Shirley Taylor on farmgate

This image is taken on Christmas Day in 1942 of Shirley Taylor aged about 10 years, the daughter of the photographer. She seems to have been collecting some seasonal holly. Bloody pool is the site of a natural spring. The name Bleddy is dialect for bloody which does indeed mean By Our Lady and is a mediaeval oath sworn to do something in the name of Mary. Natural springs were first thought to be sacred in the late Bronze Age when the wetter climate drove the inhabitants off the high moors. Bronze Age people believed that in places where waters were seen to bubble up they could get close to the underworld. They left votive offerings in watery places such as the bronze hoard found at Bloody Pool, South Brent.