The Folklore of the Cotswolds

Katharine Briggs examines the traditions, stories and beliefs associated with the Cotswolds, linking folklore to particular villages, towns, landscapes and historic sites. The book includes historical traditions, local tales and legends, customs, festivals, songs, dances and Morris dancing, showing how communal practices and older narratives were preserved in regional life.

Among the material are traditions connected with Wychwood Forest, the Rollright Stones, Snowshill, Minster Lovell and Chipping Campden. Briggs also records reports and beliefs concerning witches, black dogs, ghosts, the Devil and other supernatural figures, alongside accounts of poaching, fairs, churchyards and seasonal observances. The result is a place-based portrait of Cotswold folklore, presented as inherited tradition and local testimony rather than settled fact.