Peggy Farrow
Elloughton-Cum-Brough, East Yorkshire
“She was often seen gathering roots in the nearby woods, and was known as a wise woman who would have the answers to all, and cures for everything.” Mike Covell
Elloughton, adjoining Brough to form the civil parish of Elloughton-cum-Brough, sits 12 miles west of Hull and is home to Peggy Farrow, a supposed witch.
A well known local herbalist, who could create potions to cure all manner of illnesses, Peggy resided in Elloughton around 200 years ago. She gained a reputation for being a ‘wise woman’, often having an answer for anything the townsfolk came to her with. She supposedly resided in a small cottage that overlooked the village green, next to an old blacksmith’s shop which later became Johnson’s Garage.
One night, locals spotted Peggy with what they thought looked like a cauldron, and thus commenced the rumours of her being a witch. Many claimed that Peggy had a gold ring that would cure warts if rubbed, however, after a while Peggy began to form warts on her own face. This made the townsfolk doubt Peggy’s ‘miracle cures’, if she was so good at getting rid of warts, why could she not get rid of her own?
The rumours began to get to Peggy and she became a recluse, avoiding the townsfolk and ignoring requests for cures. She eventually up and left her home in Elloughton, settling in nearby Green Lane. Unfortunately for Peggy, and tremendously unlucky timing, Green Lane was hit by a deathly bout of diphtheria… of which Peggy got all the blame.
Many believed that the arrival of the witch from Elloughton had brought a curse onto Green Lane causing locals to supposedly corner her, drag her away from Green Lane and haul her back to the village of Brough, where they sentenced her to death by hanging.
Her spirit is said to still haunt Green Lane, which now bears the name Peggy Farrow Lane.
Peggy Farrow Lane
Records do show that a ‘Peggy Farrow’ lived in the district around this time and owned property and land adjacent to Green Lane… A woman who was once praised for her knowledge and medicinal know-how suddenly faced the wrath of the local townsfolk.
