National Trust Leicester Association

MARCH TENDS to be a month when we start going out into the great outdoors and many National trust properties have open spaces for country walks. Some properties are also steeped in myths and legends which have estate legends connected to them.

At the Plym Valley in Devon which is part of Dartmoor, among the trees you will find the Dewerstone, named after “Dewer” or a devil who is said to command a pack of demonic “Wisht hounds”. Appearing as a figure in black he lures or hunts travellers to the top of the Dewerstone and then disappears leaving them to fall into the jaws of his hounds.

In West Sussex, at Devil’s Dyke, the Devil got so annoyed at churches springing up in Sussex that he began digging a dyke to let in sea water and drown the people. During the construction he created two new features, Chanctonbury Ring and Rackham Hill.

At Killerton in Devon you can take a walk to the top of Dolbury Hill, a now-extinct volcano that was once the site of an Iron Age Fort. Legend has it that it was the hiding place of a huge mass of treasure, guarded by the Killerton Dragon who watches over the house.

It’s in the deep south of the USA and is possibly the area of the States that has received the most mentions in his many thrillers.

The Boys from Biloxi, published last year, has arrived in hardback at Groby Community Library and can be borrowed by members free of charge. Those who want it straight away will find it online at prices ranging from £10 to £22 for a new copy.

It’s a familiar tale of two school friends whose lives take them in different directions. One takes the straight and narrow and rises through the legal profession, the other grows up in a criminal family peddling alcohol, gambling, drugs, prostitution and violence. Although their lives take different paths, you will have guessed that their chosen careers will ultimately lead to conflict and a final showdown.

The Boys from Biloxi will be back on the shelf at Groby Library from 11th March.

Norman Griffiths

The chalk horse figure on White Horse Hill in Oxfordshire is one of England’s most recognisable sites, but the site also hides another legend. There are lots of locations all over the country which are said to have been the site of St George’s battle with the dragon, and the aptly named Dragon Hill is one of them. Other sites with local legends include Croft Castle in Herefordshire where “Puck”, the mischievous imp has a reputation for leading travellers astray as they try to get home. At Blickling Hall in Norfolk, the birthplace of Anne Boleyn, her headless ghost can be seen as night falls, arriving in a coach on 19th May each year, the anniversary of her execution.

• THE NATIONAL TRUST LEICESTER ASSOCIATION has an evening meeting on Tuesday 14th March at The Braunstone West Social Centre, St Mary’s Avenue, Braunstone at 7.30pm when Sandra Moore will present an illustrated talk entitled “Living Memories

– Characters from Belgrave Cemetery”

The Association also has an afternoon meeting on Wednesday 22nd March when Peter Cousins will present an illustrated talk entitled “Lawyers, Privateers & Explorers”. The meeting will be held at St Guthlac’s Memorial Hall, Holbrook Road, Leicester at 2.30pm. Admission to meetings is NTLA members £3.00, visitors £4.00, including refreshments.

For details of the NT Leicester Association please call 0116 2229133 or visit our web site at www.leicesternt.com New members always welcome.