Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Hereford and Worcestershire

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Giants / King Arthur / Legends

Arthur’s Stone

Arthur’s Stone is the name given to the remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb. Aged around 5000 years old (3700BC – 2700BC), the monument consists of a huge cap stone weighing over 25 tonnes and nine upright stones.

Folklore / Occult / Other Mysteries / Witchcraft

Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

On 18th April 1943 four Stourbridge teenagers, Fred Payne, Tommy Willetts, Robert Hart and Bob Farmer discovered the remains of a woman inside a hollow Wych Elm (also known as Scots (Scotch) Elm or Ulmus glabra) in Hagley Wood. It has been suggested that ritualistic magic or even wartime espionage may have been behind this murder mystery that after sixty years is still a focus of interest.

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Fairies / Folklore / Legends / Mermaids / Wells

St Ethelbert’s Holy Well

Around 794AD, King Offa of Mercia demanded the head of the Christian King Ethelbert of East Anglia whilst he was making arrangements to marry Offa’s daughter. Not far from the location of Marden Church the young king was assassinated and his body hidden. After rumours of Ethelbert’s ghost being seen in the marden area, Offa asked the Pope for absolution.

Dragons / Legends

Mordiford Wyvern

The story of the Mordiford wyvern is one of the most detailed dragon legends in Britain; it is also the one with the most variations, having no less than five.