Norfolk Folklore Society - July 2024 Newsletter
A note from Siofra
Hello my dear folklore friends,
I hope this month has treated you well. I’m just home from a little camping weekend away on the north Norfolk coast. The weather was pretty wild at times, but we were treated to a stunning sunset over the site of Seahenge, which apparently isn’t a henge and wasn’t in the sea at the time it was built. My question for Google later is what makes a henge a henge?
I’ll share more pictures from the trip over on Instagram if you fancy seeing more of what I got up to.
Earlier this month we were invited along to a new walking tour of Norwich - Norwich Story Walks. Stacia wasn’t able to make it, so I dragged my husband and Peanut along on the Weird and Wonderful Story Walk. The walk focuses on some of Norwich’s lesser known weird and occasionally macabre history. The are some classic strange tales along the way and the were even some nuggets which I didn’t know.
I really enjoyed the walk. It’s probably not a surprise that I was familiar with most of the stories, but our tour guide told them so well, it almost felt like hearing them for the first time. I’d highly recommend the walk, even if you are a Norwich local. It was a lovely way to spend an evening and you may come across some little weird history nugget you’ve not heard before.
Siofra
💚
A note from Stacia
I managed to escape the UK for a few days at the beginning of June and while most of the trip involved the 80th anniversary of D-Day and a whistlestop tour of the Somme battlefields, I did manage to squeeze a bit of strange into every day.
From the grotesque gargoyles of Bayeux Cathedral to the town’s House of Adam and Eve, whose wooden carvings depict the story of original sin, along with mermaids, angels and cherubs, Neolithic passage graves in Normandy to the Devil’s Table – who knew France was such a megalithic magnet?
This month we’ve got news of some big events that are coming up at the beginning and end of August and we’re talking sea serpents, lunar lore, Black Shuck, monk-headed dogs and dog-headed monks, July folklore and we reach the letter Q in the Norfolk Folklore Society alphabet – Quidenham takes centre stage in this month’s alphabet. And dang, Quidenham is delivering ALL the quirk.
Stay strange, love Stacia X
NFS at the Black Shuck Festival in Bungay!
We will be representing the Norfolk Folklore Society at The Black Shuck Festival at a very special evening in Suffolk’s most haunted pub. We will be shedding light on many tales of Black Shuck you may NOT have heard as we try to get a handle on the beast that boasts many different forms.
Join us for a live recording of our internationally-renowned podcast in the banqueting hall of The Three Tuns in Bungay, a pub that boasts 30 ghosts, legends of underground tunnels and former customers that include Charles Dickens and Dick Turpin.
With chances to ask questions following the recording, this is your chance to get to the black heart of Black Shuck with two of his greatest fans. The event is on August 4 at 8.15pm to 10.15pm.Tickets are £10, buy them HERE.
The Eccles-on-Sea serpent
Unseasonal storms had all but blown away by the time that the former Lord Mayor of Norwich, a London MP and their friend went for a stroll on Eccles beach in Norfolk just three years before the outbreak of World War Two.
It was a peaceful evening as they walked along the sands – until, that is, a sea serpent appeared travelling at incredible speed.
In a letter to the local newspaper on August 6 1936, Herbert Witard – who had been Mayor in 1927 – noted that he, Labour MP Charles Ammon and Archibald Gossling, a British trade unionist and Labour politician, had been standing on Eccles-on-Sea Beach at 7.25pm the night before when they noticed an “unusual form travelling swiftly about one mile from the shore”.
He added: “Looking at it from a distance, it appeared to be a form of a huge serpent about 30 or 40 feet in length and skimming the surface of the water in a wormlike movement but travelling at a terrific speed, certainly not less than one mile a minute.”
An intrepid reporter probed for more.
“I am positive,” said Mr Witard, “that what we saw was a sea serpent. We were all on the beach together on Wednesday evening when we saw the creature and it was a perfectly clear evening…this creature looked like a huge snake. Its action in swimming was wormlike and not the roll of a porpoise.
“Its speed was terrific. I said not less than a mile a minute in my letter, but 90 to 100 miles an hour is not an exaggerated estimate. I have by me a copy of the Strand magazine for 1895 containing an article on sea serpents. One of the serpents described is exactly like the one I saw. It disappeared very quickly on the skyline in the direction of Happisburgh.”
