There once was a vicar of Dacre Who's churchyard filled almost an acre When blessed with two pairs Of stone pagan bears He queried the artefacts' maker
Pretty good hustle for a 56 yr old antiquarian! A very Happy Christmas to you and the Mrs. and thank you for sharing your adventures with us. XO from SW Colorado
@WC21UKProductionsLtd Thanks, Darren. Before my body decided that it would no longer co-operate, Great Whernside and Buckden Pike were my winter mountains. I'd monitor the Great Whernside forecast on the Met Office, and as soon as it snowed, I'd get myself up there because there's nothing better than fresh white powder. It's good for the soul. Finding the WW2 memorial on the way to Buckden Pike was always a highlight with the tale of the saviour fox.
And again, an absolute joy to watch. I was shocked to see you fleeing from a spirit...drinking a spirit maybe. All UA-camrs have their critics, but only Mr WC21's critic would be a horse. 🐴
Hi Darren, Lovely video of a period of "dark ages " or post roman time. This tiny island of ours along with your extensive travels never ceases to surprise me. Very interesting, would love a time machine. Best wishes to you and your family over the festive period to. Bryn
Fascinating! ...and thanks for risking all that peril to bring us this video, what with the sinister apparition and that ill tempered horse. Bears with ragged staffs (staves?) certainly do sound heraldic to me, most commonly associated with the Earls of Warwick of course. Although their seat is a long way from Cumbria. However (Wikipedia tells me) the Ragged Staff apparently represents King Morvidus, who may never have actually existed, but that at least gets us up to Northumbria. My guess is these formed part of the monastery on that site which was there prior to the church, because some benefactor claimed a family association with that legend. As an aside I wonder if all these bears hugging staffs / staves was the origin of the name of the informant in Starsky and Hutch?
Huggy Bear - was that his name?! I’d forgotten about him. Really interesting that you think they could date back to the monastery. I couldn’t see anything religious in them myself. People do think that. I get a strong sense they were once on the four corners of a tower, telling their daft story. Some of the proponents of the pagan shrine idea dismiss the heraldic device because it’s not old enough to be pagan? Er….!
Oooohh, whatta great pop-culture reference for us 60-somethings! You hit it in one -- "Huggy Bear" was the, ahem, procurer of women with dubious morals for non-discerning gents... Well played!
You may have found a large crucifix helpful for ridding yourself of persistent and pesky stalkers from the Other Side, during this shoot. Perhaps there'll be one in your Christmas stocking for future endeavours? Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a brilliant 2025 personally and for this wonderful channel.
Another interesting and entertaining one. Glad you remembered to remove your hat in church, my Grandma would have given us a clip round the ear for forgetting that. Have a happy Christmas
Wherever the bears originated, they're an interesting addition to any churchyard. On my foot travels I've had to deal with a family of goats on the north side of mid Wharfedale, who wished to remove my nether regions. Luckily, they weren't very large. I've been terrified by a herd of cattle just north of Sedbergh who stampeded with their calves. Thankfully they ran parallel to me. The horse issue though was the worst. Two of them herded me across a field in an aggressive manner with lots of vocal encouragement on their part. Horses are big and they unnerve me greatly as they are also darned intelligent and know what they're doing. I'm glad Mrs WC12 was there as your protection. Thank you for a very enjoyable and entertaining year. I hope that you get to put your feet up over Christmas and have a fabulous time with your family. If you do get itchy feet I wouldn't say no to another video with your son somewhere high and snow-covered. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.❤❄️🎄🌠🎄🌠🎄❄️❤
@@markstott6689 thanks Mark! The goats sound alarming. I’ve had run ins with cows and horses, but never goats. Someone who watched this video has also had a scare with the Mayburgh Henge horse. Bit surprising that English Heritage are seemingly happy for it to be there… Have a great festive season and thank you for your support. I do need to get back out in the fells - it’s been too long!
Horses and sheep and bears, oh my (no need for lions and tigers in Northumbria)! Have a cheerful group of holidays and thanks for all the great videos.
Sheep and horse guardians! That horse was weird. It was like he saw it as his job to protect the place. Despite that, it was good to visit Mayburgh again. Such a unique monument. I wonder what Athelstan made of it?
Thank you for bringing another fabulous piece of history. What an amazing place Dacre seems to be, lost monasteries, Viking stones and supposed pagan shrines. The trusty Lidar seems to show a lost village settlement north of the churchyard, and a sunken trackway leading north-east across the fields. I think the bears are from the castle and this is my theory - Ralph Dacre 1st Lord Dacre married Margaret de Multon who was in the care of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, whose family crest is the Bear and Ragged Staff. Ralph Dacre spirited Margaret de Multon away from Warwick Castle to marry her. She was after all a renowned heiress. His actions were so severe (Margaret being the ward of King Edward II) that he received an official pardon. So I think the bears are a gloating story and should be read in differently to the sequence suggested by Ferguson, the first bear is the satisfied one, representing the smug Earl of Warwick, the second is correct the cat like Dacre climbing onto the bear’s back, the third is the fight between the bear and the cat, and the final one is the bear hiding behind his staff, cowering, having been bested by Dacre. Given that Thomas de Beauchamp went on to become Marshall of England and a victorious commander during the 100 years war, the bears may have further been bragging by Dacre as if to say “yeah he’s impressive, but I still beat him”.
That’s a very compelling idea! Stylistically, they scream that period to me and not Viking pagan/Christian ideas. That Dacre Stone is quite typical of the Anglo Viking style - very different to the bears. The link to the Earl of Warwick is good and I like your interpretation of the sequence. My visit to Dacre is a good example of how lucky we are in this country. One small village and there’s so much history. An investigation into some bears leads to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in 927!
@ and if it wasn’t for fearless UA-cam antiquarians such as yourself, braving spectral beings and dangerous attack horses (what was it Sherlock Holmes said “they are dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle”) we would never know about such historical treasure. Since writing the above I’ve read that it was Margaret de Multon who most likely built the castle - perhaps she is the cat depicted savaging the bears. The cat has often been used to symbolise powerful women, leonine grace independence and dangerous claws. Maybe Margaret was being held against her will and Ralph was a means to her escape.
I’ve heard about the Dacre bears but never visited: since they are on my doorstep I’ve no excuse I suppose. Glad you escaped your equine nemesis! All the best for the New Year.
Lovely video as always Darren. Here's hoping you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. And by the way, I'm pretty sure it was the horse that was lurking underneath the cloak of that shadowy figure. The little sod.
Thank you. Quirky and interesting. Lovely church. In my experience horses are not to be trusted. As a very naive person in these things the first thing that stuck me was that the bears look like worn versions of Sedna-style sea god statues; tails, wavy hair, often reaching one arm behind the head....Cue another rabbit hole to disappear down. Thank you again
Thank you. Yes, the church is fantastic. It’s interesting in the comments how people see them in such different ways. I liked how an investigation into stone bears led on to a lost monastery and a peace accord in 927! So much history in one tiny village.
Almost thought of goldilocks - oh that was three bears. Was at Mayburgh on 20 December. The horse and his Shetland mate were there. Horse seemed more interested in a lady with a drum and funny looking recorder so avoided it. Those sheep looked vicious.
Hi Leslie, at one point when the horse was pulling its ears back at us by the stone, the Shetland ran into the henge as to distract psychotic horse’s attention. It worked and the horse chased the Shetland pony out of the henge. It was all very bizarre. Glad you avoided it!
Thanks Jane and Happy Christmas to you too! There’s a link to an older video in the description, which covers a bit more on Mayburgh. It’s such a unique monument. No ditch and entirely built from river boulders!
Absolutely loved this, an area I’m familiar with, but embarrassingly ignorant to the history. The action sequence was brilliant too! Damn that evil horse!
Cheers Matt! It’s a nice village - all that history plus a good pub! I didn’t expect an investigation into four strange bears to lead me to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in a henge!
