Lud's Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lud's Church |
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Lud's Church in June 2016
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 Location in Staffordshire
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| Location | Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire, England |
| OS grid | SJ987656 |
| Coordinates | 53°11′16″N 2°1′14″W / 53.18778°N 2.02056°W |
| Topo map | OS Outdoor Leisure OL24 |
Lud's Church (also called Ludchurch) is a really deep crack in the ground. It's found in the Staffordshire Moorlands in England. This amazing natural feature is like a giant split in the rock. It was formed by a huge landslide.
This chasm is located in a forest called Back Forest. It's on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Lud's Church is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) west of the A53 road. This road runs between the towns of Leek and Buxton.
The chasm is over 100 meters (330 feet) long. It is also about 18 meters (60 feet) deep. Most of the hillside here has slipped forward towards the River Dane. Lud's Church is often covered in moss and plants. It stays wet and cool, even on very hot days.
Contents
How Lud's Church Was Formed
The Geology Behind the Chasm
Lud's Church was created in a thick layer of rock. This rock is a type of sandstone called the Roaches Grit. This rock layer slopes down towards the northeast. The area has many natural cracks and lines of weakness. These are called faults and fracture planes. They run roughly from northwest to southeast.
There are also weaker layers of mudstone within the rock. A large section of the Roaches Grit rock slid downhill along these weak spots. It moved towards the Dane Valley. This movement caused the deep, open crack we see today. Scientists believe this landslide happened after the last ice age.
The History of Lud's Church
A Secret Meeting Place
Lud's Church has an interesting place in history. It is linked to a group called the Lollards. These were followers of John Wycliffe, who wanted to change the church. In the early 15th century, the Lollards were not allowed to practice their beliefs freely. They were often persecuted for their religion.
It is believed that the Lollards used Lud's Church as a secret place to worship. This hidden chasm offered them a safe spot. Some say Lud's Church might be named after Walter de Ludank. He was supposedly caught here during one of their secret meetings.
The Lady Lud Figurehead
For a time, a wooden figurehead stood in a high spot above the chasm. A figurehead is a carved figure, usually from the front of a ship. This one came from a ship called the Swythamley. Philip Brocklehurst, who owned the land, placed it there around 1862.
The figurehead was known as 'Lady Lud'. It was thought to remember the death of a Lollard preacher's daughter. This adds to the mysterious stories surrounding Lud's Church.
Climbing and Nature
In the 20th century, people started climbing the sides of the chasm. Many climbing routes were created here. However, climbing is now discouraged at Lud's Church. This is to protect the delicate plants that grow on the damp rock faces. The area is home to many unique lower plants.
Legends of Lud's Church
The Green Chapel Connection
Lud's Church is also famous for its connection to an old story. For many years, experts studied a medieval poem called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They finally agreed that the poem's language came from the North-West Midlands. This area is near the border of Staffordshire and Cheshire.
In 1958, a scholar named R. W. V. Elliot suggested something exciting. He thought that Lud's Church could be "The Green Chapel" from the poem. This is where the story's main character, Sir Gawain, faces a big challenge. Elliot wrote many essays explaining how the local landscape matched parts of the poem. His ideas were later put into a book in 1984. Other scholars also supported the idea that "The Green Chapel" was in this area.
