A breathtaking coastal landscape in Runswick Bay, Yorkshire. A sweeping sandy beach curves around a rocky headland, where a picturesque village clings to the cliffs. The sea stretches out towards the horizon, a deep blue under a clear sky.

Tales of Runswick Bay: Treasure, Tragedy, and a Hobgoblin

Ah, Runswick Bay, a charming spot on the Yorkshire coast. A sweeping sandy beach curves dramatically towards the village, which clings precariously to the hillside like it is not quite sure why itβ€˜s still there. Originally, the village was a little further, perched towards the rocky headland. That was until 1664, when a ground-slip sent it all tumbling into the sea in what one assumes was not its finest moment. They rebuilt it in the current location, presumably hoping history would not repeat itself.

On the beach, one finds the so-called Hob Holes, famous caves with tales attached. The largest was allegedly the abode of a hobgoblin. Of course, that is merely one of the many tales the locals conjured up to make a hole in the ground sound interesting.

Which brings me to a story by Richard Blakeborough, who had a penchant for collecting such charming nonsense. Published in the Northern Weekly Gazette on 21 June 1902, the story concerns Jacob Newell, a joiner who settled in Ellerby1BLAKEBOROUGH, R. β€˜Stories of Local Lore. A Buried Treasure. | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 21 June 1902 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2022. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003075/19020621/289/0031?browse=true> [accessed 3 November 2022]. Jacob, apparently a man of some standing in the village, shared with a select group the tantalising secret of a hidden treasure connected to a cursed oak chest. Because why have treasure without a curse?

The chest supposedly contained a fortune but was, naturally, shrouded in dark superstition. Jacob’s adventure in locating the treasure, his apparent success, and the ensuing marriage of some local couple form the crux of the tale. Along the way, we are treated to the usual dose of witchcraft, superstition, and other supernatural distractions that no doubt enthralled Blakeborough’s audience.

As for the dialogue, originally rendered in Cleveland vernacular, I have translated it into something resembling coherence. Footnotes have been added for anyone who prefer this easier option. Make of it what you will.

Enjoy.

A BURIED TREASURE.
BY R. BLAKEBOROUGH.

The following story has some interest apart from the narrative itself, seeing that it reverts to the doings of the once noted Ann Allan, of Ugthorpe, who, being convicted of drawing milk from her neighbour’s cows with a witch charmed stool, was condemned to walk the length of the village clothed but in her sark, and as the sun went down her witch-charmed stool was publicly burnt on the moor at the high end of the village. As this happened about the year 1780, and as after this penance and public shame Ann left the village and went whither no one knows, the events transpiring in this story must have happened during her lifetime, but prior to that date.

On the way to Ugthorpe from Hinderwell, the road leads direct to and the quiet, and beautifully situated, village of Ellerby. In a little thatched cottage there lived at that time a little old man called Jacob Newell. He was not a native of the place having, as the older folk remembered, come limping into the village towards sunset one summer’s day many a long year before. He was quite a young man in those days and took lodgings with an old Quaker lady. It was soon known that by trade he was a joiner and wheelwright. It was only a poor place for a young man to start life in but Jacob went from farm to farm, and as he was a good workman, and steady, he soon got a connection together, which brought him in sufficient to live upon and to put a bit by again a rainy day. A quiet, inoffensive little man was Jacob, perhaps not as communicative as his neighbours would have liked, but still they learnt not only to respect, but, in time, to love the newcomer, and after years of sojourn in the village he was at last looked upon as one of them. His shop became the acknowledged spot for the men to meet for a pipe and a bit o’ rap. Willie Merry and Ralph Duell went one night with their pipes and a mug o’ beer. In summer time they sat outside and watched the sun go down, and presently a sprinkling of farmers’ sons and others gathered round, for in those days there was no forge in the village.

Jake,” said old Will Merry one night when a goodly company was gathered near his shop watching a couple of young fellows having a bout at quarter staff, ” thoo’s a rare good hand at thi trade. Ah wish thoo’d tell us what it war ‘at led tha ti pitch on this spot for ti arn thi living.2“Jake, you’re a really skilled person in your profession. I wish you would tell us what it was that made you choose this location to earn your living.”

Whya, if Ah did Ah’ll back ya deea now’t bud call ma a softhead,” said Jacob3“Well, if I did, I’ll back you would do anything but call me a softhead.”.

Nay, nay, nut uz! Ah mak neea doot bud what thoo ‘ed good reasons ti deea ez thoo did. Noo come oot wi’t.4“No, no, not us! I have no doubt that you had good reasons to do what you did. Now, tell us.”

