George and the Dragon - Hereford Links and Pagan Truths
- Farah Wong
- May 12
- 7 min read
Saint George’s Day is celebrated annually across England to commemorate the death of Saint George and celebrates his victory over the dragon, told in the legend George and the Dragon. Both the home of the dragon as well as the site of the mighty battle were claimed to have taken place here in Herefordshire.
George was said to be a Roman Soldier with genes that are constantly debated and claimed by one country to another, a Christian Patron Saint who was killed by the Romans for not denouncing his faith. However, further research reveals some differing and interesting information. Emperor Constantine the Great ruled the Roman Empire from 306 to 337 and is said to have been responsible for eventually shifting Christianity to be the official religion of Rome as well as establishing it in Palestine. He was thought by some historians to have founded the first official knighthood called ‘Constantinian Order of Saint George’, an interesting name to say the least. In fact, some say Constantine himself invented the character ‘George’ to use as a character/symbol to help establish his new groups in Palestine, and came up with folklore to help support his stories as he had spent a long time occupying Britain beforehand and saw how the people connected to faith through folktales - This would also make total sense as to why the nature of George’s genes/dna is claimed and argued among certain countries.
Tampering with spirituality, folklore, religion, culture and documented history enabled Rome to finally establish Authority in many places including Britain and the ever-deceiving rumours later helped fuel the crusades, the story of George was one of those fuel tanks as the Templars claimed to have fought alongside him.
However, It turns out that Saint George’s day is another pre-christian celebration that has been stolen from the Celts and reskinned, and in local folklore the tale all begins here, in “sleepy” little Herefordshire.
Brinsop Church which is dedicated to Saint George is the site of the story. There is an old Well in front of the church which the dragon called home, behind the church is a field known as ‘Lower Stanks’ which is where the legendary battle between George and the Dragon took place and inside the church are stone carvings and stained glass windows depicting George killing the dragon.
George is said to have slain the Dragon in Brinsop around 1210 and attended a Crusade in 1098, that is far in the future from his supposed death date of 303 AD. So what happened here?
When the “calendar” was introduced in this country, everything changed. The word ‘calendar’ originates from the Latin word ‘Calendarium’ which is used to describe the process of keeping track of people’s debts - so not only was the introduction of the calendar made to force taxes and monitor civilian debt, it also completely changed the dates in which things have always been remembered and celebrated.
Before these Calendars were introduced, what is now April the 23rd (Saint George’s Day) was instead the marking of the end of an incredibly important Celtic celebration held in May, Beltane - the only other religious celebration of St George is held on November the 3rd, which in the old times was the same date as the celebration of Samhain. Beltane and Samhain are directly opposite each other in the Celtic Wheel of the Year (which predates the calendar), synonymous with each other - representing the fight between light and dark, good and evil, with goodness always coming out as victorious - a celebration of the seasons and the triumph of the Sun. So now seeing that both Saint George’s Day celebrations have been put in replacement of Celtic celebrations of nature and the natural cycle of the seasons, whilst also understanding George’s story was used for religious and political propaganda, how did the symbology of George and the Dragon emerge? And why does the world-wide famous story have roots in Hereford?
Symbology for Crosses and Dragons/Serpents have been used together in Celtic symbology long before Christianity. In Celtic teachings, the Cross is used as a symbol for the sun (the crossed over lines/sections is a symbol for the divided seasons), serpents have been long used to symbolise many different things but in this case can speak to driving darkness away from the light (again, synonymous with the Celtic festivals mentioned previously).
The symbology of George was taken directly from the “pagan” Green Man (A symbol of spring, fertility, rebirth, nature) - Many old Celtic Green Man carvings can still be spotted in churches to this day. Slavic countries also have a rich history of pagan culture and evidence from their cultural sayings/phrases speaks loudly to the true origins of ‘George’ - Russia has proverbs such as “George will bring spring” and “There is no spring without George” - other countries holding very similar sayings. The Green Man symbology has always been the bringer of Spring, George is the Green Man, George is the bringer of Spring.
There is so much more proof and evidence to explore that solidifies the legend as having Celtic origins, but what of Hereford and what of the dates being insanely far from each other? Though George personified as a Roman Christian Soldier was said to be born and have died at such given dates, no dates could be true because George is a season. He is more of a spirit, essence or energy than he is a person.
