Penshaw Hill Hillfort View all content for Penshaw Hill

People have said that they have heard the fairies patting butter on the hill as they passed at night. Once a man heard them say "mend that peel!" (a peel was a long-handled shovel used to remove bread from the oven.) Passing by the next day, he found the broken shovel and took it home to be mended. The following day a piece of bread and butter was lying on a stone where he had found the peel. The man was afraid to eat the bread or give it to his horses, fearing the consequences. Unfortunately, unaware that he had offended the fairies, his horses dropped dead before they reached the top of the hill. Myth and Magic of Northumbria Coquet Editions 1992

Posted by fitzcoraldo 3rd April 2003ce

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