Mr Witard’s sighting was given further credence by Wroxham man Colin King: “Undoubtedly this accounts for what we saw on Wednesday afternoon. I was sitting with my wife and daughter on the sandhills at Eccles when I pointed out to them a black snake or wormlike object travelling at a terrific speed on the surface of the water, about half a mile or so out, going in the direction of Happisburgh.
“The time we saw it was between 2 and 3pm, and as Mr Witard saw it at 7.15pm, I have been wondering if there were more than one or if this creature is still in the vicinity.”
HE Witard wrote again on August 11 to answer his critics: “Sir – I am more than interested to learn that several of your correspondents are certain the sea serpent seen by my friends and myself was not really a sea serpent at all, but just a flight of birds, a shoal of porpoises, or it may have been just a flight of our own imaginations.
“There seems to be ample evidence of the existences of such a monster…two and half years on the sea gave me many opportunities of watching the habits of porpoises, wild ducks and other birds of flight. It has since been reported to me by friends of mine that they saw a similar monster off the Eccles Coast a day or two previous to it being seen by me. Perhaps we are like the man who saw the giraffe for the first time and said ‘there bean’t no such animal’.”
Another sighting of a five-humped creature in the sea at Mundesley added fuel to the flames and even more perplexing was this anonymous letter sent to the paper: “…It is also very interesting that this should have been seen off Eccles, as it was only last year that I had occasion to be at Eccles on business when my attention was called to a body that had been washed up by the sea. I made a close inspection of this, and although part of the tail was missing, it was of considerable length and had a fish-like body, yet with the bones of an animal and small feathers on the neck, and also a long, thick tail similar to that of a crocodile. I think I am right in saying that this body was buried somewhere on the beach at Eccles.”
Entrepreneurial souls at Edward Bush in Norwich were quick to capitalise on the mysterious sighting, taking out an advertisement in the paper: “Sea Serpent at Eccles? Pay a visit to Eccles on Sea. You cannot be sure you will see The Sea Serpent, but you can be sure of seeing THE BUSH ESTATE – carefully panned seaside estate with attractive, well-built bungalows…even the monster was interested in the Bush Estate…”
But after less than a fortnight of lively exchanges in the letters section, the paper’s editor decided to put an end to the monstrous debate: “This correspondence is now closed,” said a curt note to the last letter published.
Is the creature still at large above the mostly-sunken village of Eccles? And just what were three prominent and politically-active men talking about on a deserted beach that night between the wars?
NFS event: Werewolves, witches and weather: how the Moon helps to shape Norfolk Folklore at Lynn Museum
We’re crossing the county to pop up at Lynn Museum on August 30 from 2pm to 3pm for a special talk as part of a series of events linked to the museum’s latest exhibition, The Moon: Meet Our Nearest Neighbour.
Join us to learn about lunar lore in Norfolk and East Anglia. Find out about the time the Moon was buried in the dark marshland of the Fens, the Werewolf of Dogdyke, Moon magic and why you should never look at the Moon over your shoulder.
For tickets, which cost just £2! click HERE.
We’re planning to have a wander through Lynn afterwards and a potential picnic, so if you fancy joining us after the talk to recreate the walk we created for the Norfolk Walking and Cycling Festival in 2019, please do so. The walk is weather dependent, although Siofra might fight me over that. Briggs doesn’t do wet feet.
Note from Siofra: I will definitely do the walk if it is raining. I’ve just sewn myself a pretty cool waterproof outfit which I really want to show off.
July folklore
July in the UK is a month rich with folklore and traditions, many of which are rooted in ancient customs and agricultural practices.
One prominent piece of folklore associated with July is the celebration of Lammas, or Lughnasadh, which traditionally falls on August 1 but preparations and related activities often begin in July. Lammas marks the beginning of the harvest season, celebrating the first wheat harvest of the year.
