179ROOKHOPE RYDE

The Bishopric Garland, or Durham Minstrel [edited by Joseph Ritson], 2d ed., Newcastle, 1792; here, from the reprint by Joseph Haslewood, 1809, p. 54, in Northern Garlands, London, 1810. “Taken down from the chanting of George Collingood the elder, late of Boltsburn, in the neighborhood of Ryhope,” who died in 1785.

Printed in Bell’s Rhymes of Northern Bards, 1812, p. 276; Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1833, II, 101; [Sir Cuthbert Sharp’s] Bishoprick Garland, 1834, p. 14.

The date of this ryde, or raid, may be precisely ascertained from the ballad itself; it is shown by 134, 11 to be December 6, 1569.

The thieves of Thirlwall (Northumberland) and Williehaver, or Willeva (Cumberland), avail themselves of the confusion incident to the Rising in the North and of the absence of a part of the fencible men (some of whom were with the earls, others with Bowes in Barnard castle) to make a foray into Rookhope, in Weardale, Durham. In four hours they get together six hundred sheep. But the alarm is given by a man whose horses they have taken; the cry spreads through the dale; word comes to the bailiff, who instantly arms, and is joined by his neighbors to the number of forty or fifty. The thieves are a hundred, the stoutest men and best in gear.

When the Weardale men come up with them, the marauders get fighting enough. The fray lasts an hour; four of the robbers are killed, a handsome number wounded, and eleven taken prisoners, with the loss of only one of those who fought for the right.

Rookhope is the name of a valley, about five miles in length, at the termination of which Rookhope burn empties itself into the river Wear. Rookhope-head is the top of the vale. (Ritson.)

The Weardale man who was killed was Rowland Emerson, perhaps a kinsman of the bailiff. The family of Emerson of Eastgate, says Surtees, long exercised the offices of bailiff of Wolsingham (the chief town and borough of Weardale) and of forester, etc., etc., under successive prelates. (Surtees to Scott, Memoir by Taylor and Raine, p. 33.)