It was surprising how quickly it became known amongst the scattered crowd that Jacob was going to tell his secret. Rolling a block of wood towards the doorway, Jacob sat himself down, and after a few moments’ thought, he began:

Well well ! Ah’m an au’d chap noo, and have failed to find that which for many years I have been looking for. Years ago you will remember, I was nicknamed Locky. You know how I came by that name. I got it because into every house which I entered I asked leave to examine the make of their oaken chest. It was then observed that, I paid great attention to the lock; but I only did that to throw folk on a wrong scent. It was the woodwork about the lock which I wanted to see. And now I’ll tell you why I wished to do so.” Turning to old Willie, he went on to say: “Both you and Ralph will call to mind, when you were young chaps, that one named Tom Reed lived in this village.”5Well, well! I’m an old man now, and I haven’t been able to find what I’ve been looking for all these years. Years ago, as you’ll remember, I was nicknamed Locky. You know how I got that name. It was because I asked permission to examine the construction of every oak chest in every house I entered. People noticed that I paid a lot of attention to the lock, but that was just to mislead them. What I was really interested in was the woodwork around the lock. And now I’ll tell you why I wanted to see that. Both you and Ralph will remember that a man named Tom Reed used to live in this village.

Ay, ay,” assented both old men. “He left these pairts monny a lang year sen, did Tom; Ah kenn’d him well. What, him an’ me baith sweethearted t’same lass, but Ah wan her, ay, Ah did, hooivver,” chuckled the old fellow6“He left these parts many a long year since, did Tom; I knew him well. What, him and I both courted the same girl, but I won her, yes, I did, however.”. Before he could continue the story of his wife’s death and burial, Jacob continued:

Whya, then, Tom Reed war my uncle. When he left here he came to spend a few weeks with my father, who ‘ad wed his sister. Bud afore he’d been wiv uz a fortnit he happened an accident, an’ for aboon tweea year he war a cripple, an’ ed ti be dragged aboot in a chair what I fixed a couple o’ light wheels what I made and fixed on to it. Whya, it war one day, when him an’ me war oot tigither, he sez ti me, ‘Thoo’s been a good lad to me, Jacob’ β€” l’d off’ns dragged him aboot, ya ken β€” bud Ah saant be here lang now ti be a bodden ti onnybody. Is it a fact, lad, ‘at thoo’s a lahl bit sick at heart about Bessy Horner? Is it reet what fau’k say β€” ‘at sha weean’t a’e now ti say i tha whahl thoo’s yabble ti lig in her lap a hundred pund?’ Ah tell’d him it war trew. ‘Whya,’ sez he, ‘Ah wadn’t a’e sikan a wench thrawn at ma. Hooivver, it’s neea good argyin’ wi’ yan ‘at’s heartsick. Noo, hark ya, mah father war a verra queer au’d chap, an’ he tell’d me, just afore he breathed his last, that monny a year sen he saved a chap’s life by the name of Jadder Storm. Some time afterwards, Storm sent for my father ti go an’ see him ez he war dying, an’ my father fan oot such war the case. It seems fra what he said that he’d been in his day owther a smuggler er a pirate er summat, an’ he tell’d my father that a vast o’ brass war hidden somewheer, bud he didn’t knaw wheer. Hooivver, he gave him a bit o’ parchment β€” l have it now β€” upon which was written these words : 7“Well, then, Tom Reed was my uncle. When he left here, he came to spend a few weeks with my father, who had married his sister. But before he had been with us for two weeks, he had an accident, and for over two years, he was a cripple and had to be dragged around in a chair that I fixed with a pair of light wheels that I made and attached to it. Well, it was one day when he and I were out together, he said to me, ‘You’ve been a good lad to me, Jacob’ β€” I often dragged him around, you know β€” but I won’t be here much longer to be a burden to anybody. Is it true, lad, that you’re a little bit lovesick for Bessy Horner? Is it correct what people say β€” that she won’t have you now until you can bring her a hundred pounds?’ I told him it was true. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t have such a girl throw herself at me. However, it’s no use arguing with someone who’s heartsick. Now, listen, my father was a very strange old fellow, and he told me just before he died that many years ago, he saved a man’s life named Jadder Storm. Some time later, Storm sent for my father to go and see him as he was dying, and my father found out that it was true. It seems from what he said that Storm had been in his day either a smuggler or a pirate or something, and he told my father that a lot of money was hidden somewhere, but he didn’t know where. However, he gave him a piece of parchment β€” I have it now β€” on which was written these words:

Treasure . . buryed . . yards . . enterance . .hand . .

