Researchers at the University of Aberdeen think the tale's ongoing popularity can be traced back to a folk song that predates the Hartlepool story.

The legend says the Hartlepool monkey was the sole survivor of a shipwrecked French warship during the Napoleonic Wars in 1805.

But student Fiona-Jane Brown reckons she can shed new light on the legend after delving into the history of a monkey hanging in the village of Boddam, near Peterhead, in Scotland.



That story tells how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the Aberdeenshire coast. It is said the villagers hung the animal to claim the salvage rights.

It was first mentioned in a version of folk song The Boddamers Hung the Monkey-O in 1722.

Fiona-Jane delved into both legends for her research into fishing communities' identities.

Historians have suggested that Hartlepool's monkey song by Tyneside music hall star Ned Corvan was inspired from an urban legend about Russian Cossacks dressing a baboon up in uniform during the Napoleonic Wars.

But Fiona-Jane says the song features whole lines from the original Boddham version and used the same tune, The Tinkers' Waddin.

She said: "The Baboon song was still very popular at the time, but it's likely that Corvan may have also toured in Scotland and heard the Boddam Monkey song, which was probably well-known amongst fishermen on both coasts."

But while Hartlepool's legend has become accepted as part of the town's identity, the villagers in Scotland are as upbeat.

Fiona-Jane added: "In the north-east of England, the legend has been generally adopted as a positive marker of social identity which survived on the football field.

"But in the north-east of Scotland, the Boddamers – who have a long-standing rivalry with nearby Burnhaven – have refused to accept what they see as a slur against their community, a bad memory of bitter rivalries of the past."