This article, written by Ian Dawson, is the final one to be placed on this archive from the very first issue of ASH in Autumn 1988. I am currently sitting here at my desk in the Camel Valley, Cornwall copying this excellent article onto the ASH archive. It is Autumn 2018, and it was thirty years ago that this magazine came into creation from the heart of Thames-side Essex. That land of briny silt, muddy creek and haunted coast. So let's enter into the realms 'Beyond the Dragon's Lair', where the enchantment of the low lying land of the East Saxons may find its source.
Beyond the Dragon's Lair
Ian Dawson
During frequent visits into the Essex countryside, we have visited many rural churches. It has been noticed that on some there are strange and unusual carvings that are not of Christian origin. A few have foliate men, the pagan woodland spirit, and others have mouth pullers, (the cleaned up version of the Sheilagh-na-gig) which are ancient fertility goddesses. They are both pre-Christian symbols of the old religion.
Another symbol of the old religion is the dragon, which can be found on a number of churches, not only in Essex, but throughout Britain. Some relate to actual dragon sitings, such as the Horndon dragon, which was said to have been imported by the Barbary merchants in the middle ages, and escaped into the woods around Horndon, to be killed by Sir James Tyrell. This dragon ncan be seen carved into the woodwork of Nicholas church in nearby Laindon, which upon closer inspection, looks remarkably like a crocodile. Could it have been one of these creatures, brought from the African continent, that escaped into the woods at Horndon?
Perhaps the most well known story is that of the dragon of Henham, written in a pamphlet in Clerkenwell in 1669 by Robert Winstanley of Saffron Walden. According to eye witnesses, it was a "flying serpent" as thick as a mans leg, eight or nine feet long with eyes as big as sheeps, sharp teeth and small wings. This serpent seems to have been chased away by villagers with farm implements, never to be seen again. There is, however, in St Mary's church, Henham, a medieval carving of a dragon commemorating the event.
Other dragon carvings have no such stories attached to them, such as the dragon being slain by a saint, usually St Michael. Obviously being seen as Christianity triumphing over the old religion. The churches reaction to the dragon, the symbol of the old religion, must be seen in the light of its early relationship with the conquering armies of Rome.
The Romans adopted the windsock banner of the dragon from the Parthians and Persians during their campaigns against these nations. The dragon then became one of the symbols of the hated Roman army, hated at least by the Jews, whose land now lay under the dominion of Rome. This symbol of Rome is vividly portrayed in the Book of Revelations, doing battle with st Michael. It is the dragon of Rome or the Devil as Rome was seen to represent by the first Jewish Christians. Of course the legions also brought their dragon banners to Britain and their use was continued by the Romano-Celts after the Roman armies left these shores.
The name Uther Pendragon, (Head Dragon) is an example of the importance Celts gave to the dragon. The tradition was continued by Arthur and the dragon is now the national emblem of Wales, one of the last places in Britain to be Christianised. The churches abhorrence to the pagan dragon, stems not so much from the dragon itself, but to what is represents to them. This is why so many hilltop churches were dedicated to St Michael, who traditionally is slayer of dragons and as so many of these churches were built on earlier pagan temples, it would seem indeed, like Christianity was triumphing over the old religion.
Examples of this can be seen at St Micheal's church in Fobbing, Essex, where in the south porch there can be seen a fifteenth century carving of a serpent, representing the pagans, and a man or local hero representing the Christians, holding open the jaws of the dragon, reminiscent of the strength card of the tarot. Another example of this can be seen at St Lawrence and All saints in Eastwood, where inside, amongst the pews, there is a dragon scratched into a pillar directly above a pagan mark stone set into the floor. In this case the hero is seen standing above the dragon with his spear pointing down towards the beast and not actually fighting it.
Not all dragons have slayers, churches often abound with dragons and no knight killing them. Could this relate to the site still being used for pagan worship as many often were in the early days of Christianity? In most cases old churches were built on power centres now termed as "ley-lines", incidentally called by the Chinese, dragon lines or paths. It has been said that when one of these power lines is interfered with, and dragon energy leaks out, and becomes dangerous, the local hero usually a knight with knowledge of such things, comes to slay the dragon, or put right the damage. Could the leaking energy take the form of apparitions? Out of place animals are often seen where the ground has been disturbed, perhaps even in the form of dragons. Therefore the earth energies can be seen a dragons winding there way across the countryside, or spiral-like around a hill, usually of a pagan nature.
I can recall a few instances of serpents or worms, as they were sometimes known, coiling around a hill, such as Lampton worm, which wrapped itself around Lampton Hill three times, or the dragon of Bignor Hill in Sussex, the footpaths or sheep tracks, which can be seen on the slopes of the hill, are said to be its coils. I would suggest that both of these places were used in the worship of the old gods in the pre-Christian days. The well known tracks of Glastonbury Tor are known as dragon paths and Hackpen (serpents head) hill near Avebury in Wiltshire, recalls the serpentine avenues of standing stones at the Avebury stone circles. Both of these places were most definitely sacred to the old religion of former times.
I could go on and on as there are numerous churches and other places with dragon associations, too many in fact to mention here in this article. indeed why not visit your local old churches and discover for yourself the dragon;s lairs. You will find churches, pre sixteenth century, supply a wealth of paganism with their architecture. You might be surprised at what you do find.
