The Fearsome Jenny Greenteeth. Simon Jon Cox
On the slopes of Kinder Scout; Derbyshire’s highest peak, is a small, dark pool of water. Legend has it that the pool is mystically linked to the Atlantic Ocean, thus making the water so salty that no animals will drink from it. More significantly though, it is the home of a mermaid; a classic example of an Undine or Water Elemental. According to the legend, everyday, the mermaid comes out to bathe in the waters of the pool, but can only be seen by mortal eyes on Easter Sunday - the ancient festival of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostara. Should you be fortunate - or unfortunate - enough to see her, then she will either grant you long life (some say immortality) or she will drag you to your death, in the murky depths of the pool and, indeed, many have been said to have drowned there over the years. Also, during the eighteenth century, a local witch was supposed to have been drowned there too, as punishment for blighting local livestock.
The Mermaid's Pool, on Kinder Scout. © Copyright Dave Dunford
Whilst this may all seem a fanciful faery tale, we should consider the case of one Aaron Ashton. Aaron was a retired soldier, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, from the nearby village of Hayfield, which is the closest settlement to the mermaids pool. Aaron was a true believer in the legend of the mermaid and, it is said that he regularly visited the Mermaid’s Pool on Easter Eve, hoping to catch a glimpse of this water spirit. Though it is not said whether Aaron ever actually saw the mermaid, he eventually died in 1835, at the incredible age of 104, at a time when the average lifespan was only 45 years old. Some say his body was eventually discovered by the side of the pool.
Other legends claim that the mermaid’s gift was a double-edged sword, in that, whilst she bestowed a long life, her beauty was so entrancing that whomsoever saw her would be unable to love another and, indeed, throughout his long life, Aaron Ashton himself never married.
Interestingly, this particular mermaid is one of 3 to be found in the Peak District. One is Black Mere Pool, on the south-western tip of the Staffordshire Peak District. Two competing legends tell the story of the pool here. The first claims that, hundreds of years ago, a sailor, from the nearby village of Thorncliffe, brought the mermaid home with him and she lived within the waters of the pool. However, when the sailor eventually died, the mermaid became angry and, unable to return to the sea, has haunted the pool ever since. The second legend is somewhat darker. A beautiful young woman of the parish had repeatedly rejected the advances of a local man, one Joshua Linnet. Unable to cope with this, Joshua claimed the woman was a witch and convinced the townsfolk to drown her in Black Mere. With her dying breath, the young woman cursed Joshua and three nights later, his body was found by the pool, his face cut to ribbons by claws. Her spirit is said to haunt Black Mere Pool to this day and locals still maintain that livestock will not drink from it nor birds fly over it.
Other legends claim that the mermaid’s gift was a double-edged sword, in that, whilst she bestowed a long life, her beauty was so entrancing that whomsoever saw her would be unable to love another and, indeed, throughout his long life, Aaron Ashton himself never married.
Interestingly, this particular mermaid is one of 3 to be found in the Peak District. One is Black Mere Pool, on the south-western tip of the Staffordshire Peak District. Two competing legends tell the story of the pool here. The first claims that, hundreds of years ago, a sailor, from the nearby village of Thorncliffe, brought the mermaid home with him and she lived within the waters of the pool. However, when the sailor eventually died, the mermaid became angry and, unable to return to the sea, has haunted the pool ever since. The second legend is somewhat darker. A beautiful young woman of the parish had repeatedly rejected the advances of a local man, one Joshua Linnet. Unable to cope with this, Joshua claimed the woman was a witch and convinced the townsfolk to drown her in Black Mere. With her dying breath, the young woman cursed Joshua and three nights later, his body was found by the pool, his face cut to ribbons by claws. Her spirit is said to haunt Black Mere Pool to this day and locals still maintain that livestock will not drink from it nor birds fly over it.
Black Mere Pool, Thorncliffe, Staffordshire. Graham Richter
The other legendary body of water is the Doxey Pool, a bare mile or so away from Black Mere. This is said to be haunted by an entity known as Jenny Greenteeth, a demonic mermaid that appears as a fearsome water elemental in a number of north country folk tales. It is also said that the Doxey Pool and Black Mere are connected by secret, subterranean passageways. According to Hood (2023):
"In 1949, Ms Florence Pettit who resided nearby, walked up to the Roaches one early morning. Her intention was to bathe in the pool’s blue water before taking lunch with a friend. According to her account, whilst preparing for her morning swim, she witnessed a strange water spirit rise from the pool. M. Pettit claimed that the creature rose some 30 feet in the air. The monstrous apparition was made from the weeds and the water itself. It looked at her giving her a menacing stare, before sinking back to become one with the pool again."
"In 1949, Ms Florence Pettit who resided nearby, walked up to the Roaches one early morning. Her intention was to bathe in the pool’s blue water before taking lunch with a friend. According to her account, whilst preparing for her morning swim, she witnessed a strange water spirit rise from the pool. M. Pettit claimed that the creature rose some 30 feet in the air. The monstrous apparition was made from the weeds and the water itself. It looked at her giving her a menacing stare, before sinking back to become one with the pool again."
The Doxey Pool, the Roaches, Staffordshire. A Hood. https://www.gopeakwalking.co.uk/the-doxey-pool-mermaid-the-legend-of-jenny-greenteeth/
All three bodies of water are said to be linked to the Atlantic Ocean, so, perhaps, we may be looking at three manifestations of the same spirit. More likely though, these legends, just like the famous Derbyshire well-dressings, are a memory of ancient Celtic water worship, which was common in pre-Roman times and has continued to this day. The famous town of Buxton, close to the Mermaids Pool, was known to the ancient Romans as Aquae Arnemetiae; the second part of this name refers to a Nemeton, meaning a Druidic temple.
© Simon Unsworth 2025
© Simon Unsworth 2025