The Dary Pit

The Dary Pit is a man-made pool, holding creosote and other run-offs from the nearby mines, part way up Ercall Hill. The story is based on an old newspaper article found by Dylan in Shropshire Archives. It reported the apparent suicide of Mary, who – it was said – had been driven to such madness by being haunted by the ghost of her husband, Jonas. Jonas’ body had been found the previous year in the Dary Pit. He had accidentally fallen into the pit one night on his way home. Dylan left the group before the project end, so the story he developed was told by Fiona for the storywalk.

This story was brought back to life by young people as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded Young Roots project. They researched in Shropshire Archives and the local history collections to find records of stories they felt should be part of the region’s oral heritage. This video was filmed on a Away With Words Storytelling Club Storywalk for The Wellington Walking Festival. The project was facilitated by Mythstories museum and supported by Shropshire Archives and Telford & Wrekin Libraries.

The Club met in Wellington. It is Shropshire’s oldest market town at the foot of The Wrekin with its Hillfort. It is also part of Telford, a still-evolving late-20th century ‘New Town’. As one club member said:

“They have pulled down my primary school, my secondary school is being rebuilt, the Colleges are merging next year. There will be nothing left of my childhood!”

So Club members decided to research and retell some of the stories of Wellington, to fill the void between the past and the present.