Brill is a village in South East England. Stow on the Wold* is a town in Gloucestershire in South West England…
At Brill on the Hill,
The wind blows shrill,
The cook no meat can dress;
At Stow in the Wold
The wind blows cold,
I know no more than this.
Notes
*Though Stow on the Wold is spelled differently in the rhyme (in the rhyme it's "Stow in the Wold"), it seems to be the town the rhyme is referring to.
According to Wikipedia, "Given its exposed spot on the top of Stow Hill, the town is often referred to with the couplet 'Stow on the Wold, where the winds blow cold and the cooks can't roast their dinners", but there is no source for this. It may be a corruption of the rhyme (above)…"
Thanks and Acknowledgements
This rhyme can be found in The Mother Goose; Containing All The Melodies The Old Lady Ever Wrote, edited By Dame Goslin (1850). IT can also be found in English Folk Rhymes (1892) By G. F. Northall.
Photo Credit: Windmill at Brill by Oxonhutch on Wikipedia.
