Horsham’s folklore dragon of 1614

In 1614, a sheet of paper was published with the first account of a serpent in St Leonard’s Forest.

The paper described the creature as nine feet long, red and black, with ‘two great bunches, big as a large footeball’.

It said: “The scales along his backe seeme to be blackish, and so much as is discovered under his bellie, appaeareth to be red.

“He is of countenance very proud, and at the sight or hearing of man or cattle, will raise his necke upright, and seem to listen and loke about with great arrogance.”

Apparently four people witnessed the creature, including “the carrier of Horsam, who lieth at the White Horse in Southwark”.

Rumours such as these made the public steer clear of the woodland.

However, it was in the interests of smugglers to keep people out of the forest, which was rich in resources for the iron industry.

As another rumour had it, anyone crossing the forest at night on horseback would come across a ‘headless phantom’ that would force the traveller to leave.

Today, the forest is used by walkers, joggers and cyclists alike, and the St Leonard’s dragon, much like the Loch Ness monster, remains just a tale consigned to history.