ISSUE #2

Sir Humphrey was a bit of a tearaway
at the best of times, but things went
seriously off the rails when he
inherited the family home of Myddle Castle.
Unfortunately for Sir Humphrey, he couldn't
afford to keep the castle as well as continue
with his lifestyle. Outlawed for his debts, Sir
Humphrey abandoned the castle and went on
the run, setting up home in the sandstone
caves above Nesscliffe.
It was here, according to legend, that the
outlaw lived with his horse, evading all
attempts of capture.
In the true mould of the robber-hero, Sir
Humphrey is said to have stolen from the
rich in order to give to the poor who lived
nearby.
In return they protected him, providing him
and his horse with food.
Some stories even claim Sir Humphrey's
horse was the devil himself. One account
claims the horse was called Beelzebub!
Kynaston and his horse made an unbeatable
team, and many of the stories about this
dynamic duo credited them with superhuman
abilities.
For example, the local lawmen once set a
trap for the highwayman at Montford
Bridge. The structure crossing the Severn in
the village, these days, was built by Thomas
Telford in the early 1800s, but in the time of
Sir Humphrey, it was made of stone and
wood.
The sheriff and his men removed the planks
from the bridge, leaving a gaping hole, and
waited for their man. On arriving at the
bridge and sensing a trap, Sir Humphrey
spurred his horse on, jumped the gaping
hole and escaped.
On another occasion, Sir Humphrey is said
to have jumped his horse from the top of
Nesscliffe and landed at Ellesmere - nine
miles away!
There's even a section of the
Severn, 40 feet wide, called
Kynaston's leap, where the
highwayman is said to have jumped
the river.
One day, so the legend goes, he
found a man sitting in his seat at
the Nesscliffe pub, so he calmly
went over to him, drew his pistol
and shot the man dead before
escaping up a chimney.
After a lifetime of evading the law,
Sir Humphrey died of illness in his
cave.
The cave can still be visited today.
Steps cut into the red sandstone
lead up to a cave split into two,
although erosion has meant that a
wooden staircase is now used to
get into the cave.
Intriguingly the initials H K and
the date 1564 are carved into the
rocks.
And if you visit the Old Three
Pigeons pub in Nesscliffe, Sir
Humphrey's seat, reputedly taken
from the cave, is part of the
replace!
P34 WWW.SHROPROCKS.COM MAY/JUN