The Crime Lake Boggart
THE CRIME LAKE BOGGART
John Howarth voice; Gerry Kearns guitar; Larry Kearns mandolin
A friend o’ mine - aw’ll co him Tom-
To Woodhouses wur gooin’ whoam
One dark neet along cut-side,
When near th’ Crime Lake a leet he spide,
It moved abeawt on th’ top o’ th’ broo,
Just over th’ cut, an’ Tom weel knew
‘At nob’dy should bi theer at o,
Yet leet kept movin’ to an’ fro.
It wur, he seed, wi’ some alarm
I’ th’ hen-pen near by Jackson’s farm;
“By gum,” thowt Tom, “ther’s someone theer
Who’s after stealin’ th’ hens, aw fear.
Aw connot get o’er th’ cut i’ th’ dark
To put a stop to th’ wicked wark;
An ‘ iv aw go reight reawnd on th’ lone
Bi th’ time aw get theer they’ll ‘av gone.”
But suddenly, th’ leet seemed to glide
Deawn th’ broo an’ stopped at th’ wayterside,
Then whot it wur Tom saw quite clear,
-An’ awmost fell i’th’ cut wi’ fear!
His yure rose stiffly on his yed,
While deawn his spine a shiver sped;
Damp wur his brow – weel might it be,
‘At whot ‘is startl’t een could see!
Owd fashiont, strange, wi’ pallid beam
A lantern shone, an’ in its gleam
Tom seed an arm – an’ that wur o
‘At held this lamp wi’ ghostly glow!
“What dus’ta want? Han yo a name?”
Tom said as th’ boggart nearer came;
It moved o’er th’ cut an’ shone its leet
On th’ cut – bank stooans deawn by his feet.
No seawnd at o came fro’ this Thing,
Then swiftly, like a brid on th’ wing,
It sped to th’ lake, cowd, deep an’ wide;
Crossed o’er, then vanished on th’ far side.
When Tom geet whoam his missus said:
“Weh, mon, thi yure stonds on thi yed
Like spreawin’ grass i’ th’ spring o’ th’ year;
Summat’s feeort thee, that’s clear!”
To his good wife Tom towd his tale,
O’th arm an’ lamp wi leet so pale;
An’ said, “Iv things like yon aw meet
Aw’ll keep away fro’ th’ Crime at neet!”
John Howarth voice; Gerry Kearns guitar; Larry Kearns mandolin
A friend o’ mine - aw’ll co him Tom-
To Woodhouses wur gooin’ whoam
One dark neet along cut-side,
When near th’ Crime Lake a leet he spide,
It moved abeawt on th’ top o’ th’ broo,
Just over th’ cut, an’ Tom weel knew
‘At nob’dy should bi theer at o,
Yet leet kept movin’ to an’ fro.
It wur, he seed, wi’ some alarm
I’ th’ hen-pen near by Jackson’s farm;
“By gum,” thowt Tom, “ther’s someone theer
Who’s after stealin’ th’ hens, aw fear.
Aw connot get o’er th’ cut i’ th’ dark
To put a stop to th’ wicked wark;
An ‘ iv aw go reight reawnd on th’ lone
Bi th’ time aw get theer they’ll ‘av gone.”
But suddenly, th’ leet seemed to glide
Deawn th’ broo an’ stopped at th’ wayterside,
Then whot it wur Tom saw quite clear,
-An’ awmost fell i’th’ cut wi’ fear!
His yure rose stiffly on his yed,
While deawn his spine a shiver sped;
Damp wur his brow – weel might it be,
‘At whot ‘is startl’t een could see!
Owd fashiont, strange, wi’ pallid beam
A lantern shone, an’ in its gleam
Tom seed an arm – an’ that wur o
‘At held this lamp wi’ ghostly glow!
“What dus’ta want? Han yo a name?”
Tom said as th’ boggart nearer came;
It moved o’er th’ cut an’ shone its leet
On th’ cut – bank stooans deawn by his feet.
No seawnd at o came fro’ this Thing,
Then swiftly, like a brid on th’ wing,
It sped to th’ lake, cowd, deep an’ wide;
Crossed o’er, then vanished on th’ far side.
When Tom geet whoam his missus said:
“Weh, mon, thi yure stonds on thi yed
Like spreawin’ grass i’ th’ spring o’ th’ year;
Summat’s feeort thee, that’s clear!”
To his good wife Tom towd his tale,
O’th arm an’ lamp wi leet so pale;
An’ said, “Iv things like yon aw meet
Aw’ll keep away fro’ th’ Crime at neet!”
THE CRIME LAKE BOGGART or
PEGGY’S LANTERN
By C.F.C.
The Crime Lake Boggart
The Oldham area is indeed the Domain of Boggarts. It harbours the Chamber Hall Boggart, whose mischievous antics are recalled in countless tales. Nearby Blackley boasts a piece of parkland infested with impish sprites: ‘Boggart Hole Clough’. The Crime Lake Boggart, or ‘Peggy’s Lantern’ as it is sometimes known, lurks in the village of Woodhouses, a hamlet between Failsworth and Ashton.
The poem, like many other Lancashire dialect pieces, was written under a pseudonym, ‘CFC’. In LANCASHIRE MISCELLANY, published in 1960, the editor says in his notes that the poems author claims: ‘The experience happened to an old friend at Woodhouses though a similar experience happened to the father of a friend of my mother some seventy years ago (1890). It was he who called it “Peggy’s Lantern”.’
Perhaps the author used the pseudonym to camouflage the tongue in his cheek. The background music is of course ‘The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies’.
PEGGY’S LANTERN
By C.F.C.
The Crime Lake Boggart
The Oldham area is indeed the Domain of Boggarts. It harbours the Chamber Hall Boggart, whose mischievous antics are recalled in countless tales. Nearby Blackley boasts a piece of parkland infested with impish sprites: ‘Boggart Hole Clough’. The Crime Lake Boggart, or ‘Peggy’s Lantern’ as it is sometimes known, lurks in the village of Woodhouses, a hamlet between Failsworth and Ashton.
The poem, like many other Lancashire dialect pieces, was written under a pseudonym, ‘CFC’. In LANCASHIRE MISCELLANY, published in 1960, the editor says in his notes that the poems author claims: ‘The experience happened to an old friend at Woodhouses though a similar experience happened to the father of a friend of my mother some seventy years ago (1890). It was he who called it “Peggy’s Lantern”.’
Perhaps the author used the pseudonym to camouflage the tongue in his cheek. The background music is of course ‘The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies’.
That Lancashire Band LP 12TS399stereo
The Oldham Tinkers
First published by TOPIC 1979 by John Brierley, Cargo Recording Studio, Rochdale,
April 1979. Notes by Larry Kearns / Sleeve illustration and design by John Atkinson
Produced by Tony Russell
Released on CD 2000
That Lancashire Band PIERCD 504
Released under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England
(P) 1979 TOPIC RECORDS
© 2000 Pier Records
Pier Records is a Wooden Hill Recordings Ltd label
The Oldham Tinkers
First published by TOPIC 1979 by John Brierley, Cargo Recording Studio, Rochdale,
April 1979. Notes by Larry Kearns / Sleeve illustration and design by John Atkinson
Produced by Tony Russell
Released on CD 2000
That Lancashire Band PIERCD 504
Released under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England
(P) 1979 TOPIC RECORDS
© 2000 Pier Records
Pier Records is a Wooden Hill Recordings Ltd label