BOOK NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HOTELS

Join in

Send page to a friend

5237 views since 17th August 2011

Bad Bobby Bannister, Northamptonshire

Certain counties have their own special bogeymen (and women) who have scared children for generations: so it is in Northumberland with the Duergar Dwarves haunting the hills; Jenny Greenteeth in Shropshire , though she can be found elsewhere too; Yallery Brown in Lincolnshire ; and Bobby Bannister in Northamptonshire.
Different versions of the tale can be found with a little looking, though the invaluable Westwood and Simpson’s The Lore of the Land provides the most detailed information. They believe the bogeyman originated in the real-life figure of Sir Robert Banastre, a courtier to James I and Charles I , who though superficially pious was a thoroughly bad lot, demolishing homes to avoid paying to support the poor, doomed to haunt his home as he died with sins still unconfessed.
His spirit was said to have haunted the churchyard at Passenham in Northamptonshire until it was exorcised; but others claim that his shade resides there still, pulled behind a spectral horse because of his sudden death unshriven, his neck snapped in an accident whilst out hunting. To the children for whom Bobby Bannister is a lurking danger if they are less than sage the fine points will matter little.

If you like this, Share it

British Lore and Legend by county: Show All

England: Bath(1) | Bedfordshire(1) | Berkshire(5) | Buckinghamshire(1) | Cambridgeshire(4) | Cheshire(1) | Cornwall(4) | County Durham(2) | Cumbria(1) | Derbyshire(1) | Devon(6) | Dorset(1) | Essex(2) | Gloucestershire(1) | Greater Manchester(1) | Herefordshire(1) | Isle of Wight(1) | Kent(1) | Lancashire(2) | Leicestershire(2) | Lincolnshire(6) | London(8) | Norfolk(6) | North Yorkshire(2) | Northamptonshire(1) | Northumberland(1) | Nottinghamshire(2) | Oxfordshire(1) | Shropshire(3) | Somerset(6) | South Yorkshire(1) | Staffordshire(1) | Suffolk(1) | Sussex(3) | Warwickshire(3) | West Midlands(2) | Wiltshire(2) | Worcestershire(2) | Scotland: Angus and Dundee(5) | Argyll(2) | Ayrshire and Arran(2) | Dumfries and Galloway(1) | Edinburgh and the Lothians(1) | Grampian(1) | Highlands(3) | Isle of Skye(1) | Orkneys(1) | Shetland Isles(1) | Wales: Anglesey(6) | North Wales(1) | South Wales(2) | West Wales(3) | Offshore: Guernsey(2) | Isle of Man(1) | Northern Ireland: County Antrim(1) | County Londonderry(1) |

Brit Quote:
If a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics. - Sir Francis Bacon
More Quotes

On this day:
Battle of Towton - 1461, Battle of Alresford - 1644, Albert Hall Opens - 1871, Captain Scott dies - 1912, First London Marathon - 1981
More dates from British history

click here to view all the British counties

County Pages