Page 7 - April 2021

In 1865, thirty five years
after the disappearance,
a minister in the Scilley
Isles, lookingthrough
some old documents
concerning the crusades,
came across a list of
English knights who had
joined Peter I, King of
Cyprus, on his expedition
to conquer Palestine.
On the list was Sir
Edward Estur from
the Isle of Wight -who
was accompanied by a
beautiful young woman
(also from the Island) by
the name of Lucy Lightfoot.
This was some five hundred years or so before Lucy disappeared! This story caused quite a sensation during the sixties with all its mystical associations, and continues to intrigue the romantically inclined today.
Several occult periodicals, including the influential Man, Myth, and Magic, have featured serious articles concerning the tale. And in the visitors’ book at St Olaves you will occasionally come across enthusiastic entries from delighted ‘seekers’ and ‘pilgrims’ thrilled to imbibe the same atmosphere and vibes that Lucy experienced.
There are so few occurrences nowadays that challenge the utilitarian attitudes and demands of our matter-of-fact, technological age. It is with a heavy heart, therefore,that I have to reveal that, the story was, in fact, made up by the Reverend Evans himself. It wasn’t a deliberate hoax, but written as a short story in what he termed ‘an exercise in
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imaginative history’ to sell as brochures in the church in aid of parish funds.
I hope this revelation hasn’t disappointed readers as much as it did me when I first learned of it. Gothic Lullaby, although it is influenced by the story of Lucy Lightfoot doesn’t follow the details of the tale exactly. In the song, the image of the warrior is carved on the wall, not fashioned from a block of solid oak. Nor is there any suggestion in the afore- mentioned texts of Sir Edward’s heart being interred in the church. The marble, tomb-like, monument that stands in the building today (at the far end of the central aisle) is a cenotaph dedicated to the son of a later Lord of the Manor who died at Gallipoli: one more instance of a local warrior struck down far from home. An overbearing similarity shared by both song and written sources, however, is the evocative aura of mood and mystery that lingers about the area to this day. If the opportunity ever arises, visit this lonely spot and taste the potency for yourself.
Rob Atkins