Black Rock in Falmouth - a sunken island

Black Rock is now marked by a tower to protect shipping.  © Copyright Rod Allday and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

"The Black Rock in Falmouth Harbour is stated to have been a large island, which was surrounded by the sea only at high-water."

Hunt 1903

Map - Black Rock

The Devil's Doorway

Polperro - image by © Copyright Alan Fleming and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

"In the slate (Killas) formations behind Polperro is a good example of a fault. The geologist, in the pride of his know­ledge, refers this to some movement of the solid mass--a rending of the rocks, produced either by the action of some subterranean force lifting the earth-crust, or by a depression of one division of the rocks. The gray-bearded wisdom of our grandfathers led them to a conclusion widely different from this.

The mighty ruler of the realms of darkness, who is known to have an especial fondness for rides at midnight, "to see how his little ones thrive," ascending from his subterranean country, chose this spot as his point of egress.

As he rose from below in his fiery car, drawn by a gigantic jet black steed, the rocks gave way before him, and the rent at Pol­perro remains to this day to convince all unbelievers. Not only this, as his Satanic majesty burst through the slate rocks, his horse, delighted with the airs of this upper world, reared in wild triumph, and, planting again his hoof upon the ground, made these islands shake as with an earthquake; and he left the deep impres­sion of his burning foot behind. There, any unbeliever may see the hoof-shaped pool, unmistakable evidence of the wisdom of the days gone by."

Hunt 1903

Map - Polperro

The Irish Lady - a ghostly rock - Part 2

The Irish Lady is in the bottom right of the picture, Land's End is top right. Image by © Copyright Graham Horn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

[cont...] "...Sir Humphrey Davy wrote a poem on this tradition. The following is an extract from it:--

"Where yon dark cliff  o'ershadowa the bltte main,

[ - A rock near the Land's End called the "Irish Lady."]

Theora died amidst the stormy waves,
And on its feet the sea-dews wash'd her corpse
And the wild breath of storms shook her black locks.
Young was Theora; bluer was her eye
Than the bright azure of the moonlight night;
Fair was her cheek, as is the ocean cloud
Red with the morning ray.

" Amidst the groves,
And greens, and nodding rocks that overhang
The gray Killarney pans'd her morning days,
Bright with the beams of joy.

"To solitude,
To nature, and to God, she gave her youth;
Hence were her passions tuned to harmony.
Her azure eye oft glisten'd with the tear
Of sensibility, and her soft cheek
Glow'd with the blush of rapture. Hence she loved
To wander 'midst the green wood silver'd o'er
By the bright moonbeam. Hence she loved the rocks,
Crowu'd with the nodding ivy, and the lake
Fair with the purple morning, and the sea
Expansive, mingling with the arched sky.

"Dark in the midnight cloud,
When the wild blast upon its pinions bore
The dying shrieks of Erin's injured Sons,
She 'scaped the murderer's arm. 

[The Irish lady was shipwrecked at the Land's End about the time of the massacre of the Irish Protestants by the Catholics, in the reign of Charles the First. So says Davy--the tradition is very old.]

"The British bark
Bore her across the ocean. From the west
The whirlwind rose, the fire-fraught clouds of heaven
Were mingled with the wave. The shatter'd bark
Sunk at thy feet, Boleriutn, and the white surge
Closed on green Erin's daughter."

-- PARIS's Life of Sir Humphrey Davy, p. 38

This kind of tradition is not uncommon."

Hunt 1903




Map - The Irish Lady

The Irish Lady - a ghostly rock - Part 1

The Irish Lady is in the bottom right of the picture, Land's End is top right. Image by © Copyright Graham Horn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

"Near Pedn-men-dw, the "Headland of Black Rock," is a curiously-shaped rock, known as the Irish Lady. In days long ago some adventurous sailors from Ireland were shipwrecked at night on this rock, and every soul perished, save a lady, who was seen in the morning sitting on the top of the rock. The storm was still raging, and it was quite impossible to render this solitary sufferer any assistance. Days and nights passed away the people watched the dying woman from the shore, but they could not reach her. At length they saw that her sufferings were at an end; and at last the dead body was washed into the sea. Often, when the winds and waves are high, the fishermen see a lady tranquilly sitting on this rock, with a rose in her mouth; to show, it may be presumed, her perfect indifference to the ragings of tempests..." [cont...]

Hunt 1903

A terrifying Devon Lulaby

An appropriately fierce Black Ram... Steve F [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"WHEN a child gets tired or a little out of temper, and he nurse wishes to amuse it, she dandles it on her knee, and sings -

"Vather and mawther
And uncle Jan,
Went to Market
Pin tap a black ram,
Off val'd vather,
Off val'd mawther,
And away raw'd
Uncle Jan ! !

All up ! all up ! all up !
Eat the fat ram
And hang Uncle Jan !
All up ! all up ! all up !
Huraw for Uncle Jan !""

Hewett 1900

True signs of rain from an old almanac - part 1

Morning mist over Chagford, Devon - If you wish to use my photos please attribute this blog

"The hollow winds begin to blow,
The clouds look black, the glass is low,
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep,
The spiders from their cobwebs creep.

Last night the sun went pale to bed,
The moon in halos hid her head ;
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh,
For see a rainbow spans the sky.

The walls are damp, the ditches smell,
Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel ;
Hark ! how the chairs and tables crack,
Old Betty's joints are on the rack...." [cont.]

Hewett 1900

[I posted these in the wrong order and don't know how to sort them - sorry!]

Devon / Westcountry weather lore - Plant lore and the weather

Beans in Flower - if you want to use my photos please attribute this blog.

"When beans are in bloom brew not your ale.

When elder is white, brew and bake a peck.

When elder is black, brew and bake a sack.

When the sloe-tree is white as a sheet, sow your barley whether it be dry or wet.

Ash before oak, there will be a soak,

Oak before ash, there will be but a splash."

Hewett 1900

Devon / Westcountry weather lore #10 - March (part 1)

Wild Daffodils in March, Steps Bridge, Devon -  by Derek Harper [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

"If March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb, and vice versa.

March winds and April showers,
Bring forth May flowers.

Dust in March brings leaves and grass.

A peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom.

As many mists in March so many frosts in May.

On the first of March
The crows begin to search.

The black army (fleas) arrives on March 1st.

Much March dust, and a shower in May,
Makes the corn green and the fields gay.

Hewett 1900

Devon / Westcountry weather lore #9 - February

Sourton, Devon, in February

"If a storm comes on February 2nd, spring is near ; but if that day be bright and clear, the spring will be late.

When drops hang on the fence on February 2nd, icicles shall hang there on March 14th.

There is always one fine week in February.

When it rains in February it will be temperate all the year.

All the months in the year curse a fine Februeer.

or,

If in February there be no rain,
The hay won't goody, nor the grain.
All other months of the year
Most heartily curse a fine Februeer.

February fill dyke, be it black or be it white ; but if it be white, the better to like.

If bees get out in February the next day will be rough and rainy.

When the cat in February lies in the sun, she will creep under the grate in March.

If the eighteen last days of February be wet, and the first days of March, you'll see that the spring quarter, and the summer too, will prove to be wet, and danger will ensue.

February and be ye fair,
The hoggs will mend, and nothing pair ;
February and be ye foul,
The hoggs will die in the pool (Scotch)."

Hewett 1900

[Yet again I find myself cursing, for Hewett has failed to say where any of her lore comes from (other than the book is about Devon lore) and has thrown in "Scotch" in brackets. Hopefully all she meant was that the pronounciation was somewhat Scotish, rather than that she has simply added the odd Scotish proverb to pad it out!]

Oakapple Day in Tiverton (part 2)

Oak Apple - By Bob Embleton [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

[cont..] "...On the reverse, Cromwell was represented by the coarsest and most repulsive-looking scoundrel the town could produce. He was naked to the waist, and gloried in a long shaggy tail made of a hempen rope much frayed at the end. With this he belaboured any mischievous urchin who dared to interfere with his progress. Around his waist was tied a huge bag filled with soot. Himself and attendants were thickly daubed with oiled lamp-black and other disgusting compositions. At noon, when Charles had triumphantly made his procession through the town, the mischief began. Cromwell so managed his affairs that the two parties met each other at the bottom of Bampton Street, just opposite the entrance to the " Three Tuns Hotel." Now the gambols began, Cromwell plentifully besmeared all on whom he and his followers could lay hands, and carried them off to imprisonment till later on. Of course, in the general scrimmage that ensued, prisoners were captured on both sides, to be ransomed by their own friends at five o'clock, when the street entertainments ended and wilder orgies at the public houses began. The money collected was spent in mad carousals and jollifications. No women could venture into the streets ; if there were any brave enough to do so, it was at the peril of their lives. Next day many a head ached, and vows were registered that " Never no more wid any body git up tii theyse zoart o' May games agen."

This barbarous pastime has now entirely died out, and is only held in remembrance by Blundell's scholars, who, in hopes of getting a half-holiday, decorate the masters' desks and chairs with oak boughs before morning school. Let us hope that the headmaster does not turn a deaf ear to their silent prayer."

Hewett 1900

Map - Tiverton

Devon charm to cure Ringworm, Barngun, or skin eruptions such as shingles

Shingles on a back - By Timepants (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

"Barngun is cured by blessing, and the outward application of clotted cream, thus : Take three locks of
wool one white, one grey, one black dip them into a basin of clotted cream, and when thoroughly saturated,
take each lock and rub in succession each infected spot on the skin. Hang the wool on sprigs of white thorn against the wind to dry. Repeat this process five, seven, or nine times, as the case may require. While lubricating the sores chant in monotone the following : 

There were three angels come from the west, 

to cure Simon Fluke (or other) of the barngun, 

white barngun, red barngun, black barngun,
aching, sticking, pricking, barngun, 

all sorts of barngun,
barngun-biibee, 

ill will I prove 'e. 

I stick thee
up on thees yer thorn, 

there thou shalt die, 

and never come near'n no more, 

in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."

Hewett 1900 

[This charm is very similar to other Devon charms for other ailments in the opening and closing lines, and in the use of colours (take note: there are three colours - 3 is a very frequently used number in folklore). Also note the hypnotically intensifying rhythm.]

Devon amulet to protect against witches, pixies, spirits and the forces of evil

The illustration to accompany this entry in Hewett's book.  The charm written on parchment used as an amulet against evil magics in Exeter, Devon.

"The word "Abracadabra" written on parchment was given by an Exeter white witch, to a person who desired to possess a talisman against the dominion of the grey witch, pixies, evil spirits and the powers of darkness ! It cost a guinea, and was sewn up in a small black silk bag one inch square. This was hung round the neck and never removed. Should it by chance fall to the ground, all its properties for good would be lost and a new charm must be procured from the same white witch, or dire misfortune would overtake the owner. In " Reminiscences and Reflections," of an old West Country clergyman (the Rev. W. H. Thornton, rector of North Bovey), the word "Abracadabra" occurs on page 44, in connection with a meeting of spiritualists, held in London in 1848."

Hewett 1900

Map - Exeter

Map - North Bovey

[The symbols look vaguely alchemical, but I can not identify any directly. The bottom one looks a bit like the Nordic Algez, while one on the left looks a bit like astrological Torus, possibly with a sign for completnes above it... Any advances?]

White, Black and Grey Witches

"Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath" 1855, by Théodore Chassériau

"WEST Country people generally, and Devonians in particular, are exceedingly superstitious, in spite of all that has been done for them in the way of higher education, and the enlightening influence of the press. Dwellers in the hilly parts of Devon, on Dartmoor and Exmoor, and in the villages bordering upon them, are as deeply imbued with faith in witches, as their forefathers were in the days when Alfred was king.

According to tradition there are three kinds of witches.

The Black Witch, who is of an intensely malignant nature, and responsible for all the ills that flesh is heir to.

The White Witch, of an opposite nature, is always willing, for certain pecuniary considerations, to dispense charms and philtres, to cancel the evil of the other.

