Saint Brendan's Pilgrims
Dave Shipman
A few weeks ago,in the early hours just after dawn I was out walking with the dog and a visiting relative around the Maiden Castle area.Through the rising mist we came across a strange group of middle- aged men,hunched over the bridge parapet in what appeared to be a high level of distress.They were all extremely red-faced ,breathless and two of the group appeared close to collapse.
Upon further investigation - my relative is in the medical profession so insisted that he could not pass by without enquiring after their welfare - the group hesitantly revealed that they were disciples of an obscure religious sect,devoted to Saint Brendan the Fat of Gateshead,and explained that their worship involved them in secret meetings every Saturday at which they would attempt to emulate Saint Brendan's example of running long distances ,spitting ,swearing and getting fat and red-faced.I had never heard of such a cult but apparently these individuals had been worshipping in this way for over 25 years,as evidenced by their fading garments,which all featured ancient pictures and text ,which they explained were records of previous acts of devotion stretching back over the decades.Only one of the group had a somewhat different appearance,being of much slimmer build and not in any apparent distress or discomfort ,but it was quickly pointed out that he had broken away to follow a breakaway sect ,that of Saint Steve of Jarrow,or "Crammie" to his worshippers.
Seemingly the focus in that church was more on the running aspects than on getting fat and red faced,with public worship ( which he called racing -,not a term I was familiar with ) on a regular basis.However, the latter disciple was still allowed to join the group occassionally because of their shared origins,and because they felt sorry for him as he had a strange accent ,having originally journeyed to worship at Maiden Castle from the other side of the world.
One of the devotees explained that commitment to the cause had declined over the years,originally they had met for worship nearly every day and several admitted that time spent aspiring to live according to Saint Brendan's code had inevitably taken its toll on relationships ,employment prospects and involvement in wider aspects of society.Strangely , eventhough they could all provide examples of such suffering they did not appear to have any regrets and complained that younger worshippers took a more occassional ,less commited approach to worship.There was much talk of an annual mass gathering,where thousands of disciples follow the pilgrims trail from Newcastle to South Shields,but one of the group spoke disparagingly,alleging that some people were demeaning the pilgrimage by just turning up on the day with no preparation and no commitment or immersion in the wider aspects of the sect.Others were using the pilgrimage for their own ends,looking for enjoyment,wearing frivilous costume,or even seeking donations for their own cause,rather than focusing on getting to the shrine at South Shields in as short a time as possible.
After several minutes of what looked like resting and getting ones breath back ,but which the devotees called interval worship and contemplation,the group moved slowly off towards the Dun Cow and the Church of the Half Moon,gradually fading into the mist.Despite revisiting Maiden Castle several times I have never seen them again.The member of my family remains astonished by what he witnessed and still cannot believe the physical extremes the cult members pushed themselves to in their devotion.If such a thing does indeed exist he still hopes to witness the annual pilgrimage at some stage,has even contemplated attempting to gain entry and participate,despite my advising him otherwise.Until then ,if anyone out there has had a similar encounter with such strange devotees I would be grateful for any further information which would explain and illuminate their activities in more detail.