Love your episodes more every week … assuming you are still with us? 🤣🤣🤣 Say hello to Missus Darren … the heroine of the episode …. And have a fabulous Merry Xmas and a brilliant New Year … Look forward to more of your content an and a good giggle at the same time … 😎⚔️👏❤️
What a compendium of curiosities we have here … Was totally floored by the existence and history associated with the Mayburgh “henge”. I was equally oblivious to the existence of the neighbouring King Arthur’s Round Table. I must have driven right past countless times over the years … probably more interested in navigating the M6 junction … and it looks well worth the visit (if only for the entertainment of antiquarians scattering before the dark satanic horse). The strange thing being that I have visited nearby Brougham castle several times. The association with Athelstan also shows how long tourists from the West Country have been visiting the Lakes … so I have been inadvertently following in royal footsteps. Equally, I was not familiar with the importance of Dacre … which I have wandered around on a couple of occasions when the hills have been too weather-bound. I would agree the earthworks indicated on the mapping you show being perfectly consistent with an old monastery. We have to remember that the classic formal monasteries we think of as exemplified by the ruins at Fountains are all post Norman .. the preconquest monasteries of the early medieval period were really little more than a collection of sheds and chapels. Good examples are to be found in the remains on Lindesfarne or Iona. Like you, I suspect the castle is the more likely origin of the 4 bears … I interpret the castle as an adaptation of an older Peel tower. Although I could suggest one would normally visit a churchyard to pay respects to one’s “forebears” (cough) 😂😂 My felicitations of the Saturnalia to you … 🎉🎉🎉
It was great how the bear investigation led to all these other stories. One small village in a fairly remote part of the country. Do check out the henges when you’re next in the area. King Arthur’s Round Table was sadly landscaped in the past, but Mayburgh is unlike any other prehistoric monument. No ditch and made out of boulders! Just be careful of that psychotic horse! Thank you for your seasonal wishes, I hope you have a great Christmas and new year too!
Darren my creaks would outdo your creaks any day! That was a really good vid mate- but those "bears" very unbear like to me - could they represent some Christian parable and the "cats" are little imps or something?' Havent had my porridge yet so maybe I'm hallucinating?!! Lovely church and graveyard and what a magnificent Yewtree! Have a ghost free Christmas mate and look forward to more chuckles in the New Year x👍
Thanks Carol! Some people swear blind they’re lions! I can’t see that myself, beyond the mane on smug bear. I searched to see if I could find this parable, but no luck. Cheers and Happy Christmas!
Good fun, well done. And they do, now you explain it, look more like a crude heraldic device, and more naive lion than shy bear. Talking of Malmesbury, I’ll just say this: Flying Monk and Barmaid killed by a Tiger. Carry on. And, oh… jingle jingle. Edit and PS: good job with the horse, Mrs. WC21
Being a resident of the Midlands, I know the Bear and Ragged Staff as a medieval heraldic device representing Warwickshire, We've got loads of them around these parts. We have pubs named after them and everything. But I had a quick look at the Wikipedia for the Dacre bears and it seems like they think they're from before Warwickshire started using the symbol. All the same, it seems possible they're supposed to have some heraldic significance. Maybe there was some medieval noble who used a bear as his symbol who was attacked by someone represented by a cat, defeated them and wanted to commemorate his victory? You want to watch out for that horse- could be an assassin in the pay of English Heritage.
Yes Ferguson dismissed the Warwickshire heraldic device idea based on how old they appear to be - although we don’t know their age - and earliest written record in 1704. They don’t look like the Dacre arms with its shells. I do wonder, though, if they look a bit older than they are… The real surprise in this one for me was how the story led on to Bede’s monastery and that peace accord with a Wessex king in 927!
Thanks Debs! Yes, some have said they represent that. I’m just not sure what the connection to that village is. The pagan shrine advocates argue they’re older than Warwick device. But they don’t know that for sure…
Hi Darren - another excellent video and, while I wouldn’t disagree with you entirely, there’s one aspect that you touch on but don’t explore - Norse influence. You immediately reminded me of the Gosforth Cross, also from Cumbria, which, while I appreciate there, there is still discussion about its precise meaning, is an example of a hybridisation of Norse and Christian symbology. Generally, I don’t believe that one can ever say that there are arbitrary dividing lines between Pagan and Christian periods (14:32). There are many examples of ‘Pagan’ symbology being used throughout the Middle Ages, and, even today we drop pennies in wishing wells, a ritual practice that goes back to the Bronze Age. In terms of Dacre, look at the local place names. Newbiggin, Motherly, Thackthwaite, Soulby and all the becks etc have Norse roots showing that there was significant and long-term settlement in the area. I agree that the etymology of Dacre is obscure but I rather like the idea of a Celtic/Norse hybrid where a Celtic water root might have merged with Norse words like dýkr or akr. If we accept that there was a significant Norse influence in the area and that Pagan and Christian worship was somehow blended in the period before 927AD (and probably for some time after), then it may be worth asking the question, if Norse, what might the bears represent? Look at Norse/Icelandic texts such as Hávamál, Haraldskvæði or The Ynglinga Saga and characters like Hrólf Kraki (or anyone called Bjorn!), you’ll see how important the bear is in Norse culture and the significance of the berserker. Even Beowulf relates to this as his name means bee-hunter - a bear. The second bear, with an animal on his head, reminds me of the Germanic warriors on Trajan’s Column with their bearskin hoods, and I find it more likely that the statue represents a headdress, no matter how satisfied bear four may look. Bear (geddit🤣) in mind that the warrior's transformation into a bear spirit was a process, and bear four could as easily represent the end of that process as eating a cat. So I think it’s worth bearing (sorry) in mind that when we have an area with considerable Norse influence, evidence of a blending of Christian and Norse religious practice and four bears on a site of worship, it’s rash to discount the possibility that the bears could be Norse. I appreciate that some will claim that the style comes from the Norman period, but many argue they are considerably earlier, including the website of the church, who refer to an archaeological report that I haven’t seen. As a final point, you ask why the bears, if Pagan, weren’t removed when the church was built. I would argue that our ability for cultural continuity is greater than we imagine, even with the Normans - Francis Pryor cites the ritual deposition of Norman swords in 14c Lincolnshire as an example and it’s probably more interesting that the bears survived the Puritans than the Normans. So, while I am not saying that the bears are Norse, I am proposing that it is just as likely that they are as opposed to being contemporaneous with the church. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for such a considered response to the video and you make some excellent points. Unfortunately, all the reports I was able to get on the digs just had one line: it might have been a pagan shrine. I was thinking about the Gosforth Cross with Odin, Loki and the crucifixion! As you say, such a hybrid. I’m struggling with the style of the bears, though. That Dacre Stone is a good example of Anglo Viking stonework - although an entirely Christian rendering - it is so distinctive and yet I don’t see any of that in the bears. They feel so Norman to me. Your explanation about the bear symbolgy in Norse is compelling, though. A real mystery. I enjoyed how looking into this local tale led to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in a henge. It was all very surprising!
I think the Dacre Castle theory of the Bears origins feels right to be and might have something to do with my imagined Medieval Dacre familys love of Bear Baiting. This though would mean that the Cat on the Bears collective backs would actually be a Dog..probably some kind of Mastiff.
It’s the style of them that says that period to me, although we have supporters of the pagan shrine idea in the comments. I think pretty much everyone was into bear baiting - how awful - and it was something I wondered about - I think they did chain them to posts. No sign of chains, though.
Thanks Michael! We did on the recce - what a smashing pub that is. Very nice area with an ancient feel. Really enjoyed how the story of the bears leads you off into the discovery of a monastery and a 927 peace accord. All in one small village.
Hi Darren, I was hoping to watch this a little bit later today as our trip back to the UK had a short stop for a connecting flight. Unfortunately we've had to change our plans and will spend Christmas here instead. The upside is I get to see your latest compendium hot off the press so it's not all bad. And what a compendium this was. A truly excellent production some really clever editing, very atmospheric and well narrated. Thing is who was the ghost? Tweedy survived Avebury, Hedley looks like he's still on Metebelis 3, although he claims it's Dartmoor, and that only leaves the man with the golden UA-cam dust, sadly departed, I think it might be the ghost of future WW Podcasts!! I do enjoy seeing stonework of all types, gargoyles and other figures which you often find in old churches or castles or monasteries. These ones look very weathered. What story were they telling? I'm not sure. It seemed that at least one of them was pointing away from the church, were they all doing so? If so perhaps they were protecting the church. Such a great mystery. It did make me think of Albert, who is Albert I hear you say? Well he's my Avatar, it's a stone head that was found by my grandparents somewhere in the Chilterns 50-60 years ago and now resides with my Mum. We don't know exactly where he was found nor where he originated from. There is Pilgrims Way nearby perhaps Albert was on his way to Dacre to pay homage? I seem to remember this henge, did you do part of a trilogy there? Perhaps that's why there is a horse there now, to ward off evil ant antiquarian's...... and their spouses!! A really great Christmas present for us all. Have a great time. All the best. PS: Don't forget to record the Doctor Who special for me, I'll send you a blank VHS.