34. The thieves bare ‘three banners’ against the Weardale men. They choose three captains in 9.

1Rookhope stands in a pleasant place,If the false thieves wad let it be;But away they steal our goods apace,And ever an ill death may they die!2And so is the men of Thirlwa ‘nd Williehaver,And all their companies thereabout,That is minded to do mischief,And at their stealing stands not out.3But yet we will not slander them all,For there is of them good enough;It is a sore consumed treeThat on it bears not one fresh bough.4Lord God! is not this a pitiful case,That men dare not drive their goods to t’fell,But limmer thieves drives them away,That fears neither heaven nor hell?5Lord, send us peace into the realm,That every man may live on his own!I trust to God, if it be his will,That Weardale men may never be overthrown.6For great troubles they’ve had in hand,With borderers pricking hither and thither,But the greatest fray that eer they hadWas with the ‘men’ of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver.7They gatherd together so royally,The stoutest men and the best in gear,And he that rade not on a horse,I wat he rade on a weil-fed mear.8So in the morning, before they came out,So well, I wot, they broke their fast;In the [forenoon they came] unto a bye fell,Where some of them did eat their last.9When they had eaten aye and done,They sayd some captains here needs must be:Then they choosed forth Harry Corbyl,And ‘Symon Fell,’ and Martin Ridley.10Then oer the moss, where as they came,With many a brank and whew,One of them could to another say,‘I think this day we are men enew.11‘For Weardale men is a journey taen;They are so far out-oer yon fellThat some of them’s with the two earls,And others fast in Barnard castell.12‘There we shal get gear enough,For there is nane but women at hame;The sorrowful fend that they can makeIs loudly cries as they were slain.’13Then in at Rookhope-head they came,And there they thought tul a had their prey,But they were spy’d coming over the Dry Rig,Soon upon Saint Nicholas’ day.14Then in at Rookhope-head they came,They ran the forest but a mile;They gatherd together in four hoursSix hundred sheep within a while.15And horses I trow they gatBut either ane or twa,And they gat them all but aneThat belanged to great Rowley.16That Rowley was the first man that did them spy;With that he raised a mighty cry;The cry it came down Rookhope burn,And spread through Weardale hasteyly.17Then word came to the bailif’s house,At the East Gate, where he did dwell;He was walkd out to the Smale Burns,Which stands above the Hanging Well.18His wife was wae when she heard tell,So well she wist her husband wanted gear;She gard saddle him his horse in haste,And neither forgot sword, jack, nor spear.19The bailif got wit before his gear cameThat such news was in the land;He was sore troubled in his heart,That on no earth that he could stand.20His brother was hurt three days before,With limmer thieves that did him prick;Nineteen bloody wounds lay him upon;What ferly was’t that he lay sick?21But yet the bailif shrinked nought,But fast after them he did hye,And so did all his neighbours near,That went to bear him company.22But when the bailiff was gathered,And all his company,They were numberd to never a manBut forty [or] under fifty.23The thieves was numberd a hundred men,I wat they were not of the worstThat could be choosed out of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver,. . . . . . . .24But all that was in Rookhope-head,And all that was i Nuketon Cleugh,Where Weardale men oertook the thieves,And there they gave them fighting eneugh.25So sore they made them fain to flee,As many was ‘a’’ out of hand,And, for tul have been at home again,They would have been in iron bands;26And for the space of long seven years,As sore they mighten a had their lives;But there was never one of themThat ever thought to have seen their ‘wives.’27About the time the fray began,I trow it lasted but an hour,Till many a man lay weaponless,And was sore wounded in that stour.28Also before that hour was done,Four of the thieves were slain,Besides all those that wounded were,And eleven prisoners there was taen.29George Carrick and his brother Edie,Them two, I wot, they were both slain;Harry Corbyl and Lennie CarrickBore them company in their pain.30One of our Weardale men was slain,Rowland Emerson his name hight;I trust to God his soul is well,Because he ‘fought’ unto the right.31But thus they sayd: ‘We’ll not departWhile we have one; speed back again!’And when they came amongst the dead men,There they found George Carrick slain.32And when they found George Carrick slain,I wot it went well near their ‘heart;’Lord, let them never make a better endThat comes to play them sicken a ‘part!’33I trust to God, no more they shal,Except it be one for a great chance;For God wil punish all thoseWith a great heavy pestilence.34Thir limmer thieves, they have good hearts,They nevir think to be oerthrown;Three banners against Weardale men they bare,As if the world had been all their own.36Thir Weardale men, they have good hearts,They are as stif as any tree;For, if they’d every one been slain,Never a foot back man would flee.36And such a storm amongst them fellAs I think you never heard the like,For he that bears his head so high,He oft-times falls into the dyke.37And now I do entreat you all,As many as are present here,To pray for [the] singer of this song,For he sings to make blithe your cheer.

1Rookhope stands in a pleasant place,If the false thieves wad let it be;But away they steal our goods apace,And ever an ill death may they die!

Rookhope stands in a pleasant place,

If the false thieves wad let it be;

But away they steal our goods apace,

And ever an ill death may they die!

2And so is the men of Thirlwa ‘nd Williehaver,And all their companies thereabout,That is minded to do mischief,And at their stealing stands not out.

And so is the men of Thirlwa ‘nd Williehaver,

And all their companies thereabout,

That is minded to do mischief,

And at their stealing stands not out.

3But yet we will not slander them all,For there is of them good enough;It is a sore consumed treeThat on it bears not one fresh bough.

But yet we will not slander them all,

For there is of them good enough;

It is a sore consumed tree

That on it bears not one fresh bough.

4Lord God! is not this a pitiful case,That men dare not drive their goods to t’fell,But limmer thieves drives them away,That fears neither heaven nor hell?

Lord God! is not this a pitiful case,

That men dare not drive their goods to t’fell,

But limmer thieves drives them away,

That fears neither heaven nor hell?

5Lord, send us peace into the realm,That every man may live on his own!I trust to God, if it be his will,That Weardale men may never be overthrown.

Lord, send us peace into the realm,

That every man may live on his own!

I trust to God, if it be his will,

That Weardale men may never be overthrown.

6For great troubles they’ve had in hand,With borderers pricking hither and thither,But the greatest fray that eer they hadWas with the ‘men’ of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver.

For great troubles they’ve had in hand,

With borderers pricking hither and thither,

But the greatest fray that eer they had

Was with the ‘men’ of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver.

7They gatherd together so royally,The stoutest men and the best in gear,And he that rade not on a horse,I wat he rade on a weil-fed mear.

They gatherd together so royally,

The stoutest men and the best in gear,

And he that rade not on a horse,

I wat he rade on a weil-fed mear.

