Washington and Penshaw
PENSHAW MONUMENT
Penshaw Monument, across the River Wear to the south of Washington is an imposing reminder of the Lambton family. It is a copy of the temple of Theseum in Athens, though half its size, It can be seen clearly from parts of west Durham, North Tyneside and as far south as the Stang Forest in Teesdale. The monument was erected in 1848 in honour of John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham (1792 - 1840), known to Durham pitmen as `Radical Jack', because of his democratic views. The Earl was a chief instigator of the 1832 Reform Bill, which abolished the so called `Rotten Boroughs', an undemocratic feature of British politics. Such Boroughs included Old Sarum in Wiltshire, where two MPs were elected by the owner of a `green mound and a well'. This Reform Bill also gave MPs to large towns like Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds, which previously had none at all. Other government reforms of the 1830s brought about the abolishment of the County Palatinate of Durham, terminating the last remaining vestiges of power held by the `Prince Bishops'. The Prime Minister at the time of the 1830 reforms was of course the Northumbrian, Earl Grey to whom another famous northern monument was erected at Newcastle upon Tyne. Both Penshaw and Greys Monument were designed by Benjamin Green.
THE LEGEND OF THE LAMBTON WORM
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs,
An' aa'l tell yer aa'l an aaful story,
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs
An' aa'll tell yer boot the worm.
Penshaw Hill and the nearby Worm Hill are closely associated with one of the North East's best known folk tales; The Legend of the Lambton Worm. The hero of this legend was a certain young man called John Lambton, who on one particular Sunday morning decided to go fishing in the River Wear rather than attend the local church, as he was expected to do. His truancy was rather a waste of time, as he did not have a very successful morning's sport.
The only thing he had succeeded in catching other than perhaps a cold, was a tiny worm-like creature which he despondently threw into a nearby well, before returning home for lunch. In later life John Lambton became a brave knight and crusader and left England to fight in the Middle East, where he soon forgot about the strange little worm caught on that otherwise uneventful Sunday morning.
Unbeknown to John, while he was away abroad, this tiny creature had grown into an enormous hideous serpent that began to terrorise the local neighbourhood. It is said that the worm would feed off the udders of cows and swallow little children alive and after feasting, would fall asleep and lazily lap its tail around the crest of Penshaw Hill.
Naturally, many attempts were made to slaughter this beast, but even when it was cut into many pieces the parts would rejoin and the worm remained alive. John Lambton, perhaps feeling partly responsible for the activities of the worm, decided to return home to England, where he consulted the advice of a wise old witch. He asked her how he should go about killing such a creature.
The old lady explained that the only way to kill the beast was by standing in the middle of the River Wear, wearing a suit of armour coated with blades of steel, and wait patiently for the worm to arrive. However a warning was given to Lambton, that upon defeating the worm, he must then kill the first living thing he set eyes upon. Otherwise a curse would be placed upon nine generations of the Lambtons so that none would die in their bed.
Lambton, obeying the words of the old lady put on the appropriate armour and instructed his father to send one of the family hounds to him, so he could complete the deed in accordance with her wishes. Making his way to the banks of the Wear he stood in the centre of the river, where he didn't have to wait for long.
The worm came darting towards its adversary of long ago and proceeded to viciously wrap itself around the armoured knight. After a short struggle the creature was gradually sliced up into many tiny pieces by the steel blades of Lambton's armour. Bit by bit each piece of the worm was carried away by the current of the river before they had time to rejoin.
At last the worm was dead. The victorious but exhausted Lambton, made his way back to the bank of the river, remembering that he must now kill the first living thing he set eyes upon. As he emerged from the river he looked up with shock and horror to see his excited father, who had evidently forgotten the hound. Lambton could not kill his own Dad !
Would the curse prove true ? Well history seems to suggest it did. Several Lambtons met violent deaths and indeed one General Lambton, confined to his bed by a terrible illness, pleaded and pleaded with his servants to release him. When they finally lifted him from his bed - he died. That is the twist in the tale of the legend of the Lambton Worm !
LAMBTON WORM SONG
The Lambton Worm tune and verses
The Legend of the Lambton Worm is the subject of a famous local folk song, which was once a great favourite in the old Victorian music halls of Tyneside. It is best heard when sung in a Geordie or Wearside dialect;
One Sunday Mornin' Lambton went A' fishin' in the Wear,
And cowt a fish upon his heuk He thowt leukt varry queer
But whatn't kind of fish it waas Young Lambton couldn't tell
He waddn't fash te carry it hyem, So he hoyed it doon a well
(Chrorus)
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs, An' aa'l tell yer aa'l an aaful story,
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs An' aa'll tell yer boot the worm.
