To Have & To Hold

The folklore of Britain is as rich and varied, wild and unkempt, much of which is used to reflect regional identity of its people. The origins of our myths and customs come from deep history, a dark unknown time, yet these myths, if they are to be kept alive are also infused by the tastes and recontextualised by the needs of the prevailing society. Scholars such as Bruno Bettelheim or Eugen Dreweremann argue that fairy and folktales matter because they tell us something about ourselves, they matter because we can discover ourselves within them, because they are a part of us, they are related to our inner psyches. The US scholar of comparative literature, and cultural studies Jack Zipes offers a slightly different perspective and posits that these tales’ matter because through them, we can understand our history, and that history can better help to frame our understanding of current society.

To Have & To Hold is centred around three separate instances of Cestrian folklore; the tale of Hobby’s Well, Impossible Stairs (based on Chester’s Wishing Steps) and the death of Charlotte Lucy Beatrix Egerton. As a collection they interrelate the themes of female experience, love, marriage and aspiration. The origins of these tales are unknown (in any authoritative historical sense) yet are also slipping from popular consciousness, at a time when these broader thematics of socio-economic inequalities and health are gaining traction.

Of the three tales Hobby’s Well is the most ancient with pre-Christian traces, whereas Impossible Stairs is fascinating to consider through the lens of Chester’s industrial transformation. Charlotte Lucy speaks to a long (and for many problematic) lineage of representations of female suicide through drowning seen within Victorian culture. These are not only stories from the past but stories that highlighting how much has (or has not) evolved within society.

In an age dominated by passive immersion in our digital screens, the idea that one was/is required to perform these rituals adds another layer of meaning to the tales. The public nature of these acts alongside our disenchantment that a ‘belief’ has a power to effect change makes these rituals all the more estranged, but perhaps within that status they regain some attraction? Whilst these three tales are the basis for various sets of artistic expressions, Donna hopes that you will also feel the analogous structures as an overlapping patina that can be seen across the tales.

Keywords: female agency, social identity, world building, heritage

Impossible Stairs

These works are based on Chester’s Wishing Steps, which are a long ‘flight’ of stairs arranged over six landings built in 1785 into the south east corner of city’s Roman defence walls (Latitude: 53.1873 / 53°11'14"N, Longitude: -2.8877 / 2°53'15"W). Local folklore claims that if an unmarried girl can run up these steps three times without drawing a new breath, then her beloved would propose to her within the year.

The overt physicality of this ritual is demanding and only feasible to the healthy and able-bodied, excluding those unfit or unable from performing this ritual. The metaphor of stairs as an allusion to ascension (to heaven or the 'other side') can also be stretched to embody the struggles of the female working class, to be upwardly mobile a ‘social climber’ given marriage would (potentially) keep them from a life within a ‘workhouse’. [Please see associated publication in the Resources section for more reflections on these themes].

Hobby’s Well

These works are based on / respond to the site of Billy Hobby’s Well which is a local wishing well encompassed within Chester’s Grosvenor Park (1867+). Folklore claims that if a ‘love struck’ girl stood with one leg in the well and one leg outside then her wish for a husband would come true.

This well (now dry) and built over lays claim to another and older context of being located on a piece of land locally known as ‘Billy Obbie’s field.’ Scholars point out the name Obbie/Hobby is likely to have been derived from the old English name Hobb which means devil or demon (thus Hobgoblin). Hobb can also be used synonymously as Puck who is a medieval English character, an agent of chaos, made famous by Shakespeare’s in A Midsummer Night's Dream. We can imagine that this field combined with the well together held a mystical/occult meaning for a past Cestrian community. [Please see associated publication in the Resources section for more reflections on these themes].

Charlotte Lucy

Charlotte Lucy Beatrix Egerton (b.1824) was the only living daughter of Wilbraham and Elizabeth Egerton of the Egerton of Tatton family, she was purportedly drowned in Rostherne Mere (Knutsford, Cheshire) on the eve of her wedding in 1846 at the young age of 22. However, official records cite her untimely death was due to bronchial affliction. What is intriguing about this tale is the fictitious adaptation and wilful falsehood of this folktale, and also how it functions as a counter narrative to Impossible Stairs, whereby our protagonist chooses self-extinction as a way to escape marriage. [For more context and insight into the story of Charlotte Lucy see associated publication in the Resources section]

Original Project Team

To Have & to Hold (2019-21) was created by Donna Leishman (Northumbria University) and funded by Storyhouse, Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Arts Council England. This body of new work represents a collision between ancient history and new technologies, spanning browser based augmented reality, digital art, print works, essays and sounds . The thematic/concept of Marriage has been used as a literal device within this project i.e. the marriage of individuals, the marriage of virtual components alongside the material expressions, as well as more allegorically – a set of experiences that marries past and present and the boundaries of the real and the virtual - a new blend which has also dominated much our lives for the last year.

The augmented reality outcomes were a collaboration between Donna & Xabier Pena (ES) the lead developer. External creative consultation was kindly offered by Hoss Gifford (CA).

Project Goals

The primary aim of this commission to imaginatively engage / open up for reflection the three folk stories to re-experience, to learn from and to discuss. As a collection it is hoped these together also talk to the social legacies and affective ideals of ‘marriage’ and what contemporary relevance that these ideals/narratives hold for women (and all other genders) today.

A secondary goal was that this project should be as accessible as practical - free to access and easy to access, so it can reach as diverse an audience as possible especially those new to contemporary digital Art.

Originally, pre Covid-19 pandemic we hoped to have you experience these works within Storyhouse (Chester) itself, instead, we’ve taken the project online, that way everyone can access all the artworks. As a consequence we have designed a suite of different resources for you to ‘have’ physically in your hand (subject to availability) and or download wherever home is. As part of this change we will be updating this site throughout 2021 and will now offer an enriched public engagement programme Jan-May 2022. In keeping with the belief that folklore is a living and evolving context, Donna and the team encourage new voices into these tales either through public comment on any of the project themes explored or it would be lovely to see the arrival of your To Have & To Hold work as they arrive to you. This can be done via twitter: instagram.com/donnaleishman and @donnaleishman