Lindisfarne Legends: St Cuthbert, Ghostly Monks and the Petting Stone

Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, lies some 11.5 miles to the southeast of Berwick-upon-Tweed, just off the coast of Northumberland. Only accessible at low tide, the island still possesses a mystical air, no doubt from its time as a Christian pilgrimage site.

Probably most famous as the production centre of the Lindisfarne Gospels, or the island that gave the folk-rock band Lindisfarne their name, the island was also the centre of the Cult of St Cuthbert in the Middle Ages.

But what folklore or legends has the island accrued over the years? Let’s find out!

History of Lindisfarne

The Irish monk Aidan arrived on Lindisfarne in 635 CE from Iona to convert the local Saxons to Christianity. He founded Lindisfarne Abbey, which at the time was at the heart of the Northumbrian kingdom.

A monk named Cuthbert joined the monastery in the 670s, and he later became the prior of Lindisfarne. He preferred life as a hermit and lived alone on St Cuthbert’s Isle, just off the shore at Lindisfarne, before moving to Inner Farne, part of the Farne Islands.

St Cuthbert died in 687 CE on Inner Farne, the island where he lived essentially as a hermit. (I talked about his beloved Cuddy ducks in the aquatic birds article). The monks buried him on Lindisfarne, although eleven years later, they had cause to open his tomb. They found his body intact and thus began the cult of St Cuthbert. The island became a pilgrimage centre as people reported miracles at St Cuthbert’s shrine.

The monastery’s popularity on Lindisfarne led in part to the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels in 710-25 CE.

Violence Arrives

8th June 793 CE saw the first Viking raid on Lindisfarne. This caused huge consternation among the Christian community, since pagans had attacked a holy shrine, and St Cuthbert had seemingly allowed it to happen. Ongoing attacks over the next century forced the monks to leave in 875 CE. When they left, they took St Cuthbert’s body with them. He now rests in a shrine in Durham Cathedral.

Monks returned in 1069 to escape William the Conqueror’s harrying of the North. This was a period of brutal violence in Northumbria by William the Conqueror between 1069 and 1070. It was William’s response to northern resistance to his rule. He favoured a ‘scorched earth’ policy to devastate the region north of the Humber. Some people fled the slaughter to southern Scotland, while others joined resistance efforts in the Welsh Marches. According to the Domesday Book, swathes of northern England lost half their population and wealth after 1066.

Later, the monks built a church on the site of Cuthbert’s original shrine. They also built Lindisfarne Priory over what was left of Aidan’s original abbey. The Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the end of the priory as a working ecclesiastical site in 1537. No one dismantled the priory immediately because the site proved useful as a defensive site against Scotland to the north.

In addition, construction work began on Lindisfarne Castle in the mid-1500s on a small outcrop near the harbour. Edward Hudson and Edwin Lutyens restored the ruins in 1902. The castle became an exceptionally posh holiday home, although the National Trust now manages it.

Holy Relics

I mentioned earlier that Aidan arrived in Northumbria from Iona. He didn’t do this of his own volition. King Oswald of Northumbria invited Aiden to Northumbria to convert the northern Saxons back to Christianity. Oswald gave Aidan Lindisfarne in 635 CE and apparently became one of the inspirations for Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.

In one legend, Oswald sat down to dinner with Bishop Aidan. A servant arrived to tell Oswald there were beggars outside, could he give them some scraps from the kitchen? Oswald refused, telling the servant to send out the royal meal instead, along with the silver serving platter. Impressed by the king’s display of generosity, Aidan grabbed Oswald’s right hand and cried, “May this hand never perish!”

The Mystery Around the Relic

No one thought any more of it until Oswald went into battle at Oswestry in Shropshire against Penda, King of Mercia, in 642 CE. On 5 August, Oswald found himself surrounded by his enemies and began to pray. Penda cut off Oswald’s right arm before beheading him. According to the legend retold by Rupert Matthews, the Northumbrians retrieved Oswald’s body but kept his head and arm as relics. Oswald’s head ended up in St Cuthbert’s tomb, while the arm went to Lindisfarne. When the monks fled Lindisfarne to escape the Viking raids, they opened the casket. Inside, they found Oswald’s arm as fresh as the day it was severed. They left the arm at Bamburgh for safekeeping (2008: 91).

Except on the website for the Greek Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury, they relate a legend in which a large bird tried to carry away the right arm, only to drop it. A healing spring appeared on the spot. The relics apparently went to Saint Oswald’s Priory in Gloucester, with the head finally buried with St Cuthbert (2024). During the Middle Ages, the arm ended up in Peterborough Cathedral under somewhat dubious circumstances. Matthews relates the belief the relic remains somewhere near Bamburgh. Given it’s no longer in Peterborough, it’s anybody’s guess where it is now (2008: 93).

The Ghosts of Lindisfarne

Given the amount of violence the island has witnessed over the centuries, it’s hardly surprising that it boasts the odd ghost story or two. Most ghost sightings centre around the priory, perhaps for obvious reasons, with St Cuthbert’s ghost the most often-seen phantom. In one legend, Alfred the Great sought refuge on Lindisfarne. St Cuthbert appeared to offer him comfort, promised him everything would be fine, and also foretold him becoming king of England (Reynolds 1989: 6).

Yet St Cuthbert’s ghost seems to get about. He’s also said to wander Lindisfarne Castle at high tide on a full moon. I’m not sure why, given the castle wasn’t there in his time, but perhaps he likes to keep up with current news.

Ghosts that aren’t St Cuthbert

An unnamed witness spotted nuns praying in the church in June 2019. When they mentioned it to a woman nearby, she replied the church was empty. No one else saw the nuns (Paranormal Database 2024).

Speaking of nuns, a nun apparently haunts the island after she fell in love with a knight and was executed for doing so (Paranormal Database 2024). There’s little information beyond this to explain what happened to the knight (if anything), or where she actually appears.

There is also believed to be a large spectral white hound who leaps out of the castle ruins at people, before crawling back into its hiding place (Paranormal Database 2024). I find this account a little baffling since the ruins were incorporated into the castle in 1903. This legend may pre-date Lutyens’ restoration work. A Civil War ghost apparently strolls around Lindisfarne Castle, but again, the reports are vague. No one specifies if he is a Cavalier or a Parliamentarian.

Other people have also seen ghostly monks near the causeway. Some speculate they are the monks massacred by the Vikings in 793 CE. They keep watch by the causeway in case the Vikings should return (Reynolds 1989: 6). Two holidaymakers spotted a monk on the causeway in 1962 (Paranormal Database 2024).

St Cuthbert’s Beads

Crinoid fossils once dotted the Lindisfarne beaches and a legend grew up that they were rosary beads made by St Cuthbert himself. Sir Walter Scott referred to it in his poem Marmion (1808), which explained that St Cuthbert sat on a rock making the beads. The rock sat on Hobthrush, otherwise known as St Cuthbert’s Isle. The fossils are sometimes called Cuddy’s Beads, with Cuddy being the popular local nickname of St Cuthbert. It’s hardly surprising he’d be seen sitting on St Cuthbert’s Isle since it’s where he withdrew to in his efforts to live as a hermit.

According to the poem, people might hear the “deadened clang” from his anvil when storms gathered or night fell (Westwood 2005: 562). By the late 18th century, local children gathered them to sell them to visitors, repeating the legend that St Cuthbert made them and who still sat on a rock to make them on particular nights. Some think the stones bring the wearer good luck (Paranormal Database 2024).

A Lindisfarne Custom

Finally, I wanted to include this, though there wasn’t anywhere else to really put it. Still, I thought it was a fascinating remnant of lore, and yet again, it involves St Cuthbert.

There was a wedding superstition that brides had to walk the length of the so-called petting stone just outside St Mary’s Church. If she couldn’t, the marriage would be “unfortunate”. People claimed the stone to be the pedestal of St Cuthbert’s Cross (Denham 1892: 67).

The stone is larger than you’d imagine. A photo of a bride in 1915 shows her being helped to climb onto it. A couple in 2006 re-enacted the custom for their wedding to help bless the marriage with fertility and good luck (Northern Echo 2006). There is a suggestion the stone dates back centuries. It might have been here before the monks abandoned the first priory in 875 (Undiscovered Scotland 2000-2024).

St Cuthbert is central to these Lindisfarne legends

These stories centre around St Cuthbert because he’s become so intrinsically linked with the island. It was where he was made bishop, and where he made his name. His relics ended up there at some point, and the monks took his body away when the Viking raids got bad enough.

It’s his ghost that appears most often. Other ghosts make appearances, but it’s his ghost that seems to be the one people recognise. I’m not sure how people know what he looks like, so maybe introduces himself to people. That said, people familiar with ecclesiastical art would have had more of an idea who the saints were than we do here in the 21st century.

Visiting Lindisfarne

If you are in Northumberland, I would highly recommend a visit to Lindisfarne. Remember you can only cross the causeway at low tide. Not checking the tide times catches out many drivers, who find themselves stranded when the North Sea comes in.

Check the tide times before you go. It does get very busy with tourists, so consider going outside of the peak periods. It’s worth visiting Lindisfarne Castle, which is small and compact, but really picturesque. The priory is also interesting, particularly with the Rainbow Arch. Enjoy soaking up the atmosphere.

If you are in the area, I would also recommend taking a boat trip out to Inner Farne. It’s brilliant when the puffins are there, but you can still see where St Cuthbert spent some of his time. There is also a piece of local folklore that he charmed all the demons away when he arrived, so he could live there in peace.

Have you been to Lindisfarne? What did you think? Let me know below.

References

Denham, M.A. (1892), The Denham tracts; a collection of folklore, reprinted from the original tracts and pamphlets printed by Denham between 1846 and 1859, volume 2, London: D. Nutt.

Greek Orthodox Church of Shrewsbury (2024), ‘Oswald, Martyr and King of Northumbria’, Greek Orthodox Church of Shrewsbury, https://shrewsburyorthodox.com/british-saints/oswald-martyr-and-king-of-northumbria/.

Matthews, Rupert (2009), Mysterious Northumberland, Derby: Breedon Books.

Northern Echo (2006), ‘Couple’s historic day on their island of dreams’, Northern Echo, https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7155318.couples-historic-day-island-dreams/.

Paranormal Database (2024), ‘Northumberland Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana’, Paranormal Database, https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/northumberland/nhumdata.php?pageNum_paradata=4&totalRows_paradata=161.

Reynolds, Hazel (1989), More Ghosts and Legends of Northumbria, Morpeth: Sandhill Press.

Story, Joanna (no date), ‘History of Lindisfarne Priory’, English Heritage, https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory/History/.

Undiscovered Scotland (2000-2024), ‘St Mary’s Church’, Undiscovered Scotland, https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/lindisfarne/stmarys/index.html.

Westwood, Jennifer, Simpson, Jacqueline (2005), The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England’s Legends, London: Penguin.