The hillside outline of the legendary Bures
dragon was created as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.
The dragon's presence in Bures in the the Chronicle of St Albans Abbey
written in 1405 by Henry de Blaneford 'In these days there appeared lately
an evil dragon of excessive length with a huge body, crested head, saw
like teeth & elongated tail in the land around the village of Bures
near Sudbury, which destroyed & killed a herd of sheep. The servants
of Sir Richard Waldegrave who owns the land haunted by the dragon came
forth to shoot it with bows, but its body resisted the arrows which sprang
forth from its ribs as if they were metal or hard stone & from the
spines of its back with a jangling as if they were hitting bronze plates,
and flew far away because its skin was impenetrable. Almost the whole
county was summoned to slaughter it, but when it saw that it was to be
shot at again, it fled into the marsh, hid in the reeds & was seen
no more'. He is the subject of a 15thc wall painting in Wissington church
three miles east of Bures.
This hillside depiction was made by Sir Richard's distant kinsman Bures
farmer Geoffrey Probert with assistance from his family & local helpers.
The dragon may be seen from the Cuckoo Hill to Clickett bridle path on
the east side of Bures - often with sheep grazing on the field unaware
of the danger they are in!
Please note: The Dragon
is in private land, by all means view from the footpaths but do not enter
the site
WORMINGFORD - our adjacent village also lays claim to the
dragon.
08/08/2012
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