PRN 64149 "A solitary house, situated on the Hermen Street [Ermine Street], or High Dike road, at the intersection of the road leading from Sleaford to Newark, and at the north-west boundary of this parish [North Rauceby - although this does not fit the layout of the map], has been represented by the credulous as the residence of a witch who punished everyone that, either from accident or curiosity, approached her cave. Another story which is told of this personage is the taking of a prodigious leap on a horse called Bayard, hence the name of the place - Bayard's Leap. The holes in which the horse's feet are said to have rested are still kept open, and Dr Stukeley makes mention of them in his Itinerarium Curiousum, but supposes them to be nothing more than the boundaries of four parishes." {1} An expanded version of this tale is given in Ethel Rudkin's 1936 book on Lincolnshire folklore, which also includes photographs of the horseshoes. In this version of the story, three leaps are made by the horse, and the witch is accompanied by an old soldier who kills her and the horse. In this account the witch is also named (Old Meg) and it is said that she had two children or cubs although they do not appear to take part in the events of the story. {3} Some authors have conjectured that the spot (Bayard's Leap) may have been a place where tournaments were held, on place-name evidence (there are tournament sites near Oxford and in Northamptonshire called Bayard's Green). {1}{2}