The Phantom Rebel: In Search of the Headless Horseman of the Staffordshire Moorlands
The Headless Horseman of the Staffordshire Moorlands is one of the best-known pieces of folklore in the region, but where did it come from? Tracing the story of the horseman back through 650 years of local history, we uncover the shocking true story of medieval murder that may lie at the heart of the spectre's inspiration.
Relics of the Cornfield: Ritual Symbolism and the Moulton Crow Dance
The Crow Dance is a unique British folk tradition, performed each summer in the Cheshire village of Moulton. Whilst its local folklore extends back to the early twentieth century, could the wealth of agrarian, ritualistic symbolism contained within it suggest a far earlier origin?
The Magic Hatters: Understanding the Story of the Bakewell Witches
The story of the Bakewell witches is unique within the annals of English witchcraft and a tale thought by some to be so fantastical that it may not even be true. Yet research cannot only place the event firmly in the context of the times, but it can also help create a picture of the events that originally brought the story into being.
Blood In the Barley: The Hidden Story of the Vale Royal Rebellion
The Vale Royal Rebellion is a medieval tale of murder, manipulation and struggle set amidst one of the most turbulent periods in all of English history. Yet it is only when we bring the contributing political factors, key players and major events of the story together as one, that we can really appreciate just what a remarkable piece of Cheshire history the story truly is.
The Local Crusader: Ranulph de Blondeville and the Saracens of Biddulph Moor
There are few more curious associations in local legend than that of Saracen prisoners being settled on the land that is now known as the Staffordshire Moorlands village of Biddulph Moor. Travelling back to the thirteenth century to discover the untold story behind the legend, we reach a place where the adventures of the crusades meet with the dark realities of the medieval slave trade under the patronage of one of the most powerful figures in all of local history.