Black Dog of Barthomley
Barthomley, Cheshire 16th Century
“It might be said he is the Hunter’s friend, The Black Dog who helped his Master, Bring down and kill the last wolf, In the dark trees of Barthomley Wood.” The Black Dog of Bathomley, Charles E S Fairey
I’ll be honest, I really cannot find a lot about this story, so I’m piecing it together with the few bread crumbs I’ve been afforded. If you know any more, or live in the area, get in touch!
It is rumoured throughout history that the last wolf in England was slain in a little village called Barthomley. Now a sleepy place, it supposedly was a hive of wolf-killing activity back in the 16th Century! The tale is explored in the book The Boom of the Bitterbump by Roger Stephens, which explores the rich and peculiar folklore of Cheshire’s wildlife and is a culmination of local legends and folklore tales recounted to Stephens over the years.
Roger explains that the wolf ‘once roamed all over the country and its tracks are preserved in place-names’, with the most popular being Wulvarn which shares its name with a brook that flows through the village. Roger claims that local evidence points to this brook as being the place that the last wolf in England was slain.
'Without evidence it must remain a story and nothing more, but Barthomley people cherish an old legend about a huge, black dog as big as a cow, which on dark nights comes 'whiffling through the tulgey wood' with eyes aflame, presaging death.'
I did manage to find a poem written by Charles E S Fairey called ‘The Black Dog of Barthomley’, in which complicates things a little as I was under the assumption that the aforementioned ‘huge, black dog’ was the wolf that was killed… but Charles’ poem indicates that the Black Dog is what helped to kill the wolf! The plot thickens!
The poem doesn’t really start in the dog’s favour;
‘The wandered of the lanes
Of St.Bertoline’s Clearing,
Signifying ones demise
The black furred Angel of Death’
And continues to claim the dog is bad news if you come across it…
‘He waits and watches
The patrons of White Lion,
Creeps up slowly towards each victim
And when he howls be sure you’re next.’
He gets a small redemption arc later in the poem:
‘It might be said he is the Hunter’s friend
The Black Dog who helped his Master
Bring down and kill the last wolf
In the dark trees of Barthomley Wood.’
So… Some say the Black Dog is a bad omen, similarly to the Black Shuck so famous in Britain’s folklore tales. But could the Black Dog of Barthomley actually be a good boy?!
