Learn of the heroic story of Lady Marian and the Wolfhound
Shortly after her marriage in 1607 to Sir Hugh Clotworthy, Lady Marian Langford, daughter of Sir Roger Langford of Muckamore was taking a leisurely stroll from Antrim Castle to the shores of Lough Neagh. As she stood at the water’s edge she was startled by a sharp growl from behind. On turning around, Marian was horrified by the sight of a large wolf that was about to attack, and, as the wolf lunged forward, she fainted.
Suddenly a wolfhound appeared, and a violent fight ensued between these natural enemies. As she awoke Marian saw the wolf was dead, and, lying beside her, licking her hand, was her wounded defender. The noble animal had saved her life.
The wolfhound was taken to Antrim Castle where Marian tended to its wounds, but, shortly after it had recovered, it mysteriously disappeared.
On a stormy evening some years later the deep baying of a wolfhound could be heard, and the startled Wardens of the Castle quickly lit a beacon fire on the ancient Motte only to see their enemy gathering below. A single canon shot from ‘Roaring Tatty’ was enough to repel the attack, but the mysterious hound had raised the alarm, and at dawn the occupants of the Castle saw, standing on the highest turret, the figure of a wolfhound transformed into stone.
Sceptical historians suggest that Sir Hugh Clotworthy went to extreme lengths to conceal the fact that he had commissioned a stone carving of the legendary animal in 1612 and the strenuous efforts he made to place the carving on an elevated position on the Castle turret.
The Wolfhound when placed at Antrim Forum
With companion at Clotworthy House