Willy Howe (also ''Willey-Hou'') is a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

in the

Yorkshire Wolds The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie. On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, England.

History and description

Willy Howe is a large round barrow high, located between Wold Newton and Burton Fleming in the civil parish of Thwing. Willy Howe, PastScape : DETAIL. The mound has been recorded as being excavated several times: by Lord Londesborough in 1857; Willy Howe, PastScape : MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES and by Canon

William Greenwell Canon William Greenwell, (23 March 1820 – 27 January 1918) was an English archaeologist and Church of England priest. Early life William Greenwell was born 23 March 1820 at the estate known as Greenwell Ford near Lanchester, County Durham, E ...

in 1887. Neither found burials or grave goods; Greenwell found a feature approximating a shallow grave. Willy Howe, PastScape : DESCRIPTION The structure has a central space, resulting from the 19th-century excavations, additionally an earthwork ramp created as part of Greenwell's excavations has also modified the site. Use as a Thingstead during the medieval period has been speculated. Willy Howe is registered on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Its List Entry Number is 1008040.

Folklore

Thomas Wright ascribed the barrow to be the location of a folktale recorded by

William of Newburgh William of Newburgh or Newbury ( la, Guilelmus Neubrigensis, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon de ...

in the 12th century: the legend tells of a man returning home past the barrow at night, being surprised to hear sounds of feasting, merriment and singing emanating from the mound – on approaching the mound he was offered a cup of drink from fairy-folk there – being wary of the nature of the drink offered he emptied the cup and rode off on his horse with cup, pursued by the dwellers of the mound. According to the story, the vessel was of unusual form and colour, and eventually passed into the hands of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

, and later other Kings. At least two other fairy tales have been ascribed to the mound, one of an immovable chest of treasure, the other of a fairy bride depositing gold for her human lover.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

{{East Yorkshire, state=collapsed Archaeological sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire Barrows in the United Kingdom Thwing and Octon Prehistory of the East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire Wolds