3. 5 Yorkshire myths and legends
Frances Griffith and her cousin, Elsie Wright created one of the biggest legends in the world right here in Yorkshire. Picture credit: wikipedia public domain. 1. The Cottingley Fairies One of the most famous Yorkshire myths is that of the Cottingley fairies. In 1917, the Griffith family, with their nine year old daughter, Frances travelled from South Africa to stay with their relations, the Wright family and their sixteen year old daughter, Elsie in Cottingley near Bradford.. The two cousins would often play together in a stream near the house. To the annoyance of their parents they used to come home muddy and wet. When asked why they went there, they replied, “to see the fairies.” None of the adults would believe them, until they borrowed Elsie’s father, Arthur’s camera and took the famous pictures which showed them what seemed like fairies. While Arthur, who had developed the photos in his dark room, refused to believe the two girls, his wife, Polly thought ...