‘He told my father that the key to these words were hidden in a certain oak chist. The key was written on another bit o’ parchment, and lay behind a square bit o’ wood let in just below the lock. He didn’t know where the chist war, but he had meant walking the dales through and visiting every house whahl he came across it; but he died, and left my father with the secret. But he felt that there was a curse upon the hidden treasure.’ 8” β€˜He told my father that the key to these words was hidden in a certain oak chest. The key was written on another piece of parchment and was placed behind a square piece of wood inserted just below the lock. He didn’t know where the chest was, but he had intended to walk through the valleys and visit every house until he found it. However, he passed away and left my father with the secret. But he had a sense that a curse was associated with the hidden treasure.’ “

It war the Devil’s brass β€” he used to say, an’ upon my word it did begin to look a bit like it when my uncle, who had really come to see his sister, who had lived in Ellerby all her life afore sha gat wed, to see if she knew who had bought a certain chist he had once had to mend, which he thought he remembered noticing had a piece of wood letten in below the lock. But she could not say who bowt it when the owner’s things were sell’d efter he died. Then, as I’ve tell’d ya, my uncle had an accident and he died. Noo, if it ‘ed nut been ‘at I war so despertly in love wi’ Bessy, I aim ‘at Ah darn’t a’e venaured upon the task o’ trying to finnd it. Bud Ah wanted a hundred pund, an’ Ah war prepared ti venture owt ti a ho’d on’t. So I came to Ellerby, in the hope of coming across it somewhere or other; bud I nivver did finnd it, er ivver cam’ across wi’ onnybody ‘at kenn’d owt aboot sikan a kist. Bud Ah’s ez sarten es Ah’s sittin’ on this lump o wood ‘at if onnybody could finnd that oak chist, this writing and the writing ligging at the back o’ yon piece o’ wood wad tell ’em wheer ti finnd a fortun. 9“It was the Devil’s money β€” he used to say, and upon my word, it did begin to look a bit like it when my uncle, who had really come to see his sister, who had lived in Ellerby all her life before she got married, to see if she knew who had bought a certain chest he had once had to repair, which he thought he remembered noticing had a piece of wood inserted below the lock. But she could not say who bought it when the owner’s belongings were sold after he died. Then, as I’ve told you, my uncle had an accident and he died. Now, if it hadn’t been that I was so desperately in love with Bessy, I am certain I wouldn’t have dared to undertake the task of trying to find it. But I wanted a hundred pounds, and I was prepared to try anything to get hold of it. So I came to Ellerby, hoping to come across it somewhere or another, but I never did find it, or ever came across anyone who knew anything about such a chest. But I’m as certain as I’m sitting on this lump of wood that if anybody could find that oak chest, this writing and the writing lying at the back of that piece of wood would tell them where to find a fortune.”

There’s one bit what I evvn’t tell’d ya yit, an’ it’s a queer bit an’ all. When I left home for ti come ti Ellerby, I cam by way of Hinderwell. Noo, it so fell out that when I war aboot a mile fra the village, I jumped with ow’d Mally Moon, an’ there’s some amang ya’ll call to mind ‘at Mally war a wise woman; sha ken’t the stars an’ suchlike mysteries. I knew the au’d lass weel, so I passed the time o’ day, an’ I says, ‘Are ya wise eneeaf, Mally, for ti tell ma if Ah’s find what Ah’s gahin for ti laat ?’(seek)10“There’s one bit what I haven’t told you yet, and it’s a strange bit indeed. When I left home to come to Ellerby, I came by way of Hinderwell. Now, it so happened that when I was about a mile from the village, I bumped into old Mally Moon, and there are some among you who remember that Mally was a wise woman; she knew about the stars and such mysteries. I knew the old lady well, so I greeted her and I said, ‘Are you wise enough, Mally, to tell me if I’ll find what I’m going to look for?’”.

” ‘Jacob,’ says sha, ‘thoo war yance ower verra kind to me, an Ah’s nut yan o’ them what forgits a good deed. Ah wish thoo may nut finnd what thoo’s gahin for ti laat, an’ in that, Jacob, Ah with tha nowt bud weel, for no greter cosa (greater curse) could leet o’ thy head than to lead Bessy ower the threshold wi nobbut yah garter band on.’ (meaning as his bride, as she had just parted with one of her garters to the winner of the bridal race).11“‘Jacob,’ she says, ‘you were once very kind to me, and I’m not one of those who forgets a good deed. I hope you don’t find what you’re going for too late, and in that, Jacob, I wish you nothing but good luck, for no greater curse could come upon your head than to marry Bessy with only one garter on.’”