The Grey Witch is the worst of all, for she possesses the double power of either "overlooking" or "releasing." 

In cases of sickness, distress, or adversity, persons at the present time (A.D. 1898) make long expensive journeys to consult the white witch, and to gain relief by her (or his) aid."

Hewett 1900

Map - Dartmoor
Map - Exmoor

Horse mane plaiting...

Horse plaiting for decoration only - photo by  Fir0002/Flagstaffotos released under this license.

[This article from the Westermn Morning News caught my eye. 

The basic thrust of it is that the police have been investigating a spate of "mane weaving" - horses having their manes woven without the knowledge of their owners. At first it was thought to be the work of horse theives - but then none of the horese where stolen, despight some having be "plaited" on numerouse occasions.

The police are now putting it down to Pagans practicing "white magic" (most Pagans I know would laugh at the idea of 'white' magic - it is very objective what intentions are 'white' and what are 'black' - just like any other human action.  Is wishing for a productive year 'black' or 'white'?). They specifically put it down to 'white witches' practicing 'knot magick' (their spelling).  Maybe they got this from a Wiccan book?

I could also put it down to children (probably girls?) stopping by their favorite horse and playing with its hair.

However it also reminded me of all the old tales of pixies riding horses and knotting their manes ('fairie styrups') such as this one.

Some owners where criticising the practice, saying it may have influenced some of the horses characters, and with children's horses this could be dangerous. To me this sounds a little like scare mongering to keep people away from their horses!

The report says that it was occurring mainly around Hemyock, Culmstock and Clayhidon, the Culm Valley and Exeter.  When I mentioned it on Facebook a friend from the Chagford area said that it happens there to. 

Anyway - a good story!]

Map - Hemyock

Map - Culmstock

Map - Clayhidon 

Map - Culm Valley

Map - Exeter

Map - Chagford

The Black Dog of Roborough - part 2

Black Dog (called Beau!), New Jersey - Some rights reserved by nosha

"...They soon reached a crossway, not far from the fortifications. When, suddenly the man was startled by a loud report, followed by a blinding flash, as of lightning, which struck him senseless to the ground. At daybreak, he was found by the driver of the mail-cart, lying in the ditch at the roadside in an unconscious state. Tradition says, that a foul murder was many years ago committed at this spot, and the victim's dog is doomed to traverse this road and kill every man he encounters, until the perpetrator of the deed has perished by his instrumentality.

There are similar legends of the doings of the Black Dog throughout the county, and many wayside public houses have " The Black Dog" for a sign."

Hewett 1900

Map - Princetown
Map - Plymouth
Map - Roborough Down

Weymouth Some rights reserved by P - A - S

Ghostly boat of the Bottoms - Part 1

Barque from helicopter, Cook Strait, New Zealand 1988 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

"This valley [from Porthcurno] (called the Bottoms) is a very weird, melancholy-looking place, with much marshy ground in it; and few people care to cross it at night, it is so lonely and dreary; it also bears the reputation of being haunted, as Croft Pasco Pool is, by a ghostly vessel, and till quite of late years the tale was believed by the fisher folk.

The apparition appeared on the sea about nightfall, when mists were rising from the marshes in the Bottoms. It sailed through the breakers that foam over the dangerous rocks that fringe the shore glided over the sands, and sailed on a long way up the valley to Bodelan, or Bodellen, where St. Levan formerly dwelt; it then directed its course to Chygwiden, and there utterly vanished. It was a black, squarerigged, single-masted barque, and had usually, but not always, a boat with it. No crew were ever seen; it is supposed they were down below. It is said to be an ill omen to see this ghostly vessel, and that the sight of it forebodes misfortune.

The reason of its appearance is, according to tradition, that a stranger, many a long year ago, returned from sea and took up his abode at Chygwiden. He had with him a foreign servant, dark and evil looking, who never spoke to any one but his master, being probably unable to speak English. It was whispered that the pair had been Pirates or buccaneers.... [cont.]

Valentine (undated)

Castle Rock and the Black Monk - Part 2

Castle Rock - © Copyright Paul Jennings and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

"...The baron's cries summoned the affrighted servants, but when they reached his room they found their lord lying on the floor a blackened corpse. His only son, solemnly impressed by his father's fate, went on the Crusades and did many acts of valour against the infidels. But even to the Holy Land the black monk followed him, and never left him day or night. The unhappy man, driven nearly mad, sought to bury his trouble in drink. He grew a wild, dissolute gallant, and the mother and sister that he had left in the castle on the rock wept bitter tears over his fall, and were glad when death summoned them to the land where "the wicked cease from troubling."

Years afterwards the knight returned to his Devonshire home, and one Sunday morning, as he rode through the valley, he heard the church bells calling men to prayer. They reminded him of the days of his innocent childhood; of his mother's teachings, and lured him towards the house of prayer. The black monk sought to draw him back, with the whisper of false pleasures awaiting him; but as the sinner hesitated, scarcely able to wrest himself away from his evil associate, he saw in the church porch the forms of his mother and sister, clad in garments of light, and beckoning to him with their spirit hands. He tore himself from the grasp of the monk, rushed to the porch, and darting into the church, threw himself before the altar.

The black monk developed into a fiend, and stamping his foot there was an earthquake; the castle on the rock shook to its foundations and fell crashing into the valley; the rocks rolled over, the Ring was formed, and where a smiling vale had been there remained the Valley of Rocks. Was this an allegory? Did the black monk personify an evil habit, so difficult to break?"

Valentine (undated)

Map - Castle Rock

Castle Rock and the Black Monk - part 1

Black Monk and Lady - Mumford, Ethel Watts, Herford, Oliver and Mizner, Addison: “The Cynic’s Calendar” (1905)

"That a castle ever existed here is not credible; but tradition has declared that there was one, and that it was lost by the sins of a family, though no vestige of it nor any written account of it exists.

The tradition is, that one dismal winter evening, a monk, tall, dark, in a black robe and cowl, called at the castle and asked for food and shelter for the night, in the Virgin's name. The lady, who chanced to be in the hall, and who disliked his countenance, refused him the solicited hospitality, and the angry pilgrim cursed her. It is probable that there was in the lady some lack of hospitality, that she was mean; and uncharitable, so that evil was allowed to assail her; or it might have been that she detected the true nature of the monk, and therefore refused to help him. The curse was a peculiar one. "All thine shall be mine," said the pilgrim, "till in the porch of Holy Church a lady and a child shall stand and beckon."

Years rolled on, and the next baron of the castle was of so greedy a nature, that he pulled down the Church of St. John, which then rose in the valley, for its materials, and took the holy vessels of the altar for his own use. One night, as he was feasting alone, and sacrilegiously drinking from the sacred chalice, the black monk appeared, told him his time of account was come, and that he must go with him..." [cont.]

Valentine (undated)

The man who lived too long - Wimborne Minster

Inside Wimborne Minster church

"In the south aisle beneath an arch is a raised black marble coffin, painted with heraldic shields, and guarded by iron railings, which contains the remains of a very eccentric old gentleman, named Ettrick, the first Recorder of Poole. He had a conviction (probably created by some dream) that he should die in 1691, and had his coffin thus prepared, and the date cut on it. But his previsions proved false; he survived till 1717, and the alteration of the date on the coffin is visible. He fixed it in position with his own hands; for in a fit of anger, caused by some offence the people of Wimborne had given him, he had vowed to be buried neither in their church nor out of it, neither above their ground nor below it. In order to keep this paradoxical vow he obtained permission to place his coffin within the thickness of the wall, and on a level with the pavement. He left a sum of twenty shillings a year for the repairs in trust with the corporation of Poole."

Valentine (undated) 

Map - Wimborne Minster

Berkeley Castle

"There is a bedroom, called Admiral Drake's room, in which are the bedstead, chairs, and washhand-stand - all of ebony - which the great navigator used during his voyage round the world."

Valentine (undated)


Map - Berkeley Castle

[I include this only to compliment all the other mythological beliefs about the man - some tangible relics]