The dates seems to line up more so with Roman occupation/rule and the push of religion and doctrine, the reason why the story of George fighting the dragon appears in medieval times rather than during his supposed lifespan is more than likely due to the Romans needing stories that rang true to people on a subconscious level and would rally them into wars against people that held differing beliefs, this happened all the time and the twisting and re-shaping of stories about King Arthur and Robin Hood were used in such ways too.
Many places like to lay claim to many different legends, so why is Hereford one of the places of this well-known epic dragon battle? Hereford like many places is absolutely LITTERED with hidden history, but it may be one of the most important places (if not the most) in the UK in terms of what has been lost/covered up and hidden away from the British people - Most people are unaware that Hereford was originally Welsh and that the Celtic history and ancestry is incredibly potent, the strongest Celtic tribe in all of history who managed to give an extra decade of freedom to our people before Roman rule are from Herefordshire. Yet some of the origins of Christianity in this country secretly lay here too.
In old times Hereford couldn’t be more Celtic if it tried, but over the years the Romans and new religion desecrated most of the original culture - however, we are lucky to have many incredible Celtic sacred sites left in this area today, even after all the destroying of a mass of sites and building on top of them. And although hidden, many remain alive in physicality, memory, tales, spirit and energy.
But get this, Hereford also plays a massive part in the roots of Christianity in this Country too - The first Celt/Briton to supposedly have been baptised resided in these lands, it is home to multiple of the oldest churches in the country, home to the largest chained library in world (which holds ancient religious manuscripts including the First Bible translated into English), the birth place of ‘wakes’ held after funeral processions, the location of the last witch trials in the whole of the country, the location in which our native pagans/druids/witches experienced one of the biggest slaughters in all of history and the secret British stronghold for the Knights Templar.
(I could genuinely go on but we’d be here all day so maybe I’ll leave the lists for another blog).
So then, after exploring these topics a bit deeper, is it so strange that the twisted story of George and the Dragon may have its roots here? After all, the original symbology of the Green Man would have been alive and well during pagan times, and with Hereford being the location of such Religious, Political and Royal power at the time and throughout history, it seems fitting to be the home of such a story used to confuse people and draw them away from the old ways. And so, how convenient that the Green Man is such a massive symbol in Hereford folklore and culture and can be spotted in all different forms of symbology around the whole of Herefordshire in plethora to this day - from stories to ancient carvings, nature rituals to ancient customs and architecture - this is all starting to feel purposeful. Although The Green Man is a wide-spread pagan figure, these lands are known for it’s notable presence of The Green Man symbology and it remains very connected to such. Also, just to note in regards to more links with the Dragon story - the mythology/origins of Dragons in general also started in Herefordshire, I know, insane.
Now bearing all of this in mind, and also knowing that the mass majority (if not all) churches that aren’t Celtic in origin were built on-top of ancient sacred Celtic sites, as well as the fact that Brinsop is a fortified site next to Credenhill Iron Age Hill Fort - All of this combined could most definitely speak to some form of folklore/legend taking place in old times at this location, perhaps related to the Green man and later replaced by a story about George made to control and subdue the people. Something definitely happened at that church/drinking Well, but what and when is still up for debate, all I know is there are no coincidences in life and Herefordshire is historically an incredibly strange and mysterious place.
A final note:
This year (2025), the news put out reports the day after Saint George’s Day telling people they had celebrated on the wrong day. This is because the main Church Institutions moved the date forward this year to the following week because the usual date fell within Easter Week, which they don’t want celebrated at the same time.
This is a good example of how dates still get moved around in modern times based on when Rome’s ruling class say so, it’s just a small drop in the sea of things that show we still live in the tyranny of a Medieval style ‘Roman Empire’.
Even when it’s temporary shifts that are declared, it’s another showcase of the power they lord over celebrations, the calendar, religion, history and most importantly the lives of the people. Let’s start changing this together by re-learning the knowledge and wisdom of our ancient native ancestors and sharing it, lifting the veil on what’s been and still is being hidden from us.
Happy Spring everyone, we hope you enjoy the fruits of nature and we’ll catch you on the next quest!
