Suffolk Fairylore

Suffolk Fairylore traces belief in fairy-like beings across the county from the Roman period to the present day. Francis Young examines how local traditions developed, changed and survived, placing Suffolk’s material alongside fairylore from elsewhere in East Anglia and Britain.

Particular attention is given to the Green Children of Woolpit, Suffolk’s best-known fairy narrative, while lesser-known accounts help reveal the character of the county’s traditions. The study considers the evidence preserved in historical writing and folklore, challenging the assumption that fairy belief belongs chiefly to western Britain. Its focus is the changing record of Suffolk fairylore: the stories, ideas and local associations through which supernatural beings have been imagined in England’s easternmost county.