Thanks Hoot. It's a poor folklorist who is not part historian and sociologist. Yes of course every town had its rough area but none is so well represented in the tradition as Ratcliffe Highway or Rosemary Lane. I just wanted a flavour of their history. I believe in understanding what I am singing or writing about. This thread has entertained my curiosity. There's always something to learn, hence our books and my magazine articles etc. Sorting the truth from the fiction can be challenging, but I can now see the area in my mind's eye in more detail than before. That's important to a singer (well this one anyway) and will affect my arrangement and treatment of the songs.