Sorry to hear your plans have been scuppered. We’ve had the same here - knocked out by the worst flu I can ever remember. They are very interesting “bears” for sure and you’re right, they are facing away from the church. Stylistically, they had a 12th/13th century feel to them to me. So long after the monastery had given way to a simple village church. There is a strange hybrid of Christian and pagan in that area for a period when the Vikings were active, but the bears don’t look like any of the images you see on the crosses - they typically show Odin and Loki, plus a crucifixion. Weird stuff! This head called Albert sounds interesting! Has a date ever been put on him? I need to study your avatar now. Have a great Christmas and new year. Even if it’s not quite what you had planned.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI wish I had had the chance to find out more about Albert, even my Dad didn't know much more. Sadly none of them are still with us to find out. Still there might be other avenues to investigate. You've hit the nail on the head with flu, it's the type A in my Mum's case. Sisters and their families are laid low with a variety of ailments. What we need are some protective bears to ward off evil spirits ...... Not that evil spirits exist ....... Or do they?
Big fan of Jonathan Pageau here. Gargoyles (not water spouts) are beasts that point to the world of disorder surrounding a church. These four lions may have been erected to protect the church (or it's forerunner) ? Is there a family in the area that employed four lions as a heraldic device ? Could those in the church yard refer to the benefactors that paid for the founding of the new church building?
Hi Andy, certainly back in the 1700s and 1800s people were saying they were bears with ragged staffs as per the Earl of Warwick. Ferguson wasn't convinced by that. As I showed in the video, the Dacre family crest from the adjacent castle is four shells. Your point about them facing out is interesting - all 4 face out from the church.
I'm with other commentators, I don't think they are Bears. Tails? Sleeping upright with arms around a tree? Eating cats? So what could they be? Black Shuck?, Fenrir?, Or real Mumbo Jumbo and its a werewolf / dogman?, some mythological hero who transforms to defeat a wildcat in battle. I have looked but cannot find anything close in mythology (but my resources are limited and I am still working until tomorrow). Nice sighting of a real phone though. That will be in a future generations Compendium of Curiosities. Merry Christmas, and thanks for all the videos in 2024. Hope you will be watching BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas (far better than Dr Who).
ps. I think you were being chased by the spirit of Tweedy, who is now sleeping in hedgerows wearing waterproofs. Probably wants to learn how to count different species of bush while in them.
Thanks Chris. Whether the "bears" are bears seems to have generated more discussion than I expected. There has long been a lion lobby on this matter. As far as I could see in the records I was able to access, Ferguson was never able to identify a source for his fable interpretation, although we've had one viewer who does see a potential Norse link in it. In this area, there was a period during the Viking age with a strange mixture of pagan and Christian beliefs. Most noticeable on the Gosforth Cross depicting Odin side-by-side with the crucifixion. However, I can't see a stylistic link between that and the Dacre Bears. The Dacre Stone that I showed in the church is Anglo Viking in design - albeit depicting an entirely Christian scene - it is stylistically very different to the "bears". My "mumbo jumbo" senses tell me they are later and more likely to be contemporary with the castle. A very happy Christmas to you and yours and thanks for all your support. I will be watching a couple of Ghost Stories for Christmas - a tradition here. Although I may find them a bit more unsettling after my run-in with the Ager/Tweedy spectre! Not as unsettling as modern Doctor Who, though.
Interestingly they are facing out from the church and in each corner. That might be another reason some have associated them with this shrine idea, actually. Cheers
For the life of me, I can't see any resemblance to bears, but what do I know? Why would a group of Kings hand over control to one King? What did they get out of it? I half suspected that when you got to the central stone, the horse would appear from hiding on the other side. Have a great Christmas and New Year.
@@RonSeymour1 some people think they’re lions and someone who has watched this says monkeys! That peace accord didn’t last and they were all fighting again a few years later! I suspect the others were just saying, “yeah, yeah. Whatever”! Thank you for your good wishes - have a great Christmas and a happy new year!
Unconvinced by bears, probably lions. They look early medieval ( naive Norman ) to me. Regarding Aethelstan, putting the arrogance of Wessex aside, the likelihood is that it was 'English' suzerainty over that part of Britain that seperated the Britons of the south (Welsh) from the Britons of the north (Strathclyde). It was used in later texts to claim suzerainty over the whole of Britain; much debated till this day. Merry Christmas🎄
Yes, that “Rex Brittaine” slogan was what he put on coinage. Arrogant, as you say. It didn’t last long either and he was fighting Owain again in a few years. Have a great Christmas and new year.
Another great video Darren. I was going to ask if they have excavated around the bears, but as you said, they have been repositioned over time. I never knew the story of the formation of England. I probably know more about the USA than of my own country. I should retify that fact. As for one of your commentators mentioning the tail. The cat on his back is the source of his tail. I love that the history goes back even further. It was nice to see Mrs WC21 UK Productions. One has to ask, if Mrs WC21 was on your initial visit, then was she the spectral apparition following you? Amanda has a Samsung Smart Tag on my backpack so she can find my body on the moors. Perhaps Mrs WC21 is a practitioner of the dark arts, and that's how she tracks you? It has been a great year for WC21 and the channel. I've loved every episode, and I've learned something new each week. Thank you for sharing, Darren, and I'd like to wish yourself and Mrs WC21 a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from myself and Amanda, the head of our coven, sorry, family.
Thank you Chris - I really appreciate your support and enthusiastic engagement with the channel - it means a lot. I wouldn’t put it past my wife to tail me as an apparition - she likes spooky stuff! It was great how looking at some bears in a churchyard led to a monastery mentioned by Bede and then a 927 peace accord. All in one tiny village. What a great country we live in. I hope you and Amanda have a great Christmas and then another year smashing it on UA-cam!
@@mattg56 Yes, something has gone wrong with history teaching over many decades. I have to say that my O-level and A-level history lessons in the 1980s were good, but not at all focused on England or Britain. Nazi Germany and Communist China were the order of the day. It was after I left school that I had to get the order of events straightened out in my head through my own reading. Having said that, my dear old Nan - who was at school in the 1910s - had the most irrational hatred of Oliver Cromwell, which I suspect came from her village school, where Royalist propaganda was still informing the syllabus. Nearly 300 years later! I see time and time again in the comments on this channel, a real interest from people wanting to understand our history. Many say they weren't inspired to pay attention at school. Cheers.
@mattg56 it certainly is a commentary on our time. I would have loved to have taken history but in the 1970s our teacher said that anyone who yawned was bored. I had seen him take people out of class, shout with spittle coming out of his mouth, right in their face. His trick was to hold a boy up the wall by his throat. He even threw one down a flight of stairs. As an 11 year old there was no way at 13 I was going to take History as an option. They were vicious back then and I'm only talking mid 70s here. Hopefully teaching has come on a bit since then.
Yes, that’s my thought too - although we have now had some pagan shrine supporters in the comments! Have a great festive season and all the very best for 25!
Is there a defunct aristocratic family in the area who's coat of arms included the bear and distaff. Or lion and distaff? They look more like 4 carvings that would have been on a memorial.
They’re like the Earl of Warwick’s bear and ragged staff, but I couldn’t find a connection. The Dacre family heraldic arms comprises of the 4 shells shown in the video… I think Ferguson was right - they weren’t designed for this location and sat on a tower or a memorial. They do seem 12th/13th century in design, although we have a few supporters for Viking pagan in the comments!
If I was that way inclined, I’d be suing English Heritage for mental distress, or something! The carrot is a good idea and I think it would have worked!
COR? Using a old Welsh dictionary and remembering that the ancient language and root words have differing meaning. COR. ,... Choir, but not in the modern sense, more an important meeting place for many peoples where they could be heard. The ancient drain stones point to a long gone mound which held an important artifact inside which needed to be protected from water. Like Silbury hill but much smaller. The original site predates the Romans. Sites in Wales are all recorded and described precisely in the ancient language of the Britons, but in England the majority of the old names are long lost.
Thanks Andrew - that’s extremely interesting. The earthworks in the adjacent fields have produced some indications of prehistoric activity. The drain built from re-tooled Roman stones has been interpreted as draining away from the monastery and built for that purpose, but I did wonder where they came from before if they were repurposed in that way. I really like that origin of COR in Dacore. Cheers.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd Thank you for your reply. Your content brought to mind a chap by the name of Hugh Evans' u tube channel entitled Origins of the Zodiac. I revisited an old program of his entitled, Original Name of Stone Henge. It's a short video that stuck in my mind. Hugh often explores the etymology of words using very old Welsh dictionaries. The word COR is explored in this particular video and Hugh Evans can explain it far better than I am able to. It provides food for thought. He has many other examples in his various video's which I find fascinating. I also enjoy your content and delivery and I have just recently returned to my interest In history that has in some cases been lost.
