from Benedict’s Pool
by Fred Archer
“Behind the monastery at the foot of Bredon Hill, enclosed by two copices, lies Benedict’s Pool. Few villagers fish from the dark pond, nor will they visit it on moonlit nights, for it is said to be haunted by a mysterious lady in white.
You can see the fortifications of an Iron Age camp on the summit; Roman coins and pottery have been turned up by the plough; and remains of mutilated skeletons found – evidence of a bloody battle before the Roman invasion. The spirits of the ancient soldiers – Briton, Roman and Saxon – are thought to live on in the beech trees, and the sound of men marching has been heard from under the soil.”