A hob is a type of small mythological household spirit found in the English Midlands, Northern England, and on the Anglo-Scottish border, according to traditional folklore of those regions.Atkinson, Philip. Folk Tales of North East England. They could live inside the house or outdoors. They are said to work in farmyards and thus could be helpful; however if offended they could become nuisances. The usual way to dispose of hobs was to give them a set of new clothing, the receiving of which would make the creatures leave forever. It could, however, be impossible to get rid of the worst hobs.A Dictionary of English Folklore. 2000, 2003, Oxford University Press.
Etymology
‘Hob’ is a diminutive form of the name Robin, which is itself a diminutive form of the name Robert. See WiKtionary: English < hob > Etymology 2: "From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French diminutive of Robert)."
Hob is sometimes a generic term given to a goblin, bogle or brownie. The name Hob became associated with the mythical creature as ‘a piece of rude familiarity to cover up uncertainty or fear’;Scott, Charles C. P. (1895). "Hob". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. Vol. 26. American Philological Association. essentially, calling a mystical creature by a common nickname was a way to make the concept less frightening and the nickname eventually became the common term.
As well as the brownie, another cognate exists in the Scandinavian nisse or tomte; all are thought to be derived from the household gods of olden times, known in England as the (Old English for ‘house-gods’), of which the brownie and hob are indeed a survival."Cove-Gods". An Other Dictionary.
The term 'hob' is also linked in the north of England to the Old English þyrs and Old Norse þurs, meaning 'giant' or 'monster’. These roots give rise to dialectal variants such as hob-thrush, hob-thrust and hob-dross, recorded across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire.Dickins, 'Yorkshire Hobs', 12.
Folklore Yorkshire Hobs have been described as small, hairy, wizened men. Hobs were viewed as kind but mischievous spirits, helpful to local people in need. One famous hob lived near Runswick Bay in a hobhole; this hob was believed to be able to cure young children of kink-cough (whooping cough).Whitby Myth and Folklore: Hob, Whitby Online Parents would bring their ailing young to the hob's cave dwelling and recite the following:John Christopher Atkinson (1868). A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect (1st ed.).
Hobs are generally considered household spirits who preferred to be about at night. Hobs were not tied to a particular place but seemed to come and go as they chose.Roberts, Kai (2013). Folklore of Yorkshire. The History Press. A hob would help the farmer in the field or the shopkeeper in his store.Bane, Theresa (2013). "Hob". Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland. The householder had to be careful in dealing with a hob so as not to offend it. If a farmer were to speak poorly of a hob on his farm, the hob might retaliate by breaking dishes and turning loose livestock.Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1913). Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore (2nd ed.) Most importantly, a hob must not be given a gift of clothing, as this would be greatly resented and might cause a helpful hob to leave immediately.
A recurring motif in northern folklore is that when a hob is offered clothes—often a coarse shirt or hood—he vanishes, offended.Terence W. Whitaker (1983). Yorkshire's Ghosts and Legends. Granada Publishing. This is often marked by a rhyme, such as: “Ha! a cap and a hood, / Hob’ll never do mair good.” (Sturfit Hall)Henderson, William (1879). Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (2nd ed.).
“Gin Hob mun hae nowght but a hardin’ hamp, / He’ll come nae mair nowther to berry nor stamp.” (Hart Hall, Glaisdale)
These couplets often signal the end of a hob’s aid, linking him to the wider European motif of the departing brownie or tomte.
North York Moors
Farndale flit Farndale in the North York Moors is separated from its neighbour Rosedale to the east by a high but relatively level moorland promontory known as Blakey Ridge. On the east side of that ridge is a topographical feature known as Hobb Crag, overlooking the village of Rosedale Abbey. A local story relates how a farmer in Farndale was so troubled by a Hob that he decided to move to another farm – just to get rid of that Hob.
Note the local dialect word flittin which may be derived from the Old Norse language.
Names and habitations
Names
Local name
It was customary for a local hob to have a local name and a local habitation.
Some "Hob" names may suggest their mischievous personality: Jester Hobshaddow
Hobbe Hyrste The name Hob-thrush may be derived from Hobbe Hyrste or Hob o' t' hyrst – "Hob of the hurst".
Hob o' t' hyrst Hob-t-hyrst Hob-thyrst Hob-thrust Hob-thrush
See also WiKtionary : Old English < hyrst > ..."hurst, hillock, eminence, height, wood, wooded eminence".
The following names may be derived from Hobbe Hyrste:
NameHabitationLocation"Hob-trush"Hob-trush CaveMulgrave woods, North Yorkshire."Hobthrush"Obtrush Rook Farndale, North Yorkshire."Hobthrush"Hobthrush's IsleSt Cuthbert's Isle (Hobthrush), Northumberland."Hob Hurst"Hob Hurst's HouseHob Hurst's House, Beeley Moor, Derbyshire.
Similar names are found in disparate parts of the country – it is possible that these were introduced by migrant workers while moving between employments, especially those involved with mining and railway construction.
Habitations
The habitation was usually a topographical feature, such as a hill, crag, hole, cave or island.
Often the feature would be within view of the farm or local settlement:
HabitationSettlementHobb HillBloxham near Banbury.Hobb CragRosedale AbbeyHobthrush IsleHoly Island
Hob Hole WiKtionary: The name element hole might relate to: English < hole > ..."A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure". Old Norse < hóll > ..."hill, hillock, knoll".
