author
Richard Blakeborough
1850–1918
Best known for gathering Yorkshire folklore, dialect, and local stories, this writer helped preserve the sound and character of North Riding life at a time when much of it could easily have disappeared. His books mix humor, oral tradition, and careful collecting in a way that still feels lively today.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, on January 24, 1850, he was the son of a jeweller and clock maker and was educated at St. Agnesgate Grammar School. Archive records describe him as a collector of folklore and an author with a deep early interest in the nature, legends, and speech of his home county.
His most important work was in collecting folklore and dialect from the North Riding of Yorkshire. He copied older manuscript notebooks, carried out fieldwork of his own, and drew on that material in books including Wit, Character, Folklore and Customs of the North Riding of Yorkshire (1898), Yorkshire Toasts, Proverbs, Similes and Sayings (1907), and the later The Hand of Glory. He also wrote dialect recitations, dramatic poems such as T' Hunt o' Yatton Brigg, a novel, and stage comedies.
He was a member of the Folklore Society, took part in local archaeological and scientific work, and spent his last years in Norton-on-Tees, where he died on April 23, 1918. Much of his legacy survives through the large Yorkshire folklore collection associated with him and his son, John Fairfax-Blakeborough.