The Pollard Brawn

His future looked bleak, for he owned no land, had no prospects of promotion and the idea of marrying a rich lady of good family was only something he could dream about.

Word had reached Richard that the Prince Bishop was offering a reward to anyone who was successful in slaughtering a wild boar which was rampaging across the Bishop’s estates at Evenwood and Copley, close to Bishop Auckland.

Armed with several short spears, Richard set out to kill the beast. A fearsome fight ensued between man and beast. First Richard had the upper hand, then the tables turned, and the boar
looked set to succeed. Finally, with a throw of his last spear, the battle was won. The boar sank to its knees in death.

With his last remaining strength, Richard bent over the boar, cut out its tongue as a souvenir and tucked it into his pocket. Exhausted from the battle, Richard sat down beneath a tree close to the boar’s body, and promptly fell asleep.

Sadly for Richard, whilst he slept, his recently slain quarry caught the eye of two men passing by.

They, too, knew about the Prince Bishop’s promise of a reward for slaying the animal, and without hesitation, they stole the carcass, carried it to Auckland Palace and presented their “catch” to the Prince Bishop. The thieves were duly rewarded for their success in slaying the horrid beast.

Richard by this time had woken up, realised what had happened and went as quickly as possible to the castle to see if he could right the wrong done to him. He approached the high table where the Bishop sat, argued his case and said he had upon his person something which would prove his side of the story.

He unwrapped the missing tongue of the boar.

The Bishop was astonished, but the reward was due and had to be honoured, announcing that his reward would be the amount of land which Richard could walk around whilst the Bishop and his household finished their meal.

Ten minutes later, the young warrior returned to the hall to the astonishment of the Bishop.

Asked what land he had managed to walk around, Richard smugly replied that he had walked around the castle walls and so now claimed his reward!

There was no way the Bishop of Durham was going to relinquish his castle but he had to admit that Richard had outwitted him. As an alternative, he awarded the young soldier withfertile land on the north side of Bishop Auckland which thus became known as Pollard’s Lands.