AUGUST 2025

In the 14th century, the quiet Worcestershire village of Wolverley, near Kidderminster, was home to Sir John Attwood. His family had once borne the Norman name De Bois, but like many of their class, had anglicised it in time. Sir John held the manor of Wolverley and lived there in comfort with his wife.

Like many knights of his age, he answered the call of the Crusades, leaving his wife to manage the manor while he took the cross. But his campaign was ill-fated. Captured by Saracen forces, Sir John found himself held for ransom — a price he could not afford to pay.

Years passed. In captivity, Sir John prayed daily for deliverance and the chance to see his home again. Back in Wolverley, his wife received no word of his fate. Fearing the worst, she resolved to move on and, eventually, to remarry.

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The Stranger in the Meadow

On the morning of Lady Attwood’s wedding to another, the household milkmaid walked from the great house with the family dog trotting at her side. Crossing a meadow, she spotted a ragged figure asleep on the ground. His hair was matted, his beard unkempt, his clothes in tatters — and iron fetters clamped his ankles.

Startled, she hesitated. But the dog bounded forward, tail wagging, as if greeting an old friend. The man awoke and claimed to be none other than Sir John Attwood, returned from the Crusades after years in captivity.

The milkmaid hurried him to Lady Attwood. At first, she did not recognise him — the marks of hardship and long imprisonment had changed him beyond memory. But then he drew from his clothing half of a gold ring. With a gasp, she fetched its twin from her possession. The two halves fitted perfectly.

At once she knew the truth. Sir John’s fetters were struck off, and he told his extraordinary story.

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The Swan’s Flight

He spoke of long years as a prisoner, and of the prayers he had offered without ceasing. One day, he said, an angel appeared before him — whom he believed to be the Virgin Mary herself — and opened the door of his cell. At that moment, a great white swan descended upon the roof.

The bird bore him into the sky, carrying him across land and sea. When at last it reached Wolverley, it swooped low over the church. In the descent, Sir John’s foot struck the steeple, knocking loose a roof tile and spraining his ankle, before the swan set him down in the meadow.

The parish priest, so the story goes, confirmed that a tile was indeed missing from the church roof.

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Legacy of the Knight

When Sir John died, his effigy was placed in the church, showing him with a swan as his crest and a faithful hound at his feet. His iron fetters were long kept on public display, later moved to nearby Wolverley Court when the medieval church was demolished. The meadow where he landed became known as Knight’s Meadow, and rent paid on the field traditionally included a small fee for “keeping the irons polished and showing them to all.”

Today, Sir John’s effigy survives at Wolverley Court, though damaged during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The fetters were last seen in 1988 before disappearing from view.

A fine medieval legend — but is it just a story? In Wolverley, the memory of the Crusader knight and his mysterious swan still lingers, blurring the line between history and myth.

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