Saturday, 25th May 2024
An Illustrated talk by Wayne Perkins, followed by a perambulation of the remains of Binham Priory
The legend states;
Sir John Schorne, Gentleman Borne,
Conjured the Devil in A Boot!
The folk saint is referred to under many titles, such as Sir (used to address a Parish priest) / Master/ Magister (he was a Doctor of Divinity) / Dominus (Latin for ‘master’) / John /Johannes Schorne / Schorn (now usually spelt without the ‘e’).
He was the Rector at The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, North Marston but his fame grew far and wide and there was a shrine dedicated to John Schorn at Binham Priory.
John Schorn is one of England’s most enigmatic ‘folk’ saints. Paintings on Medieval Rood Screens show him carrying a boot containing a small devil which, apparently, he made appear/disappear as symbol of his power.
‘Master,’ ‘Maister’ or ‘Sir’ John Schorn(e), Rector of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, was reputed to have exhibited miraculous powers for healing sickness in both humans and animals.
During a major drought, he is said to have struck the ground with his staff from which a spring gushed forth. The spring became a holy well and water was said to be excellent for curing the ‘ague’ (malaria) and gout!
Following his death in the 14th century, his shrine became the third most popular pilgrimage destination after Canterbury & Walsingham yet, mysteriously, he remained uncanonised. A number of wayside Inns held the name ‘The Boot’ as pilgrims made their way to and from North Marston on their way to Canterbury. Schorn’s ‘Territory of Grace’ is said to have encapsulated the whole of the south-east England and beyond. His fame reached an apogee when his relics were ‘translated to Windsor to help finance the building of St George’s chapel, late in the 15th century.
This talk sheds light upon the psychogeography of the pilgrims’ mythic landscape at and around the Shorn shrine. Both architectural and archaeological evidence is brought to bear wherein a corpus of graffiti collected at the parish church illustrates the devotion of the pilgrims.
Finally, it asks two questions –
- was his reputation based upon a misinterpretation of his Cult object (the boot containing the Devil)?
- and, ‘where now lie the bones of John Schorn?’
Wayne Perkins
February 2024
Binham Priory
Binham Priory is among the most complete and impressive monastic ruins in Norfolk. This Benedictine priory was founded in 1091 by Peter des Valoines, a nephew of William the Conqueror. Many of its priors were unscrupulous and the history of the priory is one of almost continuous scandal.
The nave of the priory church, with its splendid 13th century west front and fine tiers of Norman arches, is now the parish church, and displays the former rood screen with medieval saints overpainted with Protestant texts. The extensive ruins beyond emphasise the original size of the monastery (English Heritage Website)
Binham Priory
Champion, M (2011) Article on Graffiti at Binham Priory
English Heritage
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/binham-priory
Lionheart Replicas
https://www.lionheartreplicas.co.uk/Pilgrim-Badges/P40-John%20Shorne,%20Windsor.html
MJC Associates: Short History of Binham Priory
Ritual Protection Marks & Ritual Practices 