Betty and Luke Kenny. http://www.whatstandwell.org/?page_id=880
As you travel north on the A6, past Belper, then Ambergate, looking to your left you will see a heavily wooded hillside. This is Shining Cliff Woods. It is a fertile, dense woodland that you can easily lose a happy hour or two in. Deep in the woods there are the burnt-out remains of an ancient yew tree. Before its destruction by vandals, in the late nineteenth century, it was believed to be around 2,000 years old.
This ancient yew - or what little is left of it - is called the Betty Kenny Tree, after one of its residents.
During the 18th - 19th centuries, this hollowed out yew tree was home to Luke and Betty Kenyon. Luke and Betty were charcoal burners and would use the tree as one of their favourite sites for their movable home. Their hut included a cone of turf and branches, with a large wooden board, as an opening. Luke and Betty would sleep on turf beds and bring in portions of their charcoal fire, to keep warm.
Amazingly, Luke and Betty were to raise 8 children here, many of whom remained resident in the area. Sadly, it is said that Betty and Luke even buried one of their children below the tree.
Luke died at the age of 96, in 1814, while Betty lived on to celebrate her 100th birthday, where a party was held in her honour, at Alderwasley Hall, courtesy of the Hurt family, who were known to be fond of Luke and Betty, and were the owners of Shining Cliff Woods.
The mighty old yew tree became known as the Betty Kenny Tree because she would lay her babies in the hollow boughs of the tree and sing the nursery rhyme:
Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come cradle, baby and all
Whilst the tune we know for this rhyme is North American in origin, the rhyme itself is older. Whether Betty was the creator of this rhyme, we shall never know, but it is believed to have emerged around the same time that Betty was alive.
This ancient yew - or what little is left of it - is called the Betty Kenny Tree, after one of its residents.
During the 18th - 19th centuries, this hollowed out yew tree was home to Luke and Betty Kenyon. Luke and Betty were charcoal burners and would use the tree as one of their favourite sites for their movable home. Their hut included a cone of turf and branches, with a large wooden board, as an opening. Luke and Betty would sleep on turf beds and bring in portions of their charcoal fire, to keep warm.
Amazingly, Luke and Betty were to raise 8 children here, many of whom remained resident in the area. Sadly, it is said that Betty and Luke even buried one of their children below the tree.
Luke died at the age of 96, in 1814, while Betty lived on to celebrate her 100th birthday, where a party was held in her honour, at Alderwasley Hall, courtesy of the Hurt family, who were known to be fond of Luke and Betty, and were the owners of Shining Cliff Woods.
The mighty old yew tree became known as the Betty Kenny Tree because she would lay her babies in the hollow boughs of the tree and sing the nursery rhyme:
Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come cradle, baby and all
Whilst the tune we know for this rhyme is North American in origin, the rhyme itself is older. Whether Betty was the creator of this rhyme, we shall never know, but it is believed to have emerged around the same time that Betty was alive.