Legends

The White Horse of Cleadon Hills

There are many stories to explain the origin of the White Horse on Cleadon Hills, but the one accorded with most credibility concerns the Whitburn nobleman Sir Hedworth Williamson.

Every day Sir Hedworth and his wife would go riding along the beach at Marsden and picnic at a spot near Farding Lake. But one day Sir Hedworth had to leave on business so Lady Williamson went out on her white mare alone. She was seen galloping towards Marsden Rock, which was then attached to the mainland, and was last spotted riding into an opening in the rock.

Search parties found no trace of Lady Williamson, but Sir Hedworth carried on looking for two years until he reluctantly accepted that the treacherous tide must have carried the bodies of both his wife and her horse out to sea. Heartbroken, Sir Hedworth lost interest in his estate and gave all his horses to his ostler Wareham. As a memento to his former master's kindness he scratched out a white horse with tar and limewash on Cleadon Hills for all to remember.

Dwyle Flonking

This is an ancient custom, now practised annually at the Alnwick Fair. It is a contest involving alcohol and in which two teams of eight compete against each other for points. One team forms a circle and trots gently round in an anti-clockwise direction, whilst one member of the opposing team stands in the centre of the circle rotating in a clockwise direction. He is armed with a beer sodden rag on a stick and this he flings at the circling opposing team. He scores a hit if he touches them between shoulder and knee. Additional points are gained if he can race around the outside of the circle before his victim drinks a pint of beer!

Jumping The Petting Stone

There are several marriage customs still in existence on Holy Island, although bridal garlands are no longer hung in the church after a ceremony. However, the custom of the bride jumping the petting stone continues. Supported by either two old fishermen or the two oldest male inhabitants, the bride must jump over the stone which is situated between the chancel of St. Mary's Church and the Priory. A clear jump signifies good fortune and fertility in marriage. Newly married couples are traditionally greeted by shotgun firing islanders. The church gates are tied and a fine must be distributed to pass through. Another custom involves breaking plates by throwing them over the head of the bride, a broken plate being a lucky sign and broken head presumably an unlucky one.

Jack The Blaster - Marsden Grotto

At Marsden Rock, which is one of the principal bird sanctuaries between the River Tyne and the River Tees, is the famous Grotto. Today the Grotto is a public house and restaurant and is accessible from the cliff top road by rickety stairs or lift to the cliff base. It was created by a miner nicknamed Jack the Blaster who cut out and built a home for himself in the steep cliffs. And there he lived from 1782 with his family in the limestone caves. It was later taken over and turned into a fifteen roomed house.

The Dirty Bottles In Alnwick

One of Alnwick's most curious attractions is to be found in the small bow window of the Old Cross Inn in Narrowgate. It is said that over one hundred and fifty years ago, the innkeeper died whilst decorating the window to be cleaned and there came into being a legend which stated that anyone touching the bottles would meet their death. Strangely only one person has tried to touch the bottles and it is said that he died. People are forbidden to even try this as the owners do not want people dying on their premises.

Long Pack, Bellingham

In the small market town of Bellingham there is an early eighteenth century house called Lee Hall which is renowned for its association with the legend of the Long Pack. The story goes that over two hundred years ago a Colonel Ridley, having acquired a fortune, returned from India to Lee Hall. And one night whilst he and his family were in London a peddler came to the house begging a nights lodging. Alice, the only servant present, let him in, although she refused to let him stay for the night. However she took pity on him and allowed him to leave his long pack which he could carry no further. Upon examining the long pack after the peddlar had left, the maid to her horror, believed she saw the pack move. She summoned help and the plough boy, on hearing the story, shot the pack with his gun. The pack groaned and blood flowed over the floor.

It transpired that the plough boy had shot a robber and that this had been part of a planned raid on the house. A Guard was set up and in the early hours of the morning the raiders were repelled and some were shot. It was said that members of several respectable families in the area were never seen again. As for the man in the long pack - he was buried in the churchyard in a grave shaped like a peddlers pack.

