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L3476 - 'The Cuckoo Bush' in Gotham
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L3476 - 'The Cuckoo Bush' in Gotham
L3476 - 'The Cuckoo Bush' in Gotham
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iBase ID
10643
Title
L3476 - 'The Cuckoo Bush' in Gotham
Description
L3476 - This Nottinghamshire village is said to have provided the setting for a number of historic tales published in 'chap' book (cheap, populist publication peddled by travelling salesmen) 'The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham.' The volume contained a number of anecdotes all telling of the lunacy of the villagers, including one entitled 'The Cuckoo Bush'; Legend has it that the men of the area heard a cuckoo calling from a bush. In an effort to preserve springtime eternally they built a hedge or fence around the bush to stop the bird from getting away. It inevitably flew away, prompting one of the men to exclaim 'If only we had made the hedge higher, she would not have escaped.' The bush nearest to the foreground of this photograph stands on a hill above Gotham, and is said to have been planted to commemorate the tale. In 12th century Britain insanity was thought to be contagious, and the myths are explained in various versions as being attempts to trick King John. In one the villagers are trying to thwart plans to build a Royal hunting lodge nearby, which would provide competition for local game. An alternative version links to the law of the day that stated whichever route was taken by the king automatically became a public road. The villagers did not want to have to pay for its' maintenance and so feigned madness to keep the king away.
British Railways - S. W. A. Newton Collection
More information about these photographs and the Great Central Railway can be found
here
Maker
S.W.A. Newton
LCC ID. No.
L3476.tif
Image Use
Personal use only unless otherwise agreed
Notes
IM&ICT - RC
Original media type: Glass plate negative
Exhibitions with this image
L3476 - This Nottinghamshire village is said to have provided the setting for a number of historic tales published in 'chap' book (cheap, populist publication peddled by travelling salesmen) 'The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham.' The volume contained a number of anecdotes all telling of the lunacy of the villagers, including one entitled 'The Cuckoo Bush'; Legend has it that the men of the area heard a cuckoo calling from a bush. In an effort to preserve springtime eternally they built a hedge or fence around the bush to stop the bird from getting away. It inevitably flew away, prompting one of the men to exclaim 'If only we had made the hedge higher, she would not have escaped.' The bush nearest to the foreground of this photograph stands on a hill above Gotham, and is said to have been planted to commemorate the tale. In 12th century Britain insanity was thought to be contagious, and the myths are explained in various versions as being attempts to trick King John. In one the villagers are trying to thwart plans to build a Royal hunting lodge nearby, which would provide competition for local game. An alternative version links to the law of the day that stated whichever route was taken by the king automatically became a public road. The villagers did not want to have to pay for its' maintenance and so feigned madness to keep the king away.
British Railways - S. W. A. Newton Collection
More information about these photographs and the Great Central Railway can be found
here
Subjects
Transport
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File metadata
File name
8882.jpg
File size
2.29 MB
File extension
JPEG
Width
4850 px
Height
3680 px
Uploaded on
2013-06-05 13:17:50
Date taken
01/01/1900
