Saint Guthlac of Crowland was of noble Mercian blood. He became a soldier in his teens, then retired to a monastic life in his mid-twenties. On St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August) 699, he headed with a servant and boatman to find a remote spot where they might live out an ascetic life, and settled on a swampy island in the ague-infested Fens, where they are said to have established simple accommodations and a small church. Guthlac was soon allegedly being visited by demons, who tried to cart him off to Hell; however, St Bartholomew appeared in a vision and gave him a whip with which to drive the demons away.

According to legend, the remains of Guthlac’s church and cell are in the vicinity (as well as under) the present ruins of the abbey, though a likelier spot is the suggestively named Anchor Church field a few hundred metres away, where there have been recent excavations, as explained in this 2022 article from The Past. A quatrefoil on the west front of Crowland Abbey – pictured above – depicts scenes from Guthlac’s life, and there is a late medieval statue of him holding his whip in the ruined nave. The legend is discussed in detail in Derek Turner, Edge of England (2022), Maureen James, Lincolnshire Folk Tales (2013), and Daniel Codd, Mysterious Lincolnshire (2007).

A window in St Guthlac’s church in Fishtoft, just east of Boston, shows Guthlac holding his whip. According to legend, Fishtoft will not suffer any infestations of rats or mice for as long as he continues to hold it.

Words by RORY WATERMAN