Bede's Bones in Durham Cathedral

In 1022 a sacrist called Elfrid Westove was apparently very concerned that the relics of saints were being neglected, therefore he made it his business to bring as many of these to Durham to care for them. He was particularly interested in St Bede's bones at Jarrow. It has been suggested that he was intent on creating a major shrine as the bones of St Cuthbert were at Durham and it seems that he coveted the remains of St Bede at Jarrow. After several pilgrimages to Jarrow in which he gained the trust of the monks there, he secretly took Bede's bones to Durham where they remain to this day.

Winters Gibbet at Elsdon

In the surrounding area of Elsdon, at the point where the road rises to 1.040 feet there was a landmark called the Steng Cross of which only the base remains. It is said that from this place, one of the best views of Northumbria is to be had. In its place a gibbet was erected which was a thirty foot high post with a cross-piece. It was here that William Winter's body was suspended after being hanged at Westgate in Newcastle. His crime was the murder of Margaret Crozier, an elderly woman who was the sole occupant of the Raw Pele, an old tower some two miles to the north of Elsdon. Winter's corpse was ghoulishly suspended within sight of his victim's home. The sight became a very morbid attraction and in time Winter's corpse was replaced by a wooden effigy and then by a wooden head or 'stob'. Hence it is also known as 'Winter's Stob'. Much of Winter's original gibbet has since disappeared.

The Lambton Worm

This is the most famous of all the 'worm' legends of County Durham. The Lambton Worm is supposedly a great medieval reptile slain by the 'Bowld and Brave Sor John' as the song puts it, on his return from 'Foreign Waars', presumably the Crusades. The story has no doubt become more and more exaggerated. The song alleges the monster to have 'milked a dozen cows', to have swallowed children and to have 'lapped its tail ten times round Penshaw Hill'.

The story in the song goes that Lord Lambton was fishing in the Wear and caught a very unusual looking creature and not wishing to take it home he threw it down a well. Then Sir John went off to fight in foreign lands and meanwhile the creature in the well grew and grew to hideous proportions and began to cause fear in the area. Hearing of this Sir John returned home, caught the beast and cut it into two halves. In the words of the song the locals rejoiced over

'Sor John's clivvor job
Wi' the aaful Lambton Worm'.

The Ghost of Dorothy Foster

There is some confusion as to whose ghost actually haunts the Lord Crewe Arms at Blanchland, as the aunt and the niece in the saga have the same name. Whichever, the ghost is said to haunt the village as well as the hotel and can supposedly be seen walking along the Hexham Road.

The story concerns the Forster family who in 1651 were accused by the Roundheads of helping the Royalists. Indeed in 1715 Thomas Forster of Bamburgh and the Earl of Derwentwater together set off to go to the aid of the Old Pretender, they had little but their enthusiasm to help them and without even a sniff at the battle, Forster was captured and imprisoned. His sister Dorothy, however, made a skeleton key and rescued him. She brought him to Blanchland and hid him in a secret room built into the kitchen chimney. Later she managed to get him to France and it is said that her ghost can be seen roaming the moors surrounding Blanchland.

The Sockburn Worm, Tees Valley

This story takes place along the banks of the River Tees, at a place partway between Yarm and Darlington, where there lived a monstrous two-legged worm. The worm would lie hidden in its cave until overcome with hunger, then come forth and devour humans and beasts. In an attempt to appease the hunger of the worm the people of the area built a huge drinking trough and poured in the milk from several cows. However this was still not enough to satisfy the worms appetite and it went on a murderous rampage devouring everything that crossed its path.

Sir John Conyers, then Lord of the Manor of Sockburn, took the matter into his own hands and in desperation went to the chapel of All Saints to offer up the life of his only son in return for the deliverance of his lands. At first light next day Sir John rode forth to the lair to await the return of the worm. When it returned, satisfied from its nights plundering, it saw the glint of Sir John's sword and was filled with fear. It attacked him, wrapping its tail around him to squeeze the air from his lungs but Sir John took his sword and swiped it through the beast's neck, removing head from body.

As his people ran to see the spectacle of the worm's death, Sir John knelt and gave thanks to God. They dug a huge pit and pushed in the corpse of the worm, but as they still feared it so much they also took a huge grey slab of stone and used it to cover the grave. The stone still lies there and to this day the worms tomb is known as The Greystone.