Will Ritson, Wasdale, Cumbria - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

The Ritson family grave plot is in Nether Wasdale churchyard. Many family fore names are on this big gravestone. Will himself died on March 4 1890, his wife Dinah predeceased him on July 20 1888, as well as their youngest son William in 1878.

"To celebrate Will Ritson's life and tales, a competition is held every November to find the new World’s Biggest Liar. Contestants travel great distances to take part. Legend has it that a visiting Bishop who stumbled across the contest declared: ‘I have never told a lie in my life.’ He was promptly declared that year’s winner." from Visit Britain

"One, for example, was about a wounded eagle Ritson found near the inn. He kept it in his chicken coop and nursed it back to health. One night the coop was raided by a bitch hound. The eagle was unscathed, but five months later the dog gave birth to a litter of winged hounds." from wikipedia Wasdale_Head

World's Biggest Liar 

Biography (Short)
"In the 19th century, a famous Cumbrian called Will Ritson (1808 - 1890) was a popular publican who lived at the head of the Wasdale Valley in the English Lake District.

In this remote but beautiful valley, Will always kept his customers enthralled with stories of the folk heritage of this delightful area. The valley was already famous for having England's deepest lake, Wastwater; the highest mountain, Scafell Pike; the smallest church, Wasdale Head Church, and Will Ritson achieved it's fourth superlative when he became ' The World's Biggest Liar'.

Of course, Will was a sincere and genuine man, who insisted that all his tales were true. He kept foxhounds, and on one occasion mated a foxhound bitch with a golden eagle. The result was that the foxhound pups had eagle wings, and were able to leap over the Lake District's dry stone walls more easily. Since that time there has been little trouble with foxes in the Wasdale Valley.

Each year, in November, a contest is held at The Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge, to award the title of 'The Biggest Liar in the World', to the person who is worthy of following in Will Ritson's foot steps." from http://www.grizedale.org/lying/history/index.htm

Description: Ritson (1808–1890) was a popular publican who told fantastic tales claiming, for example, that the turnips in Wasdale were so big that after the valley's folk had ‘quarried’ into them for their Sunday lunch, they could be used as sheds for local sheep. Date of birth: 01/01/1808 Date of death: 03/04/1890 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: daylight hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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