Traditions of Lancashire by John Roby

Description

Traditions of Lancashire is a book by John Roby, first published in 1829. This two-volume collection assembles local legends, antiquarian notes and popular tales gathered from across Lancashire and the surrounding moorlands. Written in a narrative, often-romantic Victorian style, the work ranges from ghost stories and witch-lore to accounts of old families, place-names and rural customs. Roby’s aim was preservation: to rescue oral traditions and local histories at a moment when industrial change threatened older rural life. The books were popular in their day and were quickly reprinted and adapted for wider audiences, but later scholars have flagged Roby’s editorial practices — he sometimes reshaped or embellished material to suit literary tastes — so his collections are both valuable and to be used with caution by modern folklorists. In short, the work is an important early source for Lancashire tradition and Victorian antiquarianism, but readers looking for strictly unaltered oral transcripts should treat some tales skeptically.

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