The black man apparition, a spectre that can be conjured up under laboratory conditions. The subject has to sit for several hours in a blacked out room after being deprived of sleep. A very small light is then introduced. The subject looks into a mirror and sees the figure. It's the eyes and brain playing tricks. An interesting phenomenon all the same even if it is mumbo jumbo.
Sounds like something I wouldn't want to try! I love the early 70s TV adaptions of M.R. James - A Warning to the Curious in particular - and given that he often has antiquarians falling foul of dark forces....!
Unbeliever here. I don't believe the four figures are pagan, nor do I believe they are bears. How many kings were in that meeting? Four you say, well there you go, four kings around the church. Alternatively, it could well be the four wise monkeys, they have tails. Merry Christmas to you too, enjoy the season!
Thank you! I’m confident they’re not pagan, but hopefully the video will engage with some believers - always interesting! Have a great Christmas and new year.
"... I'd rather laugh with the Pagans than cry with the saints, the Pagans are much more fun.." (Paraphrasing of course and apologies to Billy Joel; "Only the good die young.") After all, it's well documented that all things christian(sic) are stolen from Pagan roots; christmas trees are Pagan symbols, etc. Cheers! From a distant cousin and Born-Again Pagan with DEEP UK roots, now in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon country.
Seems to me the bears are in fact lions, a Christian symbol, and represent the kingdoms coming together under Athelstan. I would argue against the idea of a clear break between pre-Christian Britain and Christian Britain. The reality is there was considerable overlap with Christianity being a religion of the elite not of the people. Finally, "a Viking religion"? So paganism then.
Thanks Joan. There are people who argue that they're lions. Some say heraldic - taking us back to a Norman origin again, but your idea of them representing the 4 kingdoms is appealing. In this area, during the Viking period, there was a very odd hybrid thing going on with religion. Take the Gosforth Cross, for instance: covered in pagan symbols including Odin, but with the crucifixion taking centre stage. If I could see Viking design in the bears/lions I'd be more receptive to the pagan shrine, but I just can't - they look 12th/13th/14th century to me. The Dacre Stone that I showed in the video is a good example of the Anglo Viking style in this area - although it tells an entirely Christian story.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd I think lions as a Christian symbol predate 1066, so really we could only date them stylistically. I do feel that considering the history of the union of kingdoms, it would seem likely it would be celebrated. The cross is a symbol within the Northern European faith, including that of none Christian Anglo-Saxons. What I've always found is that Christianity of the pre Norman era was very much blurred within indigenous pagan beliefs. Not uncommon within Christianity's spread ie Day of the Dead in Mexico. Christianity of the 8th and 9th century was very much rooted in the hands of the social elite and those seeking trade with Christiandom. For the people attending a temple in the sacred land, it was of no importance that an effigy to the virgin Goddess mother of God, became the Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus. To me, this early church was nothing less than traditional pagan beliefs redefined in the language of Rome. As stated, to the none Latin speaking people, nothing really changed until 1066 and Williams enforced conformity to Vatican rules and Sarum Rite.
@@billykershaw2781 yep. The bear and ragged staff - Earl of Warwick. The pagan shrine folk discount that on basis the bears are older than the device. Although we don't know that.... I couldn't see a connection between the village and Earl of Warwick, though, and the Dacre family have a bunch of shells on theirs.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Call them what you like, bears were still living wild in Briton in those days, even children would know that they don’t have tails.
@@MickieKinger make of them what you will. I’n just covering a local tale in which they are called the Dacre Bears. I’m not bothered if they’re bears, lions or monkeys - the interesting question is are they pagan? I don’t think they are.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI think what they are called is important as is what they are not. Whoever named them knew nothing of our native fauna, suggesting them to be much younger. However, the Christian narrative is certainly not free from acquiring what was not always theirs to take.
@@MickieKinger Does it really matter if they were called Dacre Badgers? ...it was not the point Mr WC 21 was making. I wonder if the miracle of St Cuthbert's hair was he was bald one day...Woke up the next day looking like an 80's Jon Bon Jovi.
This was excellent, Darren - I keep coming back every Sunday. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to another 52 editions!
Cheers! I’m looking forward to it too. Happy Christmas!
The introduction of your knees as supporting characters (quite literally) this week shows you know how to relate to your core audience.
They have received a surprising number of plaudits! I think you must be right.
Another intriguing insight into the lives of our forebears.
Thank you and I saw what you did there! Happy Christmas to you and yours.
There once was a vicar of Dacre
Who's churchyard filled almost an acre
When blessed with two pairs
Of stone pagan bears
He queried the artefacts' maker
You’ve won the internet today with that poem, as far as I’m concerned! Excellent.
I will be sharing this on “my socials”. Facebook, basically!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Feel free!
So they say, there is a fine line between genius and madness. Well, now it's an entire channel lol :D
That’s going in my channel bio! Sums this place up. Cheers!
You're a real gent, sir, thanks for all your hard work! :D
Darren, thank you a great year of videos. Merry Christmas to you and your family. 😊
Pretty good hustle for a 56 yr old antiquarian! A very Happy Christmas to you and the Mrs. and thank you for sharing your adventures with us. XO from SW Colorado
Thank you - means a lot with the increasing number of creaks! Have a great Christmas and new year and thank you for supporting the channel.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd Thanks, Darren. Before my body decided that it would no longer co-operate, Great Whernside and Buckden Pike were my winter mountains. I'd monitor the Great Whernside forecast on the Met Office, and as soon as it snowed, I'd get myself up there because there's nothing better than fresh white powder. It's good for the soul. Finding the WW2 memorial on the way to Buckden Pike was always a highlight with the tale of the saviour fox.
And again, an absolute joy to watch. I was shocked to see you fleeing from a spirit...drinking a spirit maybe. All UA-camrs have their critics, but only Mr WC21's critic would be a horse. 🐴
That's the spirit!
I needed a stiff drink after that, I can tell you!
I,ll drink to that...slainte....😅😅😅😅
Ahhh … but a dark horse!!
Hi Darren,
Lovely video of a period of "dark ages " or post roman time.
This tiny island of ours along with your extensive travels never ceases to surprise me. Very interesting, would love a time machine. Best wishes to you and your family over the festive period to.
Bryn
Thanks Bryn and to you and yours too. Isn’t it amazing that one tiny village links to do much history?!
From Maine USA, thank you for the hustle to get the shot. It reall adds drama to an already interesting location.
Thanks John - appreciate that. Such a small village - so much history!
Fascinating! ...and thanks for risking all that peril to bring us this video, what with the sinister apparition and that ill tempered horse.
Bears with ragged staffs (staves?) certainly do sound heraldic to me, most commonly associated with the Earls of Warwick of course. Although their seat is a long way from Cumbria. However (Wikipedia tells me) the Ragged Staff apparently represents King Morvidus, who may never have actually existed, but that at least gets us up to Northumbria. My guess is these formed part of the monastery on that site which was there prior to the church, because some benefactor claimed a family association with that legend.
As an aside I wonder if all these bears hugging staffs / staves was the origin of the name of the informant in Starsky and Hutch?
Huggy Bear - was that his name?! I’d forgotten about him.
Really interesting that you think they could date back to the monastery. I couldn’t see anything religious in them myself. People do think that.
I get a strong sense they were once on the four corners of a tower, telling their daft story.
Some of the proponents of the pagan shrine idea dismiss the heraldic device because it’s not old enough to be pagan? Er….!
Oooohh, whatta great pop-culture reference for us 60-somethings!
You hit it in one -- "Huggy Bear" was the, ahem, procurer of women with dubious morals for non-discerning gents...
Well played!
Can't believe you only have 5k subs, fingers crossed that is now going to grow at a faster rate!
Thank you Craig! Appreciate that and hopefully you’re right - would be good to get to 10K soon!
Ps: I loved the subtle creaking of the antiquarian joints … I am very familiar with this problem.
Suddenly bending down next to a bear statue has become difficult!
You may have found a large crucifix helpful for ridding yourself of persistent and pesky stalkers from the Other Side, during this shoot. Perhaps there'll be one in your Christmas stocking for future endeavours? Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a brilliant 2025 personally and for this wonderful channel.
Many thanks @standingbadger and to you and yours too! Fingers crossed for that crucifix - things like this seem to keep happening!
