Icy Sedgwick's Blog, page 2

Folk Traditions and Strange Sights in Florence

Florence was founded in the 1st century BCE as a Roman military outpost, although it came to prominence as a centre of commerce and the arts in the 14th to 16th centuries CE. The Florentine method of speech even became the Italian language (Silver et al, 2025). Some of the city’s most famous exports are […]

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Finding the Lort Burn, One of Newcastle’s Buried Rivers

Much is often made of London’s lost rivers, like the Tyburn, Fleet, and Walbrook. Yet Newcastle upon Tyne also has rivers we cannot see. Ours are not lost, rather, they’re simply buried. The Skinnerburn, Erick Burn, Pandon Burn, Lam Burn, and Lort Burn all continue to flow beneath the city, down to the mighty Tyne. […]

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Ghosts, Lantern Men, and Treasure in the Norfolk Broads

The Broads National Park, often known as the Norfolk Broads, is one of the UK’s 15 National Parks. Seven rivers and over sixty waterways called Broads comprise the park. In the medieval era, locals dug peat from the land for fuel. By the 14th century, these channels flooded and created the Broads. They’d become a […]

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Haunted Canals of England, Scotland & Wales

Canals occupy a strange place in the cultural imagination. They’re manmade, yet offer a connection to nature. They offer a means of transport, but one that’s only accessible by boat. Some cities depend on canals, like Amsterdam or Venice. In the UK, canals are often overlooked or forgotten spaces that have long outlived their original […]

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Healings Wells and Springs at Glastonbury, Carrawburgh and Lourdes

We’ve no doubt seen plenty of content online about water’s power to be a great healer. We need to drink it (this is your reminder for today), while people swear by cold water baths for their wellbeing. Then we think about how much water appears in nature, somewhere we’re often counselled to go to improve […]

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Following the Route of the Walbrook, One of London’s Lost Rivers

A sense of mystery gathers around London’s lost rivers, with their names whispered like forgotten deities from an ancient cult. Fleet, Tyburn, Walbrook, Effra, Westbourne, Neckinger. In some cases, they aren’t so much lost, as buried. Sometimes, they break ground, appearing where you least expect them. Take the grey duct that carries the Westbourne above […]

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Church Curiosities: Finding Folklore in Carvings and Statues

Visiting churches might not sound like everyone’s idea of a great time. Yet the buildings are stuffed with strange carvings, peculiar graffiti, interesting artwork, and even sassy memorials. These church curiosities tell us a lot about what mattered to people in centuries past. They also preserve folklore, legends, and the beliefs of the congregation. From […]

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Holy Cross Church and the Witches of Wallsend

Churches can be sites of divination, haunted locations, and important community hubs. Yet in Wallsend, Holy Cross Church is notorious for a tale of witches and heroic derring-do. The ruin might not look like it now, but appearances can be deceptive. It’s not just a chapel. Throw in a midnight ritual, grotesque women, a desecrated […]

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The Tale of Enon Chapel: London’s Most Notorious Burial Site

Here in the 21st century, death and burial often occur as part of a sanitised process. Death happens away from home, often in hospitals, and funerals are usually tidy, respectful affairs. We can forget that this wasn’t always the case. Our quaint, inner city gardens were sometimes putrescent burial grounds, crammed with rotting remains. Even […]

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The Folklore of Lychgates and Popular Burial Monuments

You would absolutely know a lychgate if you saw one. Lychgates make popular backdrops for wedding photos, and provide a quaint air of rustic charm to country churchyards. They’re the wooden or stone gateway, complete with tiled roof, that marks the entry into the churchyard. Not all churches have them, and they’re far more common […]

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