Sinister 'wild man' to star at churches festival

3 hours ago

Eleanor MaslinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — A wooden figure of the "wild man" of Stainfield in St Andrew's Church

Rory Waterman Close up of a wooden carving depicting a wild man. He has textured brown shaggy hair, a beard and hollow eyes. He has a bare torso and is holding a club across his back. — A wooden figure of the "wild man" of Stainfield in St Andrew's Church

In a sleepy Lincolnshire village lies a church guarded by a "wild man".

The sinister-looking figure at St Andrew's Church, in Stainfield, represents a character known to folklore as a"terrible" person lurking on the edges of society.

Rory Waterman, a local author and folklorist, said: "We are surrounded by woods here, the idea was that he lived in them and would come out and cause all sorts of trouble."

St Andrew's Church is taking part in the West Lindsey Churches Festival, over two weekends in May, when it will be open to visit along with 118 other churches and chapels.

The church was built in 1711 on the site of a 12th Century priory.

Legend has it that the wild man was killed by the local landowner, Francis Tyrwhitt-Drake, and his blood still stains a stone in nearby Hardy Gang Wood.

The mythical wild man, or wodewose, was popularised in medieval Europe and is usually depicted with a hairy body and club.

A wooden carving of the figure, along with a felt picture and papier-mache figure, can be seen in the church.

Rory Waterman A small church with two windows, a door and a taller part on the left looks out on an overgrown but vibrantly green field with a black cow and two brown cows grazing. — St Andrew's Church, Stainfield, was built in the Queen Anne style

Waterman told the Secret Lincolnshire podcast that the wild man was "quite a common legend".

"They'll come and rustle your sheep and they might rustle other things and behave in extremely carnal ways," he said.

Another version of the Stainfield tale involved a group of local farmers, known as the Hardy Gang, who hunted the wild man down after he stole their livestock.

Waterman said the wild man was regarded as a danger in the same way that "unusual women were regarded as witches".

Another church, All Saint's in Bigby, has a tomb showing the wild man under the feet of a member of the Tyrwhitt family.