Lud's Church Staffordshire

22/04/2026

Some pages from Historic Staffordshire mentioning Ludchurch
by Dent, Robert Kirkup, 1851.

22/04/2026

Hiking to Lud's Church in The Peak District, England. 19/04/26

Lud's Church or Ludchurch is a deep, moss-covered, 100-meter-long, 18-meter-deep rocky chasm located in the Peak District (Staffordshire), created by a massive gritstone landslip. Famous for its magical atmosphere, it is associated with legends of Robin Hood, the Green Knight, and Lollard worship.

Hiking to Lud's Church in The Peak District, England. 19/04/26

21/04/2026

Lud Church is also known as Traffords Leap because one Squire Trafford of Swythamley Hall, whilst hunting one day found himself on the brink of the chasm without opportunity of turning his horse and to save his life he made his horse leap across. Several hounds were killed as they failed to clear the cleft and fell upon the rocks below.

A popular superstition or legend avers that the redoubtable Friar Tuck here conducted services for Robin Hood and his merry men and it is certain that Lud Church has afforded sanctuary for outlaws and criminals.

It is also established that some of the Lollards held services and meetings for worship here during the persecutions of the reign of Henry V. At the upper end of the cleft is a cave which was used for those services of the Lollards, whose leader was Walter de Lud-Auk, and the story goes that soldiers surprised them during one of their meetings and attempted to fight their way into the cave.

Whilst the soldiers were being held at bay by Montair – a member of the sect – the rest tried to escape from the other end of the cleft. In this engagement, Alice, the beautiful daughter of Walter de Lud-Auk was shot by a bolt from a crossbow aimed by a soldier at Montair. Montair escaped to France and the rest of the Lollards were arrested. Walter de Lud-Auk died in prison.

The wooden effigy which used to commemorate Alice is said to have been the figurehead from a ship named “Swythamley” after the estate in which Lud Church is situated, which was taken after the ship was wrecked and erected in Lud Church in 1860.

Still another story claims that the figure represents Alice Lud who was shot by soldiers when they surprised a meeting of Luddites. Alice Lud was the leader of a band who met in Lud Church to make their decisions.

There have been attempts to explore the cave in which the meetings were held but falling stones have prevented any definite conclusion. The cave is estimated to have been 200 yards long and 100 yards deep.

And just one more story, about Bonny Prince Charlie. The Prince had become separated from his army owing to a delay at Manchester, and was hurrying across the moors to meet his army which was expected to be below the Roches. Darkness had fallen when he reached Swythamley and so he and his bodyguard decided to sleep in Lud Church. Waking early next morning Prince Charlie was surprised to find a beautiful girl watching him. The girl ran away as soon as she saw he had woken but, when later he made a thorough search of the cleft, he discovered to his great delight that she was Flora MacDonald who had disguised herself as a member of his bodyguard in order to be near him.

From a piece in the Sheffield Independent, 30th September 1938.

21/04/2026

Edward Bradbury’s ‘All About Derbyshire’ (1884).

19/04/2026

'A Ramble To Ludchurch' by Henry Green 1871.

Click link below to read full ebook.

19/04/2026

Hi everyone,

Here are a few photos from my visit to Ludchurch this morning. My first visit in over 10 years. 🌲🌲🌲