I didn’t thank Mally for what she then said to ma, but I lived to bless the day that Bessy warn’t my wife, fer, oh, deary me! sha ton’d oot ti be a sad lot β€” ay, ay, a sad lot!” said the old chap, really communing with himself, and not to those about him.12“I didn’t thank Mally for what she then said to me, but I lived to bless the day that Bessy wasn’t my wife, because, oh, dear me! she turned out to be a miserable person β€” yes, yes, a miserable person!” said the old man.

An’ are ya still of a mind ‘at ther’s summat felt somewhere hereabouts? Fer if ya ai mther is, yu’d best set yer wits ti wark an’ finnd it, fer Jim here is in summat of the same sort of a fix ez what you war, nobbut in his case bonny Polly wad wed him ez he stand’, nobbut her au’d fatther weean’t hear on’t, and Jim ezn’t brass eneeaf. Ic wad be a capper if ya could leet on it noo, Jacob. By go! bud wad ‘ev sikan a wedding ez ther ‘ezn’t been i’ thase pairts of a piece.13“And are you still of a mind that there’s something felt somewhere around here? Because if you are, you’d best set your wits to work and find it, for Jim here is in a similar predicament as you were, only in his case, lovely Polly would marry him as he is, but her old father wouldn’t agree, and Jim doesn’t have enough money. It would be quite remarkable if you could discover it now, Jacob. By gosh! What a wedding it would be, one that hasn’t happened in these parts before.”

I edn’t quite finished my tale when thoo put thi wo’d in on Jim’s behalf; bud I will say, afore I tell ya the last curious bit, that if I could finnd it Jim shouldn’t want for help fra me. Well, then, you’ll call to mind that I said a bit back β€” l said that I nivver did finnd it, an’ that I nivver cam across onnybody ‘at knew owt aboot it. In a way that’s nut reet, fer I yance ower did come across it, at least I feel certain that I did. An’ this war hoo it war. I went into Ann Allan’s (that war lang afore sha ‘ed to walk the village in her sark for drawing milk frer her neighbours’ cows). Sha wanted some repairs doing to a chair, an’ whahl sha war oot deeaing summat I lifted the lid of her chist. It war yan I ‘ed nivver seen, in her kitchen afore, an’, if you’ll believe me, I seed below the lock a square bit o’ wood letten in. I war knocked all iv a heap. It fairly took by breath away. Hooirver, I gat the lid shutten afore sha cam back.14“I hadn’t quite finished my story when you interrupted on Jim’s behalf, but I will say, before I tell you the last intriguing part, that if I could find it, Jim wouldn’t lack my assistance. Well, then, you’ll remember that I mentioned a while agoβ€”that I never did find it, and that I never came across anyone who knew anything about it. In a sense, that’s not entirely true, for I once did stumble upon it, or at least I strongly believe I did. And this is how it happened. I entered Ann Allan’s place (that was a long time before she had to wander around the village in her undergarments to fetch milk from her neighbors’ cows). She needed some repairs done to a chair, and while she was out doing something, I lifted the lid of her chest. It was one I had never seen in her kitchen before, and if you’ll believe me, I noticed a square piece of wood beneath the lock. It completely astonished me. It took my breath away, to be honest. However, I managed to close the lid before she returned.”

“‘Ann,’ says I, do ya want to pairt wi’ t’au’d chist? β€” it sadly wants deeaing up an’ fettling all over. Mun I deea’t fer ya?15“‘Ann,’ I said, do you want to part with the old chest? It’s in dire need of cleaning and fixing all over. Should I do it for you?”

‘ It’s nut mine, an’ its gahin ti be fetched away ti morn at noon.’16“It’s not mine, and it’s going to be taken away tomorrow at noon.”

” ‘ Oha,’ says I, ‘an’ wheea’s ow’t?17“Oh, dear, and who owns it?”

“‘Nay, my lad, sez sha ‘it’s neea business o’ thine, an’ now’t ti thee, owther, wheeas ow’t, er wheer it’s gahin teea.’18“No, my lad,” says she, “it’s none of your business, and nothing to you either, whether it’s anything, or where it’s going to.”

