"An Aberdeen University study claims the tale originated in Scotland.

........ Fiona-Jane Brown, a folklorist at Aberdeen University's Elphinstone Institute, suggests the Hartlepool legend stems from a similar incident off the village of Boddam, near Peterhead, in 1772.

The villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, so they allegedly hanged the monkey."

Study queries monkey legend roots

Interestingly, on another forum, Fiona-Jane goes on to say this:

" ... as the author of the research thought I would also mention a few other things that clinch the monkey song as originating in Boddam rather than Hartlepool;

1. The Boddam monkey was hanged because the people wanted to salvage from the wreck of the ship - in Scots Law you could only do that if there were no living souls left aboard!

2. David Ferguson's book: Shipwrecks of NE Scotland where I got the 1772 reference, also says there were loads of examples of wrecking and illegal salvaging in the area

3. Boddam got a lighthouse in 1825 - before that date wrecking would have been an easier job, predating Ned Corvan's music hall version of 'The Hartlepool Monkey' which was composed in 1854

4. The tune mostly used by folk in the North East is William Watt's 'The Tinkers' Waddin', which was possibly published around 1835, again before Corvan wrote his words, and borrowed the tune. BUT Watt was inspired by the earlier tune and song 'The Blythsome Bridal' attr Francis Sempill c. mid 1600s - the tune was known as a 'Scotch Tune' even before that by broadside balladiers.

5. The Hartlepool monkey song borrows the line (which Ptarmigan didn't print but is known) about the monkey biting off the fisherman's nose

6. Ned Corvan was inspired by the Baboon song, based on an urban legend in County Durham where the pet baboon of a group of Russian Cossacks apparently stationed in Hartlepool during the Napoleonic Wars that was dressed up in a uniform and ran amok, the ignorant folk thought he was a Jew, a spy, a black man etc. Corvan wanted to exploit the rivalry between Old Hartlepool (Seaton Carew area) and West Hartlepool, founded in 1830s - the latter being the new industrial district, so made up the monkey song based on the Boddam one and the Baboon song.

Corvan STOLE it fae us!! ;-)

The Boddamers are quite happy to leave it to the Poolies, as they HATE the song even to this day!"

Cheers
Dick