Editorial note

The Lore of the Land by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson (2005) contains a substantial selection of English local legends. This paper describes the aims and methods of the authors, and highlights some aspects they found of interest: how English legends fit international patterns, how they relate to their locality, how they develop over time, how some have literary origins that can be dated. The local legend is a widespread and significant form of narrative, deserving further study.