I'm translating Agatha Wheeler's text in the Cumbrian dialect of English, written c. 1790, and although I'm familiar with the dialect in the 1800s, there are a few things I can't work out, and I thought you guys might be able to help. She says the following;
It wur net ith Time of Oliver Crumel, ner King Stune, but sum udder King, two Men com a girt way off...
Translated; 'it was not in the time of [Oliver Cromwell, I assume], nor King Stune, but some other king, two men came from a long way away...'
Who could 'King Stune' be referring to? Could it be the nickname of a British king? A lot of literature from the area dates its stories by reference to the king at the time, so this isn't out-of-place, I just have no idea who she's referring to here. Thank you if you're able to help :)
Although it is outside of Cumbria, she may have been referring to the King Stone, a Bronze Age standing stone associated with the Rollright Stones in Warwickshire.
The legend of the stone is that it is a King that has been turned to stone from a bygone era.
Again, it is not local to Cumbria, but the stones were fairly well known and written about since the medieval period making the reference plausible.
This would imply Ann Wheeler's reference would have been to a vague legendary King from the misty past, not a specific King of England.