I always feel informed, educated and entertained after watching a WC21 (UK) Productions, Merry Christmas
Thank you very much - that’s lovely feedback to receive! Have a great festive season and a happy new year.
Another interesting and entertaining one. Glad you remembered to remove your hat in church, my Grandma would have given us a clip round the ear for forgetting that. Have a happy Christmas
Thank you! Yes, I’ve messed up with the hat thing before. And paid the price! Happy Christmas and new year to you too.
Ahh, the good old days! :D
Oh no...very scary mystic pagen yule horse 😂 Merry Christmas, happy new year. 🙃
Cheers! Please don’t have nightmares - these things are rare in Britain! Happy new year to you.
Great video (again). Have a super Christmas, Darren and all viewers!
Thank you very much! And you too - enjoy the festive season and all the best for 2025!
Wherever the bears originated, they're an interesting addition to any churchyard.
On my foot travels I've had to deal with a family of goats on the north side of mid Wharfedale, who wished to remove my nether regions. Luckily, they weren't very large. I've been terrified by a herd of cattle just north of Sedbergh who stampeded with their calves. Thankfully they ran parallel to me. The horse issue though was the worst. Two of them herded me across a field in an aggressive manner with lots of vocal encouragement on their part. Horses are big and they unnerve me greatly as they are also darned intelligent and know what they're doing. I'm glad Mrs WC12 was there as your protection.
Thank you for a very enjoyable and entertaining year. I hope that you get to put your feet up over Christmas and have a fabulous time with your family.
If you do get itchy feet I wouldn't say no to another video with your son somewhere high and snow-covered.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.❤❄️🎄🌠🎄🌠🎄❄️❤
@@markstott6689 thanks Mark! The goats sound alarming. I’ve had run ins with cows and horses, but never goats.
Someone who watched this video has also had a scare with the Mayburgh Henge horse. Bit surprising that English Heritage are seemingly happy for it to be there…
Have a great festive season and thank you for your support. I do need to get back out in the fells - it’s been too long!
Horses and sheep and bears, oh my (no need for lions and tigers in Northumbria)! Have a cheerful group of holidays and thanks for all the great videos.
Thank you very much and all the best to you and yours for the festive season!
I was head-butted by a sheep at Mayburgh! Must be a Neolithic curse or something.
Sheep and horse guardians! That horse was weird. It was like he saw it as his job to protect the place. Despite that, it was good to visit Mayburgh again. Such a unique monument. I wonder what Athelstan made of it?
Thank you for bringing another fabulous piece of history. What an amazing place Dacre seems to be, lost monasteries, Viking stones and supposed pagan shrines. The trusty Lidar seems to show a lost village settlement north of the churchyard, and a sunken trackway leading north-east across the fields.
I think the bears are from the castle and this is my theory - Ralph Dacre 1st Lord Dacre married Margaret de Multon who was in the care of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, whose family crest is the Bear and Ragged Staff. Ralph Dacre spirited Margaret de Multon away from Warwick Castle to marry her. She was after all a renowned heiress. His actions were so severe (Margaret being the ward of King Edward II) that he received an official pardon. So I think the bears are a gloating story and should be read in differently to the sequence suggested by Ferguson, the first bear is the satisfied one, representing the smug Earl of Warwick, the second is correct the cat like Dacre climbing onto the bear’s back, the third is the fight between the bear and the cat, and the final one is the bear hiding behind his staff, cowering, having been bested by Dacre.
Given that Thomas de Beauchamp went on to become Marshall of England and a victorious commander during the 100 years war, the bears may have further been bragging by Dacre as if to say “yeah he’s impressive, but I still beat him”.
That’s a very compelling idea! Stylistically, they scream that period to me and not Viking pagan/Christian ideas. That Dacre Stone is quite typical of the Anglo Viking style - very different to the bears.
The link to the Earl of Warwick is good and I like your interpretation of the sequence.
My visit to Dacre is a good example of how lucky we are in this country. One small village and there’s so much history. An investigation into some bears leads to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in 927!
@ and if it wasn’t for fearless UA-cam antiquarians such as yourself, braving spectral beings and dangerous attack horses (what was it Sherlock Holmes said “they are dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle”) we would never know about such historical treasure.
Since writing the above I’ve read that it was Margaret de Multon who most likely built the castle - perhaps she is the cat depicted savaging the bears. The cat has often been used to symbolise powerful women, leonine grace independence and dangerous claws. Maybe Margaret was being held against her will and Ralph was a means to her escape.
@@adampascoe1084 I like the idea of it being Margaret. Wonder if she had any idea the confusion her bears would cause centuries later!
Always a joy to watch your videos!
Thank you so much. Feedback like this inspires me!
I’ve heard about the Dacre bears but never visited: since they are on my doorstep I’ve no excuse I suppose. Glad you escaped your equine nemesis! All the best for the New Year.
Cheers Eric - I saved you the bother, but let me tell you - the pub in Dacre is great! Happy new year.
Lovely video as always Darren. Here's hoping you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. And by the way, I'm pretty sure it was the horse that was lurking underneath the cloak of that shadowy figure. The little sod.
Thank you and to you and yours as well.
I hadn’t considered the horse guardian and the spectre to be one and the same. Trying to confound me!
Thank you. Quirky and interesting. Lovely church. In my experience horses are not to be trusted. As a very naive person in these things the first thing that stuck me was that the bears look like worn versions of Sedna-style sea god statues; tails, wavy hair, often reaching one arm behind the head....Cue another rabbit hole to disappear down. Thank you again
Thank you. Yes, the church is fantastic. It’s interesting in the comments how people see them in such different ways. I liked how an investigation into stone bears led on to a lost monastery and a peace accord in 927! So much history in one tiny village.
Almost thought of goldilocks - oh that was three bears. Was at Mayburgh on 20 December. The horse and his Shetland mate were there. Horse seemed more interested in a lady with a drum and funny looking recorder so avoided it. Those sheep looked vicious.
Hi Leslie, at one point when the horse was pulling its ears back at us by the stone, the Shetland ran into the henge as to distract psychotic horse’s attention. It worked and the horse chased the Shetland pony out of the henge. It was all very bizarre. Glad you avoided it!
Old England will live on through this channel
I like that - thank you very much.
Mayburgh henge sounds like such a fascinating place. I hope you return there again for a longer story. Happy happy Christmas!
Thanks Jane and Happy Christmas to you too!
There’s a link to an older video in the description, which covers a bit more on Mayburgh. It’s such a unique monument. No ditch and entirely built from river boulders!
And sometimes with an evil horse
Absolutely loved this, an area I’m familiar with, but embarrassingly ignorant to the history. The action sequence was brilliant too! Damn that evil horse!
Cheers Matt! It’s a nice village - all that history plus a good pub! I didn’t expect an investigation into four strange bears to lead me to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in a henge!
great interesting video again Darren, really enjoyed it, happy Christmas , well done and thank you 😊
Thanks Davie - have a great Christmas and new year!
Love your episodes more every week … assuming you are still with us? 🤣🤣🤣
Say hello to Missus Darren … the heroine of the episode …. And have a fabulous Merry Xmas and a brilliant New Year … Look forward to more of your content an and a good giggle at the same time … 😎⚔️👏❤️
Thanks Andrew! Have a great Christmas and new year and thanks for all your support.
@ 2025 there will be more support I am sure 👍 ⚔️🌲⛄️⚔️
The placement of the "bears " suggests they were put there after the church. Maybe some kind of protection or decoration.
Yes, I’m sure they’re later than the church. I do think they’ve come from somewhere else. Cheers.
What a compendium of curiosities we have here …
Was totally floored by the existence and history associated with the Mayburgh “henge”. I was equally oblivious to the existence of the neighbouring King Arthur’s Round Table. I must have driven right past countless times over the years … probably more interested in navigating the M6 junction … and it looks well worth the visit (if only for the entertainment of antiquarians scattering before the dark satanic horse). The strange thing being that I have visited nearby Brougham castle several times.
The association with Athelstan also shows how long tourists from the West Country have been visiting the Lakes … so I have been inadvertently following in royal footsteps.
Equally, I was not familiar with the importance of Dacre … which I have wandered around on a couple of occasions when the hills have been too weather-bound. I would agree the earthworks indicated on the mapping you show being perfectly consistent with an old monastery. We have to remember that the classic formal monasteries we think of as exemplified by the ruins at Fountains are all post Norman .. the preconquest monasteries of the early medieval period were really little more than a collection of sheds and chapels. Good examples are to be found in the remains on Lindesfarne or Iona.
