HICKATHRIFT, TOM

[Folklore] Tom Hickathrift, the hero of an English nursery rhyme and mythical strong man. He is believed to have been a labourer at the time of the Conquest. The story tells how he, armed with an axle-tree and cartwheel, killed a giant who dwelled in a marsh at Tilney (Norfolk). As a reward he was knighted and made a governor of Thanet.