Noo Lambton felt inclined te' gan, An' fight in foreign wars
He joined a troop of knights that cared For nowther wounds nor scars,
An' of he went te' Palestine Where queer things him befel,
An' varry seun forgat aboot The queer worm i' the well.
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs, An' aa'l tell yer aa'l an aaful story,
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs An' aa'll tell yer boot the worm.
But the worm got fat and growed an growed An' growed an aaful size
He'd greet big teeth, a greet big gob,
An' greet big goggly eyes.
An' when at neet he craaled aboot Te' pick up bits o' news
If he felt dry upon the road, He milked a dozen coos.
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs, An' aa'l tell yer aa'l an aaful story,
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs An' aa'll tell yer boot the worm.
This fearful worm wad often feed
On calves an' lambs and sheep,
An' swally little bairns alive When they laid doon te' sleep.
An' when he'd eaten aal he could
An' he had had his fill,
He craaled away an' lapped his tail Seven times roond Penshaw Hill.
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs, An' aa'l tell yer aa'l an aaful story,
Whisht ! lads, haad yer gobbs An' aa'll tell yer boot the worm.
The news of this myest aaful worm An' his queer gannins on
Seun crossed the seas, an gat te' the ears Of brave and bold Sir John.
So hyem he cam an' catched the beast An' cut him in twe halves,
An' that seun stopped his eatin' bairns An' sheep an' lambs and calves.
So noo ye knaa hoo aal the folks On byeth sides o' the Wear
Lost lots o sheep and lots o sleep An' lived in mortal fear.
So lets hev one te brave Sir John That kept the bairns frae harm,
Saved coos an' calves by myekin' halves
O' the famous Lambton worm.
Noo lads Aa'll had me gob
That's aal Aa knaa aboot the story
Of Sir John's clivvor job
Wi' the aaful Lambton worm.
There are two other worm legends associated with the North East, they are the Sockburn worm, which inhabited the Tees valley, near Darlington and the Laidley Worm of Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast.
WASHINGTON - AN AMERICAN CONNECTION
To the north of Lambton within the new borough of Sunderland is the attractive new town of Washington. The town is divided into sixteen districts or `villages' each with its own number and name. Eight of the districts are built on the sites of existing villages, of which the most historic is Washington itself. Washington village is the site of Washington Old Hall, now a National Trust property. The Hall is important in that it was once the home of the ancestors of George Washington, the first president of the United States.
The connection dates from 1180 A.D when William De Hartburn (Hartburn near Stockton on Tees), bought the manor of Washington from Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham and changed his name to William De Washington. William became the first member of the family which ultimately gave its name to the capital city of the U.S.A. Washington, District of Columbia therefore acquired its name from Washington County of Durham. It is amusing to speculate that if history had taken a different course, the seat of the American president could perhaps have been called Hartburn D.C.
ELSIE MARLEY COUNTRY
South of the Washington village of Rickleton, close to the edge of the motorway near Chester le Street is a rather undistinguished little place called Picktree, once the home to two quite different characters from local folklore. One was a mysterious little Goblin called the `Picktree Brag' who used to get up to all kinds of mischief in the area, the other was a local landlady called Elsie Marley, known to children and adults alike as the subject of a well known folk song;
Di' yer ken Elsie Marley Hinny ?
The wife that sells the barley hinny
She's lost her pocket and all of her money
A' back o' the bush in the garden hinny.
Elsie Marley's grown so fine
She cannot get up to serve the swine
But lays in bed till eight or nine
And surely she does take her time
Elsie Marley wore a straw hat
Noo shes gettin' a velvet cap
Lambton lads must pay for that
Di' yer ken Elsie Marley Hinny ?
The pitmen and the keelmen trim
They drink bumbo made of gin
An' when te' dance they de begin
The tune is Elsie Marley Hinny.
Alice Marley was the wife of the innkeeper at Picktree and was by all accounts very popular with her customers !. In her later years this unfortunate lady was confined to bed with a terrible illness, and became completely delirious. After escaping unnoticed from her sick bed one night, poor `Elsie' went running across a field nearby. She haplessly fell into a disused coalpit and drowned. Sadly the inn where Elsie worked has long since gone.
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