Ludchurch. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Ludchurch is probably one of the strangest and most atmospheric places I have ever visited, even on a sunny day when I took the photograph above, no animals or birds were seen or heard, and as I slowly made my way from Gradbach along side the river Dane while making my way towards Ludchurch, and started climbing through the ancient Backforest, so the bird song noticeably vanished.
Ludchurch is a natural rift in the hillside, and ranges in width from twelve to twenty feet, and is probably thousands if not millions of years old, its length is about two hundred yards, and it can be reached by walking from either Danebridge, Gradbach Mill or the Roaches.
The path that runs through the ancient Backforest which takes you past Castle Cliffs and leads to Ludchurch. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
One of the many stories relating to the way that Ludchurch acquired its name is thought to stem from a man named Walter de Lud Auk, who was a Lollard, this meant he wanted to worship God in his own way, free from the restrictions of the established church. Walter and his followers worshipped out of doors and chose this ancient chasm to perform their religious ceremonies in. In the time that Walter was alive it would have been illegal not to attend established church services, and to perform your own religious ceremony would have been strictly illegal, that is probably why this isolated spot would have been chosen, well away from prying eyes and the authorities. Sometimes Walter and his followers would actually live in Ludchurch during the summer months, using it as a base to spread his doctrines through the local population. Food would have been brought to Walter and his followers by Henrich Montair the Head Forester who also believed in Walters doctrines.
The path to Ludchurch runs past Castle Cliffs which derives its name from the shape of the rock formations which resemble a castle's fortifications. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Though many searches were made for Walter and his followers they were unsuccessful due in part to the forest being more dense and larger in those days, the vegetation had used to overhang the chasm making it virtually undetectable for anyone not knowing its existence.
It was one summers afternoon when Walter and his followers were assembled in Ludchurch to perform a service, Walter was now seventy years of age, and though white haired did not look his age, he stood straight and impressive as he delivered his sermon on an elevated mound in the upper part of Ludchurch.
This may well be the mound the Walter de Lud Auk stood on to perform his sermons. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
There were fourteen people in attendance that day, including Walters granddaughter Alice de Lud Auk, whose parents had died when she was an infant, and who had been raised by Walter, and often accompanied him on his religious activities. She was about eighteen years old, tall slim and attractive, and had been blessed with a beautiful singing voice. It was after a short prayer had been said, and during the first hymn that was being sung that tragedy struck, for it was during a lull in the singing and the fact that Alice continued to sing, that soldiers who were nearby were alerted to their presence. The soldiers rushed through the entrance to the chasm, shouting "yield in the name of the blessed church, and his most gracious King Henry". The Lollards went to seize their weapons, but stopped when commanded to do so by Walter, all obeyed with the exception of Henrich Montair the Head Forester, who was a giant of a man, he grabbed the first soldier and threw him with such force into the other soldiers that they were forced backwards towards the entrance, whereby he was able to draw his sword and shout to the other Lollards to escape through the other entrance. While this was going on one of the soldiers managed to raise his Arquebus (gun) and fire at the Forester, this just missed his head, he heard a scream behind him, and turning he saw Alice supported in the arms of her Grandfather, dying froma bullet wound to her chest.
On seeing what had happened to Alice the Forester went beserk slashing at the approaching soldiers until his attention was drawn to a low sound emanating from the chasm, it was the death chant of the Lollards, expressing their grief at the loss of one of their brethren, and after this day the songs of the Lollards would never echo against the walls of Ludchurch ever again. Walter de Lud Auk carried his granddaughter, and followed by the other Lollards and the soldiers they buried Alice a few yards from the entrance to the cavern where now an Oak tree grows, after praying over her grave Walter and the Lollards gave themselves up to the soldiers.
