Retold in our own words from William Henderson’s Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties (1879) · Published 31 October 2026
The story
Literature A king left his daughter, the Lady Margaret, in charge of Bamborough Castle while he went to fetch a new queen. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Literature The new queen was jealous of Margaret’s beauty and witched her into a loathsome worm. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Literature The worm lived at Spindleston Heugh. It was so poisonous that for seven long miles around nothing green would grow. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Literature Her brother, the Childe of Wynde, built a ship with masts of rowan-tree wood, so the queen’s witch-wives could not sink it. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Literature He landed on the sands of Budle. The worm asked him to lay down his sword and give her ‘kisses three’. He did, and out stepped a lady: his sister. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Literature The wicked queen was changed into a toad. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
A Border favourite
Tradition The Laidley Worm story was ‘exceedingly popular’ in the Borders. Walter Scott did not print it in his Minstrelsy because it was so like the ballad ‘Kempion’. William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1879), chapter 8, Wikisource ↗
Notice that this worm is not killed. Unlike most dragon tales, this one ends with a spell broken by kindness. Bamborough is the old spelling of Bamburgh in Northumberland.
Follow the thread
Retellings are in our own words. Every sentence above carries a label (History, Literature or Tradition) and a link to the source it was checked against. A legend is not a historical record.
Source method & more reading ↗