8So in the morning, before they came out,So well, I wot, they broke their fast;In the [forenoon they came] unto a bye fell,Where some of them did eat their last.

So in the morning, before they came out,

So well, I wot, they broke their fast;

In the [forenoon they came] unto a bye fell,

Where some of them did eat their last.

9When they had eaten aye and done,They sayd some captains here needs must be:Then they choosed forth Harry Corbyl,And ‘Symon Fell,’ and Martin Ridley.

When they had eaten aye and done,

They sayd some captains here needs must be:

Then they choosed forth Harry Corbyl,

And ‘Symon Fell,’ and Martin Ridley.

10Then oer the moss, where as they came,With many a brank and whew,One of them could to another say,‘I think this day we are men enew.

Then oer the moss, where as they came,

With many a brank and whew,

One of them could to another say,

‘I think this day we are men enew.

11‘For Weardale men is a journey taen;They are so far out-oer yon fellThat some of them’s with the two earls,And others fast in Barnard castell.

‘For Weardale men is a journey taen;

They are so far out-oer yon fell

That some of them’s with the two earls,

And others fast in Barnard castell.

12‘There we shal get gear enough,For there is nane but women at hame;The sorrowful fend that they can makeIs loudly cries as they were slain.’

‘There we shal get gear enough,

For there is nane but women at hame;

The sorrowful fend that they can make

Is loudly cries as they were slain.’

13Then in at Rookhope-head they came,And there they thought tul a had their prey,But they were spy’d coming over the Dry Rig,Soon upon Saint Nicholas’ day.

Then in at Rookhope-head they came,

And there they thought tul a had their prey,

But they were spy’d coming over the Dry Rig,

Soon upon Saint Nicholas’ day.

14Then in at Rookhope-head they came,They ran the forest but a mile;They gatherd together in four hoursSix hundred sheep within a while.

Then in at Rookhope-head they came,

They ran the forest but a mile;

They gatherd together in four hours

Six hundred sheep within a while.

15And horses I trow they gatBut either ane or twa,And they gat them all but aneThat belanged to great Rowley.

And horses I trow they gat

But either ane or twa,

And they gat them all but ane

That belanged to great Rowley.

16That Rowley was the first man that did them spy;With that he raised a mighty cry;The cry it came down Rookhope burn,And spread through Weardale hasteyly.

That Rowley was the first man that did them spy;

With that he raised a mighty cry;

The cry it came down Rookhope burn,

And spread through Weardale hasteyly.

17Then word came to the bailif’s house,At the East Gate, where he did dwell;He was walkd out to the Smale Burns,Which stands above the Hanging Well.

Then word came to the bailif’s house,

At the East Gate, where he did dwell;

He was walkd out to the Smale Burns,

Which stands above the Hanging Well.

18His wife was wae when she heard tell,So well she wist her husband wanted gear;She gard saddle him his horse in haste,And neither forgot sword, jack, nor spear.

His wife was wae when she heard tell,

So well she wist her husband wanted gear;

She gard saddle him his horse in haste,

And neither forgot sword, jack, nor spear.

19The bailif got wit before his gear cameThat such news was in the land;He was sore troubled in his heart,That on no earth that he could stand.

The bailif got wit before his gear came

That such news was in the land;

He was sore troubled in his heart,

That on no earth that he could stand.

20His brother was hurt three days before,With limmer thieves that did him prick;Nineteen bloody wounds lay him upon;What ferly was’t that he lay sick?

His brother was hurt three days before,

With limmer thieves that did him prick;

Nineteen bloody wounds lay him upon;

What ferly was’t that he lay sick?

21But yet the bailif shrinked nought,But fast after them he did hye,And so did all his neighbours near,That went to bear him company.

But yet the bailif shrinked nought,

But fast after them he did hye,

And so did all his neighbours near,

That went to bear him company.

22But when the bailiff was gathered,And all his company,They were numberd to never a manBut forty [or] under fifty.

But when the bailiff was gathered,

And all his company,

They were numberd to never a man

But forty [or] under fifty.

23The thieves was numberd a hundred men,I wat they were not of the worstThat could be choosed out of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver,. . . . . . . .

The thieves was numberd a hundred men,

I wat they were not of the worst

That could be choosed out of Thirlwa’nd Williehaver,

. . . . . . . .

