Jack-In-The-Box

Ask Laurel to see this piece live on a Facebook broadcast !

The Jack-In-The-Box is from a folklore. In the 14th Century, rector Sir John Schorne of Buckinghamshire cast the devil into a boot to protect the village of North Marston, Buckinghamshire.

Sir John Schorne was revered as a saint (although he was never officially canonized by the Pope) by striking his staff to the ground and conjuring the devil into a boot. The shrine of Sir Schorne’s death at Chertsey Abbey is the third most popular pilgrimages of his cult followers.

It became known locally as ‘Saint John Schorne’. His water well became the center of his cult pilgrimages to worship. The waters are said to cure illnesses. Even though he was never canonized by the Pope, the popularity of Sir Schorne’s shrine caused the Pope to give permission for Schorne’s relics to be translated to the chapel at Windsor Castle at the request of King Edward IV.

The well, as with many holy sites across England, did not fare well through the Reformation and prevailing anti-Catholic sentiment across the kingdom. A sign at the well attests to it having fallen into disrepair by the 1800s and, after a local woman slipped in and drowned, it was sealed up.

The well was reopened and restored with a brand new pump house and trough. In a nice touch, beside the trough is a metal boot. As you pump water into the trough, a little red devil gradually pops out of the boot to say hello. This is the origins of and tribute of the Jack-in-the-Box.