Like you, I suspect the castle is the more likely origin of the 4 bears … I interpret the castle as an adaptation of an older Peel tower. Although I could suggest one would normally visit a churchyard to pay respects to one’s “forebears” (cough) 😂😂
My felicitations of the Saturnalia to you … 🎉🎉🎉
It was great how the bear investigation led to all these other stories. One small village in a fairly remote part of the country.
Do check out the henges when you’re next in the area. King Arthur’s Round Table was sadly landscaped in the past, but Mayburgh is unlike any other prehistoric monument. No ditch and made out of boulders!
Just be careful of that psychotic horse!
Thank you for your seasonal wishes, I hope you have a great Christmas and new year too!
Loved all the Jamesian bits in this video 😃👻 Any Ager graves in the churchyard? 😱🪦
Great! The spectre was actually Ager! I took him from the early 70s TV version of A Warning to the Curious!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Ha, yes I thought so! One of my favourite films, I have visited all the filming locations in Norfolk 🎥☺
Darren my creaks would outdo your creaks any day! That was a really good vid mate- but those "bears" very unbear like to me - could they represent some Christian parable and the "cats" are little imps or something?' Havent had my porridge yet so maybe I'm hallucinating?!! Lovely church and graveyard and what a magnificent Yewtree! Have a ghost free Christmas mate and look forward to more chuckles in the New Year x👍
Thanks Carol!
Some people swear blind they’re lions! I can’t see that myself, beyond the mane on smug bear.
I searched to see if I could find this parable, but no luck.
Cheers and Happy Christmas!
I was thinking the bears represent something else not animal related- just a thought x
Nice one,sir, in case I forget...have a lovely Christmas and new year over there....E😊😊😊😊😊
Cheers Eamonn and you too. Thanks for all your support this year too.
Thanks
Cheers Phil!
Good fun, well done. And they do, now you explain it, look more like a crude heraldic device, and more naive lion than shy bear. Talking of Malmesbury, I’ll just say this: Flying Monk and Barmaid killed by a Tiger. Carry on. And, oh… jingle jingle.
Edit and PS: good job with the horse, Mrs. WC21
Cheers Barry! Off to Google flying monks now. Have a great Christmas!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Google on. And happy happy your good selves. Google “Hannah Twynnoy” whilst you’re in the area.
Great stuff. Although a doctrinal Protestant or Lutheran would run screaming away from the pagan bear! 😂 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Wouldn’t they just! Cheers and happy Christmas!
Four bears? How very Two Ronnies 😜
And it’s goodnight from him…! They seem like a long time ago now!
don't worry Mr WC, it's just your forebears...
Stones are dead, but wood lives. Merry Crimbo from Shropshire 😊
Thanks WildwoodTV! All the very best to you and yours for Christmas and the new year!
Being a resident of the Midlands, I know the Bear and Ragged Staff as a medieval heraldic device representing Warwickshire, We've got loads of them around these parts. We have pubs named after them and everything. But I had a quick look at the Wikipedia for the Dacre bears and it seems like they think they're from before Warwickshire started using the symbol. All the same, it seems possible they're supposed to have some heraldic significance. Maybe there was some medieval noble who used a bear as his symbol who was attacked by someone represented by a cat, defeated them and wanted to commemorate his victory?
You want to watch out for that horse- could be an assassin in the pay of English Heritage.
Yes Ferguson dismissed the Warwickshire heraldic device idea based on how old they appear to be - although we don’t know their age - and earliest written record in 1704. They don’t look like the Dacre arms with its shells.
I do wonder, though, if they look a bit older than they are…
The real surprise in this one for me was how the story led on to Bede’s monastery and that peace accord with a Wessex king in 927!
Watching WC21 whilst on the trans pennine express after a night out in Liverpool and 14 rounds of cocktails later, is remarkabley restorative😁
That’s good to hear! 14 rounds of cocktails? I doff my hat in admiration!
We have the perfect UA-cam channel of old England
Thanks Philip and a very happy Christmas and new year to you.
my 2 great grandad had a look at the bears in 1865 when he was vicar :)
Oh that’s brilliant! Has it come down to you what he thought of them?
Was he a Tutu? ...No disrespect mate...just a musical quip.
@@philcollinson328 nope just a canon
Fabulous film. Yes those bears are certainly medieval. The bear and ragged staff is the emblem of the earls of warwick
Thanks Debs! Yes, some have said they represent that. I’m just not sure what the connection to that village is. The pagan shrine advocates argue they’re older than Warwick device. But they don’t know that for sure…
Hi Darren - another excellent video and, while I wouldn’t disagree with you entirely, there’s one aspect that you touch on but don’t explore - Norse influence.
You immediately reminded me of the Gosforth Cross, also from Cumbria, which, while I appreciate there, there is still discussion about its precise meaning, is an example of a hybridisation of Norse and Christian symbology. Generally, I don’t believe that one can ever say that there are arbitrary dividing lines between Pagan and Christian periods (14:32). There are many examples of ‘Pagan’ symbology being used throughout the Middle Ages, and, even today we drop pennies in wishing wells, a ritual practice that goes back to the Bronze Age.
In terms of Dacre, look at the local place names. Newbiggin, Motherly, Thackthwaite, Soulby and all the becks etc have Norse roots showing that there was significant and long-term settlement in the area. I agree that the etymology of Dacre is obscure but I rather like the idea of a Celtic/Norse hybrid where a Celtic water root might have merged with Norse words like dýkr or akr.
If we accept that there was a significant Norse influence in the area and that Pagan and Christian worship was somehow blended in the period before 927AD (and probably for some time after), then it may be worth asking the question, if Norse, what might the bears represent?
Look at Norse/Icelandic texts such as Hávamál, Haraldskvæði or The Ynglinga Saga and characters like Hrólf Kraki (or anyone called Bjorn!), you’ll see how important the bear is in Norse culture and the significance of the berserker. Even Beowulf relates to this as his name means bee-hunter - a bear. The second bear, with an animal on his head, reminds me of the Germanic warriors on Trajan’s Column with their bearskin hoods, and I find it more likely that the statue represents a headdress, no matter how satisfied bear four may look. Bear (geddit🤣) in mind that the warrior's transformation into a bear spirit was a process, and bear four could as easily represent the end of that process as eating a cat.
So I think it’s worth bearing (sorry) in mind that when we have an area with considerable Norse influence, evidence of a blending of Christian and Norse religious practice and four bears on a site of worship, it’s rash to discount the possibility that the bears could be Norse. I appreciate that some will claim that the style comes from the Norman period, but many argue they are considerably earlier, including the website of the church, who refer to an archaeological report that I haven’t seen.
As a final point, you ask why the bears, if Pagan, weren’t removed when the church was built. I would argue that our ability for cultural continuity is greater than we imagine, even with the Normans - Francis Pryor cites the ritual deposition of Norman swords in 14c Lincolnshire as an example and it’s probably more interesting that the bears survived the Puritans than the Normans.
So, while I am not saying that the bears are Norse, I am proposing that it is just as likely that they are as opposed to being contemporaneous with the church.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for such a considered response to the video and you make some excellent points.
Unfortunately, all the reports I was able to get on the digs just had one line: it might have been a pagan shrine.
I was thinking about the Gosforth Cross with Odin, Loki and the crucifixion! As you say, such a hybrid.
I’m struggling with the style of the bears, though. That Dacre Stone is a good example of Anglo Viking stonework - although an entirely Christian rendering - it is so distinctive and yet I don’t see any of that in the bears. They feel so Norman to me.
Your explanation about the bear symbolgy in Norse is compelling, though.
A real mystery.
I enjoyed how looking into this local tale led to a monastery mentioned by Bede and a peace accord in a henge. It was all very surprising!
Very interesting indeed, thank for the vlog. Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2025! 😀👍
Cheers Martin! And to you too - hope you have a smashing time!
I think the Dacre Castle theory of the Bears origins feels right to be and might have something to do with my imagined Medieval Dacre familys love of Bear Baiting. This though would mean that the Cat on the Bears collective backs would actually be a Dog..probably some kind of Mastiff.
It’s the style of them that says that period to me, although we have supporters of the pagan shrine idea in the comments.
I think pretty much everyone was into bear baiting - how awful - and it was something I wondered about - I think they did chain them to posts. No sign of chains, though.
widdershins round a church at midwinter, good luck with that pal
I guess something like this was bound to happen! Happy Christmas to you and yours!
