A Dunnie is a small Brownie-like being in the

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

of the

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". The ...

s, specifically

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, the most famous being that of the ''Hazlerigg Dunnie'' of Hazlerigg in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Chatton,

.''Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders'' By William Henderson, 1866, pages 227-228. The Dunnie has been known to take the form of a horse in order to trick a rider into mounting him before disappearing and leaving them in the muddiest part of the road. He also is said to disguise as plough-

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s only to vanish when the ploughman takes him into the stalls. The Dunnie was also said to wander the crags and dales of the

Cheviots The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes ...

singing: :"Cockenheugh there's gear enough, :Collierheugh there's mair, :For I've lost the key o' the Bounders, (or "It is also "I've lost the key o' the Bowden-door.") :An' I'm ruined for evermair." The Dunnie is thus thought to be a ghost of a reiver who hoarded his loot in the

fells A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

and guards his ill-gotten gains to this day. In full the song of the dunnie goes: :"Cockenheugh there's gear enough, :Collierheugh there's mair, :For I've lost the key o' the Bounders" :" Ross for rabbits, and Elwick for kail, :Of a' the' towns e'er I saw Howick for ale: :Howick for ale, and

Kyloe Kyloe is a civil parish in the county of Northumberland, about south-east of Berwick-upon-Tweed. According to the parish council, the main centres of population are Fenwick, Beal, and Berrington (in the western "panhandle" of the parish). T ...

for scrubbers, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw Lowick for

robbers Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

;- :Lowick for robbers, Buckton for breed, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw Holy Island for need;- :Holy Island for need, and Grindon for kye, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw Doddington for rye:- :Doddington for rye, Bowisdon for rigs, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw Barmoor for whigs:- :Barmour for whigs,

Tweedmouth Tweedmouth is part of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the south bank of the River Tweed and is connected to Berwick town centre, on the north bank, by two road bridges and a railway bridge. Tweedmouth ...

for doors, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw

Ancroft Ancroft is a village and civil parish (which includes the village of Scremerston) in Northumberland, England. Prior to 1844, Ancroft lay within the Islandshire exclave of County Durham. It is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and has a population ...

for

whores Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

:- :Ancroft for whores, and Spittal for

fishers Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

, :Of a' the towns e'er I saw Berrington for dishes."''Folk-lore: or, A collection of local rhymes, proverbs, sayings, prophecies, slogans, &c. relating to Northumberland, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Berwick-on-Tweed'',

Michael Aislabie Denham Michael Aislabie Denham (1801''1841 England Census'', ''1851 England Census'' – 10 September 1859) was an English merchant and collector of folklore. Life A native of Gainford, County Durham, Denham was in business at Kingston-upon-Hull in the e ...

, 1858, pp. 136-137

References

{{Scottish mythology Northumbrian folklore Northumbrian folkloric beings English legendary creatures Scottish legendary creatures Fairies Goblins English ghosts Undead Elves Scottish ghosts Brownies (folklore) Anglo-Scottish border