The Legend and Folklore of Tom Bell's Cave. Hardcastle Crags. Hebden Bridge
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- 40 years ago, you would have found my Uncle Garry and I in search of the legendary cave of Tom Bell, lost somewhere in the forest and woodlands of Hardcastle Crags in Hebden Bridge. Our exploration proved fruitless back then.....
For over 200 years, the mystery surrounding the vicious outlaw has brought people out on the same mission. Tom Bell, dressed in armour and wearing his boots backwards to bamboozle the authorities on his trail, would rob the local farms at night, stealing their livestock and gorging on it in his labyrinth of caves by day. This lifestyle, however. could not last, and Tom would meet a grisly end ....one that would have seen his tale remembered for generations to come.
However..... in 1899 the Urban Legend of Tom Bell took a strange new twist that would bring treasure hunters of the Victorian Era to the Crags. A human skull had been found.....was Tom Bell real? and if so, was there treasure in those hills?
Loved it. Thanks Matt.❤
Great 😊. Thanks for watching
Excellent Matt and Tom loved this one. anything to do with legend and folklore great explore guys ✌️
Thanks a lot. Glad we survived to film future ones 😅
Another interesting video, Matt. Thanks
Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Great video Just found your channel... Folklore stories usually carry metaphorical meaning, so with the blacksmith and his dried meats and his gun not firing due to wet powder... it ties in perfectly with the tale of Tom Bell. In certain caves such as these where water from the fields and Forrest slopes precipitates and leaches through the various layers of sheep sh!t etc and general decomposition creating huge natural deposits of 'Saltpetre' and when these stories were being told 'saltpetre' was a treasure and extremely profitable... firstly it's incredible at curing/drying any kind of Meats, fish etc....secondly it's the principle ingredient for making Gun powder and even though it was figured out by Roger bacon in GB, from the late 1700's to early 1800's Britain needed tons of the stuff, so if anyone new of a secret place, caves being the highest yield by far they would keep it very secret.
So Tom Bell the 'outlaw' part of the story is a metaphor for making 'Gunpowder', the story contains the ingredients 'the treasure in the cave (saltpetre)' carbon from the wood on his charcoal fires, but sulphur would need to be imported from Iceland or Sicily, but they had a trick up their sleeve, you could get enough out of sheep's wool... It was extremely dangerous to make if you stopped stirring it for a second it could just explode... The glowing root means 'the root of Evil' pointing to the gunpowder as it was used primarily to kill people. A Dying rotting root attracts a type of mycelium fungus which gives off a green glow when it reacts with what is called 'Luciferin' which is a biochemical taken from the name Lucifer (aka light Bringer) and often referred to as Satan, Evil or Devil.
In early medieval times it was realized that simply passing down knowledge, history, traditions and wisdom word for word was being forgotten but oral traditions were favoured over writing as it was incorruptible by others, but everyone remembered stories, repeated over time full of fun, fear, strangeness, laughter and mystery everyone remembered but also passed them on, knowing that they would realize the story taken literally has no significance and no long told stories are remembered if they have no meaning or purpose.. which is the key to know the true meaning is under the top literal layer.
Thanks for watching and for the comment. 🙂interesting points on parts of the Tom Bell legend. Thank you 😊
Brilliant! There will be some truth in it. Though, like many old tales, Chinese whispers have probably altered it dramatically down the years, but it must have come from somewhere to begin with.
I love these kinds of videos 😊
Thanks a lot 😊. Yeah, we think the story stems from the Joseph Bailey story in Hathershelf who was living in a cave there......but could potentially be much older. Thanks for watching
Raiders of the lost ark vibes with this! Another brilliant video lads!
If that rock had fallen, I'd have been running faster than Indiana Jones 😁. Cheers
@@matparks08 😂😂
Peak anxiety watching you go in the caves! Very interesting video as always tho!
Haha....yeah, when that rock moved my anxiety went up too 😊. Thanks for watching 😊
You're fast becoming a fave CZcamsr in our household though so keep up the good work. Just stay out of the caves!
That's awesome. Thank you 😊.... I can't promise with the caves though 😅
I'll have to finish this video in the morning. I have a headache and can't concentrate 😢
I'm all intrigued now as well 😂
Oh no....I hope our video didn't cause the headache ?😬. Feel better soon and thanks for watching.....so far 😊
@matparks08 haha no, definitely not. It was the tail end of a 3 day migraine. I'm all good this morning though 😌
@jeepsthetimebandit excellent. Glad you're better 😊
great stuff mat. i posted this and half me mates know you. lol. i'm from tod originally but, though you seem familiar, i do not think i have had the pleasure.
That's cool .....if your mates are from Tod, and in their 20s to 30s, I may well be their old school teacher 😅. Thanks for watching 😊
@@matparks08 my mates are ten yrs younger than me and went to junior school with you. love the pants btw.
I used to run the off license in Mytholmroyd
Cool. 😊
Call me mr health and safety, but maybe get a caving helmet with a torch ?. Most legends have a hint of truth about them, so he probably did exist. Skulls where often found in caves mostly prehistoric and sadly lost to time. As usual interesting vid guys.
Yeah, we think the story stems from Mr Bailey in his cave in Hathershelf. Thanks for watching. .....we were safe, honest 😉
Bonkers is the right word chaps!
Indeed 😊. Thanks for watching
Did you find any signs of smoke on the roof of the caves?
Unfortunately, the cave wall began to give way where I was exploring, so I came out instead. That would have been something to look for, though, if we'd gone deeper.
The ants were terrible in hardcastle Craggs but they never touched me and Marcus after they took our children away in Ireland
They're always plotting are those ants......
Don't trust them!!