Away with the Fairies … Lyminster Church and Knuckerhole.

St. Mary Magdalene Church. Lyminster. West Sussex.

St. Mary Magdalene Church is situated right next to a working farm at the very end of Church Lane. It is a sturdy, handsome building which was first mentioned in 901 AD under the name of Lullyngminster, and is still actively in use today.  The reason to visit is to be found immediately to the left as you enter the church. Two tomb lids positioned inside the heavy stone building to protect them from the weathering they have already endured over the generations.

Decoratively they frame a wonderfully commissioned stained glass window of the legendary battle between man and beast. Here, we have the famous Dragon Slaying of Lyminster.  There is a badly worn sandstone tomb, which is believed to be part of the legend but even the current vicar is unsure as to why. “You know how legends grow,” he said. However, the grey tomb lid, heavy and with the barely visible carving of either a cross or sword embossed upon it, is what we came here to see.

A giant beast known as a Knucker (sometimes spelt Nucker,) a popular Sussex word for dragon. It lived in Knuckerhole, barely 200 metres away from St. Mary’s Church (which unfortunately is now on private land and surrounded by a high, unsightly fence.) Knuckerhole is said to be bottomless, permanently cold, and the water level never alters. A natural spring is visible in many places around the church and would suggest this feeds it. Interestingly, the word Knucker derives from the Saxon ‘Nicor’ meaning ‘sea-monster’, and although Knuckerhole is not tidal, it does seem rather coincidental that a Knucker legend is told in a tiny village so close to the sea.

The Lyminster Knucker is arguably the most famous dragon in Britain. It was large, angry and very hungry, all of the time. It caused many problems in the surrounding area, carrying off women and livestock until they became scarce within the community. Men of the village feared for their livelihoods as the Knucker became greedier and more ferocious.

This is known as ‘The Slayers Slab.’ The tomb of the refuted ‘Dragon Slayer’ himself. A brave individual who stepped forward to rid the unfortunate villagers of the viscous beast that was eating their livestock and their women.

Dragon legend is very strong in Sussex and there are many stories that explain how the unpleasant beast met its grisly end. Here are just two of the most popular versions:

The King of Sussex had become exasperated by this blood-thirsty dragon so offered his

daughter’s hand in marriage to anyone who could kill the troublesome creature. Many men

tried as the King’s daughter was truly beautiful but each died in their attempts to defeat the

scaly beast, and the poor King was beginning to despair as his people looked

to him for help. An impoverished, wandering knight passed one day and offered his

serves to battle the Knucker, slaying the fierce animal after a difficult fight, marrying the

princess, and settling in Lyminster until passing away from old age.

The second story is of Jim Pulk (or Puttock, versions vary upon the name,) a local boy

who outwitted the dragon with brains rather than brawn. He baked the Knucker a poisoned pie,

knowing the hungry beast could not refuse food. The creature ate the delicious meal, dying

immediately due to the volume of poison laced beneath the pastry. The Knucker, however, got its

revenge on poor Jim, as he had not cleaned his hands properly after baking the pie and

inadvertently brushed his poisoned fingers across his lips, dropping dead in the same way the hungry

dragon had done.

It has been established over the years that the countryside all over Great Britain is pocked with knuckerholes, although perhaps today we don’t believe they go all the way down to the other side of the world like our ancestors did.