WE are fast approaching the feast day of St Bartholomew, which falls on Sunday. There is an old saying which goes: "If St Bartholomew's be clear, a prosperous autumn comes that year."

St Bartholomew's, sometimes shortened to either St Bart's or St Bartlemy's, used to be an occasion for holding huge fairs, almost invariably known as Bartle Fairs.

There used to be a massive one at Smithfield in London, but this has not been held since 1855, while another popular one, a horse fair, was always held at West Ardsley, near Wakefield in the West Riding.

It became known as the Lee Gap Horse Fair and was said to be England's oldest, having been established by a charter granted to Nostel Priory by Henry I.

In this region, the date is known for the St Bartholomew's Day fair, now called Witton Feast, which is held at West Witton in Wensleydale on the Saturday nearest the saint's feast day.

This event is renowned because it features a custom known as Burning Old Bartle, when an effigy of Bartle is carried in procession around the village and eventually burnt.

As it moves around West Witton, the procession halts at several places and the following verse is chanted:

In Penhill Crags he tore his rags,

At Hunter's Thorn he blew his horn,

At Capplebeck Stee he brake his knee,

At Grisgill Beck he brake his neck,

At Wadham's End he couldn't fend,

At Grisdale End he met his end.

Each time the verse is chanted, a caller shouts: "Shout lads, shout," and the people all loudly cheer, "Hip, hip, hooray."

The purpose of this curious ritual has been lost due to the passage of many centuries and the question continues to arise: "Just who was Bartle?"

One peculiarity is that the village church at West Witton is dedicated to St Bartholomew, whose name is sometimes shortened to Bartle, but why would anyone in this quiet village want to burn an effigy of their local patron saint, who was one of the 12 apostles?

St Bartholomew has no other links with West Witton or Wensleydale and, so far as is known, never came to these islands. His work was chiefly in Asia Minor, Armenia, Mesopotamia and later India, but he was caught while travelling back through Armenia and executed for spreading the faith.

His relics were kept in several churches, but eventually placed beneath the altar of the church of St Bartholomew-on-Tiber in Rome.

Even if West Witton's pretty little church honours St Bartholomew, it seems the annual Bartle burning is not associated with him.

There is a suggestion that it might be linked to Baal, the name of a sun deity in many ancient religions. In other places, however, the word Baal indicated a landowner or powerful lord, so Bartle, which sounds similar to Baal, may be linked to the legend of the giant of Penhill.

Penhill towers above West Witton and the story of the giant dates to pre-Christian times. In fact, the giant himself claimed to be descended from the Norse god Thor.

The complete yarn is too long to repeat in full within this limited space, but it concerns the cruelty of the Penhill giant and the dreadful manner with which he treated the ordinary people.

Like most nasty people, he met a dreadful end and if anyone wants to read the full tale, it is in my Folk Stories from the Yorkshire Dales by Peter N Walker, published by Hale.

It is distinctly possible, therefore, that Bartle is the name given to the terrible giant of Penhill, but equally it might be the name of a horse thief or sheep stealer who is still being punished by the villagers.

This story says that Bartle was a noted thief in Wensleydale and he had kept away from West Witton for fear of what the villagers might do to him if he was caught stealing their cattle or sheep.

But he took one last risk as he raided some livestock in West Witton. He was chased around the dale, sometimes reaching the slopes of Penhill before he was caught and burned to death.

His treachery, so it is said, is commemorated in the annual Burning of Old Bartle.

Despite these possibilities, we cannot entirely dismiss the links with St Bartholomew because, down the ages, feasts and fairs have been held on his feast day.

There is, for example, the famous Horn Dance of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire and the Blessing of the Mead in Cornwall, along with many other fairs and festivals.

Here, however, we again link St Bartholomew with our weather, for it is said: "St Bartholomew brings the dew."

I have found a charming reminder of the distinctive church at Middleton in Teesdale, which lies on the banks of the Tees some five miles or so down river from High Force.

The present church is not the original, however, for it was erected in 1880 to replace an earlier structure, although some fragments of the latter were incorporated, including a cinquefoil-headed piscina which was built into the wall of the vestry.

This is a reminder of the former building's role as a Catholic church. I believe some very basic grave covers were also built into the north wall of the nave.

What distinguishes this church from others in County Durham, however, is the curious little bell tower, perhaps better described as a bell chamber, which stands in the north-west corner of the churchyard.

It is detached from the church and I believe it is the only such detached bell tower in Durham county.

I have seen this described as rather like a rustic garden building, but in fact it dates to the sixteenth century, probably 1577.

It seems that a former priest of the church, a man appropriately called William Bell, bequeathed three bells to this church, each weighing a hundredweight.

He asked for them to be installed at his expense, which included the construction of a suitable timber frame to support them.

One of the bells bore this inscription: "Tell soull knell at his endig, and for his soul say one pater noster and one ave, ano dni 1-5-5-7."

The pater noster is, of course, the Our Father or Lord's Prayer, and the ave is the Hail Mary.

His will also bequeathed sufficient money for another aisle to be added to the church as well as some stalls. He also left some vestments, including a cope and a suit of red silk with borders bearing images of various saints.

Another of his legacies was for the benefit of the poor of the parish and it comprised a dole of one quarter of rye and a quarter of bige, which, I understand, was to be given to the needy at Christmas. Sadly, I do not know what 'bige' is!

William Bell wanted his body to be buried within the quire of Middleton Church, even though he was, for a time, a priest at Gateshead. But it seems there is no proof that this ever happened because the registers date only to 1580.

These events occurred around the time of the beginning of the Reformation and the church about which he speaks is not the one which stands there now - that has disappeared, although his curious bell chamber remains.

We were treated to the sight of a jay as we drove through a conifer forest. I use the word "treated" because this is a very shy bird which rarely allows itself to be seen.

On most occasions we become aware of its presence due to the rather raucous warning noises it makes on the approach of an intruder and, if we are lucky, we might catch sight of it flitting among the trees.

Although a member of the crow family, it is a beautifully-coloured bird, most of its plumage being a delightfully soft cinnamon pink, although some might describe it as a very light buff.

It has black wing tips and a black tail with very noticeable white wing patches and a white rump. Along the front edges of each wing is a series of small light blue and black feathers - these were often used as decorations in the bands of gentlemen's hats.

This bird loves acorns and has a curious habit of hiding them in the ground - and then forgetting where it placed them