Really enjoyed this vlog as we know the area well. Did you manage to get a pint and something to eat in the splendid horse and farrier public house? 😁
Thanks Michael! We did on the recce - what a smashing pub that is. Very nice area with an ancient feel. Really enjoyed how the story of the bears leads you off into the discovery of a monastery and a 927 peace accord. All in one small village.
Hi Darren, I was hoping to watch this a little bit later today as our trip back to the UK had a short stop for a connecting flight. Unfortunately we've had to change our plans and will spend Christmas here instead. The upside is I get to see your latest compendium hot off the press so it's not all bad.
And what a compendium this was. A truly excellent production some really clever editing, very atmospheric and well narrated.
Thing is who was the ghost? Tweedy survived Avebury, Hedley looks like he's still on Metebelis 3, although he claims it's Dartmoor, and that only leaves the man with the golden UA-cam dust, sadly departed, I think it might be the ghost of future WW Podcasts!!
I do enjoy seeing stonework of all types, gargoyles and other figures which you often find in old churches or castles or monasteries. These ones look very weathered. What story were they telling? I'm not sure. It seemed that at least one of them was pointing away from the church, were they all doing so? If so perhaps they were protecting the church. Such a great mystery.
It did make me think of Albert, who is Albert I hear you say? Well he's my Avatar, it's a stone head that was found by my grandparents somewhere in the Chilterns 50-60 years ago and now resides with my Mum. We don't know exactly where he was found nor where he originated from. There is Pilgrims Way nearby perhaps Albert was on his way to Dacre to pay homage?
I seem to remember this henge, did you do part of a trilogy there? Perhaps that's why there is a horse there now, to ward off evil ant antiquarian's...... and their spouses!!
A really great Christmas present for us all. Have a great time. All the best.
PS: Don't forget to record the Doctor Who special for me, I'll send you a blank VHS.
Sorry to hear your plans have been scuppered. We’ve had the same here - knocked out by the worst flu I can ever remember.
They are very interesting “bears” for sure and you’re right, they are facing away from the church.
Stylistically, they had a 12th/13th century feel to them to me. So long after the monastery had given way to a simple village church.
There is a strange hybrid of Christian and pagan in that area for a period when the Vikings were active, but the bears don’t look like any of the images you see on the crosses - they typically show Odin and Loki, plus a crucifixion. Weird stuff!
This head called Albert sounds interesting! Has a date ever been put on him? I need to study your avatar now.
Have a great Christmas and new year. Even if it’s not quite what you had planned.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI wish I had had the chance to find out more about Albert, even my Dad didn't know much more. Sadly none of them are still with us to find out. Still there might be other avenues to investigate.
You've hit the nail on the head with flu, it's the type A in my Mum's case. Sisters and their families are laid low with a variety of ailments. What we need are some protective bears to ward off evil spirits ...... Not that evil spirits exist ....... Or do they?
Was that a horse carved on the stone at 14:30 ? Maybe its ancestor is still guarding the location.
Yes it is! That must it!
Debunked the pagan ideas quite well.
Now someone needs to debunk the "bears" idea too.
Are you in the lions camp? I see that in number 4, but 2 and 3 do look more bear like.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Hmmm, maybe each one is a different creature, guarding the cardinal directions?
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I think maybe they are 4 different creatures, each guarding a cardinal direction.
Is this a physical depiction for where the word for our direct ancestors comes from 'Four Bears' ;) - Really great video this one - thank you
Very good! Thank you and glad you enjoyed it. I like it when these take unexpected turns. Didn’t expect the bears to lead me to Athelstan in a henge!
Big fan of Jonathan Pageau here. Gargoyles (not water spouts) are beasts that point to the world of disorder surrounding a church.
These four lions may have been erected to protect the church (or it's forerunner) ?
Is there a family in the area that employed four lions as a heraldic device ?
Could those in the church yard refer to the benefactors that paid for the founding of the new church building?
Hi Andy, certainly back in the 1700s and 1800s people were saying they were bears with ragged staffs as per the Earl of Warwick. Ferguson wasn't convinced by that. As I showed in the video, the Dacre family crest from the adjacent castle is four shells. Your point about them facing out is interesting - all 4 face out from the church.
I'm with other commentators, I don't think they are Bears. Tails? Sleeping upright with arms around a tree? Eating cats?
So what could they be? Black Shuck?, Fenrir?, Or real Mumbo Jumbo and its a werewolf / dogman?, some mythological hero who transforms to defeat a wildcat in battle. I have looked but cannot find anything close in mythology (but my resources are limited and I am still working until tomorrow).
Nice sighting of a real phone though. That will be in a future generations Compendium of Curiosities.
Merry Christmas, and thanks for all the videos in 2024. Hope you will be watching BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas (far better than Dr Who).
ps. I think you were being chased by the spirit of Tweedy, who is now sleeping in hedgerows wearing waterproofs. Probably wants to learn how to count different species of bush while in them.
Thanks Chris. Whether the "bears" are bears seems to have generated more discussion than I expected. There has long been a lion lobby on this matter. As far as I could see in the records I was able to access, Ferguson was never able to identify a source for his fable interpretation, although we've had one viewer who does see a potential Norse link in it.
In this area, there was a period during the Viking age with a strange mixture of pagan and Christian beliefs. Most noticeable on the Gosforth Cross depicting Odin side-by-side with the crucifixion. However, I can't see a stylistic link between that and the Dacre Bears.
The Dacre Stone that I showed in the church is Anglo Viking in design - albeit depicting an entirely Christian scene - it is stylistically very different to the "bears".
My "mumbo jumbo" senses tell me they are later and more likely to be contemporary with the castle.
A very happy Christmas to you and yours and thanks for all your support. I will be watching a couple of Ghost Stories for Christmas - a tradition here. Although I may find them a bit more unsettling after my run-in with the Ager/Tweedy spectre! Not as unsettling as modern Doctor Who, though.
Which directions are the "bears" facing? Could they portray the corners of a protected burial or building?
Interestingly they are facing out from the church and in each corner. That might be another reason some have associated them with this shrine idea, actually. Cheers
For the life of me, I can't see any resemblance to bears, but what do I know? Why would a group of Kings hand over control to one King? What did they get out of it? I half suspected that when you got to the central stone, the horse would appear from hiding on the other side. Have a great Christmas and New Year.
@@RonSeymour1 some people think they’re lions and someone who has watched this says monkeys!
That peace accord didn’t last and they were all fighting again a few years later! I suspect the others were just saying, “yeah, yeah. Whatever”!
Thank you for your good wishes - have a great Christmas and a happy new year!
Unconvinced by bears, probably lions. They look early medieval ( naive Norman ) to me.
Regarding Aethelstan, putting the arrogance of Wessex aside, the likelihood is that it was 'English' suzerainty over that part of Britain that seperated the Britons of the south (Welsh) from the Britons of the north (Strathclyde). It was used in later texts to claim suzerainty over the whole of Britain; much debated till this day.
Merry Christmas🎄
Yes, that “Rex Brittaine” slogan was what he put on coinage. Arrogant, as you say. It didn’t last long either and he was fighting Owain again in a few years. Have a great Christmas and new year.
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Another great video Darren. I was going to ask if they have excavated around the bears, but as you said, they have been repositioned over time. I never knew the story of the formation of England. I probably know more about the USA than of my own country. I should retify that fact. As for one of your commentators mentioning the tail. The cat on his back is the source of his tail. I love that the history goes back even further. It was nice to see Mrs WC21 UK Productions. One has to ask, if Mrs WC21 was on your initial visit, then was she the spectral apparition following you? Amanda has a Samsung Smart Tag on my backpack so she can find my body on the moors. Perhaps Mrs WC21 is a practitioner of the dark arts, and that's how she tracks you? It has been a great year for WC21 and the channel. I've loved every episode, and I've learned something new each week. Thank you for sharing, Darren, and I'd like to wish yourself and Mrs WC21 a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from myself and Amanda, the head of our coven, sorry, family.
Thank you Chris - I really appreciate your support and enthusiastic engagement with the channel - it means a lot.
I wouldn’t put it past my wife to tail me as an apparition - she likes spooky stuff!
It was great how looking at some bears in a churchyard led to a monastery mentioned by Bede and then a 927 peace accord. All in one tiny village. What a great country we live in.
I hope you and Amanda have a great Christmas and then another year smashing it on UA-cam!
@@mattg56 Yes, something has gone wrong with history teaching over many decades. I have to say that my O-level and A-level history lessons in the 1980s were good, but not at all focused on England or Britain. Nazi Germany and Communist China were the order of the day.
