Leyland Lyrics
A village legend in four lines: a church that was moved in the night is told where it must stay for good and be called the church of Leyland.
Leyland
Here thou shalt be,
And here thou shalt stand,
And thou shalt be called
The church of Ley-land.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/leyland/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken slowly and firmly, like an order
- Best for ages
- 5 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Here thou shalt be | Point to the ground in front of you. |
| And here thou shalt stand | Plant both feet firmly and stand tall. |
| The church of Ley-land | Make a roof peak with your hands. |
What Does Leyland Mean?
The rhyme is a command given to a building. The first two lines tell the church where it must be and where it must stand, and the last line gives it its name: the church of Ley-land. The old word thou means you, and shalt means must or will.
It is a short, strong piece of rhythm, so it suits reading aloud as a pretend royal order. The story behind it is a local legend about a church that moved overnight.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the lines in Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales (1849) with a note on the place. Leyland is a town in Lancashire, not far from Chorley, although Halliwell calls it a village. He says that about sixty years before his book there was a tradition that on the night after the church was finished it was moved some distance by supernatural agency. The astonished villagers who went in the next morning found these lines written on a marble tablet on the wall.
He adds that the church stands on a rise of ground at the east side of the village, and that the ancient tower is still standing although the main body of the church is modern.
Learning Activities
- Find Lancashire: look up Leyland and Chorley on a map of England.
- Tell the legend: retell the story of the moving church in your own words, then act it out.
- Royal order: take turns giving a stern command to a toy using the words thou shalt.
- Draw a village church: draw a church with a tower on a hill and write the four lines underneath.