Unitary authority
Local government administrative unit in England and Wales.
Cheshire Plain
Relatively flat expanse of lowland in North West England, the surface expression of the Cheshire Basin, an area of sedimentary rocks overlain by Mercia Mudstones laid down about 250 million years ago.
The Idler
Illustrated monthly magazine published in London from 1892 until 1911.
King of the cats
Folk tales about the king of a society of talking cats.
Sortes Biblicae
Method of divination used by some Christians to foretell the future by interpreting randomly chosen texts from the Bible.
The Ash-tree
Ghost story by M. R. James, published in 1904, about the vengeance of a witch against her accuser.
Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad
Ghost story by M. R. James published in 1904, about a mysterious whistle found on a beach in Suffolk.
Yale (mythical creature)
Heraldic beast whose meaning is “proud defence”. Although it has never been identified with a living or extinct creature, it may be based on descriptions of Indian water buffalos.
Grindylow
Malignant Yorkshire water spirit said to lurk in stagnant pools, dragging down into the water those children who venture too close.
Pierre Adolphe Valette
French Impressionist painter who taught at the Manchester School of Art from 1906 until 1920.