Category Archives: Hedge Mythology
“…a bustle in your hedgerow…” (slightly demystified )
Just to take a quick look at the well-known line from Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin… If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, Don’t be alarmed now, It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen. I’ve mentioned that … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mythology, Historical Hedges
Witches and fairies in the hedgerow
Following on from the last post, fairies are often found living in or emerging from hedges in British folk tales – which makes sense because hedges symbolise boundaries and often work as magical gateways, and also because they divide the … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mythology, The Hedge Philosopher
More Alice Thomas Ellis hedge quotes
Sorry for the repetition, but this is mostly what I’m reading this week and there are loads of interesting hedge moments in her novels. Fairy Tale is her darkest book, not as much comedy as usual and some really quite … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mythology, Literary Hedges, Rural Britain
Rosamund’s Bower – a hedge maze at Woodstock
Henry II supposedly built a hedge maze at Woodstock, with a hedged arbour at the centre, designed for trysts with his mistress Rosamund Clifford. As it happens, this is probably an apocryphal story, an “urban myth” that was passed on … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mazes, Hedge Mythology, Historical Hedges
The Billhook: tool and weapon
Here’s another interesting Richard Jefferies quote, about how the billhook, traditionally used to cut and lay hedges, was also used as a weapon when need be. The billhook is the national weapon of the English labourer. As the lance to … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mythology, Literary Hedges
Magical Hedges
Many common hedge species are the subject of magical or mythical beliefs. Hawthorn is the subject of endless superstitions – for instance the proverb “cleave to the crown though it hangs in a bush” is said to derive from hawthorn’s … Continue reading
Filed under Hedge Mythology
