Headless Bears in the River Lea (near Hackney Marshes)

[SheilaNaGig]

Phantom Or Flesh: Bears in London -

Over the last few weeks a few strange whispers have emerged from the woods of Wanstead concerning the possible sighting of a bear-like creature

www.thelondonword.com

steven farmer

i was born and grew up in the wier house at the sight the bears were pulled from the river my dad in fact helped the police pull one bears from the river it was one of the worst thing i have ever seen i was only eleven at the time.
as for tommy murray i new him well and if he saw a real bear then im a monkeys uncle

 

[SheilaNaGig]

Huh. Interesting. Headless bears have been part of the folklore for a very long time.

What is a Headless Bear? - Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog

There are many different kinds of British bogeys, but one of the oldest attested is the fearsome ‘headless bear’? The most famous record of this monster is, without any question, Shakespeare in Midsummer Night’s Dream: Sometime a horse I’ll be, sometime a hound, A hog, a headless bear, sometime...

www.strangehistory.net

The Headless Bear and the Woman Who Became a Hoop - Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog

Headless bears must be one of the strangest of all British bogeys. Where do they come from, what do they mean? This is a question for another day. But here is the single most detailed account of an encounter with one. The events described too place 9 May 1584 in the house of one Stephen […]

www.strangehistory.net

Simon Davies: “Headless Bear News”

Simon F. Davies University of Sussex The Adventures of the Headless Bear and Other Reprinted News in Early Modern England ABST...

appositions.blogspot.com

 

[SheilaNaGig]

Cave explorers found a 20,000 year-old statue of a headless bear – Historical articles and illustrations

This edited article about exploration originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 357 published on 16 November 1968. Casteret and Godin realised they were looking at a statue fashioned by cave-dwellers over 20,000 years ago, by Paul Rainer When the villagers of Montespan learnt of the...

www.lookandlearn.com

Then the pot-holer literally stumbled over a strange formation of clay which was to become world-famous. He stooped to examine it, and saw that it was a statue of a headless bear. He knew enough about archaeology to realise that the statue must have been fashioned by cave-dwellers some 20,000 years previously!

The bear was three feet high and four feet long, and it crouched with a forepaw outstretched. From the spear wounds on its body, it was obvious that it had been used as an effigy by the hunters of the time, who “killed” it to bring them good luck in their quest for bears and bison.

For a while the two men could not understand why the statue had no head, but then they realised that the head of a real bear had once rested on the clay shoulders.

[putting this here so I can find it again...
The bear and cavebear in fact, myth and legend. ]

 

[dessiato]

This has reminded me of the day four lions got out from a circus in Grimsby. A friend of mine was in the area at the time and refused to believe the people telling him to get out of the area. Not knowing he was walking towards them he strolled off to the pub where he was locked in until they were recaptured.
Last half of the article: Famous Chipperfield circus refused a licence to perform in England

 

[bellaozzydog]

Great thread

 

[TopCat]

Ron ALF kept a bear in his Homerton Garden in the early 80's.

 

[blossie33]

Edge of the Orison

In Edge of the Orison the visionary Iain Sinclair walks in the steps of poet John ClareIn 1841 the poet John Clare fled an asylum in Epping Forest and walked eighty miles to his home in Northborough. He was searching for his lost love, Mary Joyce - a woman three years dead ... In 2000 Iain...

books.google.co.uk

View attachment 241204

I've never heard anything about the bears but there is a chapter mentioning John Clare in Will Ashton's book which is primarily about Epping Forest.

 

[marty21]

I remember it. I was one of the 2 PCs that were sent to confirm that two bodies were floating in the canal next to the lockkeepers cottage. at the top of Millfields. At first we couldn't determine that they weren't human because they were skinned and headless. Where the paws had been skinned they looked like fingers and toes. They were both bandy legged and heavy chested. You might think " How can a copper not tell whether something is human " but believe me bodies look very peculiar when they've been in the water for some time. Often bloated and bandy. However we called a police surgeon who thought they were animal but he didn't know what type. We couldn't get close to the bodies so we kept them pulled in to the side with a pair of barge poles. Eventually it was confirmed that they were bears. Enquiries were made at the circus which was nearby but there was no evidence that they had anything to do with it. the most probable theory was that it was the work of a taxidermist, but that was just a guess. However somewhere someone was missing two bears. You would think that someone would notice. Then a while later ( I can't recall whether it was days or weeks ) a young boy reported a sighting of a bear on the marshes. It was taken seriously because of the two bodies that had been found in the canal. So a thorough search of the marshes was undertaken and a helicopter was used. No spoor was found so it was concluded that the lad was mistaken. A few months later I became the homebeat officer covering Millfields and Chatsworth Road. I got to know the lad who had reported the sighting of the bear and I am pretty sure it was a hoax that went too far and that he was scared to admit it when he saw the amount of police that had been deployed. I hope this helps even if it is 15 years after your original post.

Wow , I have a vague memory of this , I was on Hackney Marshes at lunch time , and I didn't see any bears.

 

[Sue]

Wow , I have a vague memory of this , I was on Hackney Marshes at lunch time , and I didn't see any bears.

Massive FAIL, marty21 .

 

[marty21]

Massive FAIL, marty21 .

