Object 1
This wildcat represents a popular piece of local folklore: the Legend of the Cat and the Man. According to the myth, during the 15th-century, a knight called Sir Percival Cresacre was travelling home from Doncaster to his home at Barnburgh Hall. As he trekked through Sprotbrough and High Melton, he was attacked by a wildcat. They fought, and Sir Cresacre ran back to Barnburgh with the cat chasing after him. The man and the cat continued their struggle, and Sir Creascre tried to shelter in St Peter’s Church. However, the fight was so fierce that he collapsed and died in the church’s porch, crushing the cat to death against the porch wall with his feet as his final act.
There is little evidence to suggest that this tale is anything more than a myth, especially as Sir Percival Cresacre wasn’t even alive at the time that this story is supposed to have taken place! However, the stone floor of the porch is still a faint red colour, and there is a statue of a cat in the church, so some people think that there may be some truth to it! What do you think?