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St Mary's, Kington, sits on a hill overlooking the border market town, and inside the church lie clues to one of the area's most famous folk tales.听

Thomas Vaughan was a 15th century lord who was killed at the Battle of Banbury in 1469, whilst supporting the Yorkist cause.

Tradition says he was an incredibly evil man, although the lack of documentary evidence backing this up leads many to believe his nickname of 'Black Vaughan' may easily be attributable to his black hair, rather than his demeanour.

According to local legend, after his headless body was brought back and buried in Kington, Black Vaughan was a restless spirit who wreaked havoc amongst the townsfolk after his death.

Legend has him appearing in many forms, namely as a fly which tormented horses, a dog and a huge black bull that entered the church.

Eventually 12 local clergymen were summoned to lay the spirit - despite encountering difficulties during the ceremony, they are alleged to have shrunken the spirit of Vaughan, sealed it in a snuff box and buried it beneath a large stone in the bottom of Hergest Pool.听听

Like all folklore, the amount of fact contained in the story is difficult to assess, but the power of the Vaughan legend lives on, and a visitor to the church in recent times witnessed a bull like apparition form in the air.

Ironically, the visitor was a distant relative of Thomas Vaughan!

The tomb of the Vaughan's

The magnificent alabaster and marble tomb of Thomas and Ellen Vaughan can be seen in the side chapel, immediately to your right as you enter the church.听

The tomb is surrounded by figures of saints and angels on all four sides and features elaborate effigies of Thomas and Ellen.

The effigies are highly detailed although unfortunately there has been some damage to Lady Vaughan鈥檚 feet and to the dog lying at the feet of Thomas Vaughan.听

The craftsmanship shown on Lady Vaughan's hands, and her husband's chain mail and boots, are worth close attention.

The Vaughan's legacy continues with the story of the black dog of Hergest Court, a companion to Thomas Vaughan which is believed to have had its own room at the top of the house.

The dog is said to have haunted generations of the Vaughan family ever since, appearing before them to signify imminent death.听

It's widely thought that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles on the tales of the black dog and, as he did stay at Hergest Court and had heard of the nearby Baskerville family from Eardisley, then maybe the story is based on fact.

The people of Dartmoor in Devon aren't too keen on Herefordshire's attempts to claim their famous tale though!