John McLellan
John McLellan, who lived in the early 19th century, was a Tyneside poet and songwriter. He is thought to have written a dialect song that draws on the cholera outbreaks of the 1830s.
John McLellan
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- songwriter · poet
- Languages
- English
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John McLellan, who lived in the early 19th century, was a Tyneside poet and songwriter. He is thought to have written a dialect song that draws on the cholera outbreaks of the 1830s.
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wikidata · Q6248084
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Cholera song
According to information published in 1840, McLellan wrote the song "Cobbler o' Morpeth", subtitled "Cholera Morbus". "Cobbler" was a slang term used for the dread disease of cholera. There was a strong cholera epidemic in 1831–1832 and further outbreaks in 1848–1849 and 1853. The last led to 1,533 deaths in Newcastle, despite the opening of emergency hospitals, closure of public institutions such as theatres, quarantining of ships, cleansing streets with fire-engine hoses, excluding bodies from places of worship, and requiring graves to be at least six foot deep. The song, without comment except the author's name, reappeared in 1850 and was sung to the tune of "Bow Wow". The text is in Geordie dialect.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Tyne Songster published by Fordyce, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1840, p. 73.
- 2.Farne archives – The Cobbler of Morpeth.
- 3.Songs of the Bards of the Tyne, published by P. France & Co., Newcastle upon Tyne, 1850, p. 117.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
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