The Cadfael Companion: The World of Brother Cadfael by Robin Whiteman

My rating at Goodreads: 5 of 5 stars

This is an absolute “must have” for those who have enjoyed the books and/or have followed the TV series.

The Cadfael books portray a twelfth century monk and herbalist who was also the “Sherlock Holmes” of his day. There must be about 20 books which describe his exploits within a framework of historical fact and fiction, with a fascinating blend of people and places recurring throughout the tales.

The 400 pages of the Cadfael Companion is an exceptional guide to about 1000 characters and places, plants and herbs. There is a glossary of medieval terms and maps of Shrewsbury, Shropshire and the Welsh border around which his life was centred. Throughout there are marvellous illustrations which add so much to the text.

The books take on a new life with the Companion beside you. The historical framework within which Cadfael worked can be so much more deeply appreciated with just a few references while you read.

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A 400 year old skull which still lives

There is a farmhouse in a small village in Somerset where a skull has rested for the last 400 years. This skull can be moved at your peril...

But I am getting ahead of myself...

During the dark days in the west country while the Civil War raged (see my article The Sedgemoor Ghosts for a taste of this) there were unspeakable atrocities committed by both sides. One of the participants in these battles was a certain Theophilus Brome who fought hard against the Royalist cause. Being initially on the winning side he led a comfortable life until his death in 1670. He did however have to keep a low profile after the restoration of Charles II. By then it had become the custom to disinter the bodies of those who had opposed the monarchy, separate their skulls from their skeletons and display the skulls on pikes in a variety of public places. Even the body of Oliver Cromwell was so treated, after being tried for treason, hanged in chains at Tyburn, and his head then displayed outside Westminster!

Theophilus had a mortal dread of this fate, so he persuaded his sister to sever his head after his death and guard it in their farmhouse for perpetuity. The remains of his body were buried at St. James’ Church in Chilton Cantelo. His wishes were duly carried out and his skull still rests, to this day, in the oldest part of the farmhouse. It is a fearsome object with the cavities of the eyes and nose dominating the mouth where the bottom row of teeth and the chin have mysteriously gone missing.

During the centuries after the skull was placed to rest, several attempts have been made to move it, bury it or hide it. However this only galvanised what is a benign spirit into a rampant, noisy and disturbing influence. Unearthly noises, screams and mysterious footsteps have all been witnessed throughout the farmhouse.

In addition, those with long memories might remember the comedian Dave Allen. He experienced such activities when visiting the house about 30 years ago... he left vowing never to return, but was reticent about the specific reasons for his hurried departure.

So the spirit of Theophilus is quite simply anchored to earth. Maybe the time will come, sometime in the distant future, when his skull and skeleton can be reunited so he can depart in peace. But until then he is best left undisturbed.

In Association with the Western Gazette 

You can also read this article, and many others, at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next short story, article or book review.

Buy Catacombs of the Damned

If you enjoyed this article you may also like P J Cadavori's sexy supernatural horror novel Catacombs of the Damned. 

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A Country Parson, James Woodforde’s Diary 1759-1802

This is yet another gem which I stumbled upon in a charity shop. Having read many modern diaries and biographies which are generally filled with self aggrandisement and vitriolic comments about colleagues and rivals, it was a real treat to read this book. It is so self effacing, filled with amusing episodes of country life and as an informal record of those times is without peer. Beautifully written in a succinct diary format, Woodforde makes a record of his life and times.

There are countless gems...one of my favourites was a description of his two “Piggs” after they had raided his beer store...

     “April 16, 1778. My 2 Piggs are still unable to walk yet, but they are better than they were yesterday. They tumble about the yard and can by no means stand at all steady yet. In the afternoon my 2 Piggs were tolerably sober.”

And he gives a description of life with a sore tooth...

     “Oct 24, 1785. The Tooth-Ache so very bad all night and the same this morn’ that I sent for John Reeves the Farrier who often draws Teeth for People, to draw one for me. He returned with my Man about 11 o’clock this Morning and he pulled it out for me the first Pull, but it was a monstrous Crash and more so, it being one of the Eye Teeth, it had but one Fang but that was very long. I gave Johnny Reeves for drawing it 0.2.6. A great pain in the Jaw Bone continued all Day and Night but nothing so bad as the Tooth Ache...”

In addition, this record is filled with drawings of buildings and country scenes which, with a forward by John Julius Norwich, adds immeasurably to the text. This book is definitely worth trying to find as dipping into it from time to time is an amusing way to pass a few hours.

In Association with the Western Gazette 

You can also read this article, and many others, at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next short story, article or book review.

Buy Catacombs of the Damned

If you enjoyed this article you may also like P J Cadavori's sexy supernatural horror novel Catacombs of the Damned. 

Buy Catacombs of the Damned at Waterstones or Amazon, in paperback and e-book formats:

 

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Is this the oldest ghost in Britain?

Imagine... 3000 years ago the stone age had given way to the bronze age. Thanks to immigration from Europe the stone age Britons had learnt how to combine tin with copper to make better tools and weapons. Such skills were well known throughout Europe and were readily adopted in Southern England where both commodities were found in abundance.

At the same time, what are now quiet rural backwaters were in those days bustling communities. There were scores of farming households with out-houses to construct pottery, weapons and textiles. There were small burial sites dotting the countryside and the movement of people was common with ceremonial religious practices emerging. My recent blog about Stonehenge gives a few insights into this.

But there were storm clouds elsewhere. Many of the near eastern empires were collapsing and there was constant warfare throughout the mediterranean. So there was mass migration to calmer areas such as Southern England.

Bottlebush Down, Dorset

One such place is in Dorset, south of Salisbury and is now called Bottlebush Down. There was a large community there in about 1000 BC where the warriors had constructed a defensive earthworks called the Cursus. This was about 6 miles long and had 2 parallel ditches about 100 yards apart. It is believed that it housed a garrison to stem the invasions of newcomers from the south and east.

In modern times, this is where a lone horseman has been seen, galloping along the Cursus, to disappear where there is an isolated burial mound. He can be dated because in 1924 an eminent archaeologist Mr R Clay, a bronze age specialist, who was excavating a bronze age site nearby, saw the horseman who rode alongside his car for about 100 yards.

          

                                    “The horse was smallish with a long tail and mane. It had neither bridle nor stirrups. The rider had bare legs, a long flowing cloak and was holding some sort of weapon over his head".”

Mr Clay, with his expert knowledge identified the rider as late bronze age; about 600 BC. And that is not all. The rider has been seen over the centuries by farmers, tourists and passers-by, always at dusk. So this lone horseman, about 2600 years old, is probably our oldest ghost.

But it does beg the question where are all his contemporaries? Perhaps ghosts do, after all, have a finite life and this one is spectacular for his longevity.

In Association with the Western Gazette 

You can also read this article, and many others, at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next short story, article or book review.

Buy Catacombs of the Damned

If you enjoyed this article you may also like P J Cadavori's sexy supernatural horror novel Catacombs of the Damned. 

Buy Catacombs of the Damned at Waterstones or Amazon, in paperback and e-book formats:

 

Follow P J Cadavori:

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