Tales Of Bigfoot In The UK -T he Wildman Of Belsay Northumberland

The Middleton family have reigned over the Belsay Estate in Northumberland for over seven hundred years. At the heart of the estate lies the imposing fourteenth century Belsay Castle. In 1817 the family abandoned the castle and moved into the newly completed Belsay Hall, an impressive pile inspired by the temples of ancient Greece.

Both the old family home, as well as the new, sit within a vast and richly planted vista. The unique Quarry Garden, in particular, forms a fantasy landscape of ravines, corridors, pinnacles and exotic flora. This enchanted, fairy-tale setting provides a seemingly perfect retreat in which mythical creatures might flourish.

And so, it seems, they do. Since the fifteenth century, the Middleton family coat of arms has featured none other than the Woodwose. He also features in wall paintings, a stained glass window, a stone statue carving, and cutlery. The Middleton Woodwose is normally depicted as hairy, strong and proud and frequently shown carrying a tree.

Quite what inspired the Middleton family to adopt the Wildman as their emblem remains a mystery. May be the creature was real, perhaps its origins lie in the murky mists of long forgotten legend, or maybe it was only every supposed to be a symbol representing the power and wild nobility of the clan. Whatever the truth, the extent of the imagery reveals esteem in which the Wildman was held.

The Middleton’s were far from alone in incorporating the Woodwose into their heraldic imagery, but they are perhaps one of very few families able to maintain the extensive and wild fantasy lands necessary for such a creature to survive in the real world.