Thursday 4 March 2021

Greenwell's Glory!

I recently tied a few Greenwells/Glory for the forthcoming season, put them in my box and never thought much else about them until I posted a pic of one of my patterns on a well known social media page!
That was when the confusion started!
As I was told that the pattern I displayed was not a Greenwell's Glory at all as I had included a few light furnace hackles for a tail. I was informed that the original dressing of the Glory didnt have a tail and that I had infact tied a Greenwells wet which includes a tail. Perhaps someone was just having a laugh?
So off I went to my bookshelf to try get a definitive answer on the correct dressing!
Stan Headley's book of Scottish Flies and John Reids Clyde Style Flies both suggest a tail.
However there is no mention of a tail in Bert Sharpe's Let's fish the Clyde and Tom Stewart's Fifty Popular Flies.
Still confused I reached for A.Courtney Williams' Dictionary of Trout Flies in an attempt to clear up the puzzlement.
As you will probably know the Greenwell's Glory is a very old pattern dating from the middle of the 1800's of that there is no doubt.
it is well documented that the pattern was devised by Canon William Greenwell of Durham and tied by Tweedside flytyer James Wright.
However within the pages of this book is the description of the Greenwells Glory which is beyond all dispute as the following dressing comes from a letter handwritten by Canon Greenwell and dated 1st June 1900.
Wing. Inside of Blackbird's wing.
Body. Yellow silk.
Hackle.  Coch-y-bondhu
Hook. 14.
So there you have it! For the attention of the Flytying Police (Vice Squad) The pattern I tied is just a Greenwell's Glory Variant! 

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