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The Green Children of Woolpit

Susannah Clapp and Richard Mabey explore the enduring appeal of two mysterious 12th Century Suffolk children. From 2010.

Sometime in the 12th century two children appeared from a pit on the edge of a field in the Suffolk village of Woolpit.

They were coloured green and spoke a unknown language. They sickened until they were allowed to eat green beans.

The boy died but the girl revived and grew up learning English, marrying a man from Kings Lynn, and speaking of the place she and her brother had come from.

Susannah Clapp and Richard Mabey investigate the story and its remarkable enduring appeal to villagers, visitors and a succession of folklorists and writers.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.

30 minutes

Last on

Tue 2 Dec 202500:30
BBC Radio 4 Extra

Broadcasts

  • Tue 8 Jun 201011:30
    BBC Radio 4
  • Wed 30 Mar 201606:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Wed 30 Mar 201613:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Wed 30 Mar 201620:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Thu 31 Mar 201601:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 16 Aug 201906:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 16 Aug 201913:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 16 Aug 201920:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sat 17 Aug 201901:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Mon 1 Dec 202510:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Mon 1 Dec 202516:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Tue 2 Dec 202500:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra