Who was Simon the Leaper?
Simon the Leaper was better known as The Right Honourable The Lord Simon of Wythenshawe and if you think I pulled him out of all the "Lord Simons" on Wikipedia because of "Whythenshawe," you're totally right. Also, he was born in Didsbury, another example that the Brits are more whimsical than they let on.
Whythenshawe Hall was built by Robert Tatton around 1540 with a timber frame, a deer sanctuary, and possibly a moat. It's been besieged, captured, ransomed, given to the government of Manchester, turned into low-income estates, and set on fire.
Lord Simon bought the hall in 1926 from the Tattons, who had owned it for 400 years, not knowing the strong connection the grounds had to the deer. The deer in the original preserve gave what they considered a gift to the new owners, a way to tie them to the land and the larger deer community. And so, it's a little-known fact that all the male Tattons had antlers, which explains why they were never seen from August to March (and why from May to July they always wore tall hats). When Lord Simon took the estate, he begged the deer to give him some other characteristic as his antlers would irritate his neighbors in the House of Lords (not to mention had gone out of style in the 1870s). After a conference under a full moon, the deer decided they would give him the gift of leaping.
This became problematic when the House of Lords met and Lord Simon was seen spontaneously performing a perfect stag leap over the Government Front Bench and onto the Table of the House. The Leader of the House of Lords told him if such behavior continued he would have to run for the House of Commons. Horrified, Lord Simon quickly donated the estate to the Manchester Corporation—the local city government—"to be used solely for the public good," and the "blessing" was lifted.
The deer became confused as to who, exactly, owned the estate. But they knew that there were a group of Mancunians who, like them, enjoyed running about a nice green field, so they assumed they must be owned by Manchester United. They gave the team the gift of fleet feet and joy of running, not understanding there had to be some kicking of the ball involved, which is why 1925-26 was the last winning season for the team for the next six years.
Simon was not the only lord of the realm who was imbued with the gift of leaping by the deer of his estate. There were numerous others throughout the centuries. In fact, by 1780, there had been a total of ten, all of whom were immortalized in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Lord Simon was the eleventh, but by that time, the song was too popular to change.
It's been rumored that one of these lords was Simon the leper, but that's ridiculous.
Whythenshawe Hall was built by Robert Tatton around 1540 with a timber frame, a deer sanctuary, and possibly a moat. It's been besieged, captured, ransomed, given to the government of Manchester, turned into low-income estates, and set on fire.
Lord Simon bought the hall in 1926 from the Tattons, who had owned it for 400 years, not knowing the strong connection the grounds had to the deer. The deer in the original preserve gave what they considered a gift to the new owners, a way to tie them to the land and the larger deer community. And so, it's a little-known fact that all the male Tattons had antlers, which explains why they were never seen from August to March (and why from May to July they always wore tall hats). When Lord Simon took the estate, he begged the deer to give him some other characteristic as his antlers would irritate his neighbors in the House of Lords (not to mention had gone out of style in the 1870s). After a conference under a full moon, the deer decided they would give him the gift of leaping.
This became problematic when the House of Lords met and Lord Simon was seen spontaneously performing a perfect stag leap over the Government Front Bench and onto the Table of the House. The Leader of the House of Lords told him if such behavior continued he would have to run for the House of Commons. Horrified, Lord Simon quickly donated the estate to the Manchester Corporation—the local city government—"to be used solely for the public good," and the "blessing" was lifted.
The deer became confused as to who, exactly, owned the estate. But they knew that there were a group of Mancunians who, like them, enjoyed running about a nice green field, so they assumed they must be owned by Manchester United. They gave the team the gift of fleet feet and joy of running, not understanding there had to be some kicking of the ball involved, which is why 1925-26 was the last winning season for the team for the next six years.
Simon was not the only lord of the realm who was imbued with the gift of leaping by the deer of his estate. There were numerous others throughout the centuries. In fact, by 1780, there had been a total of ten, all of whom were immortalized in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Lord Simon was the eleventh, but by that time, the song was too popular to change.
It's been rumored that one of these lords was Simon the leper, but that's ridiculous.
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