HabitationLocationHob HoleCalais Beck south of Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire. Hob HoleHob Hole Beck near Kempswithen, Kildale Moor,Eskdale, North Yorkshire.Hobbs HoleHobbs Hole Farm near Great Tew, Oxfordshire.
Tumuli It was common for Hob place names to be associated with tumuli:
HabitationLocationListedHobthrush RookFarndale, North Yorkshire. Two round cairnsHob on the Hill Commondale Moor, North Yorkshire. Wayside crossRound barrowsHob Hurst's HouseBeeley Moor, Derbyshire. Square tumulus
Legacy
Place names
Yorkshire place names Many topographical features, especially in North Yorkshire, are named "Hobs". Dickins provides dozens of attested hob place-names across Northern England, many associated with barrows, springs, or moorlands.Dickins, 'Yorkshire Hobs'.
Place nameLinkLocationAreaFeatureMapLatitudeN – SHob HillThe Fairy Glen,Saltburn-by-the-Sea.North YorkshireHill 520200Hob HoleHob HoleCalais Beck south of Runswick Bay.North York MoorsHole515500Hob on the HillTumuliBetween Guisborough and Commondale.North York MoorsCross512420Hob-trush CaveNameMulgrave woodsNorth YorkshireCave511700Hobshaddow WoodNameBetween Hutton Rudby and Stokesley.North YorkshireWood 508300Hob Hole BeckHob HoleSouth of Kempswithen (Kildale moor)near Castleton, Eskdale.North York MoorsHole507800Hobb CragHabitatWest of Rosedale Abbey, Rosedale.North York MoorsCrag495400Hobthrush RookNameFarndale, North Yorkshire.North York MoorsTumulus494400
Scotland – England Place nameLinkLocationAreaFeatureMapLatitudeN – SHobthrushNameLindisfarneNorthumberlandIslet641600HobkirkSouth-east of HawickScottish BordersChurch610900Hobb's FlowAnglo-Scottish border near Kielder ForestNorthumberlandWetland590100HobroydWhitfield, Glossop.DerbyshireWood393200Hob HillWhitfield, Glossop.DerbyshireHill392800Hob's House CaveMonsal DaleDerbyshireCave371300Hob Hurst's HouseTumuliBeeley Moor near Chatsworth HouseDerbyshireTumulus369200Hob HallHob WoodSouth of WirksworthDerbyshireCroftWood352700Jester's HillNameShutford near Banbury.OxfordshireHill239500Hobb HillHabitatBloxham near Banbury.OxfordshireHill236600Hobb's HoleHob HoleHobbs Hole Farm* near Great Tew.OxfordshireHole 229100Hobbard's HillNorth-west of Wootton-by-Woodstock.OxfordshireHill220400Hobb's HillHobb's Hill tin mine, Bodmin Moor.CornwallHill069400
Notable people Hobhouse is a rare English family name, belonging originally to a Somerset family. The Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce was known as King Hobbe by his English enemy.
Modern popular culture The 1958 TV serial Quatermass and the Pit, and the later film version, centre around the fictional Hobbs Lane (formerly called Hob's Lane), the significance of the name becoming apparent as the plot unfolds. In Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, hobs are eyeless creatures who burn in light. They serve the Queen Mab of the Winter Court of the Sidhe. In Lionhead Studios' video games Fable, Fable II, and Fable III some of the minor adversaries are creatures known as "hobbes". They are created from children who misbehave and are captured by hobbes. In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, house-elves (such as Harry's friend Dobby) appear to be a type of hob, doing household tasks for human masters and driven from their households if given gifts of clothing (in what most house-elves see as a type of shameful expulsion, but the eccentric Dobby – and several human observers – consider an emancipation from slavery). The Hob appearing in The Years of Longdirk by Ken Hood is considerably different from the traditional depiction, being a powerful spirit which is amoral, neither good nor bad, but which has considerable destructive powers it can use if provoked. In Hood's fantasy world, "Hob" and "Imp" are two names for much the same kind of being. In The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs, the Hob is a powerful creature, possibly the last of his kind, who bargains to help protect a local village from a necromancer in exchange for a mate. The heroine who brought the Hob to the village agrees to his bargain in exchange for his help. In Moonshine, the second novel of the Cal Leandros novels by Rob Thurman, the villain is "Hobgoblin" or "the Hob", the oldest of the race of immortal creatures known as pucks. In this series, the pucks all look alike, with curly brown hair, green eyes, and "foxlike" faces. Unlike his fellow puck, Robin Goodfellow, the Hob sees humans merely as toys and tools, beings which are utterly beneath him. In An Elder Scrolls Novel: The Infernal City, hobs are used as kitchen slaves. In Richard Dawson's 2017 album Peasant, a song titled "Hob" tells the story of a family's encounter with a hobthrust. In Travis Baldree's book Legends & Lattes, the main character hires a hob as a carpenter in her coffee shop, noting that they are disparagingly referred to as 'pucks' by humans and are not often seen in cities.
See also Hobbit Hobgoblin Lubber fiend, also known as "Lob".
References Citations
Web
Historic England
Maps
Explanatory notes
General and cited sources
Dickins, Bruce (1942), ‘Yorkshire Hobs’, Transaction of the Yorkshire Dialect Society 7, 9-23.
Linked version is the 1977 second edition.