Lammas is derived from the Old English "hlafmaesse," meaning "loaf mass," reflecting the tradition of baking bread from the first grain and bringing it to church to be blessed. This festival has its roots in both Pagan and Christian traditions. In pre-Christian times, it was known as Lughnasadh, a festival dedicated to the Celtic god Lugh. Communities would gather to give thanks for the harvest, holding feasts, games, and fairs.
July is also the month of St. Swithin’s Day, celebrated on July 15. According to folklore, the weather on St. Swithin’s Day is a predictor for the next 40 days: the legend states that if it rains on St. Swithin’s Day, it will continue to rain for 40 days, but if it is dry, the next 40 days will be fine.
This belief is rooted in the tale of St. Swithin, a 9th-century bishop of Winchester, whose remains were moved on a rainy day, supposedly triggering the long spell of bad weather.
Furthermore, July is associated with the blooming of various wildflowers, such as St. John’s Wort, which is linked to St. John’s Day on June 24th. This herb was traditionally harvested around this time and used for its medicinal properties and protective qualities against evil spirits.
In rural areas, July also brings various agricultural fairs and sheep-shearing festivals, celebrating the abundance of summer. These events, steeped in tradition, provide a glimpse into the historical rhythms of rural life and the close connection between the land and community.
These folklore traditions reflect the deep ties between the agricultural calendar and community life in the UK, illustrating how seasonal changes and historical beliefs continue to shape cultural practices.
What’s more frightening, a monk-headed dog or a dog-headed monk?
Never let it be said that the Norfolk Folklore Society doesn’t debate the big questions in life! This month’s podcast is about a topic we talk about A LOT. And if trying to get to the bottom of such a gripping question isn’t enough, we then share with you all a list of the Top Five Most Creepy Norfolk Stories we’ve covered. We release a podcast on the first day of every month and we’ve got a back catalogue that will keep you entertained for days. Come and join us here
NFS A-Z: Q is for Quidenham
Quidenham is a treasure trove for tourists of the strange: more than 300 artefacts, sites and listed buildings have been recorded in this small Breckland village, along with a sighting of a headless coachman driving his coffin-laden carriage and horses across Quidenham Bridge.
Apparently, one of the Lord Albemarles of Quidenham requested that after his death, his coffin was to be carried by 12 men in the state he had favoured in life: complete drunkenness.
When Lord Ablemarle passed away, his wish was honoured. But the pall bearers, too drunk for the task at hand, stumbled at the bridge close to Quidenham Hall and fell into the waters below, where they drowned. On certain nights, it is said, this incident replays.
Other tales from the village are of a headless coachman driving a coffin-laden carriage and horses across the bridge on Quidenham Road.
The village sign is a clue as to where villagers believe the Queen of the Iceni’s resting place may be: at a burial mound on the west of Eccles Road, known as Viking’s Mound.
In Memorials of Old Norfolk by Hugh John Dunkenfeld-Astley, published in 1908, the author wrote: “In the grounds of the parsonage house at Quidenham there is a mound which local tradition affirms to be the burial place of the warrior Queen (Boudicca).
“It stands close to the road, near a small stream, and is fifty yards round at the base, which is surrounded by a trench. This tumulus is locally called the Bubberies which the people say is a corruption of Boadicea or Boudicca.
“It has never been explored, but is supposed to have been the site of a battle, from the large number of skulls and other human remains which are found in the churchyard close by.”
Somewhat boringly, Norfolk Heritage Explorer suggests the site is actually the mound of a small Norman motte and bailey castle built by the D’Albinis in the 12th century.
Other quirky things to see in Quidenham and nearby:
St Andrew’s Church: look for the 1947 American war memorial window which shows a WW2 airman looking up at a vision of Jesus (a B17 Flying Fortress crashed near Quidenham after taking off from Snetterton in frosty conditions in January 1944, killing all the crew), a beautiful mosaic memorial to Lt Albert Keppel who died in Flanders in 1917 (the helmet he was wearing when he died is above it), the medieval stone crosses that survive at the Hargham crossroads and Whitecross Drift and look out for The Devil’s Oven, The Wilderness, King; Edward’s Ride and the Carmelite Monastery.
You may need a map and Norfolk Heritage Explorer!
Do you have a story for the Norfolk Folklore Society? Email us at norfolkfolkloresociety@gmail.com