ROBERT NIXON
Mention must be made of Robert Nixon, the great Cheshire prophet, whose fame not only rivalled that of Mother Shipton, but may be said (seeing that he is mentioned in Pickwick) to have lasted longer. The earliest history is Oldmixon’s, published in 1714, which says that “in the reign of James I. there lived a fool whose name was Nixon,” and that Thomas Cholmondley of Vale Royal (d. 1652) “took him into his house, where he lived when he composed this prophecy.” But other writers place him at a much earlier period. His prophecies really fall into the two periods of civil war, viz. the Wars of the Roses, and the Great Rebellion. If, therefore, Nixon was a real personage, it is obvious that if he lived in the reign of James I. he cannot have uttered some of the prophecies attributed to him. The discovery of an “Irish Analogue of Nixon’s Prophecy” (Notes and Queries, October 21, 1865) throws great doubt on the whole matter. The subject still requires much investigation.
The following are a few of Nixon’s prophecies:—
When an eagle shall sit on the top of Vale-Royal House,
Then an heir shall be born, who shall live to see great troubles in England.
It is said that the Cholmondley family was at this time nearly extinct, but in due course an heir was born, during which time an eagle perched on the house-top.
Between a rick and two trees
A famous battle shall be.
The “rick and two trees” may be Warwick, Coventry, and Daventry, and the battle, Edgehill, 1642; or Rickmansworth, Elstree, and Edwinstree, and the battle the second fought at St. Alban’s, 1461.
The following is unintelligible:—
There will be three gates to London of imprisoned men for Cowsters. Then, if you have three cows, at the first gate sell one, and keep thee at home. At the second gate sell the other two, and keep thee at home. At the last gate all shall be done.
Old Mab’s Curse is directed against any one of the Minshull family who shall sell the family acres—
Mabel’s dole, of pious fame
From royal blood they say she came;
Poor and needy folks do tell
That Mynshull’s land no one dare sell,
For Old Mab’s curse on him would light
That ere should sell land, stone, or bight.
The belief that bees must be told of their master’s death is widely spread, also that a winter crop of primroses betokens a death in the house. Powdered alabaster is considered a good remedy for the ailments of sheep, and the beautiful tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley in Bunbury Church has, in consequence, it is said, suffered much mutilation.
We find Trowle, the shepherd boy in the Chester play, making much of his tar-box as a specific, for the diseases of sheep and cattle were serious matters for an agricultural people, as the following show:—
| Paid for a book concerning ye disorders of cattle | £0 | 1 | 0[69] |
and in the accounts of St. John’s Church, Chester, the following occurs five times in 1747:—
| Paid for a book about the horned cattle | £0 | 0 | 8 |
[69] Bunbury Church Accounts.
One other point remains to be noticed. There is a widely-spread belief that the indentures of apprentices in Chester contained a clause stipulating that they should not be compelled to eat salmon more than three days in each week. No such indenture has ever been seen, and the late Mr. Frank Buckland offered, in vain, a reward of five pounds for the sight of such a document. The tradition exists wherever there is a salmon river, but investigation shows that it is without foundation.
Such is some of the folk-lore of Cheshire, and there may still be a great deal which has never yet been recorded. It behoves every one to use his utmost endeavours to put into print every song, legend, saying, or custom that he may meet with. Such relics of the past can only now be obtained from aged people, and in a few years this source will fail, and the rising “school-board” generation will neither know nor care for such things. It is well to remember also (to quote another Cheshire proverb) that “the unlikeliest places are often likelier than those which are likeliest.”
It has been impossible to give all references, but especial mention must be made of Hazlitt’s and Ray’s Proverbs, Mr. Robert Holland’s various papers, The Cheshire Sheaf, and some Bird Notes of Mr. T. A. Coward.