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The Clever Daughter and the Green Men
A Green Man smirks from a misericord in Worcester cathedral. He and his "brother" were probably carved around 1380 and they flank a...

mysteriesofmercia
Aug 30, 20231 min read


The Haunted Ruins of Throwley Old Hall
Throwley Old Hall is a ruined mansion dating from the early 1500s, brooding over the Peak District landscape from its hilltop location...

mysteriesofmercia
Aug 20, 20231 min read


Mystery of Mercia - Book 1 & 2
As summer rolls out across the Midlands, get some inspiration for visits to the more mysterious parts of the region with The Mystery Of...

mysteriesofmercia
Aug 14, 20231 min read


The Bride Hands
These carved hand shapes date from the early 1700s and are inside the porch at St Peter's in the Worcestershire village of Little...

mysteriesofmercia
Aug 14, 20231 min read


The Tibblestone - A Modest Megalith
Drivers pulling in to this Gloucestershire garage for a Subway or a Costa coffee might not notice that a Neolithic standing stone is...

mysteriesofmercia
Aug 8, 20232 min read


A “Real” Crop Circle
Crop circles are a rarity in the Midlands area, so when a beautiful example appeared in a Worcestershire wheat field I had to...

mysteriesofmercia
Jul 28, 20231 min read


The Horrifying Humber Stone
A mangled block of stone lies in a small field in Leicester, between a branch of KFC and a housing estate. People walk past it everyday,...

mysteriesofmercia
Jul 19, 20233 min read


Kinnersley Castle and the Strangled Boy?
I spotted this bizarre sculpture above a fireplace inside Kinnersley Castle, Herefordshire. It appears to be a boy being choked by a...

mysteriesofmercia
Jul 5, 20231 min read


A Church That Was Sacred Before It Was Built
While there are plenty of churches in England built on ancient pre-Christian sites, just a few miles over the border into Wales I...

mysteriesofmercia
Jun 12, 20232 min read


The Devil’s Den
I swung just a little south of the Midlands to find some of the less visited places within the Avebury world heritage area, and took a...

mysteriesofmercia
Jun 12, 20232 min read


The Witch Pond
This rather slimy pond on a farm at Rushock in Worcestershire has been in existence for at least 500 years, and in 1660 it was used to...

mysteriesofmercia
May 21, 20231 min read


The Esoteric Maze of Rowtor Rocks
Rowtor Rocks is one of the strangest places in the Midlands. Standing on the edge of the Derbyshire village of Birchover, this is a...

mysteriesofmercia
Apr 12, 20233 min read


When Four Stones Become Nine
The Derbyshire Peak District boasts several impressive stone circles, and I feel this one deserves more attention than it gets. This is...

mysteriesofmercia
Apr 9, 20232 min read


The Last Ducking in England
An infamous relic of the past lies in a corner of the Priory church in the Herefordshire town of Leominster. This is one of the very few...

mysteriesofmercia
Apr 3, 20233 min read


A Strange Centaur
I think this is possibly the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a village church. An extremely crude carving of a centaur, guarded by a...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 27, 20231 min read


The Oddingley Murders
A longer read for Sunday, this is a true crime tale from Worcestershire. Today most priests and vicars are paid a salary by their...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 20, 20235 min read


The Monstrous Mermaid of Doxeys Pool
Doxeys Pool is a mysterious stretch of water that lies on The Roaches, a ruggedly beautiful gritstone ridge on the Staffordshire...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 13, 20231 min read


The Font that Commemorates Warriors
This magnificent font resides inside the Church of St Mary Magdalene in the Herefordshire village of Eardisley. It was expertly carved...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 1, 20231 min read


Megaliths of the Borderlands
Bending the rules a little as this is just a mile or so across the border into Wales, but I couldn't resist taking a look as I was...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 1, 20231 min read


The Smallest Theatre in the World
People visiting the lovely town of Malvern in Worcestershire probably walk straight past this building, having no idea what it actually...

mysteriesofmercia
Mar 1, 20231 min read
Stories of Mercia: Blog2
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