The Miller's Tomb
Facts, Gossip, and Legend [1]
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8930736 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacqueline Simpson (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 116 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 189-200 |
| Publication date | 2005-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00155870500140230 |
| OpenAlex | W2055212622 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes [1] A version of this paper was presented at the Conference of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research at the University of Sheffield in July 2002. [2] This and other pamphlets, handbills, and pictures cited in this article can be seen in the Local History section of the Reference Library of Worthing Public Library. Some of the press cuttings are also there, while others are in my own files. [3] I recall seeing a rather decrepit summerhouse in the late 1930s, when some wooden panels with verses on them were still legible. However, they may not have been the originals, since as early as the 1830s William Hone said they were “nearly obscured by time and weather” (Hone Citation1832, 1391). The local archaeologist Anne Induni suggests, from the study of old maps, that the summerhouse itself was rebuilt more than once, on slightly varying sites. (Induni Citation1983, 5). I am not sure when the structure I saw disappeared—possibly during the Second World War, when radar and anti-aircraft guns were installed on the hill. [4] “Surriensis,” Notes & Queries. 6th ser. Vol. 6. 9 September 1882, 217. During an exchange of letters concerning real and supposed upside-down burials on hilltops in Surrey, “Surriensis” inquires, “Did S. H. [a previous contributor] never visit or hear of the Miller's Tomb on Highdown Hill near Worthington [sic]?” The question, although not completely explicit, does seem to imply a similar tradition there. [5] I have known the legends since my childhood in the 1930s, when they were told me by my father. Many informants from whom I collected Sussex folklore from 1968 onwards knew one or both, and references in local newspapers and magazines are common too. The vandalising of the tomb in 1982 was well covered in the press and on television, offering fresh publicity for the legends. [6] Another copy of the undated handbill, printed in Warwick Street, Worthing, reads “implore the present day.” [7] The Gentleman's Magazine 70, no. 2 (1800): 693. I owe this important reference to David Ryder of the Surrey County Library, Guildford
Art · Art history · Legend · Miller · Section (typography · Sociology · Spell · Anthropology · Classics · Computer Science · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Irish and British Studies · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,21 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2026 (20) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |