|
Several
parts of the county lay claim to their own devilish
tales - hardly surprising when you consider his role
in the basic premise of good versus evil.
At
Warminster, he appeared in the form of a hare during
the public execution of two men in the town.
In
the nearby village of Longbridge Deverill, he showed
up on Palm Sunday as a black dog and in Blunsdon, near
Swindon the Devil has been seen taking the shape of
a crow.
It
seems that the Devil really had it in for various Wiltshire
towns and villages.
The
most famous story concerning Beelzebub and his devilish
antics involves Silbury Hill, near Avebury.
The
story goes that the Devil was on his way to Marlborough
to bury the townspeople under a huge pile of earth but
luckily he was distracted by the magical mystics of
Avebury who managed to persuade the Devil to drop his
load just outside the henge - where Silbury is today.
Cley
Hill near Warminster is associated with a similar tale
concerning the Devil - but this time it was the do-gooders
of Devizes who were on the Devil's burial list.
On
this occasion, the Lord of Darkness lost his way, and
left his load of earth where Cley Hill is today - although,
why Warminster managed to escape his efforts remains
a mystery!
|
 |
| •
Multimedia |
|
VIDEO: Click here
to see the story of Chiseldon's Devil Stone, embedded in the
wall of a local farm. (Courtesy of BBC Points
West)
Streaming
video/audio requires Real Player.
See BBC
download guide and Free
Real player
GALLERY:
Click
here for The Moonraking Gallery
|
| •
Add Your
View |
|
Phil
Jefferson
Cley Hill: in Crocodiles and Chicken Chasers, our Millennium
Book p53 - the section written by Victoria Hutchings, sister
of Joanna Trolloppe) The devil was angry with the folk of
Devizes so he went down the country (that is, into Somerset)
and found a big lump and put it on his back to carry and fling
it at them. On the way back he met a man and asked him the
way to Devizes. The man replied, "that's just what I
want to know myself - I started for Devizes when my beard
was black and now it is grey and I haven't got there yet".
The devil replied, "if that is how it is, I won't carry
this thing no further, so here goes," and he flung the
giant hump off his shoulder and there it is. Talking of the
devil, there is another story about Corsley in which he figures,
albeit mistakenly. Corsley Manor, next to St Margaret's church,
was once the dower house for the Thynne family (the Longleat
Thynnes). One of the Thynne widows married the brother of
Sir Walter Raleigh. Sir Walter visited his relatives, shortly
after his return from America where he had discovered tobacco
and one morning he decided to make a trip to the local pub.
Sitting in the corner of the bar, sipping his pint, he decided
he would like a quiet smoke and so he lit up his pipe - much
to the concern of the landlord. Being a simple soul, and having
paid careful attention in all the sermons at the village church
on Sundays, the landlord knew that the only manlike creature
that breathed smoke was the devil. Being in such close proximity
to the devil himself caused the landlord to panic, wondering
why God had much such a terrible judgement on him. So, when
Sir Walter came to settle his bill, the landlord refused to
accept his payment, as he knew that he had been taught never
to accept money from the devil. (I've forgotten where I read
this nice little story.)
|
