Stratford Lyon

 



The Stratford Lyon is a local legend from New Forest, an area in the southwest of England. It rests somewhere between folklore and cryptid, with people reportedly seeing the beast in modern times, but it’s hard to tell how serious these encounters are.


Legend has it that in the early 1500’s a local aristocrat named John Stratford was walking the land he had newly inherited. While travelling his land he spotted some antlers sticking out of the ground. They were magnificent, huge antlers. So John Stratford tried to pull them out of the ground. As he pulled he saw that the antlers were attached to fur, then a lion’s head and finally the whole lion’s body emerged.


The lion was furious and lunged at Stratford. He hung onto the antlers for dear life, narrowly dodging the lion’s swipes at him. As the lion struggled Stratford jumped on its back. The lion bucked and fought back but Stratford hung on and refused to be removed. With Stratford on its back, the lion ran around New Forest and the village of South Baddesley three times, perfectly tracing out the borders of Stratford’s inherited land. When even this wouldn’t dislodge Stratford the lion relented. It pledged its undying loyalty to Stratford and his family. From that point on the lion would be seen on the days of births and deaths in the Stratford family, as well as anytime the family had cause for great cheer or sadness, such as weddings, illnesses, successful business deals or losses.


As far as legends giving landowners supernatural legitimacy over their land, this one’s a little over the top.


There’s a pub in town, called the Red Lion, were the legend of the Stratford Lyon is still told. People often share stories of their encounters with the lion. These mostly consist of them walking home from the pub and seeing the silhouette of a great antlered beast off in the distance, or a pair of golden glowing eyes in the darkness. Legend has it that long after the Stratford family lost relevance in the area, the lion still guards their land.


Sources


https://anomalien.com/the-strange-case-of-the-stratford-lyon/


https://listverse.com/2024/12/05/ten-mythical-english-beasts-guaranteed-to-keep-you-awake-at-night/


https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Stratford_Lyon



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