There Be Dragons
Hertfordshire Life|November 2019
Author Christopher Hadley’s epic hunt over a decade to find a Hertfordshire dragon and its slayer opened doors to past worlds steeped in legend, lyricism and danger
Christopher Hadley
There Be Dragons
On a cold winter’s morning in 1834, a group of farm labourers set their axes to the roots of an ancient yew tree in Furneux Pelham in East Hertfordshire. According to letters now in the Hertfordshire archives at County Hall, they had a terrible time bringing down that great tree and eventually went away to have breakfast. When they returned they found that the yew had collapsed into a cavity in the chalk and as those men looked down into the hole they decided they had found a dragon’s cave – the lair of the very dragon slain 800 years earlier by the Brent Pelham hero Piers Shonks.

This story of the lost yew and its links to the beautiful and mysterious tomb of Piers Shonks in the wall of St Mary’s in Brent Pelham would eventually send me on a dragon hunt across the centuries. The result of that quest is my 400 page non-fiction history book, Hollow Places, published by William Collins this autumn. It is a historical detective story, a homage to the magical legends that used to belong to every village and a journey along some of the more obscure byways of British and, especially, Hertfordshire history.

Hollow Places begins with my hunt for the yew tree which had stood on the edge of a field known as Great Pepsells. To find it, I had to study the wonderful old names of Hertfordshire’s fields. In the late 1930s, the English Place-Name Society asked schoolchildren to save the names of fields before they were forgotten forever and across the county children set off to interview farmers and farmhands.

‘We have been able in this county, possibly with more success than in any other that we have hitherto attempted, to get a lively picture of the field names as they still survive,’ wrote the editors of the Hertfordshire placename survey.

Denne historien er fra November 2019-utgaven av Hertfordshire Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2019-utgaven av Hertfordshire Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA HERTFORDSHIRE LIFESe alt
Hertfordshire Life

Explosive history

With bonfire night this month, author Harry Smee recounts the explosive story of his family’s firework company, Brock’s, creators of wonders and war-changing weapons

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
A Day In The Life Of... A Jewellery Designer
Hertfordshire Life

A Day In The Life Of... A Jewellery Designer

Laurie McGrath, senior designer at Harriet Kelsall bespoke jewellery in Halls Green, gives an insight into her working day

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020
Sniffig out clues in THE ASHES
Hertfordshire Life

Sniffig out clues in THE ASHES

Meet the fire investigation dogs securing convictions against arsonists and murderers who otherwise may go free

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
The greatest traveller
Hertfordshire Life

The greatest traveller

Exploring ancient civilisations and rising powers, Violet CressyMarcks became the most travelled woman of her age. Fifty years after her death we look at her incredible life

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Hertfordshire Life

Return of the Queen of Romance

Twenty years after the death of record-breaking novelist Dame Barbara Cartland, Gillian Thornton talks passions, plots and a new audience with her son at the family home in Essendon

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
In bed with CELEBS
Hertfordshire Life

In bed with CELEBS

Marking its 70th year, Welham Green soft furnishings company Ashley Wilde has grown from a pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap business into an industry leader with A-list partnerships

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Roam with a view
Hertfordshire Life

Roam with a view

We may not have coastline or mountains, but Herts has beautiful views all the same, if you know where to look

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Saving Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
Hertfordshire Life

Saving Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

The secret life of a much-loved British mammal and simple steps we can take at home to stop its extinction

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
Hertfordshire Life

A walk down Surreal Street

Paul Crowley draws on his graphic designer’s eye to capture scenes from the country to the street, all tinged with surreality

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
5 minutes with
Hertfordshire Life

5 minutes with

Carole Spiers, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce member and founder of International Stress Awareness Week

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020