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Spindle Stone & Laidly Worm
The Spindle Stone or Bridle Rock is a pillar of basalt standing out from the escarpment of the Great Whin Sill at Spindleton Heughs, west of Bamburgh. It is locally regarded as the rock over which Childy Wynde threw his horse's bridle before attacking the Laidl[e]y (loathsome) Worm (or dragon) - Northumberland’s version of Durham's better known, Lambton Worm Link
The Ballad of the Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh was said to have been written by the old mountain-bard, Duncan Frasier, living on Cheviot, A.D. 1270 and first printed from an ancient manuscript by the Rev. Robert Lambe, Vicar of Norham. It is thought most likely to have been written by the Rev. Lambe himself in the C18th.
In the Kingdom of Northumbria, a kindly king in Bamburgh Castle takes a beautiful but cruel witch as his queen after his wife's death. The King's son, Childe Wynd, has gone across the sea but the witch turns his sister, Princess Margaret, into a dragon. Later in the story, the prince returns and, instead of fighting the dragon, kisses it, restoring the princess to her natural form. He then turns the witch-queen into a toad and becomes king.
The scene was illustrated in a painting by Walter Crane in 1881 Link
The Berwickshire Naturalists' Club visited Bamburgh in 1924:
"Leaving the fort [Spindlestone Heughs] the party next visited the Laidley Trow [Trough], a rectangular stone trough receiving the water which trickles from a low bluff close to the marshy lair of the legendary worm; the marsh was bright with the yellow flowers of the flag iris."
BBC Radio 4 Land Lines: Link Link
Wikipedia: Link
History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (1924) Vol. 25 p.194-195; 197-198 Link
Heddon Local History Society blog: The Laidley Worm of Spindlestone Heugh Link
The Ballad of the Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh was said to have been written by the old mountain-bard, Duncan Frasier, living on Cheviot, A.D. 1270 and first printed from an ancient manuscript by the Rev. Robert Lambe, Vicar of Norham. It is thought most likely to have been written by the Rev. Lambe himself in the C18th.
In the Kingdom of Northumbria, a kindly king in Bamburgh Castle takes a beautiful but cruel witch as his queen after his wife's death. The King's son, Childe Wynd, has gone across the sea but the witch turns his sister, Princess Margaret, into a dragon. Later in the story, the prince returns and, instead of fighting the dragon, kisses it, restoring the princess to her natural form. He then turns the witch-queen into a toad and becomes king.
The scene was illustrated in a painting by Walter Crane in 1881 Link
The Berwickshire Naturalists' Club visited Bamburgh in 1924:
"Leaving the fort [Spindlestone Heughs] the party next visited the Laidley Trow [Trough], a rectangular stone trough receiving the water which trickles from a low bluff close to the marshy lair of the legendary worm; the marsh was bright with the yellow flowers of the flag iris."
BBC Radio 4 Land Lines: Link
LinkWikipedia: Link
History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (1924) Vol. 25 p.194-195; 197-198 Link
Heddon Local History Society blog: The Laidley Worm of Spindlestone Heugh Link
Created: Sat, 13 Dec 2014, Updated: Sun, 13 Sep 2015
7 images use this description: (all images taken in 2014)
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