It was after I left school that I had to get the order of events straightened out in my head through my own reading.
Having said that, my dear old Nan - who was at school in the 1910s - had the most irrational hatred of Oliver Cromwell, which I suspect came from her village school, where Royalist propaganda was still informing the syllabus. Nearly 300 years later!
I see time and time again in the comments on this channel, a real interest from people wanting to understand our history. Many say they weren't inspired to pay attention at school. Cheers.
@mattg56 it certainly is a commentary on our time. I would have loved to have taken history but in the 1970s our teacher said that anyone who yawned was bored. I had seen him take people out of class, shout with spittle coming out of his mouth, right in their face. His trick was to hold a boy up the wall by his throat. He even threw one down a flight of stairs. As an 11 year old there was no way at 13 I was going to take History as an option. They were vicious back then and I'm only talking mid 70s here. Hopefully teaching has come on a bit since then.
I would say, just based on the position of the bears, that they post-date the church.
Merry Hanukkwanzaa!
Yes, that’s my thought too - although we have now had some pagan shrine supporters in the comments!
Have a great festive season and all the very best for 25!
A site celebrating our Four-Bears, or is it Forebears?
@@SHPR2013 very good!
Happy Yule mate!
And to you - have a good one!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd damn hot here in Tassie LOL
the feared horse is the sheep pastor .... protector
There was a Shetland pony too - he seemed to be in charge of the mad horse!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd that explains it, farmers also use a donkey to scare off predators like foxes
Is there a defunct aristocratic family in the area who's coat of arms included the bear and distaff. Or lion and distaff? They look more like 4 carvings that would have been on a memorial.
They’re like the Earl of Warwick’s bear and ragged staff, but I couldn’t find a connection. The Dacre family heraldic arms comprises of the 4 shells shown in the video…
I think Ferguson was right - they weren’t designed for this location and sat on a tower or a memorial.
They do seem 12th/13th century in design, although we have a few supporters for Viking pagan in the comments!
next time, bring a carrot or something for the horse. its called bribery.
If I was that way inclined, I’d be suing English Heritage for mental distress, or something!
The carrot is a good idea and I think it would have worked!
COR? Using a old Welsh dictionary and remembering that the ancient language and root words have differing meaning. COR. ,... Choir, but not in the modern sense, more an important meeting place for many peoples where they could be heard. The ancient drain stones point to a long gone mound which held an important artifact inside which needed to be protected from water. Like Silbury hill but much smaller. The original site predates the Romans. Sites in Wales are all recorded and described precisely in the ancient language of the Britons, but in England the majority of the old names are long lost.
Thanks Andrew - that’s extremely interesting. The earthworks in the adjacent fields have produced some indications of prehistoric activity. The drain built from re-tooled Roman stones has been interpreted as draining away from the monastery and built for that purpose, but I did wonder where they came from before if they were repurposed in that way. I really like that origin of COR in Dacore. Cheers.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd Thank you for your reply. Your content brought to mind a chap by the name of Hugh Evans' u tube channel entitled Origins of the Zodiac. I revisited an old program of his entitled, Original Name of Stone Henge. It's a short video that stuck in my mind. Hugh often explores the etymology of words using very old Welsh dictionaries. The word COR is explored in this particular video and Hugh Evans can explain it far better than I am able to. It provides food for thought. He has many other examples in his various video's which I find fascinating. I also enjoy your content and delivery and I have just recently returned to my interest In history that has in some cases been lost.
The black man apparition, a spectre that can be conjured up under laboratory conditions. The subject has to sit for several hours in a blacked out room after being deprived of sleep. A very small light is then introduced. The subject looks into a mirror and sees the figure. It's the eyes and brain playing tricks. An interesting phenomenon all the same even if it is mumbo jumbo.
Sounds like something I wouldn't want to try!
I love the early 70s TV adaptions of M.R. James - A Warning to the Curious in particular - and given that he often has antiquarians falling foul of dark forces....!
Unbeliever here. I don't believe the four figures are pagan, nor do I believe they are bears. How many kings were in that meeting? Four you say, well there you go, four kings around the church. Alternatively, it could well be the four wise monkeys, they have tails. Merry Christmas to you too, enjoy the season!
Thank you! I’m confident they’re not pagan, but hopefully the video will engage with some believers - always interesting!
Have a great Christmas and new year.
"... I'd rather laugh with the Pagans than cry with the saints, the Pagans are much more fun.."
(Paraphrasing of course and apologies to Billy Joel; "Only the good die young.")
After all, it's well documented that all things christian(sic) are stolen from Pagan roots; christmas trees are Pagan symbols, etc.
Cheers! From a distant cousin and Born-Again Pagan with DEEP UK roots, now in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon country.
Indeed - even Easter is rooted in a pagan celebration. I’ve always found the idea of paganism more appealing - it does seem like they have more fun!
It’s the horse.
Full of Viking spirit that one!
There are those (not including me!) who think that the bears represent King Arthur and his fight against Palug's cat.
@@christopherpickles7541 I hadn’t heard that one. It doesn’t totally surprise me, though, there’s quite a lot of Arthurian folklore in these parts.
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@WC21UKProductionsLtd 😁
Maybe the things on the back are supposed to be demons.
Yes! I do wonder if they look a bit older than they are.
First ❤
Cheers! First one here!
Seems to me the bears are in fact lions, a Christian symbol, and represent the kingdoms coming together under Athelstan.
I would argue against the idea of a clear break between pre-Christian Britain and Christian Britain. The reality is there was considerable overlap with Christianity being a religion of the elite not of the people.
Finally, "a Viking religion"? So paganism then.
Thanks Joan. There are people who argue that they're lions. Some say heraldic - taking us back to a Norman origin again, but your idea of them representing the 4 kingdoms is appealing.
In this area, during the Viking period, there was a very odd hybrid thing going on with religion. Take the Gosforth Cross, for instance: covered in pagan symbols including Odin, but with the crucifixion taking centre stage. If I could see Viking design in the bears/lions I'd be more receptive to the pagan shrine, but I just can't - they look 12th/13th/14th century to me. The Dacre Stone that I showed in the video is a good example of the Anglo Viking style in this area - although it tells an entirely Christian story.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd I think lions as a Christian symbol predate 1066, so really we could only date them stylistically. I do feel that considering the history of the union of kingdoms, it would seem likely it would be celebrated.
The cross is a symbol within the Northern European faith, including that of none Christian Anglo-Saxons. What I've always found is that Christianity of the pre Norman era was very much blurred within indigenous pagan beliefs. Not uncommon within Christianity's spread ie Day of the Dead in Mexico.
Christianity of the 8th and 9th century was very much rooted in the hands of the social elite and those seeking trade with Christiandom. For the people attending a temple in the sacred land, it was of no importance that an effigy to the virgin Goddess mother of God, became the Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus. To me, this early church was nothing less than traditional pagan beliefs redefined in the language of Rome. As stated, to the none Latin speaking people, nothing really changed until 1066 and Williams enforced conformity to Vatican rules and Sarum Rite.
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@WC21UKProductionsLtd just watched a piece on Warwickshire Police, the emblem of Column and Bear on the side of the police cars......
@@billykershaw2781 yep. The bear and ragged staff - Earl of Warwick. The pagan shrine folk discount that on basis the bears are older than the device. Although we don't know that....
I couldn't see a connection between the village and Earl of Warwick, though, and the Dacre family have a bunch of shells on theirs.
@WC21UKProductionsLtd have a Mumbo Jumbo Christmas mate, go on, you might like it! 😀 All the best....how many miles on that Volvo now? 😁
I’d like to hear your take on the church at Kirk Oswald. A very peculiar place.
Thank you Mickie - I will pop this on my list. Cheers.
@ I would love to join you if you visit.
Bears ? Utter nonsense
That’s what they’re called - the Dacre Bears.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Call them what you like, bears were still living wild in Briton in those days, even children would know that they don’t have tails.
@@MickieKinger make of them what you will. I’n just covering a local tale in which they are called the Dacre Bears. I’m not bothered if they’re bears, lions or monkeys - the interesting question is are they pagan? I don’t think they are.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI think what they are called is important as is what they are not. Whoever named them knew nothing of our native fauna, suggesting them to be much younger. However, the Christian narrative is certainly not free from acquiring what was not always theirs to take.
@@MickieKinger Does it really matter if they were called Dacre Badgers? ...it was not the point Mr WC 21 was making. I wonder if the miracle of St Cuthbert's hair was he was bald one day...Woke up the next day looking like an 80's Jon Bon Jovi.