An sha wadn’t tell ma nowt, so I made up my mind ‘at I wad foller wheeaivver took it away, and finnd oot wheear it war ta’en. So next morning by daybreak I war up ; bud early as it war, when I gat to the top of the village I met a chap who I didn’t ken with a hoss an’ cart an’ a load o’ straw. I don’t knaw what put it into my head, but summat tell’d me that the chist war hidden underneath the straw, so I laid my hand on the side of the cart, as if I wad rist mysen ea I walked with the chap. ‘Noo, then,’ sez he, ‘there’s nowt amang that straw fer you ti finger.’ He’d seen what I war efter, but he war too late, I’d fun’ oot then ‘at it war there hard eneeaf β€” an’ ther war nowt aboot that β€” and I made up my mind for to foller that cart, gan where it mud. Bud betimes yan isn’t yabble to do what wa determin’ en. It was just when the stranger chap tell’d ma what I needn’t finger amang the straw, that an au’d body gat hersen up. Sha’d been sitin amang t’heather, an’ I’d nut spied her. I didn’t knaw her, an’ it war nut. whahl monny a year efter ‘at I larnt what sha war au’d Peggy Musk, fra ower by Egton, ez bad an ou’d witch ez ivver kest a shadow on t’grund. It war quite plain ti see what the chap what belanged t’hoss an’ cart aimed ‘an sha wad be theear aboot, for he pulled up an’ gav her a leg up on ti t’cart, wheea sha sat hersen doon amang t’straw. But just afore he gav her a Ieg up, sha ton’ ti me an’ sez: 19“And she wouldn’t tell me anything, so I made up my mind that I would follow whoever took it away and find out where it was taken. So the next morning at daybreak, I was up. But even though it was early, when I reached the top of the village, I met a man whom I didn’t know with a horse and cart and a load of straw. I don’t know what put it into my head, but something told me that the chest was hidden underneath the straw. So I placed my hand on the side of the cart as if I would rest myself while walking with the man. ‘Now then,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing among that straw for you to touch.’ He had seen what I was after, but he was too late. I had already discovered that it was there, and there was no doubt about it. I decided to follow that cart, no matter where it might go. But sometimes one isn’t able to do what they are determined to do. It was just when the stranger man told me that I didn’t need to search among the straw that an old woman got herself up. She had been sitting among the heather, and I hadn’t noticed her. I didn’t know her, and it wasn’t until many years later that I learned she was old Peggy Musk from over by Egton, as wicked an old witch as ever cast a shadow on the ground. It was quite evident that the man who owned the horse and cart expected her to be there because he stopped and helped her onto the cart, where she sat herself down among the straw. But just before he helped her up, she turned to me and said:

Noo, then, thoo fra Ellerby! gan thi ways yam, an’ think on them ‘at follers me lays abed a day fer ivvery step tha tak; an’ by gocks, sha kest a spell on ma theear an’ then, fer I didn’t tak aboon a score o’ strides afore I twisted my ankle; an’, aa! what limping deed I hed afore I gat back tiv Ellerby! An’ sha war reet, war t’au’d cat! I war laid up fer ower three week, ah war, hooivver! An’ when I war aboot again I could larn nowt, an’ Ann Allan wadn’t gi’e ma a inkliin’ of onny kind, that I well knaw’d, an’ so I nivver axed her nowt aboot newt. When ateefter it cam aboot ‘at sha ‘ed ti git hersen hussled oot o’ the village es nowt bud a bad trash, that war t’end on’t; an fra that day I nivver heeard of owt likely ti gi’e ma inklin’; bud Ah ez sarten ‘at that war the chist I war laating. Ay, ez sarten ez death.20“Now, then, you from Ellerby! Go your way home and think about those who follow me, lying in bed for every step you take. And, by gosh, she cursed me there and then, for I didn’t take more than a few strides before I twisted my ankle. Oh, what a painful ordeal I had before I got back to Ellerby! And she was right, that old cat! I was bedridden for over three weeks, I was, however! And when I was up and about again, I couldn’t learn anything, and Ann Allan wouldn’t give me a hint of any kind, which I knew very well, so I never asked her anything. Afterwards, when it turned out that she had to leave the village as nothing but trouble, that was the end of it. And from that day on, I never heard anything that could give me a clue; but I am certain that was the truth. Yes, as certain as death.”

That same evening, after the good fau’k of Ellerby had retired to rest, a knock at old Jacob’s door awoke him.

Come in,” said he, opening the door and finding the one spoken of as Jim standing on the doorstand; “whatever brings thoo here, Jim Fothergill, at this time o’ neet? Bud come in, my fire’s nut oot yit.21“What brings you here, Jim Fothergill, at this time of night? But come in, my fire’s not out yet.”

Whya, Jake, it’s like this. Thoo heard what Tom said aboot an’ Polly, didn’t ta?”22Well, Jake, it’s like this. Did you hear what Tom said about Anne and Polly, didn’t you?

Ay, Ah mind it. Whya, what next ?23“Aye, I remember it. Well, what’s next?”

