Bleary Pate is a round barrow 6+ft high, crowned by a tree and a pesky trig point. It is called 'Bleary Pate' on the modern OS map - but old maps have it as 'Bloody Pate'. Leslie Grinsell collected the grisly rhyme that "the blood ran down the hill from Bloody Pate up to the second straddle of the gates", and says the name change was a euphemism of the prim Victorians, who didn't quite get it. Bleary pate doesn't even make sense. Pate is a word for 'head' - so what's the full story? Were people allegedly having their heads chopped off on the mound? Is it another story connected with giants? More research required.
Somerset Historic Environment Record:
http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?layer=smr&PRN=34182
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Posted by Rhiannon
10th May 2005ce
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