Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

not that i have long, but ill try and get through this nursery rhyme.
"Mary, Mary quite contrary,
how do your gardens grow?
with silver bells and cockle shells
and pretty maids, all in a row."

Mary is believed to refer to bloody Mary, or queen the Mary the first of England. She was known for her brutal punishments, and the many tortures she conducted. The "gardens" she was growing was more a metaphorical reference to all the people she was killing, and how the graveyards were filling up quickly. Amongst the common folk of England during this time, a Silver bell was a slang term for an instrument of torture, which applied great pressure to the thumbs and/or fingers, and completely crushing them. The cockle shell was another used term for another instrument which was believed to inflict genital torture. A Maid, or a maiden was the name that people used to speak of the guillotine, which was the official instrument used for the be-heading of people.

The Chruch Grim

The church grim is usually described as a large black shaggy dog with red glowing eyes. Occasionally there are accounts of them being other animals such as horses, pigs and even birds.
it is referred to as the "church" grim as it was an English folklore creature who guarded the graves (owned by a church in that period of time) against evil spirits. Myth had it, that the first body buried was responsible for guarding the graves, and the people thought it was unfair that people should take on this role rather than resting in peace. So at many newly established grave sites, a live animal (large black dog) would be buried alive.
Many church grims are well know to ring the church bells, and often, a death in the community soon follows. Many popes/bishops have accounts of being able to tell if certain bodies are going to hell or heaven based upon the expression on the grims face. Sometimes, the grim is seen as an omen, it is said that if someone is to look into the eyes of a grim three times in a row (in three encounters) they will die shortly afterwards.
Overall its a pretty cool concept, and you can probably see a few resemblances between the grim and Sirius Black in dog form from harry potter (did i mention grims like lightning?) Anyway, the picture Ive posted below was a devian art work, i just thought i should mention, as this anonymus artist deserves credit for their work. (which was found in google)