Whya, I take it war true. Polly wad wed ma bud becoz he can gi’e Polly a hundred pund, he’s ‘tarmind ‘at the chap who weds her s’all ‘ez another hundred ti’ put tul’t. Noo, Ah wanted ti knaw if thoo’ll come alang wi’ me an’ leeak at a nau’d chist my fatther bowt aboon a dozen year sen fra the dow’ter of an au’d lass wheea died, an’ Ah mind ‘at tha called her Peggy. He fetched it yance frev oot o’ Brandsdale [Bransdale] er Rosedale, Ah’s nut serten whether. Bud that’s nowt. Will ta come? Thoo said, like, ‘at thoo wa’d help onnyhody if thoo fan t’brass.24Well, I reckon it was true. Polly would marry my friend because he can give Polly a hundred pounds. He’s determined that the fellow who marries her should also have another hundred to add to it. Now, I wanted to know if you’ll come along with me and have a look at an old chest my father bought over a dozen years ago from the daughter of an old woman who passed away. I remember you called her Peggy. He brought it once from either Bransdale or Rosedale, I’m not quite certain. But that’s not important. Will you come? You said, like, that you would help anybody if you found the money.”

And so by lanhtorn leet25lantern light those two wended their way to where the old chest was kept. At the time, it was being used as a corn bin.

Ay, that’s it, hard eneeaf,” exclaimed Jacob the moment the light from the lantern fell upon it. “An’ there’s bit o’ wood letten in just unner the lock.26“Aye, that’s it, hard enough, and there’s a piece of wood stuck just under the lock.”

Sure enough, when they had removed it, there snugly lay a neatly-written script of parchment. Back to Jacob’s house they hurried, and by the candle light they read as follows: β€”

Is . . five . . . left . . hob-hole.

What diz it mean, Jake ?” cried Jim, in a subdued but excited voice.

Ho’d on a bit! Thoo sees what’s on this bit I hev. I’ve gitten it, I ‘ev, hooivver,” almost shouted Jacob. “It’s plain ez A.B.C. Dizn’t ta ken, mun? Read the fost wo’d on my bit and the fost wo’d on thy bit, an’ so on, an’ what deea wa mak oot? Whya, this, lad : β€”27“Hold on a bit! You see what’s on this piece I have. I’ve got it, I have, however, it’s plain as ABC. Don’t you know, mate? Read the first word on my piece and the first word on your piece, and so on, and what do we make out? Well, this, lad:β€””

Treasure is buried five yards from enterance left hand Hob Hole.

Well, Jim, for a good job it war kept fra me, an’ may it be that for a good job it’s been fun fer thee. But wa a’ent fun it yit, ma lad. It may be ‘at somebody ez been theear afore uz. Onny road, if it is there, thoo s’all wed Polly.28“Well, Jim, it was withheld from me for a good reason, and may it be that it has been enjoyable for you for a good reason. But I haven’t found it amusing yet, my friend. It’s possible that someone has been there before us. Anyway, if it is there, you shall marry Polly.”

Late, or rather early as it was, loverlike, Jim would have set of there and then to dig Hob Hole from end to end; but it was in the days of witchcraft, charms, and spells, and Jacob told him that before they could hope for success there was much they must do β€” things which he had not considered it expedient to make known to the casual listener of the night previous. Silver shot had to be made, and a hare killed with it; a white owl had to be caught, and the blood of the two to be mixed. With this mixed blood the soles of their feet had to be anointed, and their journey started at midnight from within the shadow of some church, on any night of the year but St. Mark’s Eve, Good Friday, and Sunday nights.

All these requirements having been fully attended to, which demanded several days of impatience on the part of Jim, they were fully prepared to start from the shadow of the nearest church. As to the journey from thence to the entrance to Hob Hole, we know nothing except that it was a terrible journey, for a witch spell had been cast upon the hidden treasure, which they discovered was guarded by all manner of dreadfully terrifying occurrences as well as with horrid things they saw, frightful sounds in the air, and ghostly followers ever near and about them. Really what did happen to the daring couple will never be known, for it has long been forgotten. The treasure was there and had lain there for many years. Jim and Polly were wed, and before old Jacob died, which happened some few years afterwards, he gave his share to the young couple. The evidence of their wealth set folk talking, and to this day there is a story told in connection with one family that a forelder of theirs found a pot full o’ brass, which was the beginning of their good luck.

Such is one of the several curious stories told in connection with Hob Hole.

