Ludchurch

Ludchurch. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

Ludchurch is probably one of the strangest and most atmospheric places I have ever visited, even on a sunny day when I took the photograph above, no animals or birds were seen or heard, and as I slowly made my way from Gradbach along side the river Dane while making my way towards Ludchurch, and started climbing through the ancient Backforest, so the bird song noticeably vanished.

Ludchurch is a natural rift in the hillside, and ranges in width from twelve to twenty feet, and is probably thousands if not millions of years old, its length is about two hundred yards, and it can be reached by walking from either Danebridge, Gradbach Mill or the Roaches.

The path that runs through the ancient Backforest which takes you past Castle Cliffs and leads to Ludchurch. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

One of the many stories relating to the way that Ludchurch acquired its name is thought to stem from a man named Walter de Lud Auk, who was a Lollard, this meant he wanted to worship God in his own way, free from the restrictions of the established church. Walter and his followers worshipped out of doors and chose this ancient chasm to perform their religious ceremonies in. In the time that Walter was alive it would have been illegal not to attend established church services, and to perform your own religious ceremony would have been strictly illegal, that is probably why this isolated spot would have been chosen, well away from prying eyes and the authorities. Sometimes Walter and his followers would actually live in Ludchurch during the summer months, using it as a base to spread his doctrines through the local population. Food would have been brought to Walter and his followers by Henrich Montair the Head Forester who also believed in Walters doctrines.

The path to Ludchurch runs past Castle Cliffs which derives its name from the shape of the rock formations which resemble a castle’s fortifications. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

Though many searches were made for Walter and his followers they were unsuccessful due in part to the forest being more dense and larger in those days, the vegetation had used to overhang the chasm making it virtually undetectable for anyone not knowing its existence.