120 A HISTORY OF LONG RIDGE. [Chap. .5. 



Mr. J. "Weld, J.P., in the November number (1888) of the " Stony- 

 hurst Magazine," makes the following interesting observations : — 

 After a time the Englishmen sent word to their women that when they saw fires lighted 

 on the hills about they were to cut their new masters' (the Danes) throats as they lay 

 asleep. Fires were lighted on Parlio, on Beacon Fell, on Longridge FeUs, and on 

 Pendle. Then the women did as they were bid, and murdered the sleeping Danes. 



Tenlaes. — This was the name given to other fire celebrations, observed till quite 

 recent times, ^ on May 1st, Midsummer Day, and especially November 1st. They were 

 originally feasts of the sun, and it is clear that sun or fire worship was at one time^muoh 

 in vogue in the district. Parlic, originally Pyre-lich (as it is called in maps of the time 

 of Henry VIII.) and Beacon Fell have evidently been great seats of its ceremonials. 

 Numbers of stones still lie on their tops, which were brought there probably for cairns. 

 Old men say that in their youth a ring of fire could be seen on All 

 Saints night all round the horLzon. 



'• It would appear," says Mr. E. Kirk, " from the following lines in 

 the boat song, in The Lady of the Lake — 



Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade, 

 that the Scotch celebrated their fire worship about May. In the Nook, 

 Teanla Neet was the last night in August. In the autumn of 1848, 

 I saw what I was told was ' brunnin' teanla.' This, like many other of 

 the very old customs, lingered longest among the Roman Catholics, 

 and the explanation of it which the old folk gave was, that they (the 

 Catholics) ' were leetin' th' souls o' their relations out o' Purgatory.' " 

 What the origin of the name Tootel is I do not know. The Tootels 

 were a well-known family in the neighbourhood in the last century, 

 and may have given their name to the hill. Mr. J. M'Kay, in his 

 " Pendle Hill," recently published, inclines to the opinion that "Tootal" 

 is of Celtic origin from Tith, and that it was sacred to the Celtic Teu- 

 tates, who paid divine adoration to the stars by night and to the sun 

 by day. The meaning of the word then, according to Mr. M'Kay, is 

 " holy mound" or " Toot HUl," dedicated to the great Celtic god Taute 

 or Mercury. 



The following legends are connected with Longridge : — 



' ' In the range of hills called ' Geoif ry Hill' was a cavern, in which 

 lived for years a freebooter named ' Ned of the Fell.' The legend 

 respecting this robber is contained in a book now very scarce, but we 

 believe a copy was in possession of the late Mr. Spencer, of Dilworth." 



