I have read about the story of John Schorne who was the rector of North Marston in Bucks from 1290 until his death in 1314. He came to fame because of the stories of his abilities to conjure the devil into a boot and exorcise evil. In life he was a very religious man and various folkloric miracles came to be attributed to him. Although he was never canonised as a saint, many came to venerate his relics and it was believed that he could cure you of gout amongst many other ailments. There are various nods to his fame in the village including a holy well which has its own boot with a devil which pops up. Some claim that this is where the jack-in-a-box toy originated. If I am ever up that way I shall seek it out. However, my chance to see some Schorne related material arrived sooner than I expected with a surprise within Sherborne Museum.
This wall painting [c1480] was discovered under many layers of wallpaper in Tudor Rose Cottage in 1962. The condition isn't marvellous, but with the eye of faith you can just about make out the boot and devil. the modern interpretation by James Gibb gives you a much better idea.
You might quite rightly wonder what the link is between Dorset and Buckinghamshire, for that's not John Schorne you're looking at. That fellow is Richard Beauchamp who was the Bishop of Salisbury from 1450-1481. He realised that Schorne was quite the hit with the pilgrims and sought permission from the pope to have his remains moved to the newly enlarged and redecorated St George's Chapel in Windsor [Beauchamp was also the Dean of Windsor]. Sherborne was part of the diocese of Salisbury.
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