Mabel Geraldine Woodruffe Peacock (9 May 1856– 17 July 1920)Death Notice, Norfolk Chronicle, 15 December 1920 was an English folklorist and writer, best known for her books of folk stories and poems of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

Early life

Peacock was one of the seven children born to antiquarian Edward Peacock and Lucy Peacock, of Bottesford Manor,

Brigg Brigg (Wikipedia:IPA for English#Key, /'brɪg/) is a market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 UK census, the population increased to 5,626 at the 2011 census. The town lies ...

, and later of

Kirton in Lindsey Kirton in Lindsey, also abbreviated to Kirton Lindsey, is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is south-east from Scunthorpe. History Catherine Parr, the Wives of Henry VIII, sixth wif ...

. Her brother

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

was a noted ecologist.

Publications

Peacock published several collections of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, mainly stories and poems collected in Lincolnshire. Noting the publication of her 1897 book of folk tales, the ''

Hull Daily Mail The ''Hull Daily Mail'' is an English regional daily newspaper for Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The ''Hull Daily Mail'' has been circulated in various guises since 1885. A second edition, the ''East Riding Mail'', covers ...

'' noted that "Miss Peacock's two previous books are well known in Lincolnshire for their pathos and humour." Peacock also edited a reprint of

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

's ''Holy War'' and ''Heavenly Footman'' (1892), with full introduction and notes, and she was a contributor to the journals '' Folk-Lore'' and ''The Naturalist.'' * ''An Index of Royalists whose estates were confiscated during the Commonwealth'' (1879) *''Tales and Rhymes in the Lindsey Folk-speech'' (1886) *''Tales fra Linkisheere'' (1889) *"Omens of Death" (1897, ''Folk-Lore'') *''Lincolnshire Tales: The Recollections of Eli Twigg'' (1897) *"The Calenig or Gift" (1902, ''Folk-Lore'') *" St. Mark's Eve (April 24th)" (1903, ''Folk-Lore'') *''Lincolnshire Rhymes'' (1907) *''Lincolnshire County Folklore'' (1908, edited with

Eliza Gutch Eliza Gutch (née Hutchinson) (1840-1931) was an English author, contributor to ''Notes and Queries'',Jacqueline Simpson (Editor), Steve Roud (Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''. Oxford University Press and founding member of th ...

) *"Amulets Used in Lincolnshire" (1908, ''Folk-Lore'') *"Death-knock in the

Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

of Corringham, Lincolnshire" (1908, ''Folk-Lore'') *"Religious Dancing" (1910, ''Folk-Lore'')

Personal life and legacy

Peacock and her sister assisted and cared for their father until he died in 1915. Mabel Peacock died in Kirton Lindsey from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1920, at the age of 64. Mabel Peacock is buried in Grayingham, Lincolnshire churchyard. In ''Folklore,''

William Crooke William Crooke (6 August 1848 – 25 October 1923) was a British orientalist and a key figure in the study and documentation of Anglo-Indian folklore. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, and was educated at Erasmus Smith's Tipperary Grammar S ...

recalled Peacock as a "keen naturalist and county lover, with a lively play of humour." The Peacock Family Archive in the

North Lincolnshire Museum North Lincolnshire Museum (formerly known as Scunthorpe Museum) is a local museum in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. Overview The museum is on Oswald Road, near the Scunthorpe railway station. It is run by North Lincol ...

holds Mabel Peacock's papers as well as her father's. Peacock is among the favorite authors of Sir George Bailey in

A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy (; 24 August 1936 – 16 November 2023), known professionally by her former married name, A.S. Byatt ( ), was an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer. Her books have been translated into more than thirt ...

's novel, ''Possession'' (1991). In 1998, a new edition of ''The Peacock Lincolnshire Word Books, 1884-1920,'' originally edited by Mabel Peacock and her brother Maximillian, were edited by Eileen Elder and published by the Scunthorpe Museum Society.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Mabel 1920 deaths English folklorists British women folklorists People from the Borough of North Lincolnshire Writers from Lincolnshire 1856 births