24But all that was in Rookhope-head,And all that was i Nuketon Cleugh,Where Weardale men oertook the thieves,And there they gave them fighting eneugh.

But all that was in Rookhope-head,

And all that was i Nuketon Cleugh,

Where Weardale men oertook the thieves,

And there they gave them fighting eneugh.

25So sore they made them fain to flee,As many was ‘a’’ out of hand,And, for tul have been at home again,They would have been in iron bands;

So sore they made them fain to flee,

As many was ‘a’’ out of hand,

And, for tul have been at home again,

They would have been in iron bands;

26And for the space of long seven years,As sore they mighten a had their lives;But there was never one of themThat ever thought to have seen their ‘wives.’

And for the space of long seven years,

As sore they mighten a had their lives;

But there was never one of them

That ever thought to have seen their ‘wives.’

27About the time the fray began,I trow it lasted but an hour,Till many a man lay weaponless,And was sore wounded in that stour.

About the time the fray began,

I trow it lasted but an hour,

Till many a man lay weaponless,

And was sore wounded in that stour.

28Also before that hour was done,Four of the thieves were slain,Besides all those that wounded were,And eleven prisoners there was taen.

Also before that hour was done,

Four of the thieves were slain,

Besides all those that wounded were,

And eleven prisoners there was taen.

29George Carrick and his brother Edie,Them two, I wot, they were both slain;Harry Corbyl and Lennie CarrickBore them company in their pain.

George Carrick and his brother Edie,

Them two, I wot, they were both slain;

Harry Corbyl and Lennie Carrick

Bore them company in their pain.

30One of our Weardale men was slain,Rowland Emerson his name hight;I trust to God his soul is well,Because he ‘fought’ unto the right.

One of our Weardale men was slain,

Rowland Emerson his name hight;

I trust to God his soul is well,

Because he ‘fought’ unto the right.

31But thus they sayd: ‘We’ll not departWhile we have one; speed back again!’And when they came amongst the dead men,There they found George Carrick slain.

But thus they sayd: ‘We’ll not depart

While we have one; speed back again!’

And when they came amongst the dead men,

There they found George Carrick slain.

32And when they found George Carrick slain,I wot it went well near their ‘heart;’Lord, let them never make a better endThat comes to play them sicken a ‘part!’

And when they found George Carrick slain,

I wot it went well near their ‘heart;’

Lord, let them never make a better end

That comes to play them sicken a ‘part!’

33I trust to God, no more they shal,Except it be one for a great chance;For God wil punish all thoseWith a great heavy pestilence.

I trust to God, no more they shal,

Except it be one for a great chance;

For God wil punish all those

With a great heavy pestilence.

34Thir limmer thieves, they have good hearts,They nevir think to be oerthrown;Three banners against Weardale men they bare,As if the world had been all their own.

Thir limmer thieves, they have good hearts,

They nevir think to be oerthrown;

Three banners against Weardale men they bare,

As if the world had been all their own.

36Thir Weardale men, they have good hearts,They are as stif as any tree;For, if they’d every one been slain,Never a foot back man would flee.

Thir Weardale men, they have good hearts,

They are as stif as any tree;

For, if they’d every one been slain,

Never a foot back man would flee.

36And such a storm amongst them fellAs I think you never heard the like,For he that bears his head so high,He oft-times falls into the dyke.

And such a storm amongst them fell

As I think you never heard the like,

For he that bears his head so high,

He oft-times falls into the dyke.

37And now I do entreat you all,As many as are present here,To pray for [the] singer of this song,For he sings to make blithe your cheer.

And now I do entreat you all,

As many as are present here,

To pray for [the] singer of this song,

For he sings to make blithe your cheer.

23. mischief hitherin Bell,who, however, prints from Ritson.

24. as: atin Scott, who had his copy, as printed in 1792, from Ritson’s nephew. atalso in Bell.

93, 293. Corbyl,it is thought, should beCorbyt,which is a northern name. BothCorbylandCarrickwere new to Surtees.

103.Bell readswould,not understanding that could meansdid.

111.Scott, wrongly, haveforis:Bell, who aims at grammar, are.

173. He had,Bell, for improvement again.

234.The reciter, from his advanced age, could not recollect this line: Ritson.

252.Bell, landforhand.

303.Bell, inforto.

Ritson’s emendations, indicated by ’ ‘, have necessarily been allowed to stand.

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