  • 1
    BLAKEBOROUGH, R. β€˜Stories of Local Lore. A Buried Treasure. | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 21 June 1902 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2022. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003075/19020621/289/0031?browse=true> [accessed 3 November 2022]
  • 2
    “Jake, you’re a really skilled person in your profession. I wish you would tell us what it was that made you choose this location to earn your living.”
  • 3
    “Well, if I did, I’ll back you would do anything but call me a softhead.”
  • 4
    “No, no, not us! I have no doubt that you had good reasons to do what you did. Now, tell us.”
  • 5
    Well, well! I’m an old man now, and I haven’t been able to find what I’ve been looking for all these years. Years ago, as you’ll remember, I was nicknamed Locky. You know how I got that name. It was because I asked permission to examine the construction of every oak chest in every house I entered. People noticed that I paid a lot of attention to the lock, but that was just to mislead them. What I was really interested in was the woodwork around the lock. And now I’ll tell you why I wanted to see that. Both you and Ralph will remember that a man named Tom Reed used to live in this village.
  • 6
    “He left these parts many a long year since, did Tom; I knew him well. What, him and I both courted the same girl, but I won her, yes, I did, however.”
  • 7
    “Well, then, Tom Reed was my uncle. When he left here, he came to spend a few weeks with my father, who had married his sister. But before he had been with us for two weeks, he had an accident, and for over two years, he was a cripple and had to be dragged around in a chair that I fixed with a pair of light wheels that I made and attached to it. Well, it was one day when he and I were out together, he said to me, ‘You’ve been a good lad to me, Jacob’ β€” I often dragged him around, you know β€” but I won’t be here much longer to be a burden to anybody. Is it true, lad, that you’re a little bit lovesick for Bessy Horner? Is it correct what people say β€” that she won’t have you now until you can bring her a hundred pounds?’ I told him it was true. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t have such a girl throw herself at me. However, it’s no use arguing with someone who’s heartsick. Now, listen, my father was a very strange old fellow, and he told me just before he died that many years ago, he saved a man’s life named Jadder Storm. Some time later, Storm sent for my father to go and see him as he was dying, and my father found out that it was true. It seems from what he said that Storm had been in his day either a smuggler or a pirate or something, and he told my father that a lot of money was hidden somewhere, but he didn’t know where. However, he gave him a piece of parchment β€” I have it now β€” on which was written these words:
  • 8
    ” β€˜He told my father that the key to these words was hidden in a certain oak chest. The key was written on another piece of parchment and was placed behind a square piece of wood inserted just below the lock. He didn’t know where the chest was, but he had intended to walk through the valleys and visit every house until he found it. However, he passed away and left my father with the secret. But he had a sense that a curse was associated with the hidden treasure.’ “
  • 9
    “It was the Devil’s money β€” he used to say, and upon my word, it did begin to look a bit like it when my uncle, who had really come to see his sister, who had lived in Ellerby all her life before she got married, to see if she knew who had bought a certain chest he had once had to repair, which he thought he remembered noticing had a piece of wood inserted below the lock. But she could not say who bought it when the owner’s belongings were sold after he died. Then, as I’ve told you, my uncle had an accident and he died. Now, if it hadn’t been that I was so desperately in love with Bessy, I am certain I wouldn’t have dared to undertake the task of trying to find it. But I wanted a hundred pounds, and I was prepared to try anything to get hold of it. So I came to Ellerby, hoping to come across it somewhere or another, but I never did find it, or ever came across anyone who knew anything about such a chest. But I’m as certain as I’m sitting on this lump of wood that if anybody could find that oak chest, this writing and the writing lying at the back of that piece of wood would tell them where to find a fortune.”
  • 10
    “There’s one bit what I haven’t told you yet, and it’s a strange bit indeed. When I left home to come to Ellerby, I came by way of Hinderwell. Now, it so happened that when I was about a mile from the village, I bumped into old Mally Moon, and there are some among you who remember that Mally was a wise woman; she knew about the stars and such mysteries. I knew the old lady well, so I greeted her and I said, ‘Are you wise enough, Mally, to tell me if I’ll find what I’m going to look for?’”
  • 11
    “‘Jacob,’ she says, ‘you were once very kind to me, and I’m not one of those who forgets a good deed. I hope you don’t find what you’re going for too late, and in that, Jacob, I wish you nothing but good luck, for no greater curse could come upon your head than to marry Bessy with only one garter on.’”
  • 12
    “I didn’t thank Mally for what she then said to me, but I lived to bless the day that Bessy wasn’t my wife, because, oh, dear me! she turned out to be a miserable person β€” yes, yes, a miserable person!” said the old man.
  • 13
