Sockburn Hall, Darlington: an archaeological ... - English Heritage

The worm legend itself may be no more than an heroic justification for the acquisition
of lands in the wake of the Norman Conquest,applied at a much later date;but several
authors have proposed that elements of earlier myths or even real events may have been
adopted in the process. Surtees (1823, 244) suggested the worm might represent the
usurping bishop Cumin,and Hutchinson (1823,180) advanced the interesting idea that
the dragon stood for the threat of Danish invaders. Telfer (1991) gathered together
a still wider range of possible explanations including the slaying of real beasts of the
wood and chase, the appearance of monstrous (but quite natural) eels along the River
Tees, and even an intriguing link between the worm’s vile breath and the sulphurous
springs later made fashionable at local Georgian spas such as Middleton-One-Row.
Whatever the origin, one lasting legacy is that the worm story is believed to have
provided Lewis Carroll,who spent part of his boyhood in the rectory at nearby Croft,
with the inspiration for the poem ‘Jabberwocky’ (Simpson 2005).
The ‘Grey Stone’ - said to mark the burial of the worm - is a sizeable natural outcrop
located beyond the survey area some 300m to the west of the church. This is one
tangible feature drawn into the legend; another is the Conyers’ Falchion,a heavy sword
which, according to tradition, was used to dispatch the worm, and hence became the
symbol of the family’s title to the manor of Sockburn under the Prince Bishops.
The Conyers’ Falchion
The Conyers’ Falchion was kept at Sockburn Hall until it was presented to Durham
Cathedral by Arthur Edward Blackett in 1947. It is now on display with other
treasures in the undercroft of the south cloister. Falchions are very rare, only eight
examples being known in Europe, and the Conyers’ example is considered to be
the best preserved of these. According to Wall (1982), who studied the falchion in
some detail, these unwieldy weapons were probably of limited use in combat, but
their fearsome appearance made them ideal for ceremonial and artistic displays.The
Conyers’ Falchion has been dated to the period 1260-70 (ibid), and so could be the
very sword mentioned in the Inquisition Post Mortem taken after the death of Sir John
Conyers in 1395/6 (Cursitor’s Records 1884, 176) 1 . This reference to the exchange
of a falchion is both the earliest record of the sword itself, and of its use as a token of
tenure at Sockburn.Its survival is undoubtedly due to the persistence of the traditions
derived from the legend.
Following the manner described in 1395/6 it became the duty of the lord of Sockburn
to meet each newly appointed bishop of Durham on his first entry to the diocese, and
to proceed with a ceremony which from the mid-17th century, if not before, included
the following citation:
‘My Lord Bishop, I here present you with the faulchion wherewith the champion Conyers
slew the worm, dragon, or fiery flying serpent, which destroyed man, woman and child;
in memory of which, the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by
1 ‘Tenuit manerium de Sockburn per servitium demonstrandi Episcopo unum fawchon ita quod illud viderit restituat
ostendenti pro omnibus aliis servitiis (Cursitor’s Records 1884: 176). (Full payment of dues for the manorial holding
of Sockburn is provided by the restoration of one falchion to the bishop in such a way that it is in clear view)
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