Local memories and stories are an important source in our understanding of an area’s cultural landscape. This interview with local lady Agnes McGaw was recorded in 1972 by Prof. John MacQueen of Edinburgh University’s School of Scottish Studies. Agnes recalls how she ‘experienced a very strange thing’ where she believes she may have seen a goblin in the grounds of Yester House in Gifford. At an archaeological picnic, Agnes describes listening to a lecturer talking about a mysterious building called the Goblin Ha’, or Goblin Hall, in the grounds of Yester House. She explains the legend: ‘…neither hammer nor tools were heard in the building of it and when the people rose in the morning the Goblin Hall was there, supposedly built by the Goblins.’
Sitting on a fallen tree trunk, Agnes and another woman spotted a mysterious ‘wee man’ opposite them, listening to the lecture rather mischievously. She remembers it very clearly: ‘This wee man, an’ I would know him if I met him … we never saw him again’.
The School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University has, since 1930, captured hundreds of memories, folklore, songs, music, traditions and stories from local people across Scotland and beyond.
Listen to the story here: http://tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/30699
McGaw, W, School of Scottish Studies Archive SA1972.154, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches, http://tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/30699, accessed 7 March 2020.
Listen to the story on Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches in the link below.
McGaw, W, School of Scottish Studies Archive SA1972.154, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches, http://tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/30699, accessed 7 March 2020.
Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches is a collaborative project which has been set up to preserve, digitise, catalogue and make available online several thousand hours of Gaelic and Scots recordings. This website contains a wealth of material such as folklore, songs, music, history, poetry, traditions, stories and other information. The material has been collected from all over Scotland and beyond from the 1930s onwards. The recordings come from the School of Scottish Studies (University of Edinburgh), BBC Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland's Canna Collection.
Visit the Yester Estate website to find out about open days or how to book Yester House for weddings and events. https://www.yesterestate.com
For more information about the archaeological and architectural history of Yester Castle and Goblin Hall, there is a record on Canmore, the online site of the National Record of the Historic Environment: https://canmore.org.uk/site/56062/yester-castle-and-goblin-ha
Learn more about the heritage of East Lothian at these sites:
http://eastlothianheritage.co.uk
https://www.johngraycentre.org/about/archives/