On the 3rd October at 1 pm the Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Anthony Rowlands, attended a short ceremony to celebrate the completion of the conservation of the Christopher Inn Succubus. Over a period of weeks during the summer the Conservator Paul Ferguson worked to preserve the wooden succubus which had suffered from water penetration. He also restored her to her original colour of devilish black.
Prof Tim Boatswain, the Chair of Conservation 50 said, It is an important achievement that another piece of St Albans' rich heritage has been conserved and this has all been made possible by donations from the public. It has been a real community effort, so many, many thanks to all those individuals and organisations that contributed. The Christopher Inn Succubus dates from the 16th or 17th century and in folklore is a demon in female form that appears in dreams to seduce men (the male counterpart to the succubus is an incubus). The purpose of such grotesques is debated but the most likely explanation for placing one outside an inn was to ward off evil spirits; so, despite her voluptuous appearance, because her goat's feet - indicating a demon - were shackled, she was a symbol that the inn was safe. A strange piece of magic in a Christian community. She was not a sign of a brothel as some mistaken guidebooks state. Conservation 50 is delighted that the Mayor could come and give official recognition to this important piece of conservation.
See Andy Lawrence's video: https://youtu.be/_kzuKZyHF2w If you want to know more about the succubuses, grotesques, gargoyles and sheela na gigs, Tim Boatswain will be giving a talk for the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (https://www.stalbanshistory.org/) on the 23 January 2024.
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