House of Meg the history

Our Tea Room, the Legend

Archive of Classic Poems Poetry of John Keats (1795-1821)

Meg Merrilies

Old Meg she was a Gipsy,
And liv'd upon the Moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath turf,
And her house was out of doors.

Her apples were swart blackberries,
Her currants pods o' broom;
Her wine was dew of the wild white rose,
Her book a churchyard tomb.

Her Brothers were the craggy hills,
Her Sisters larchen trees--
Alone with her great family
She liv'd as she did please.

No breakfast had she many a morn,
No dinner many a noon,
And 'stead of supper she would stare
Full hard against the Moon.

But every morn of woodbine fresh
She made her garlanding,
And every night the dark glen Yew
She wove, and she would sing.

And with her fingers old and brown
She plaited Mats o' Rushes,
And gave them to the Cottagers
She met among the Bushes.

Old Meg was brave as Margaret Queen
And tall as Amazon:
An old red blanket cloak she wore;
A chip hat had she on.
God rest her aged bones somewhere--
She died full long agone!

History of House of Meg

Acknowledgements to Gilsland Bits and Pieces - Mumps Hall

"Number 4, Hall Terrace, Gilsland is a building of obvious antiquity. Dating back to the 17th century, it is one of the oldest and most interesting buildings in present-day Gilsland and probably formed a nucleus for the growth of a hamlet on the Cumbrian side of the village. The original small, stone-framed windows, now blocked, are the clearest hint of its age, and the award of grade II listing confers status of a kind. This house is now, in 2008, divided into “House of Meg” tea-rooms below and a flat above and is known locally as Mumps Hall, although spellings, and in particular, punctuation of the name have varied widely. It is popularly associated with Scott’s characters such as Meg Merrilies, Dandy Dinmont and Tib Mumps/Meg O'Mumps, and with various tales of how the treacherous occupants would rob and murder unaccompanied travellers. There is also a legend of a tunnel linking Mumps Hall with a building on the site of Merrilies Cottage."

“Mump's-hall, according to tradition, was once a public-house, kept by a notorious person of the name of Meg Teasdale, who drugged to death such of her guests who had money." - Hodgson's History of Northumberland 1841

4, Hall Terrace is universally known as Mumps Hall, and no reference is made to Merrilies Cottage or its site as being of any especial interest except for the legend of the tunnel joining it with Mumps Hall. "

The legend of Meg Merrilees was elaborated and made famous by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Guy Mannering where Meg had heroine status

References to the legend

Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott

Every Poet Archive of Classic poems

Gilsland - Bits and Pieces

Our Tea Room, the Legend

Meg Merrilies

Old Meg she was a Gipsy, And liv'd upon the Moors: Her bed it was the brown heath turf, And her house was out of doors.

Her apples were swart blackberries, Her currants pods o' broom; Her wine was dew of the wild white rose, Her book a churchyard tomb.

Her Brothers were the craggy hills, Her Sisters larchen trees-- Alone with her great family She liv'd as she did please.

No breakfast had she many a morn, No dinner many a noon, And 'stead of supper she would stare Full hard against the Moon.

But every morn of woodbine fresh She made her garlanding, And every night the dark glen Yew She wove, and she would sing.

And with her fingers old and brown She plaited Mats o' Rushes, And gave them to the Cottagers She met among the Bushes.

Old Meg was brave as Margaret Queen And tall as Amazon: An old red blanket cloak she wore; A chip hat had she on. God rest her aged bones somewhere-- She died full long agone!