A Medieval Knight at rest

I have another picture for you.

Medieval wooden effigy, Ousby c. D McIlmoyle

This wooden effigy of a knight is in St. Luke’s Church, Ousby, in eastern Cumbria. He’s lifesize, or at least life-length; he is of a very petite build by modern ideas and he’s lost a chunk of his left side. He is dressed in a medieval knight’s full get-up, ‘entirely clad in mail, except genouillieres or knee caps of plate or leather; his coif de mail covers his head and shoulders; he has hauberk and chausses of mail; under the hauberk he has a haqueton or gambeson; over all, a long sleeveless surcoat, slit up the front to above the knee; his spurs are gone, but the staps remain; a narrow guige is over his shoulder, but the shield it supported has gone; a narrow cingulum is around his waist, and a broader sword belt hangs below, but the sword is gone except the hilt’ (1).

St. Luke’s, Ousby, Cumbria c. D McIlmoyle

People would like the knight to be a Templar – Ousby is only a few miles from a known Templar property, Temple Sowerby – but it seems that his outfit and beard rule this out. Tullie House Museum in Carlisle (2) has confirmed that the date is around 1200-1250CE.

Nobody knows who he was. The story goes (3) that he was found in a nearby peat bog by a farmer. Doubtless the effigy was originally in the church, quite possibly marking the man’s grave, but was moved outside by zealous Cromwellian types in the 1640s who had no truck with earthly decoration in places of religion. We know that his missing parts are not, as originally thought, the result of the farmer’s plough hitting the effigy, as there are visible saw marks.

Medieval wooden effigy, Ousby c. D McIlmoyle

Of course, that’s not stopped people theorising about him. Bishop Nicholson (4) said in the 18th century that he was an outlaw from Crewgarth (now a farm, which has ancient ruins, on the western edge of the village), who was killed whilst hunting on the fell above. Some places casually refer to him as ‘Rolf Ulversby’ (Ulversby being one of the many old spellings of Ousby), but I suspect locals just called him ‘Rolf’ out of politeness!

In the last decade or so, three serious contenders have been put forward. One is Sir Patrick de Ulvesby, a mid-13th century High Sheriff of Lancashire, and village landowner (5). Another, much supported, is Adam Armstrong – or his father, William Armstrong. The Armstrong Clan believe that the earliest Armstrongs came from hereabouts, and it’s a matter of record that they were related to, and were given land here by, Robert the Bruce. The remaining contender is Julian Falcard, who was certainly a principal landowner in the area at the right time.

In the late ’90s, the knight was re-assessed and securely encased in a protective glass case in the church. Hopefully this means that he’ll be kept in good condition so future generations can finally give him his name.

c. Diane McIlmoyle 09.05.12

1. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaological Society, 1886.

2. Tullie House Museum, Carlisle www.tulliehouse.co.uk

3. History of Westmorland and Cumberland, Nicholson & Burn, 1777.

4. Ditto.

5. High Sheriffs of Lancashire, 1216-1261 by Colin Penny.

Cumbria’s oldest cat

I’ve been a bit remiss in keeping you updated recently, so I thought I’d dash in and offer this picture.

Dessicated cat from Keswick Museum

This dessicated cat, now in Keswick museum, was found in the rafters of St. Cuthbert’s Church in Clifton, near Penrith, in 1842. I’m afraid that you will often see it described as a 666-year-old cat¹, because the media has decided that this number suits an animal associated with witchcraft. Fortunately, I can assure you that they’ve been saying that for several years now, we don’t actually know the cat’s birth date and hence it’s probably just a poor old cat with a bad reputation.

A Gallop through Midwinter

We have, it seems, long celebrated something special at this time of year. When the days are shortest and coldest, we need something to look forward to.

Ghost of Christmas Past, illus. John Leech, 1843 for Dickens' A Christmas Carol

For many people in the northern and western world, it’s about Christmas, the anniversary of Jesus’ birth. You might have heard that the bible actually gives very little clue about the actual date of Jesus’ birth, and this is true. The establishment of 25^th December as Christmas was only settled by the pope in Rome in 354 CE, a good three-and-a-half centuries after the event.

Cumbria’s Great Pearl Rush

‘Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day.‘ (MFGB, 1926)

Miners during the 1926 General Strike

In May, 1926, there was a general strike across Britain. This was in response to  a move from coal mines to reduce miners’ wages by 10%-25%, whilst requiring them to work longer hours. In case readers are tempted to make comparisons with modern times, it’s important to realise that miners in 1920s Britain were poor to an extent we can barely comprehend. In 2006, Britons spent an average of 15% of their income on food; in the 1920s, this was closer to 40%. The strike officially lasted for a month, but many Cumbrian miners were unable to return to work until the following winter, and some never found employment again.

Some enterprising west Cumbrians found a way to cut a meagre path through disastrous times. The ‘pearl rush’ started when a London visitor to Ennerdale was noticed standing in the River Ehen, wearing waders and throwing pearl mussels onto the river bank.

Michael Scot and Ulfo’s Adventure

The Alchemist by Fettes Douglas, 1853

It’s a shame that people don’t generally know much about Michael Scot. Scratch around a bit and you might find someone who can drum up fantastical tales about turning witches into stone at Long Meg stone circle, raising a church overnight, or casting down mountains. Historians will tell you that he was a translator, alchemist, astronomer and early scientist, who lived around the turn of the 13^th century.

Scot was probably born in the Borders, but he spent most of his life abroad, retiring to Holme Cultram Abbey in northern Cumbria¹. There are 17^th-century reports that he was buried there, and  that some of his works were kept in Wolsty Castle.

The Claife Crier: Windermere’s famous spook

The Claife Crier has to be the best-known spook in the Lake District, and, as is commonly pointed out, the only ghost named on an OS map. Sadly, neither he nor his residence are listed on my modern road map but still… here’s the story.

Claife Heights copyright Stephen Dawson

A long time ago, a monk from Furness Abbey, whose job was to save the souls of immoral women, fell for one of his clients. He followed her back to Claife Heights on the western shores of Windermere, but she rejected him. He took this badly, spent a lot of time wailing, and finally dropped dead. But didn’t stop wailing.

Michael Scot, wizard or genius? (c.1175-1235)

I feel there should probably be something of a drum roll here. Scot was an extraordinary man – it’s even been said that he was the leading intellectual of his generation. His story deserves a much longer telling (and I promise to add more), but here’s the synopsis.

Michael Scot lived in the 13^th century. He is said to have built a church in a single night; thrown rocks on to Carrock Fell, and turned a coven of witches to stone to create Long Meg stone circle. He could summon demons, and command the sea; he cured the illnesses of the Holy Roman Emperor, and measured the distance to the stars.

Adam Bell: Cumbria’s own Robin Hood

Cumbria has had its very own Robin Hood character for centuries. As it says in the poem, Adam Bell, written in 1557,

Mery it was in the grene forest

Among the leves grene

Where that man walke both east and west

Wyth bowes and arrowes kene