The Beast of Bache Pool.

In the sleepy little village of Moston which can be found by following the aptly named Dragon Lane which I found by following the A533 and is around halfway between Sandbach and Middlewich, there can be found along this lane a pool which straddles both sides of Dragon Lane and is known as Bache pool.

When I took these photos of Bache pool there were quite a few Carp fisherman lining its banks in the hope of a bite, however around four hundred years ago local people gave this pool a wide berth as it is claimed that some sort of creature resided in its depths and it is claimed that this creature, said to be a Dragon terrorised the neighbourhood.

Whether this creature was a Dragon or perhaps and Alligator or Crocodile, that being said if it was either of these it poses an even greater mystery as to how it came to be inhabiting a pool in Cheshire. Whatever was living in this pool must have made an impression on the local population as the events were recorded in an old chronicle dating back to the sixteenth century.

It is recorded that a Thomas Venables who was heir to the Venables of Kinerton who were a wealthy Cheshire family had heard of the beast and decided to set out to try to kill it, it is said that when he arrived at the pool which would have been surrounded by marshes back then, he came across the creature which was in the process of devouring a child it had caught. It is said that Thomas fired an arrow at the creature which hit it in the eye but failed to kill it so it is said that he returned with some help and other weapons and then managed to finish the beast off.

As I said previously the event was recorded in an old sixteenth century manuscript and is as follows: ‘yet chaunced a terrible dragon to remayne, and make his abode in ye lordshippe of Moston in ye sayde countie of Chester, where he devouryd all suche persons as he laid hold on, which ye said Thomas Venable heringe tell of, consyderinge the pytyfull dystruction of the people, without recoverie, who in followinge the example of the valiant Romaines . . . dyd in his owne person valiantlie and courragiouslie set on the saide dragon, where first he shotte hym throwe with an arrow, and afterwards with other weapons manfullie skew him, at which instant tyme the sayd dragon was devouringe of a child.

In the church of St Michael’s and All Saints in the nearby town of Middlewich can be found the Venables family chapel, and in it can be found a carved wooden screen which tends to support the story. The screen at the present time is not on display and is kept beneath the church tower, however it will be on display sometime in the future. The screen shows a carved dragon which has a young child in its jaws, not only was Thomas Venables rewarded for his courage in killing the beast but the Venables family adopted the dragon and child as their family crest, so whatever occurred all those years ago and whatever creature was killed must have made an impact on the local population and the Venables family for it to have been duly recorded.