What the heck is a lek?
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
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This plate tells the story of the Devizes Moonrakers. It was made by ceramicist Mary White in the 1970s and describes the well-known Moonraker’s tale in Wiltshire dialect – a story which has been passed down locally through the generations.
US WUR CLEVERER THAN ‘E-AH, US DIDDLED ‘E ALRIGHT. In a pond up ‘Vizes way – smugglers ‘ad ‘idden a keg ‘o brandy & us wur trying to get at un. Us were scrabbling away with gurt ‘ay rakes when us spied ‘zizeman ‘a’watching. So us pointed to moon’s ‘flection in water & told un us wur “raking vor that gurt chase”. ‘e thought us wur caddled & ‘ad ‘ad too much tiddley. So off ‘e went, laffing fit to bust ‘is britches. That’s why Wiltshiremen be called “Moonrakers”, s’now.
The local nickname for the people of Wiltshire is “Moonrakers”. This nickname came from a tale of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their French brandy in barrels, in a village pond. When confronted by the excise men, they raked the surface of the water to hide the submerged contraband with ripples. They claimed that they were trying to rake in a large round cheese they had seen in the pond, really a reflection of the full moon. The officials took them for simple yokels and left them alone. Many Wiltshire villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most often linked with The Crammer in Devizes.
As part of the KS2 curriculum, children cover local history study within their history lessons. The tale of the moonrakers is considered a part of Devizes’ town history, as well as the Wider Wiltshire area.
The tale, that is considered belonging to both history and folklore, gives context as to why the people of Wiltshire are called Moonrakers and the story is claimed by many villages across the area. As Devizes is generally thought to be the place of origin of this tale of smugglers and the law, the story is highlighted in the area by the Crammer, a large pond in the town.
The Moonrakers plate itself is an object which provides the material culture surrounding the tale of the Moonrakers, the Devizes Crammer and Wiltshire Dialect.
Wiltshire is rich is folklore with stories of devils, magic, ghosts and smugglers alongside an array of calendar customs, folk dances and mummers plays. This object shares a well-loved local tale that echoes across the Wiltshire landscape so much that all Wiltshire locals are known as Moonrakers. The story is claimed by many villages across the area although Devizes is generally thought to be the place of origin of this tale of smugglers and the law.
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!