I've not let myself down, I've let you down.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

You've let me down too marty21

 

[pseudonarcissus]

This has reminded me of the day four lions got out from a circus in Grimsby. A friend of mine was in the area at the time and refused to believe the people telling him to get out of the area. Not knowing he was walking towards them he strolled off to the pub where he was locked in until they were recaptured.
Last half of the article: Famous Chipperfield circus refused a licence to perform in England

I love this photo...

PC...."there are LIONS on the loose....what do we do?"
Sarg..."Send in the clowns....with chairs"

 

[Sue]

That is a great pic, pseudonarcissus .

 

[TopCat]

Ron ALF kept a bear in his Homerton Garden in the early 80's.

He really did. Ronnie Webb ifrc. The special branch had the entire next door house, wired for eavesdropping and filming of comings and goings.

The bear was rescued (or robbed depending on your view) from a circus. Ronnie was the national spokesman for the ALF and was meant to keep his nose clean.

I heard he had the biggest most bear suitable garden of the ALF types and his comrades guilted him into taking the bear.

He tried to feed it a vegan diet initially but the bear wasnt having it. Ronnie had to compromise hugely and fed it meat to keep it from being moody and bellowing in the back garden.

Anyway for a time all was well in Homerton. The special branch thought they were almost on the cassette bomb makers they lusted after. The bear was settling in and Ronnie kept bashing out the ALF press releases.
I heard that later that summer (1985 or 6?) the bear got restless and turned on his little bearded protector. Ronnie was paranoid to fuck and the bear was lead out in the night and chained to a Homerton street tree where it was discovered the next morning.

The special branch knew all about it obviously but wanted Ronnie for much more than nicking a bear. They got him soon after. He did years in prison.

Now it turns out the actual cassette bomber was a SDS copper. Odd all around really.

 

[co-op]

I remember stories of a Bear in the marshes, but put it down to being an urban myth.

They do say as Black Shuck roams down into Essex time to time. But e don’t like cities much.

stares weirdly

 

[James G]

Nobody should be surprised at these bizarre happenings in Hackney and Homerton. Hackney is a place where strange off the wall things just happen. I was on patrol in Morning lane one morning and had to arrest a customer at Doreen's pet shop for cruelty to a budgie. Doreen was having a run in with an aggressive customer. The lady was screaming at Doreen for a refund on a puppy she had bought from Doreen the day before. She said that the puppy had cried all night so she wanted a refund. Doreen explained that puppies do that for the first couple of nights. The customer wasn't having it but finally calmed down and said that if Doreen gave her £5 and a budgie she could take the dog back. At this Doreen became quite keen on a deal as she would be quids in. The dog had been sold for much more. While I stood by to prevent a breach of the peace Doreen took the puppy and handed over £5 and a budgie in a tiny box. As soon as Doreen handed over the budgie the customer threw the budgie on to the floor and jumped on it. I grabbed the customer to arrest her but she was extreemly violent and dragged me holding on to her ankle into the chip shop next door. Finally she was put into a police van whilst half the neighbourhood chased the van to get to her because rumour had spread around that she had jumped on the puppy not a budgie. Once at Hackney Police Station I had to take her before the custody Sergeant who told her that he would charge her and put her before the Beak ( Magistrate) on Monday and that she should expect to do a bit of bird ( Prison time). As a postscript years later Doreen eventually opened a pet shop in Romford and was prosecuted for cruelty to animals when puppies were found dead in her shop fridge having died of Parvo Virus.

 

[pinkmonkey]

There’s been some weird stuff chucked in the cut there. The weirdest thing we ever found in the Lea was dozens boxes of exam answers. Can't explain that! When they dredged before the Olympics, even more things were found including dozens of safes and weapons. Unfortunately people drown, too, a friend of ours, when she owned the coal boat was unfortunate enough to find the body of a New Years Eve raver, who had failed to return home after the party. That was a grim discovery, especially as he’d been missing for three weeks.

 

[James G]

I recall searching in the Hackney archives years ago and found references to a Viking raid along the Thames and up the River Lea disembarking somewhere in the vicinity of Millfields and fighting a minor battle where Powerscroft Road is now situated. That wasn't the last knife fight in Powescroft Road. That area is steeped in History. Hmm... I wonder if they left any Norwegian bears behind ??

 

[blossie33]

Yes, I believe you're right about the Vikings coming up the River Lea, John Rogers who does walks around the area has mentioned it a few times.

 

[bellaozzydog]

I somehow meandered into this book after googling Hackney marshes

Marshland, by Gareth E. Rees

I had no idea what to expect and it kept me on my toes.

a weird mix of pedestrian straightness clashing with trippy psychogeography, ghosts, environmental sorrow and industrial demolition

worth a read just to see where the fuck the next chapter takes you

 

[blossie33]

That sounds interesting!
I don't want to pay the full price for it though, will have a look to see if Hackney libraries have it or wait for a second hand copy

 

[blossie33]

I somehow meandered into this book after googling Hackney marshes

Marshland, by Gareth E. Rees

I had no idea what to expect and it kept me on my toes.

a weird mix of pedestrian straightness clashing with trippy psychogeography, ghosts, environmental sorrow and industrial demolition

worth a read just to see where the fuck the next chapter takes you

Further to my post above, I've looked on the internet a few times for a used copy at a reasonable price but today I found it in a charity shop, quite by chance, for £3