How did a witch’s cauldron end up in a Frensham church?

In the shadowy nave of a small village church in Surrey sits a battered medieval cauldron – but how it came to be there is shrouded in mystery.

It is thought the copper vessel was brought to the church of St Mary the Virgin in Frensham from Waverley Abbey when the monastery was dissolved by Thomas Cromwell in 1536.

But there is another more spooky theory that it was borrowed from a white witch named Mother Ludlam, who is said to have lived in a cave near the church.

Mother Ludlam would loan household items to people on the understanding they were returned in two days, but became furious when the cauldron was never brought back.

Jane Walker, the vicar at St Mary’s, said: “A gentleman asked to borrow it from Mother Ludlam.

“The man did not return it and Mother Ludlam flew into a rage. They came here for sanctuary and left it in a sacred place.

“It’s purported the man was so scared that he came here and died, which is why the cauldron stayed here.”

Rev Walker explained that her predecessors did not share her enthusiasm for the story around the cauldron.

“They didn’t understand that this is a part of history, it’s totally part of the history of this church, but these things are artefacts,” she said.

“The Church of England has many artefacts within its walls and we have to work with these stories and understand that ancient things are wonderfully precious to have.”

But where does the reverend believe the cauldron really came from?

“I think if the walls could talk, they might say something, but we believe it was made to make beer in the Dark Ages to keep people safe, as the alcohol killed the bugs in the water,” she said.