The Lambton Worm
One day, centuries ago, in North East England, a strange beast was roused. While John Lambton was walking his family’s ancestral seat, he came into something terrifying. He had skipped church that day and was warned that if he did not respect his family’s wishes and attended church, something horrible would befall him. Like most young people would, John ignored this warning and spent the day wandering his family’s land, eventually deciding to go fishing. What he found would be remembered for centuries.
If you think this is a story about a giant worm, you may be a bit shocked to learn that the Lambton Worm is actually a dragon. What young John Lambton bumped into was, in fact, a dragon. It was believed this took time during the Medieval period. While he was fishing and sipping church...he caught a dragon. Or, the devil. John isn’t really sure and is quite freaked out (naturally).
Terrified at what he pulled from the depths, he throws it in a well nearby. This young Lambton soon forgets this strange day and leaves to fight in the Holy Land. For years, he failed to return home. However, when he finally reaches home he has found that the worm had grown to an astonishing size and had been devastating the country, not to mention his family and friends.
Feeling terribly responsible, he decides to consult with a local wise Woman who suggests he create special armor bedecked with razor-sharp spikes. Confidently, he confronts the worm and kills it, shredding its body on his spiked armor. The people of the region celebrated and good luck came to the Lambton family for generations.
However, it is never really revealed if he told the land that the reason they were terrorized for years was, well, his fault.
The first known surviving account of the Lambton Worm appears in 1785. William Hutchinson, an antiquarian, wrote “Near this place is an eminence called the Worm Hill, which tradition says once possessed by an enormous serpent, that wound its horrid body round the base; that it destroyed much provision, and used to infest the Lambton estate, till some hero in that family engaged it, cased in armour set with razors…the whole miraculous tale has no other evidence than the memories of old women…”
Thanks to Caztor T for this blogstonishing suggestion!
The image depicts The Lambton Worm. This sinuous earthwork, designed by Andy Goldsworthy, commemorates the local mythical beast "the Lambton Worm". This feature lies on the Consett and Sunderland Railway Path (part of the C2C cycle route). www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1121269805734.