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Said to be from the helmet of one of the Tyrwhitts of Stainfield.

One of Lincolnshire's legends tells of a wild man (aka Wood Wose) who lived in the woods near Stainfield. The story appears in Folklore around Horncastle (1915) by Revd James Alpas Penny, who writes that in Stainfield church is the helmet of one of the Tyrwhitts of Stainfield, with the family crest of a wild man with a dagger. He recounts the legend that one Francis Tyrwhitt-Drake was promised all the land in Stainfield if he could kill the wild man who had terrorised the district. The wild man, so the story goes says, was asleep on a bank by a pit, but his presence had disturbed a plover’s nest. The parent birds made such a noise that they attracted the attention of Tyrwhitt-Drake as he rode by. As he lay asleep, Drake ran the wild man through with his sword, though the man got up and chased him before dropping dead. Interestingly the word ‘Tyrwhitt’ is an old English name for a peewit (or lapwing). The Tyrwhitt-Drake coat of arms henceforth featured three peewits to commemorate the great victory.

A variation of this story, set in the 12th century, identifies the wild man as a Stainfield nobleman who had been away fighting in the Crusades for so long that when he returned he found he had been dispossessed. He went on to live in the woods, where he became so dangerous that Drake-Tyrwhitt was forced to kill him. It has been suggested that the story was put about to explain the relics in St Andrews belonging to the Tyrwhitt family, which included tattered cloth hanging from the wall reputed to be the wild man's clothing, and the dagger, gloves, and helmet said to belong to the man who killed him. In fact, the rags were the tattered remnants of the three banners embroidered by the ladies of the Tyrwhitt family, now in the care of the Archives Office in Lincoln. According to another variation on the legend the wildman was killed by a band of farmers incensed that their livestock was being taken and their families terrorised. The farmers, who went on to be known as "The Hardy Gang", trapped and killed the wildman in a wood between Langton and Stainfield. See Link and Link

A "replica" of the wildman lurks menacingly in the corner of the otherwise charming church, along with a quilt depicting him - see TF1173 : The Wild Man of Stainfield, Stainfield church.