Bessy Bell and Mary Gray
Encyclopedia
Betsy Bell and Mary Gray are "twa bonnie lassies", the subject of one of the Child Ballads
.
According to the ballad, Betsy and Mary were daughters of two Perthshire
gentlemen, who in 1666 built themselves a bower
to avoid catching a devastating plague
. The girls were supplied with food by a lad in love with both of them; the lad caught the plague and gave it to them, and all three sickened and died.
Two similar hills near Omagh
, County Tyrone
(Northern Ireland
) were named after Betsy Bell and Mary Gray by Scottish immigrants who came to Ireland to make their passage to America. There also exist twin hills in Staunton, Virginia
which were also named after the girls by Scottish immigrants. Two adjacent volcanic cones in the Auckland Volcanic Field
, New Zealand, (Otara Hill
and Green Hill
) were referred to by 19th century European settlers as Bessy Bell and Mary Gray. (See 1859 map :File:AucklandMapHochstetter1859.JPG)
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
.
According to the ballad, Betsy and Mary were daughters of two Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
gentlemen, who in 1666 built themselves a bower
Bower
Bower may refer to:* a folly built by the Bowerbird to attract mates; see wiktionary:bower.* a dwelling or lean-to shelter, also known as an arbor* an anchor carried at the bow of a ship* Bower Manuscript, a Sanskrit manuscript...
to avoid catching a devastating plague
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
. The girls were supplied with food by a lad in love with both of them; the lad caught the plague and gave it to them, and all three sickened and died.
Two similar hills near Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
(Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
) were named after Betsy Bell and Mary Gray by Scottish immigrants who came to Ireland to make their passage to America. There also exist twin hills in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
which were also named after the girls by Scottish immigrants. Two adjacent volcanic cones in the Auckland Volcanic Field
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
, New Zealand, (Otara Hill
Otara Hill
Otara Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland Volcanic Field. Its scoria cone reached 89 m above sea level before it was quarried away. The hill was the site of a pā...
and Green Hill
Green Hill, New Zealand
Green Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland Volcanic Field. It's scoria cone had a peak 78 metres above sea level , and had a grove of Karaka trees. The hill was the site of a pā. It was quarried from 1870 onwards, and has been mostly quarried away. The site is now Greenmount landfill...
) were referred to by 19th century European settlers as Bessy Bell and Mary Gray. (See 1859 map :File:AucklandMapHochstetter1859.JPG)
Recordings
- Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
on "The English & Scottish Popular Ballads Vol 2" (1956) - Martin CarthyMartin CarthyMartin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
on "Shearwater" (1972) - Lal and Norma Waterson on "A True Hearted Girl" (1977)
- Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
on "Tempted and Tried" (1989) - Maddy PriorMaddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
on "Ballads and Candles" (2000) (as "Betsy Bell and Mary Gray) - Cherish the LadiesCherish the LadiesCherish the Ladies is an American all-female Irish-American super group. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985, the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female musicians in America in what had been a male-dominated scene...
on "Woman of the House" (2005)