.
The legend was boosted by some enterprising medieval monks who claimed to have ‘discovered’ King Arthur’s remains. You can find out more about the legends of Arthur and their possible historic contexts from our blog on the subject.
Morris dancing
When it comes to English folk tradition, it’s impossible not to mention morris dancing with its bells and May Day merriment. The Thaxted Morris group, or ‘side’ as they are known, was founded in 1911 and is the oldest surviving morris side in the country. In 1934, 6 morris clubs formed a federation of Morris Men known as the Morris Ring. The 6 founder clubs were Cambridge, Oxford, Letchworth, Thaxted, East Surrey and Greensleeves.
In June 1934, at the Thaxted Morris Weekend Meeting, the representatives of 5 of the 6 clubs met around the kitchen table of Mrs King’s house at 32 Newbiggen Street, Thaxted , Essex and approved a draft constitution.
Present day morris dancing ranges from more traditional groups, to the likes of ‘Boss Morris’, a feminist ‘side’ established in 2015 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Boss Morris have performed at festivals, alongside the indie band Wet Leg at the 2023 Brit Awards, and featured on Bridget Christie’s folk-horror-comedy TV show ‘The Change’.
Well dressing: Derbyshire and Staffordshire
The tradition of well dressing or ‘well flowering’ is particularly practiced in the Peak District area of Derbyshire and in Staffordshire. Often natural materials such as flowers, plants and clay attached to wooden frames are used to make decorative pictures. Historians and folklorists debate its origins, some seeing roots in Pagan water-worship at these springs.
At Tissington in Derbyshire the practice may be linked to giving thanks for the deliverance of the village from the medieval Black Death. Examples of well dressing at Tissington occur at Yew Tree Well and Hands Well.
Black Shuck: Norfolk and Suffolk
Tales of the monstrous black dog known as the Black Shuck or ‘Old Shuck’ have long been part of local folklore in Norfolk (Sheringham and along the coast) and Suffolk in the towns of Bungay and Blythburgh. He is said to roam the coast and countryside of East Anglia.
The legendary beast is first said to have made his mark on Sunday 4 August 1577, during Sunday service. He was said to have burst through the doors of 2 churches, Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh and St Mary’s in Bungay to a clap of thunder, taking the lives of a man and a boy. Legend has it that as he left Holy Trinity, he scratched the surfaces of the north door, and strange marks resembling burning can still be seen there today.
The Barghest: Yorkshire
The north of England has its own version of a monstrous black dog legend: the Barghest or Bargest, held to be an omen of death. Its name is perhaps derived from ‘bier-ghost’, so a spectre associated with funerary places, such as the prehistoric or Viking burials on the moors where it is mainly said to prowl.
Some folklorists speculate that the Barghest could be linked to Fenrir the Wolf from Norse mythology. Fenrir may be depicted on a hogback tombstone found at St Oswald’s Church, Lythe, near Whitby. Legend has it that the Barghest has even been spotted in The Shambles in York, and a gift shop at Number 1 The Shambles currently bears its name.
The Devil’s Bridge: Cumbria
Some tales focus on one single building or structure in a single place. In this folktale about medieval bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale, a cow belonging to an old woman had strayed across a river and could not be coaxed back. The Devil appeared to the old woman and promised to build a bridge, if he had the soul of the first body that crossed it. The woman agreed. The Devil built the bridge and left his hand print in one of the stones. Once the bridge was completed the woman, accompanied by her small dog appeared to keep her end of the bargain, but she tricked the devil by taking out a bun and throwing it across the bridge, her dog then ran across to retrieve it…
The Mermaid of Nately Scures, Hampshire
This legend surrounds the carving of a mermaid at the medieval St Swithun’s Church in Nately Scures, Hampshire. The legend runs that the carving commemorates the tale of a vengeful mermaid whose human sailor lover unwisely turned his attentions to a local girl. As the human couple were making ready to be wed at St Swithun’s church, the angry mermaid appeared and took the sailor back to her undersea world.
The weathered original carving is now inside the church, a more modern copy watches over the entrance.
We have only been able to scratch the surface of places associated with English folklore. There are many more, such as: widespread May Day traditions or more local ones like the ‘Furry Dance’ in Helston, Cornwall, marking changing seasons; dangerous games like inter-village football, cheese rolling in Gloucestershire, or carrying flaming tar barrels at Ottery St Mary, Devon, to ward off evil spirits. Though a more recent event, many would say that Notting Hill Carnival has become part of our folklore and traditions.
Let us know of your favourite ones in the comments and add your missing pieces to the National Heritage List for England.
The Instagram account ‘British Folklore’ is a great source for all sorts info on topics like this!
Is Lady Godiva mainly known now because her husband treated her so badly? Was peeping Thomas the only man to see the poor woman?