    “And are you still of a mind that there’s something felt somewhere around here? Because if you are, you’d best set your wits to work and find it, for Jim here is in a similar predicament as you were, only in his case, lovely Polly would marry him as he is, but her old father wouldn’t agree, and Jim doesn’t have enough money. It would be quite remarkable if you could discover it now, Jacob. By gosh! What a wedding it would be, one that hasn’t happened in these parts before.”
  • 14
    “I hadn’t quite finished my story when you interrupted on Jim’s behalf, but I will say, before I tell you the last intriguing part, that if I could find it, Jim wouldn’t lack my assistance. Well, then, you’ll remember that I mentioned a while agoβ€”that I never did find it, and that I never came across anyone who knew anything about it. In a sense, that’s not entirely true, for I once did stumble upon it, or at least I strongly believe I did. And this is how it happened. I entered Ann Allan’s place (that was a long time before she had to wander around the village in her undergarments to fetch milk from her neighbors’ cows). She needed some repairs done to a chair, and while she was out doing something, I lifted the lid of her chest. It was one I had never seen in her kitchen before, and if you’ll believe me, I noticed a square piece of wood beneath the lock. It completely astonished me. It took my breath away, to be honest. However, I managed to close the lid before she returned.”
  • 15
    “‘Ann,’ I said, do you want to part with the old chest? It’s in dire need of cleaning and fixing all over. Should I do it for you?”
  • 16
    “It’s not mine, and it’s going to be taken away tomorrow at noon.”
  • 17
    “Oh, dear, and who owns it?”
  • 18
    “No, my lad,” says she, “it’s none of your business, and nothing to you either, whether it’s anything, or where it’s going to.”
  • 19
    “And she wouldn’t tell me anything, so I made up my mind that I would follow whoever took it away and find out where it was taken. So the next morning at daybreak, I was up. But even though it was early, when I reached the top of the village, I met a man whom I didn’t know with a horse and cart and a load of straw. I don’t know what put it into my head, but something told me that the chest was hidden underneath the straw. So I placed my hand on the side of the cart as if I would rest myself while walking with the man. ‘Now then,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing among that straw for you to touch.’ He had seen what I was after, but he was too late. I had already discovered that it was there, and there was no doubt about it. I decided to follow that cart, no matter where it might go. But sometimes one isn’t able to do what they are determined to do. It was just when the stranger man told me that I didn’t need to search among the straw that an old woman got herself up. She had been sitting among the heather, and I hadn’t noticed her. I didn’t know her, and it wasn’t until many years later that I learned she was old Peggy Musk from over by Egton, as wicked an old witch as ever cast a shadow on the ground. It was quite evident that the man who owned the horse and cart expected her to be there because he stopped and helped her onto the cart, where she sat herself down among the straw. But just before he helped her up, she turned to me and said:
  • 20
    “Now, then, you from Ellerby! Go your way home and think about those who follow me, lying in bed for every step you take. And, by gosh, she cursed me there and then, for I didn’t take more than a few strides before I twisted my ankle. Oh, what a painful ordeal I had before I got back to Ellerby! And she was right, that old cat! I was bedridden for over three weeks, I was, however! And when I was up and about again, I couldn’t learn anything, and Ann Allan wouldn’t give me a hint of any kind, which I knew very well, so I never asked her anything. Afterwards, when it turned out that she had to leave the village as nothing but trouble, that was the end of it. And from that day on, I never heard anything that could give me a clue; but I am certain that was the truth. Yes, as certain as death.”
  • 21
    “What brings you here, Jim Fothergill, at this time of night? But come in, my fire’s not out yet.”
  • 22
    Well, Jake, it’s like this. Did you hear what Tom said about Anne and Polly, didn’t you?
  • 23
    “Aye, I remember it. Well, what’s next?”
  • 24
    Well, I reckon it was true. Polly would marry my friend because he can give Polly a hundred pounds. He’s determined that the fellow who marries her should also have another hundred to add to it. Now, I wanted to know if you’ll come along with me and have a look at an old chest my father bought over a dozen years ago from the daughter of an old woman who passed away. I remember you called her Peggy. He brought it once from either Bransdale or Rosedale, I’m not quite certain. But that’s not important. Will you come? You said, like, that you would help anybody if you found the money.”
  • 25
    lantern light
  • 26
    “Aye, that’s it, hard enough, and there’s a piece of wood stuck just under the lock.”
  • 27
    “Hold on a bit! You see what’s on this piece I have. I’ve got it, I have, however, it’s plain as ABC. Don’t you know, mate? Read the first word on my piece and the first word on your piece, and so on, and what do we make out? Well, this, lad:β€””
  • 28
    “Well, Jim, it was withheld from me for a good reason, and may it be that it has been enjoyable for you for a good reason. But I haven’t found it amusing yet, my friend. It’s possible that someone has been there before us. Anyway, if it is there, you shall marry Polly.”

Posted

in

,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *