| THE LAMBTON
WORM According to legend, the countryside around
Penshaw was once terrorised by a hideous monster called the Lambton Worm. Apparently, the
creature (as a tiny worm) was caught in the River Wear by John, the young heir of Lambton
Castle, and thrown in to a nearby well. The years passed and John went on Crusade to the
Holy Land, On his return, he was horrified to find that the tiny worm had grown into an
enormous beast, with a ravenous appetite that in included swallowing small children alive.
Although John managed to kill it with the help of wise old witch, he failed to obey her
strict conditions and brought a curse down on the Lambton family - that for nine
generations none of its chiefs would die in their bed. |
|
PENSHAW MONUMENT Prominently sited on the top of a hill, five kms. (Three
miles) Northeast of Lambton Castle in County Durham, the Penshaw Monument was erected in
1844 to commemorate the radical statesman John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, who
died in 1840. Paid for by public subscription,its design was based on the Temple of
Theseum in Athens, although half its size. 
